from cutting-edge to off-the-shelf

Building Operating Management, Mar 2005

Though facilities executives who deploy these new CCTV and video technologies will most likely do so with the goal of preventing security breaches, how the video is recorded and saved is still a critical consideration. While digital recording and storing techniques have increased the ease with which video can be accessed, technologies such as virtual guard tours and pre-alarm recording make video storage even more efficient.

A virtual guard tour eliminates the need for a security guard to do the traditional facility walk-through at scheduled times. A digital video recorder can be programmed to flash in sequence to each of any number of cameras linked at any interval a user chooses. The video can either be recorded or physically monitored, or both. Virtual guard tours reduce the need for expensive capacity on recording equipment because not every camera has to be recorded all the time. And it allows the guard more flexibility to monitor the access points deemed most critical.

Pre-alarm recording also saves money on recording capacity because it constantly records and then deletes video, unless something important happens. "If an alarm goes off, the system starts saving the image several minutes before the alarm occurred, instead of dumping images," says Paul Martin, director of marketing for Honeywell. "Someone can see what happened before, during and after the event."

Of course, pre-alarm recording technology assumes integration of CCTVand a recording device with an alarm or other intrusion detection system. In the past, alarm systems and alarm verification were often an inexact science. Facilities executives may have spent thousands of dollars per year for local law enforcement agencies responding to false alarms, and law enforcement agencies have become increasingly hesitant to respond to alarms without verification.

Now, if an alarm is triggered, video can be automatically sent to cellular phones, PDAs, laptops or other devices so that facilities executives can decide how to respond. "Alarm verification is increasingly important, especially off premises," says David Avritt, president of SentryNet and chair of the SIA monitoring industry group. "If guards aren't used, traditionally the police have been relied upon to respond to alarms. Video is the bridge."

But even if there is a 24-hour guard whose job is alarm verification and response, integrated video and alarms systems can help immediately target security breaches so that the guard can react quickly and prevent property loss, or worse. And access control systems can be programmed to lock certain areas of the facility to help limit the search for a perpetrator.

INTEGRATING SYSTEMS

Like other elements of the total security package, access control devices are being more commonly integrated with all other aspects of a facility's security plan. Over the past five years, we've seen a real drive to system integration where access control is linked to video systems," says Avritt. 'Technology is moving so fast, end-users are having trouble keeping up."