The integrator is 2ACOM who have installed the equipment in two phases after the end-user found the ACT solution to be robust, reliable and with the functionality needed to both secure the site and improve logistics by reporting on staff activity.

Hyper U wanted to control and log movement of staff around the shop floor, office block, delivery areas, car parks, lifts, stock rooms and perimeter. The client also needed a hierarchical rights management system so that staff would only access certain groups of doors associated with their job function and at appropriate times of day according to their shift. Hyper U found the flexibility they needed in ACT’s door stations, door controllers, readers and ACTWin software.

The software’s graphical interface is simplifying database management for Hyper U and has allowed supervisors to create 71 user groups, so promoting complete visibility of staff movement and enhancing health & safety at a store with long opening hours where there is activity 24 hours a day. While the human resources department can intervene if workers are not in the right place when they should be, the access control system also contributes to staff welfare by creating an audit trail. This ensures that workers do not become stranded in remote areas or spend excessive amounts of time in locations such as refrigeration rooms.

The door security also ensures that prospective thieves remain on the shop-floor and are denied entry to areas where high-value items are stored. It should be noted that French supermarket retailers make extensive use of the concession system whereby there is a gallery of ‘boutique’ suppliers of items such as smart phones and tablet computers operating under the same roof.

Areas that are commercially sensitive (e.g. cashier’s office, luxury electrical goods) as well as loading bays where the presence of vehicles puts a premium on safety have a twin level of security with both keypads and proximity readers being used.

Serge Tureau is Export Sales Manager at ACT. He said: “Hyper U can take advantage of the sophisticated card editing and printing offered by ACTWin Pro as well as the software’s unlimited log events and auto-discovery of door stations and controllers on the network. Facilities managers will appreciate the ACTpro4000 door controller which offers TCP/IP networking, low bandwidth requirements and voltage monitoring.

“But at the manual level it is units such as the outdoor ACTpro 1030PM proximity reader which sits flush against a wall and is reinforced by a steel plate that will assist staff who are required to move goods in safety-critical areas, often with the use of forklift trucks.”

The ACT units cover 60 doors and the equipment is working in conjunction with intruder alarms, CCTV and perimeter intrusion protection.

The integrators, Nantes-based 2ACOM, specialise in telephony but have recognised how IP-based access control is a complementary sector in which they can work. 2ACOM have been using ACT solutions for 10 years. The company also excels in video surveillance, fire protection and network cabling services. 2ACOM covers much of the Atlantic coast in the Loire area and the metropolitan area surrounding the city of Nantes.

Additionally, it integrates with laser scanners to trigger the IP pan/tilt/zoom cameras to follow threats around the site. The system was installed by Wave Electronics and commissioned together with Sicura.

The central jail is the only correctional facility in theRepublicofCyprusand is located to the west of the walled section of the city ofNicosia. Extensive refurbishment and new building is taking place to improve inmate welfare and relieve overcrowding.

The Cyprus Prisons Department required the securing of a new wing. Local integrator and consultant Wave Electronics worked with Sicura and its technology partner CBC Europe to install 132 latest generation IP cameras with inbuilt video analytics from GANZ to monitor inmates and prison guards at the perimeter of the site. The cameras are a combination of PTZ and fixed units covering interior walls, exterior chain link and razor wire fencing and an intervening sterile zone.

Approximately 70 of the cameras use GANZ edge-based video analytics to report on possible breaches of the perimeter or sterile zone and other atypical incidents. Within the Sicura information management system, DigiLive, users can specify their own alarm zones and exploit object tracking scene analysis with pop-up menus and snapshots of camera views. Unexpected motion in these zones will appear as an alarm to all stations.

Crucially, the system allows fine-tuning of sensitivity in order to filter out ambient activity and specify size of object and pattern of movement. In this way, nuisance alarms are minimised. Movement falling within the specified parameters sends a signal to an events list and alerts prison staff.

Sicura Systems’ engineering team deployed customised 1 petabyte NVR assemblies which are used from nine client stations. The system employs Cisco switching, Dell servers and RAID5 storage. Integration of DigiWall, the video wall function of the DigiLive software, to the prison control room includes a ‘carousel’ whereby instead of trying to view all 132 cameras at one time, prison officers observe footage from one area of the prison for a pre-agreed number of seconds before turning their attention to another part of the site. Wardens can record locally, take still snapshots and quickly export footage to removable media for use by police and judiciary.

