NICE recognised with award for Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport PSIM Implementation

To enhance safety and security Armstrong International Airport employs numerous security systems

NICE Systems Ltd. recently announced that it has been recognised as an honorable mention winner in the Security Technology Executive (STE) Magazine Innovation Awards for its work on the Louis Armstrong New Orleans International Airport PSIM implementation. NICE was recognised, along with Armstrong International Airport and system integrator Johnson Controls, for their innovative implementation of NICE Situator, NICE's open situation management solution.

Now in its seventh year, the STE Innovation Awards honors the best and most unique applications of security technology in the United States. This year's winning projects were hand-picked by a panel of security industry experts from among dozens of entries.

"The entrants in this year's competition spanned a vast spectrum of projects," said STE publisher/editor-in-chief Steve Lasky. "While each had their merits, Armstrong International Airport's innovative use of situation management technology (PSIM) won the judges over for its ability to consolidate diverse systems, and deliver real-life ROI and physical security benefits."

"The deployment of NICE Situator at Armstrong International Airport illustrates how airports can use situation management in innovative ways to make the most of their existing technology investments, and enhance safety and security," said Yaron Tchwella, President, NICE Security Group. "We are honoured to be recognised for our work on this implementation, in partnership with the Airport and Johnson Controls."

To enhance safety and security for the more than eight million passengers each year, Armstrong International Airport employs numerous security and life safety systems. "We have a lot of different stove pipes of information - video, access control, fire alarms, computer aided dispatch (CAD), Voice over IP (VoIP), and automated external defibrillator (AED) alarms - which can make it difficult to form an overall picture," explained John Lyon, telecommunications manager for the Airport's Security Operations Center. "NICE Situator consolidates these systems into a unified view, with real-time correlation and alerts, so our dispatchers get a much clearer real-time picture of situations. They can do 95 percent of their work using just two NICE Situator screens."

The Airport was also able to incorporate within NICE Situator over 90 standard operating procedures for different security, fire, EMS, and weather scenarios, replacing previously used flat electronic forms. Processes implemented in NICE Situator are interactive and adaptive, and can integrate automated or operator-initiated actions, dynamically proceeding down different response paths based on pre-defined conditions.

Referring to the ability to view evolving situations in a geographic context through NICE Situator, Lyon concludes: "To be able to see a map of the facility and visualise where something's happening as it's happening, and drill down into layers of information, like building plans and video, is very empowering."

The NICE Security Offering addresses the needs of governments and enterprises with intent-based solutions for fighting crime and terror, by anticipating, managing and mitigating safety, security and operational risks. The offering enables capturing, analysis and correlation of data from multiple sensors and systems, including audio, video, radio, geo-location and web, providing a framework for fusing data silos into a single, holistic operational view. NICE Security solutions empower organisations to act effectively in real time to prevent, manage and investigate incidents, ensuring fast resolution and debriefing, and continuous security improvements. NICE Security solutions are deployed worldwide in transportation systems, critical infrastructures, city centres and enterprise campuses.