LV= invests in Open Platform Camera Technology

LV= has invested in Open Platform camera technology to ensure that the new video surveillance system recently installed at its head office in Bournemouth, is future proof.

Utilising WiseNetIII Open Platform cameras from Hanwha Techwin Europe, the new system installed at Frizzell House, County Gates, Bournemouth, provides LV= with the option to deploy edge based Applications at any time in the future if their operational or security requirements change. LV=, which until May 2007 was known as Liverpool Victoria, is one of the United Kingdom's largest insurance companies with over five million customers. It offers a wide range of products from car, home, pet, travel and life insurance, as well as investment and retirement solutions.

Upgrade requirements

CSG Fire and Security Ltd, who have maintained the access control system at  Frizzell House since 2006, were awarded the contract to install the new system. “The brief from the client was that they wanted to invest in a system that could, if necessary, be easily and cost effectively upgraded to take advantage of new video surveillance technologies as and when they become available,” said Alvin Lewis, Operations Manager and Senior Consultant at  CSG.

“As a Gold level member of the Hanwha Techwin STEP partnership programme, we had sufficient experience of installing WiseNetIII cameras to know that we could confidently recommend them to LV=. In addition to being able to capture superb quality high definition images, the WiseNetIII cameras have the processing power to simultaneously run multiple Applications. If they wish, they will therefore allow LV= at some time in the future to utilise the most innovative and up-to-date video analytics Applications available and they won’t need to replace the cameras to do so.”

Full HD cameras

29 WiseNetIII Open Platform Full HD cameras have been installed to enable operators in the Frizzell House control room to monitor activity at the building’s entrances, reception, car park and other public areas. These include SNO-7084R weatherproof IR bullet cameras, SNV-7084 vandal-resistant network domes and SNF-7010 360-degree cameras.

In addition, CSG has installed seven SNP-6320RH Full HD (1920x 1080) auto-tracking speed domes which have built-in IR LEDS which illuminate objects at a distance of up to 150m by focusing the beam as the camera zooms. They are also equipped with an IR corrected lens to ensure sharp night time images even under mixed lighting conditions, such when IR LEDs are operating in low ambient light. These features ensure people, objects and even car number plates can be clearly seen in total darkness. The ability to do so is enhanced by the SNP-6320RH’s 32x optical zoom capability making them an ideal solution for areas such as car parks where high performance PTZ functionality is required.

Operators in the Frizzell House control room are also able to remotely view the images from Samsung cameras installed by CSG at three other LV= buildings in Bournemouth which provide additional office accommodation and operational facilities.  The images captured by the cameras at all four locations are recorded onto Samsung NVRs.

Meeting client expectations

“Our priority was to provide our control room operators and security personnel with the best possible video surveillance system to assist them in their endeavours to maintain a safe environment for our colleagues and visitors,” said Charles Shute, Property and Facilities Operations Manager for LV=. “Technology is advancing at such a rapid rate that we also wanted to ensure that our system did not quickly become out of date.  In both respects, CSG and Hanwha Techwin Europe have very successfully worked as a team to deliver a solution that has easily met our expectations.”