Canary Wharf utilises Y-cam IP cameras for comms room motion detection alerts
Posted on Tuesday, September 15th, 2009
Canary Wharf is a thriving space and vibrant business district located on 96 acres of reclaimed docklands in central London. The site includes a wide range of shops, offices, restaurants, pubs and wine bars, as well as healthcare and leisure facilities. On any working day over 85,000 people either visit or are working on the site, therefore safety and security is of paramount importance.
Within the district there are areas of floor space dedicated to communications for numerous Canary Wharf systems and access to these areas is restricted due to the value and importance of the equipment within. The communication areas are monitored by traditional access control methods such as swipe card technology, however there is no way of being able to see what is going on or being alerted when motion is detected. The aim was to find a cost-effective monitoring solution that could solve the potential issues :
- Unauthorised access to the communication rooms/cabinets.
- Unauthorised works within the communication areas.
- Untidy work or poor workmanship within these areas.
- Litter and obstacles within the areas.
- Health and safety, work permit compliance within the communication rooms.
- Potential for sabotage.
Canary Wharf Group PLC required some way of monitoring the different sites simultaneously from more than one location. After researching the market and evaluating several IP camera manufacturers, Y-cam was chosen above the competition. The products were installed in the communication rooms to allow the monitoring of the servers and other devices to ensure that only authorised personnel are performing maintenance. Other advantages of installing Y-cam cameras include :
- Movement detection – Email notifications mean that we only respond when we have to.
- Low light performance – Works well in the many different environments.
- Excellent value-for-money – The best quality and features in their price range.
- Simple deployment – there is always network presence in the communication rooms.
- The cameras enable security staff to keep a keen eye on exactly what the engineers do in the rooms.
- The management team can now view more than several rooms from a central location which results in a more productive use of their time.
- No more rushing across sites to check out reported incidences which turn out to be false alarms.
A Canary Wharf rep stated “If unauthorised motion is detected, a number of security staff are notified immediately on their BlackBerrys with an image of what happened. We have been impressed by the Y-cam IP cameras and have since decided this is the way forward to help us in controlling the estate patch rooms infrastructure.”
About Canary Wharf Group plc
CWG is an integrated property development, investment and management group of companies. It is focused on the design, construction, leasing and management of Grade A office space and high-quality retail and leisure facilities on its 97 acre Estate in East London.
Over the past 20 years CWG has regenerated derelict wharves into one of the world’s premier business districts, constructing over 15 million square feet of office and retail space – more than any other company in London.
Canary Wharf is home to many of the world’s leading business organisations, including in the professional services, media, law, energy, financial services and transport sectors. It is also home to over 200 shops, bars, cafes and restaurants, including many of Britain’s leading brands.
The Estate includes 20 acres of landscaped parks and plazas. Canary Wharf hosts over 180 events a year and has one of the UK’s largest collections of public art.
