Holding Your Currency
Company dedicated to protection of people, assets and reputations
- By Daniel Bachmann
- May 01, 2017
If you know GardaWorld, it’s likely because you’ve been behind
one of their ubiquitous and hard to miss red and white armored
trucks as they go about the business of being North America’s
largest cash-handling service provider. At hundreds of facilities
and handling centers in the United States and Canada, the company
processes currency for an entire continent, monitored by complex
video surveillance technologies, working together to ensure the
integrity of their processes and operations.
Headquartered in Montreal, the company provides business solutions
and security services through the efforts of more than 62,000
staff globally, making GardaWorld one of the largest privatelyowned
security companies in the world, dedicated to the protection
of people, assets and reputations on a daily basis and performing
critical tasks to protect and secure all three in an increasingly chaotic
world.
When the time came to upgrade existing video surveillance operations
for the company’s cash handling business as well as installations
for the company’s newest sites, the task was complex with unique requirements
and a massive scale spanning two countries. The company’s
exceptional footprint and storied legacy in North America
meant there was a highly varied set of conditions and requirements
for optimizing video surveillance operations.
With a mix of existing analog and digital surveillance in existing
facilities and requirements for initial installations in newer facilities,
GardaWorld articulated complex security needs for more than 250
individual sites throughout Canada and the United States, each requiring
high quality video surveillance and networking with a mix
of analog and digital technology.Within individual facilities, existing
video surveillance reflected a substantial level of upgrade complexity.
The number of cameras at each site varied, with additional variances
in age and operations for prior installations. Due to the nature of
security operations, it was imperative that no interruption of security
monitoring would occur during any technology transition. Further,
the rollout of technology upgrades would require training for operators
and monitors of surveillance equipment at various locations, a
potential challenge given the scale of the endeavor.
“GardaWorld is a known global leader in security, cash logistics
and cash management, with a reputation for excellence and customer satisfaction in all we do,” said Guy Côté,
vice president and chief security officer for
GardaWorld. “The safety and security of
both our customers’ assets and the employees
in our family is our paramount concern.
So it is no exaggeration to say that our standards
are high when it comes to the security
solutions we, in turn, deploy to secure our
own operations.”
After an extended evaluation period,
GardaWorld selected IDIS to craft the comprehensive
solution needed to meet these requirements.
The comprehensive nature of the
total solution provides end-to-end analog and
IP options—cameras, recorders, monitors,
software and accessories—all designed, developed
and manufactured in-house, guaranteeing
seamless, plug-and-play interoperability
and guaranteed backward compatibility for
customers with complex requirements.
A team from IDIS worked closely with
Côté and other stakeholders to craft a customized
solution able to meet each specific
requirement and deliver a holistically improved
security environment. Upgrading
the legacy video surveillance solution across
their 250-plus sites required initial installations
of more than 700 IDIS cameras and
the establishment of two major central monitoring
facilities. The inter-compatibility of
the analog and IP components of the IDIS
Total Solution allowed the powerful and intuitive
VMS solutions IDIS DirectCX and
IDIS Solution Suite to harmonize new and
existing technology for monitoring at the
company’s central facilities. DirectCX TVRs
were installed at legacy sites to ensure zero
downtime for video surveillance capabilities,
and DirectIP NVRs, purpose-built for ease
and speed of installation and auto-configuration,
installed quickly, addressing downtime
concerns.
The IDIS solution selected by Garda-
World proved an economical choice as well,
delivering IDIS’s multiple award-winning
technologies with a low total cost of ownership,
due to a reduction of cabling cost
thanks to IDIS DirectCX TVRs, the lack of
any annual service management agreement
or licensing fees for most IDIS technology,
and the reduced training time required by
IDIS’s plug-and-play design, reduced overall
complexity, and unified UX across software
and platforms.
The abilities of the powerfully modular
and customizable IDIS Total Solution
proved an ideal fit for the company’s security
needs, delivering benefits from the
start, and are still ongoing. GardaWorld
benefitted from worry free integration of
existing technologies and the installation of
a flexible, customized solution that blended
analog HD-TVI technology with next-generation
IP networked surveillance, as appropriate
to each site, linked and managed by
the powerful and highly customizable IDIS
Solution Suite VMS. The installation met
the company’s requirements for seamless
upgrade and technology handover, minimizing
downtime and supporting the critical
nature of operations.
“The solution IDIS crafted [is meeting]
our high standards and more with a surveillance
offering that is as committed to our
security requirements as we are,” Côté said.
“The technology delivers powerful features
and capabilities in a variety of ways that meet
needs as diverse as our differing locations
and custom requirements. Whether analog
or IP networked solutions, new installations
or upgrades, or at urban or remote sites, the
IDIS solution has proven flexible, scalable,
and customizable to deliver the appropriate
technology in the ideal way for each requirement.
We are pleased with the partnership
we have created with IDIS over the past year
and look forward to the continued benefit
we’ll receive from current and planned installations
of this technology.”
The facilities now benefit from modernized,
functionally rich cameras and recording
devices that deliver clearer and smoother
surveillance and hasten an operator‘s ability
to identify and mitigate potential incidents
and fully review and respond to questions
about operational security. The seamless integration
under IDIS’s powerful connectivity
and simplified installation and use has reduced
training time for staff and eliminated
the most common headaches associated with
mass upgrades and new installations of security
technology. Better surveillance and
security operations for pass through to a
more secure position for staff and customer
assets around the world, further confirming
GardaWorld’s place as a market and innovation
leader in the security space.
“GardaWorld’s reputation as a global
leader in the security space preceded it and
it has been our honor to partner with them
to maximize safety and security,” said Andrew
Myung, president of IDIS America,
characterizing the international project as a
partnership first and foremost. “As a security
company, they speak the same language we
do, and share the same values and commitments.
We are proud of what we have done
with GardaWorld so far and look forward to
our future work with them.”
The project is ongoing. Current installations
now include more than 800 IDIS
cameras and recorders, a number that will
continue to grow with
ongoing and planned
installations well into
2017.
This article originally appeared in the May 2017 issue of Security Today.