Providing Security
Making effective security integral to healthcare, corporate and education campuses
- By Greg Peratt
- Aug 01, 2012
IP technology makes it easier to secure a campus environment.
This is true even for very large corporate, healthcare
and education campuses where many points of security
concern are spread across large geographic areas. With a
campus-wide IP network, access to any point, anywhere on
campus, is as close as the nearest desktop terminal, or even
handheld device. Benefits for video surveillance and security
are especially important, but networking also provides a
starting point for new campus-wide solutions that incorporate
other IP systems as well.
The information network is the nervous system of today’s
campus environment. With the growth of enterprise IT, campuses
are now viewed more holistically, with security being an integral
component of overall operations. Acknowledging and responding
to this significant change is critical to expanding the value of
video systems in the broader campus environment. The purchasing
decision on new equipment, including video systems along
with a range of other system solutions, depends on a rigorous,
enterprise-driven process of demonstrating solutions that deliver
a high return on investment. Fortunately, video plays especially
well in that environment.
Networked video should become an integral part of the information
infrastructure of any campus, providing benefits that extend beyond security. Focusing on the
broader array of benefits can enhance
cost-justification strategies. Video and
data can be integrated with other applications
such as process management, human
resources and access control systems.
Protecting Healthcare
Campuses
Hospital and other healthcare campuses
are especially challenging environments
for a range of video applications. Areas
such as the emergency room are fastpaced
and unpredictable places where the
dramas of daily life can spill over into the
public facility. A hospital’s campus setting
requires broad security awareness across a
large geographic area that includes a range
of lighting and environmental conditions.
Hospitals also must manage liability costs
related to hospital visitors and staff, and
respect patient privacy. This variety of factors
specific to the healthcare environment
can impact the choice of a video surveillance
system in addition to all the necessary
technology considerations.
There are cameras available to fit any
need across a healthcare campus. For
example, cameras that provide wider dynamic
range can provide better video in
extreme lighting conditions. This is important,
for example, in a backlighting
situation, when there is bright light behind
a subject. The camera can see the darker
areas clearly, which might affect the
resolution of the face of someone coming
through the glass door of a hospital.
High-definition (HD) cameras provide
greater resolution to see more detail in an
image, which might be important in an application
that involves reading a distant
license plate. Some cameras are designed
to withstand abuse, and some are specially
rated to withstand environmental factors
such as humidity and dust.
New technology enhancements also
have a positive impact on the ways cameras
are used in the healthcare campus environment.
For example, the familiar PTZ
cameras can be directed manually to zero
in on anything of interest. Today, PTZ
cameras with auto-tracking functionality
can follow people automatically as they
move around a property.
Increased intelligence inside new cameras
also provides benefits. Video motion
detection inside intelligent cameras can
alert staff if patients are mobile in areas
where they should be resting.
Smarter IP cameras may include a
privacy-masking option inside the camera.
Various areas in an image, such as
the door to a patient’s room or a patient’s
window viewed from the outside, can be
masked electronically in the camera’s image
to ensure privacy.
Besides security, video cameras are
used throughout healthcare campuses for
numerous tasks, such as remote conferencing
or broadcasting from an operating
suite during surgery. Networking of
healthcare systems, including emergency
response and communication, enables security
staff to call these IP cameras into
duty in an emergency situation to serve as
surveillance cameras.
Corporate Campus
Solutions
Video is also an important element in
system solutions for corporate campuses.
Beyond security, video surveillance that
spans the campus can help to monitor
business operations, oversee and manage
staff and provide evidence to mitigate liability
claims, such as those related to slipand-
fall accidents.
IP networking enables interaction of
security systems with other business systems
such as IP phone systems, video
conferencing systems, interactive whiteboards
used for meetings and conferences,
and training room audio systems. In an
emergency situation, for example, an instructor
could notify authorities using a
duress signal from a whiteboard or a pendant
microphone, simultaneously activating
surveillance cameras. IP-based phone
systems have LCD displays, which can be
interfaced with video cameras for remote
monitoring.
Today’s IP video systems also are scalable
and future-proof. In a campus environment,
it is possible to install a small system
now and build it over time to other areas
of the campus as additional funds become
available, while maintaining the benefits of
an efficient and well-designed system.
Intelligent video offers many benefits
for corporate campuses. Video analytics
can be used to create an alarm when an
object is moved. Video might be used to
monitor expensive equipment at a remote
location or to watch vehicles that should
be left parked for only a specified time
limit. Video can provide alarms when an
object is left behind, such as a mysterious
briefcase or other packages that might
represent a security threat. Alarms also
can be generated if someone crosses a virtual
line or moves in a certain direction.
Educational Campuses
Keeping educational campuses safe is the
primary mission for campus video surveillance
systems, but the benefits of video on
campus also extend beyond security. Video
surveillance provides real-time information
to campus police and administrators
about what’s going on in the multiple
buildings and remote corners of a sprawling
campus. Response can be proactive
rather than reactive.
Education campuses are typically open
to anyone, so monitoring who comes and
goes using video is useful for preventative
security. Video can provide an early warning
if something is amiss. Access to camera
views from all over the campus are as close
as the nearest computer or handheld device.
Classroom safety is vital, but the classroom
has typically not been included in
video surveillance systems because of
privacy concerns. However, there are now
systems that provide privacy “eyelids”
around video surveillance cameras that
remain closed to ensure privacy until activated
to open by an alarm. Classroom
audiovisual systems can be integrated with
video security systems, too. Panic alarms
from an interactive whiteboard or a pendant
microphone worn by the instructor
can alert authorities of an emergency and
activate cameras to provide real-time video
as an emergency situation unfolds.
Integration of Video Campus-Wide
Today’s video cameras provide clear, easily
identifiable images that can boost the
security of any campus environment. Beyond
security, video provides additional
“eyes” that can potentially see anywhere
on campus regardless of geographic location.
Operational and efficiency advantages
extend beyond the security department.
Integration of video in a campus-wide IP
network enables interface of video with
other campus systems. The common use
of IP enables telephone systems, audiovisual
systems, video conferencing and
other systems to interact with video for
a broader system solution
that serves multiple
needs campus-wide.
This article originally appeared in the August 2012 issue of Security Today.