Wave Electronics implemented Optex’s Redscan laser units to detect any movement by tracking people moving within target segments inside the perimeter. This has been supported by Optex field engineers. Sicura provided full integration to the Redscan in order to receive alarms from the lasers and take control of the nearest available PTZ camera and point it to the exact location. This gave complete situational awareness by providing visual tracking of the alarm segment.

Emi Roberti, Director of Sicura Systems, said: “Custodial clients cannot rely on unicasting and often ask that the same video footage be available to several security guards at the same time. InNicosia, working alongside Wave Electronics, we exploited good network configuration, adopting multicast streaming to ensure that eight operators or more can view footage from the same camera simultaneously and interrogate any NVR to access any footage in an asynchronous or synchronous manner.

He continued: The key task in this project was to combine the complementary technologies of video analytics and laser scan detection in order to give the client a dual level of protection in tracking alarms and movements within the prison perimeters.”

Nicosia Central Jail was built in 1894 and the period architecture is a part of the city’s heritage. Sicura’s use of Redscan laser technology has meant that the visual impact of the project on the exterior of the building has been minimised. Innovative technology is being used throughout.

The work at Medway has been a supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system replacement project in which Ematics, a subsidiary company within Vital Technology specialising in SCADA, have installed a SCADA and programmable logic controller (PLC)-based control and monitoring system to facilitate tunnel operation.

The custom-developed SCADA system at Medway is a Graphical User Interface (GUI) which interacts with diverse subsystems including video surveillance, access control, fire systems, intruder alarms, radio rebroadcast and a video incident detection system.

The system provided by Vital consists of a SCADA ‘client-server’ layer which provides the operator with the GUI required for tunnel operations and a PLC control layer which handles the business logic and tunnel control activities. In the event of SCADA or PLC failure, there is automatic transfer to a back-up system such that no single point of failure can interrupt tunnel operations.

The Medway Tunnel works includes the supply and installation of 24 video surveillance cameras for which two independent video wall systems were provided in separate locations. These video streams are processed and distributed to the video walls through DigiWall software. This software is also client-server based and has been developed in-house by Sicura Systems, another Vital Technology company. Sicura also specified and supplied analogue and IP-addressable CCTV cameras from Bosch which are used for both standard surveillance and the automatic incident detection system.

The video incident detection system comprises 32 dedicated fixed-focus cameras installed by Vital Technology at strategic locations throughout the tunnel. It was specified, evaluated and procured by Vital as part of the contract.

The existing life-expired radio rebroadcast system in the tunnel was also replaced. Vital Technology used its consulting expertise to supply an appropriate industry offering and supervised the installation.

The radio rebroadcast system consists of tunnel antenna distribution infrastructure including radiating cables while the main equipment features combiners and base stations. There are 25 hand-held maintenance radios and an antenna system for above ground which includes related hardware.

FM radio break-in was also provided, allowing the tunnel operators to broadcast messages directly to drivers’ car radio, so allowing safety-critical announcements to be made in the event of an incident.

Harold Trunley, Managing Director of Vital Technology, said: “Typically, up to six separate companies would be involved on such a project but Vital used its wide-ranging project management expertise to ensure all subsystems were built to exact specification and delivered on time.

“We were able to report directly to our client Medway Council while working closely with the council’s project manager, Serco.”

Phil Moore, Head of Highways and Parking Services at Medway Council, said: “Working with Vital Technology developed into what has become a good partnership. A project of this size has not been without its problems as anyone in the industry would appreciate, but working in partnership with service-specific professionals from a number of supply chain organisations has resulted in a system that provides a high level of safety for the travelling public.”

He added: “We would encourage road tunnel operators to visit Medway and see the completed project for themselves.”

The Medway Tunnel was the first immersed tube tunnel to be built inEngland. Work was started in 1992 and the tunnel was opened by the Princess Royal in 1996.

The Royal Sussex County Hospital provides general, specialist and tertiary services as part of Brighton and Sussex University Hospitals (BSUH) which is an acute teaching hospital working across two sites in Brighton and Haywards Heath.  The Trust treats three quarter of a million patients a year and is a major trauma centre for the south east ofEngland.

