Broadband supplier TalkTalk’s new London head office building has CCTV designed and installed by Keyways.
The new building was acquired by TalkTalk as part of the process of a de-merger from Carphone Warehouse and as a result 850 Talk Talk staff have moved into the seven storey building in Evesham Street, W11.
According to Michael Greaves a Director of Altringham-based Keyways, the CCTV system has proved to be a great success despite the fact that the building presented a number of challenges. “The building is extensively glazed and we therefore needed to select cameras with powerful backlight compensation capabilities to be able to deliver high resolution color images even on the sunniest of days.”
Michael Greaves’ research led him to single source all the newly installed cameras from Samsung. “We chose the SID-560 fixed dome camera to solve the particular problem of direct sunlight as well as reflections. The SID-560 has a colour resolution specification of 560TV lines but most importantly, it has an impressive Wide Dynamic Range (WDR) function which performs very well with challenging back light conditions.”
Six SID-560s were installed where cameras needed to face directly towards glazed areas whilst nineteen SID-370 fixed domes were tasked to provide coverage of other parts of the building. The SID-370 is a day/night fixed dome with a 37x zoom capability. To complete the coverage, Keyways installed two Samsung SIR-60 cameras with built-in IR LED lighting to ensure control room operators can view any activity at night in the darkened staircase fire door areas.
“An additional problem for us was one of aesthetics,” added Michael. “As it is their head office building, TalkTalk quite rightly wanted to see a very neat installation with no unsightly cable runs. The challenge for us was that there are no false ceilings where cables can be concealed. Fortunately the Samsung cameras can be fitted with galvanized back boxes which can be installed into ceilings and walls. It meant a lot of work for our installation team but resulted in a completed system that looks and performs very well.”
The video from all the cameras are monitored twenty-four hours a day by security personnel located at the building’s reception. For evidence purposes, the video is recorded and stored on two Samsung SVR-1645 DVRs, each of which has the ability to record video to 4-CIF resolution. The SVR-1645 also provides the option to simultaneously record audio on all sixteen channels and has an audio detection feature so that recording can be triggered by the sound input when it reaches a specific level. Algorithms unique to Samsung, equip the SVR-1645 with multi-streaming real-time monitoring over a network whilst the CMS (Centralised Management Software) supplied with the DVRs provides out-of-the-box network capability for all the connected Samsung products.
TalkTalk’s Regional Facilities Manager Jill Tucker said: “We wanted a high performance CCTV system that could provide our on-site security personnel with a valuable tool in their efforts to create a safe environment for our staff as well as to protect our assets. I am pleased to say that the equipment recommended and installed by Keyways is certainly performing well against the agreed criteria.”
The CCTV system has been integrated with a Mifare access control system to ensure authorised staff and guests can be identified and allowed access to all areas of the building whilst unwanted visitors are prevented from going beyond the building’s reception area.
Notes: Altrincham CCTV, fire and security specialists Keyways is a security and alarm company. The company designs intruder and fire alarms, CCTV systems, access controls, barriers and gate automation and where required has the expertise to engineer what the firm calls a fully integrated security solution. Visit www.keyways.co.uk
