Industry Vertical
My New Friends
Tradeshows provide many different opportunities
- By Ralph C. Jensen
- Dec 01, 2015
Providing security for a
house of worship wasn’t
on my radar until recently.
Dylann Roof changed
all that when he opened
fire on the Emanuel African Methodist
Episcopal Church in downtown
Charleston, S.C.
Nine people died that day, and security
in a church setting has been on my
mind ever since.
I’ve been to a lot of tradeshows over
the years, and each year at ISC West,
I notice two or three guys walking the
show floor, dressed in orange garb. Not
really knowing who they are, I managed
to bump into Kaivalyamurti KV
Swami last April. We talked about security,
and became fast friends. To KV,
security is critical, and has taken keen
interest in searching for the optimal
products or solutions for the requirements
at hand.
I asked KV how he and his associates
tackle security. After all, a house of
worship is typically an open venue and
expected to be safe.
“We believe that pre-emptive measures
with the use of smart security,
such as alarms and analytics,” he said.
“Good lighting, perimeter security, vigilance
and visual deterrents are all part
of it.”
Like anyone who installs security
equipment, or wants it installed, a definition
of requirements and results are
needed when specifying equipment.
KV said that trials and demos make all
the difference, as well as education and
experience. With agreed upon requirements,
KV Swami and his team are able
to achieve their desired goal.
For instance, BAPS Swaminarayan
Sanstha runs its video surveillance systems
off a dedicated security subnet
with Cat6 Ethernet cabling. The video
is displayed on monitors in the security
booth and recorded to Veracity COLDSTORE
surveillance storage. With
their integrator, Best Communications
Network partnered with Axis Communications
to create a hybrid solution
with cameras and video encoders. The
cameras blend seamlessly into the surrounding
architecture.
Jay Patel, CEO of Best said you
wouldn’t even notice the security solutions
unless you were looking for them.
The effectiveness of an IP system
was put to the test and passed recently.
A thief broke into the BAPS donation
box, stealing all the cash from the Stafford,
Texas facility. Because of that
incident, BAPS installed several AXIS
M1054 network cameras with PIR
sensors for motion detection over the
donation box. When and if the system
was triggered, built-in LED illuminators
lighted up and a prerecorded
message would sound. Certainly now,
no one would try and steal from the
donation box, but on the very night
that the system was installed, the thief
returned to the scene of the first theft
only to have the lights illuminate and
the sound caught his attention when he
turned around. Even though the thief
ran away empty handed, an image of
his face was captured and proved to law
enforcement. The thief never returned.
BAPS also included the Genetec Security
Center VMS because of the ease
in controlling the cameras, the ability
to create event triggers and make use of
hardware features offered by the cameras
and access control devices.
Part of the security goals at BAPS
is to preserve the beauty of the buildings.
BAPS Swaminarayan Sanstha is a
worldwide Hindu faith-based organization.
Previously under surveillance with
analog CCTV cameras, the Swamis
only saw poor image quality and operated
without camera intelligence. With
this type of solution, the system was ineffective
and purely reactive.
“While I don’t have a background in
security operations, I have picked it up
out of self-learning and necessity,” KV
said. “We had analog systems, but they
were not serving our needs and were
not delivering video quality we needed.
I started to ask around and explore the
IP security industry back in 2009. I attended
ASIS in Anaheim for the first
time and met some amazing people
who helped me kick-start my journey
in the security industry.
“We also look for any new solutions
that may be useful to us. In 2010, we
opted to go with IP-based equipment
only.”
Each BAPS campus is a meticulously constructed place of worship called
Mandirs. They are built from Turkish
limestone and Italian marble (Safford,
Texas) and pink sandstone (Chino
Hills, Calif.). This is another place
where security plays a major role. Damage
or harm to a building is a concern
because of the ornate construction.
The old system provided nothing in
the way of intelligence. With Axis partner
Preferred Technologies, the Texas
site began to render high resolution images.
BAPS added the Theia varifocal
9 to 40mm lens to capture more footage
from a greater distance. BAPS also
employed software developed by Preferred
Technologies, which, when the
system is triggered, an image is pulled
and instantly sent by email to the proper
authority.
“It is great to get an alarm of an
event on your perimeter, but it’s a huge
negative if you can’t visually assess it
quickly,” said Grady Jett, vice president
of sales at Preferred Technologies. “We
always try to pair intrusion detection
with visual assessment. Axis cameras
with cross-line detection enable us to
do that.”
Cross-line detection also is used
to trigger a physical alarm system
that run through the I/O ports of an
Axis fixed dome network camera. The
camera is configured to function as a
switch, and when the line is tripped,
the Genetec VMS initiates a siren and
strobe light to warn away intruders. At
the Chino Hills, Calif., site, the BAPS
community turned to an intelligent
outdoor surveillance solution from
SightLogix. Because the temple is
constructed of pink sandstone blocks,
sent from India one-by-one and hand
crafted, the need for security has never
been greater. Six SightLogix cameras
are positioned on 30-foot poles
around the perimeter.
KV Swami said that going with this
system would give the temple staff views
of the entire perimeter, and they have
the option of reviewing these areas visually.
Most importantly, however, it gives
them an early notice of an intrusion so
any damages can be prevented.
This article originally appeared in the December 2015 issue of Security Today.