Over 650 doors at the Trust have been secured using ACT’s ACTpro 4000 two-door controllers which can extend to a total of 16 doors when used with ACT door stations.  As with any hospital, facilities managers at BSUH required equipment that would balance ease of access in emergency situations with appropriate controls in clinical areas. Urgency of need to admit had to be balanced with proper documentation of entrance and egress.

Every controller offers individually-tailored access levels which has allowed Meridian Surveillance Systems to implement a solution with a hierarchy of access rights for staff members according to job profile. Using the ACTWin pro management software, Trust facility managers create cards for hospital employees (currently numbering over 15,000) as well as constantly adjusting access rights to allow distinctions between areas of practice for surgical and nursing personnel (which can change weekly) as well as basic  profile details such as likely hours of work.

The door controllers are designed for high-traffic volumes in multi-site campus environments such as a hospital. At Brighton and Haywards Heath, the controllers are being used with ACTpro MIFARE proximity readers and contactless smart cards.

Daniel Collins is Projects Manager at Meridian Surveillance Systems. He said: “The fact that the ACT products are IP-addressable means we have caused minimal disruption to the core activity of the Trust and frequently used existing structured twisted pair cabling within the site’s IT infrastructure. Avoiding use of new cabling and peripherals has reduced the carbon footprint of the project. We’ve tripled the number of system controllers and future-proofed the hospitals since additional door stations can be fitted whenever required.”

Daniel continued: “IP as opposed to the legacy analogue system means that information reaches the system controllers sooner and there is no loss of data even if the lines run over considerable distances. We’ve been able to integrate the ACT installation with existing key control and tracking as well as digital surveillance from Cathexis. Problems with maglocks and break-glass units are inevitable in a busy environment but call-outs for access are now very infrequent and failures have been reduced by 95% since the ACT equipment was introduced. The voltage and break-glass monitoring within the ACT software has become invaluable.”

The ACT control software being used at the hospital trust is ACTWin pro 2.8 which features auto-discovery of door stations and controllers as well as site maps which allow users to visually monitor access control points and I/O modules on a graphical representation of the property.

In addition to the Brighton campus, the ACT access control equipment is in use at the Princess Royal Hospital in Haywards Heath which includes the Hurstwood Park Regional Centre for Neurosciences where patients from across the south-east receive inpatient and outpatient neurological surgery and interventional radiology.

Recent developments at BSUH include a pioneering investigation unit at the Royal Alexandra Children’s Hospital which will enhance gastro-intestinal services for young people across Sussex and contribute to research that will have national and international significance.

Cambridge-based Meridian Surveillance Systems cover security disciplines including access control, CCTV, intruder alarms and perimeter protection. The company excels in the healthcare market (both public and private sectors) and is active at City ofLondonfinancial institutions as well as major corporate sites. Meridiancan work with clients at the earliest stage of a project on a consultancy basis before specifying, installing, monitoring and maintaining equipment.

About Access Control Technology (ACT)

ACT meets varying security needs with units that will control a standalone door right through to scalable, enterprise-wide solutions with open format design and interoperability suitable for ‘intelligent’ multi-campus buildings with thousands of users. The products will integrate with many third-party applications including card readers and databases. An extensive range of access control and audio-video door devices is currently protecting government sites, major educational facilities, pharmaceutical organisations, hospitals, prisons and retail chain stores.

Office 365 Suites

This blog is intended to help you decide which version of the Office 365 Suites is suited to your needs. It is not intended to help you choose between Office, and Office 365.

Currently there are 4 versions of Office 365, Namely Home Premium, Small Business Premium, Midsize Business and Enterprise.

Home Premium

This is targeted for home use. It provides access to the the following cloud applications:

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access, Web Apps (on Skydrive), 60 Skype world minutes/month, Basic support.

Small Business Premium

This is targeted for small business use up to 10 users. It provides access to the the following cloud applications:

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access, Lync, InfoPath, Web Apps, Basic support, Exchange Online, Lync Online, SharePoint Online, Basic IT administration Console.

Midsize Business Premium

This is targeted for  business use up to 250 users. It provides access to the the following cloud applications:

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access, Lync, InfoPath, Web Apps, Expanded support, Exchange Online, Lync Online, SharePoint Online, Expanded IT administration Console.

Enterprise

This is targeted for  business use over 250 users. It provides access to the the following cloud applications:

Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Publisher, Access, Lync, InfoPath, Web Apps, Full support, Exchange Online, Lync Online, SharePoint Online, Full IT administration Console.

Purpose-built to cope with difficult terrain and weather conditions, this ruggedised solution incorporates a hydraulic mast (extendable to nine metres) and 360° rotation tower housed in a trailer base unit with an environmentally-friendly 3000rpm generator.

Xtend is flexible according to user requirements. A common configuration is a four pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) camera assembly which can include cameras designed for ultra low-light conditions. Customers who need to pick up heat signatures can opt for thermal imaging cameras or a combination of thermal imaging and white light units. Optical performance can be up to 36x zoom. Four, six and 18-channel variants can be supplied.

Highly effective in day and night-light conditions, Xtend’s camera visibility alone can operate in excess of 100 metres, so identifying potential threats well in advance of competitive products.

Customers can opt for Xtend as a mains-powered version but a common requirement is the Eco90 diesel generator version. A range of wireless solutions includes the use of 3G or satellite standards. Effective use of radio frequency communications can produce a 1km line of sight, meaning that Xtend can be deployed in remote locations.

Vital are bringing Xtend to the marketplace in a technology partnership with SMC, part of onsite power equipment company ArcGen Hilta. The portability of the optical and video analytics capability of Xtend is based on SMC s market-leading Eco90 lighting tower and trailer assembly.

SMC have ensured that the system can be fully self-powered with operation on a quiet 3000Kw diesel generator which can even allow users in remote terrain to operate additional elements such as powering tools, lighting and welfare facilities. The eco-friendly Yanmar engine will power the CCTV elements of Xtend offering up to 250 hours operation on a single tank of fuel.

The Eco90 trailer is the base for the hydraulically-operated mast which can be extended in 12 seconds and has been certified for wind stability up to 100km/hr.

Xtend s video analytics can discriminate between people, animals and vehicles using algorithms with filters on direction, pattern of movement and speed. The fact that only meaningful data (as opposed to eventless footage) is processed produces benefits in optimising use of bandwidth and storage space.

Xtend can be used for many forms of perimeter protection and site surveillance. It will be of immediate interest to the events industry where security companies can optimise crowd monitoring at outdoor concerts, music festivals and carnivals as well as securing film and TV production sets.

The transport sector will benefit in terms of deterring and detecting rail cable theft, bridge suicide prevention, alerts on loitering, and securing staff and plant at motorway road works. Xtend will also be invaluable at critical national infrastructure (CNI) sites such as independent power stations and grid distribution hubs. Border agencies needing to protect temporary areas of vulnerability will be able to deploy the product rapidly.

Many utility providers will benefit as Xtend can help protect the integrity of water supply as well as being used to provide surveillance of flooding. All sectors of the construction and mining industries can use the unit for both preventative surveillance and incident response.

Lawrence Webster, Business Development Director at Vital Technology, said: “Xtend’s exceptional portability and configurable range of target behaviour means that it is well suited to temporary usage at any gathering where organisers must both monitor and protect the public but may not have easy access to power and communication infrastructure. Xtend offers simple configuration of complex monitoring rules for truly intelligent surveillance and is particularly effective in monitoring crowd movement.”

Alerts can be provided locally on a viewing system while remote triggers can appear on an off-site system or via email to any PC or ‘Smart’ device. Alarms can be received and analysed by an external alarm reviewing centre.

Clients who need to respond promptly to end-users’ requirements in difficult environments will benefit from the flexibility and responsiveness of this truly rapid deployment recording and analytical solution.

Phil Winnington, Commercial Director ArcGen Hilta, said: “This is an exciting new partnership for us and Vital Technology. We operate in a number of overlapping markets so it’s a sensible move to bring together the complementary skills and experience of both companies on this project.”

Following on from the successful implementation of a Sicura Systems solution earlier in the F1 season for the British 2012 GP at Silverstone, the Vital Technology Group company, Sicura Systems, implemented its DigiLive RMC software which is an advanced IP-based video management system (VMS) which enabled race controllers to process contrasting data types and benefit from optimum information in an inclusive environment.

With a multi-camera synced replay, DigiLive monitored the 44 dedicated track safety cameras which covered every angle of the 3.42 mile track, sending images to the control centre over a dedicated secure network.

Sicura Systems also developed a unique race narrative software programme, MinuteMan, which links all significant events during a race to relevant video footage and broadcasts these clips to the video wall in the race control room. MinuteMan empowers the race controller who is required to monitor multiple radio feeds from marshals. The software allows the controller to report on scenarios such as “car stalled”, “collision”, “car off track,” “car hit barrier”, making rapid selections from menus rather than keying in information. In this way, relevant pop-up displays appear on the race control video wall in a graphical manner and with minimum delay.

Working alongside its sister company Ematics (the SCADA and PLC specialists), Sicura created a bespoke SCADA human-machine interface so that Federation Internationale de l’Automobile (FIA) management could receive critical race data from a range of diverse subsystems in an intuitive format. Information provided by Formula One Management (FOM) for teams and venue organisers such as timing gauges, weather bulletins, track condition reports and master television footage was transmitted using DigiSCADA. This new, web-based graphics module is part of the DigiLive suite  which monitors a broad array of race-critical sensors and events on the track.

The RMC comprised a Fault Indication System [FIS] and race start light controls designed by Ematics. The FIS comprised a central controller and distributed network of remote processing units which monitored status of essential power supplies and presented meteorological conditions at key locations around the race track. Ematics installed trackside PLC fault indication nodes residing on an IP network at distribution points around the circuit and interfacing to an alarm database enabling remote diagnostics and alarm recording. The system was integrated into the DigiSCADA suite which superimposed data over a map of the track; an intuitive approach enabling race controllers to pinpoint  information to the exact locations  and rapidly recognise any abnormal conditions that could have had an impact on the safe running of the race.

Sicura’s live dedicated camera feeds were also synchronized with track GPS data overlaid on a map of the COTA. This approach helped race team principals establish the exact locations of their cars during the race and assisted with team strategy.

The versatility of DigiLive allowed the engineers to pull feeds from the race track to the FIA in order to provide GPS location in relation to the video and selected cameras. The full DigiLive suite is being used at the track. This includes recording servers, live IP camera viewing workstations and high-definition IP video walls. There is full audio recording of race sessions for use by marshalls and enhanced video replay with synchronised camera control or synchronized remote replay.  DigiLive is providing the FIA with a broad range of VMS functionality including the logging of accidents. The software is also facilitating export of data and footage for use by F1 teams.

Sicura specified and installed all the cameras, opting for IP models with PoE functionality which was more future-proof and had less points of failure. For the FIA, the cameras were connected though media converters and decoded and fed into the FIA’s analogue interface. Sicura’s solution decoded the HD IP camera streams back to analogue BNC.

Harold Trunley, Managing Director of the Vital Technology Group, said: “The combination of HD IP video delivered across the network and IP-to-analogue conversion to meet FIA race control standards made for some unusual hybrid technical requirements.”

He continued: “Creating these multi-discipline VMS and SCADA systems to tight deadlines with the eyes of the motor sport world on us was a demanding assignment. The project met the immediate requirements of the F1 event but it is also scalable and future-proof. Our engineers installed starter panels on the permanent track infrastructure for subsequent use at COTA when it hosts pending events including MotoGP and the American Le Mans Series in 2013.”

Cheered on by his compatriots from Vital, Lewis Hamilton made his winning manoeuvre as he passed the Red Bull of Sebastian Vettel on lap 42, with drivers hitting speeds of 200 mph before a full house at the 890-acre site which is the first circuit in the US to be purpose-built for Formula One.

The Vital engineers also witnessed a fantastic drive from McLaren’s other English driver, Jenson Button, who moved through the field from twelfth position on the grid to finish fifth behind Felipe Massa’s Ferrari.

The hangar and associated office complex are owned by an international business tycoon and the new facility will also function as a fixed base operator (FBO) within the airport. The hangar houses a Gulfstream jet, one of the world’s most advanced business aircraft.

The hangar and ancillary building doors are benefiting from Alpro’s Impressionist 05 series pull handles which are constructed from 304-grade stainless steel. Finishes can be satin anodised, satin stainless, polished stainless, powder coated or nylon coated.

The handles are supplied with bolt-thro or back-to-back finishing as standard with appropriate fixings to suit all possible door materials. The Stansted customer has opted for the 05 (semi-circular) series, specified with a distance of 300mm between the fixing points of the handles.

As a UK producer based in Poole, Dorset, Alpro prides itself on having a wide range of nylon-coated colour options immediately available. Clients who wish to match their corporate livery can specify colours according to the RAL system and have their orders completed to short lead times.

The construction project at Stansted involved a workforce of more than 200 and was delivered ahead of schedule with much of the m & e expertise coming from the surrounding counties of Essex and Hertfordshire. The whole jet centre has been designed along sustainable lines; heating and cooling systems have the minimum possible carbon footprint and sustainability was enhanced by reusing part of the WWII runway and infrastructure.

Pull handles with a stainless steel finish from Alpro Architectural Hardware have been used at a new hangar within Stansted Airport.

The hangar and associated office complex are owned by an international business tycoon and the new facility will also function as a fixed base operator (FBO) within the airport. The hangar houses a Gulfstream jet, one of the world’s most advanced business aircraft.

The hangar and ancillary building doors are benefiting from Alpro’s Impressionist 05 series pull handles which are constructed from 304-grade stainless steel. Finishes can be satin anodised, satin stainless, polished stainless, powder coated or nylon coated.

The handles are supplied with bolt-thro or back-to-back finishing as standard with appropriate fixings to suit all possible door materials. The Stansted customer has opted for the 05 (semi-circular) series, specified with a distance of 300mm between the fixing points of the handles.

As a UK producer based in Poole, Dorset, Alpro prides itself on having a wide range of nylon-coated colour options immediately available. Clients who wish to match their corporate livery can specify colours according to the RAL system and have their orders completed to short lead times.

The construction project at Stansted involved a workforce of more than 200 and was delivered ahead of schedule with much of the m & e expertise coming from the surrounding counties of Essex and Hertfordshire. The whole jet centre has been designed along sustainable lines; heating and cooling systems have the minimum possible carbon footprint and sustainability was enhanced by reusing part of the WWII runway and infrastructure.

The mobile phone can be used for a variety of things; the technology used in these devices lets its users to access typical things that were used only on their desktops or laptops, is now being used on their Smartphone. The following are some positive impacts of Smartphones.

• Increases productivity: Smartphones such as iPhone, Samsung Galaxy S3, Sony Ericsson Xperia X2 made easy to work from anywhere at any time with the help of its inbuilt features and application support that aid in accessing multiple office functions such as PowerPoint, e-mail support, Excel, Word, organiser and so on.
• Social engagement: These days’ Smartphone serves as the most popular form to maintain relationship all over the world. The latest technologies that are used in these devices help in connecting the user to different social networking channels and provide easy access and simple operation with touch support.
• Personal development: Smart device allows its users to access the internet and provide useful information that could be used for personal development such as education, researches, medical fields, finances and so on.
• Gaming: Different studies on the impact of Smartphones revealed that around 64% mobile phone users use it for gaming, playing music and browsing rather than making calls. They are also used by many people to make extra cash playing online games or at least they play games for fun.
• Entertainment: As latest mobile devices supports audio, video content, a study says that around 55% people use these devices to browse video or music files and watch them. You can even make digital purchases of movies, TV shows, music albums or e-Books for real time entertainment.
• Maps: Maps for mobile devices offer you to stay connected, get information on local places, provides easy turn by turn GPS navigation, allow you to discover great offers and one of the obvious benefits is– it helps in locating the destination taking instructions either in text format or following voice commands. Maps provide information on location around you in three views: Indoor maps, 3D maps and street maps.

In todays’ world having Smartphone is essential to enjoy the comforts of your life through your device by operating them with your fingertips. If you don’t have enough money to buy latest Smartphone which help in fulfilling your requirements, try considering various financing options to buy the phone you desire.

About the Author:
This post has been submitted by Maria Rodriguez, Maria is a professional blogger for finance, technology, and travel categories and her interests include mountaineering, skydiving and surfing. She is researching on PPI claims and its impact on personal finances.  Reach her @financeport