Operations and People
Non-profit organization upgrades to unified security platform to keep volunteer operations secure and efficient
- By Andrew Elvish
- May 01, 2017
God’s Love We Deliver (God’s Love) is a non-sectarian
non-profit organization in New York City that cooks
and home-delivers nutritious meals to people who are
too sick to cook or shop for themselves. A dedicated
full-time staff and over 10,000 volunteers help prepare
and deliver over 1.6 million meals annually. Starting with a $5 million
lead donation from fashion designer Michael Kors, and generous
support from the City and other donors, the organization recently expanded
its operations and rebuilt its headquarters and its security.
In the previous building, the security team relied on a digital video
recorder (DVR) and a buzzer entry system to secure the premises.
There was no way to secure or control internal doors or do any realtime
surveillance, unless someone was sitting at a monitor connected
to the DVR.
Moving forward, the God’s Love team wanted a more advanced
security solution to keep track of everyone coming though the building.
They were looking for intuitive IP video surveillance and access
control systems that could help users to easily manage building access,
and see what’s happening at a moment’s notice.
Working with a local consultant, the team at God’s Love tested
six different systems, comparing costs and features.
“Ultimately, Genetec Security Center stood out as the best. It
was a fully unified security solution that came highly recommended,”
said Pete Tien, network administrator at God’s Love. TRITECH
Communications, a local security solution provider, assisted God’s
Love with the installation of Genetec Security Center with the Omnicast
video surveillance and Synergis access control systems.
Simplifying Building Access for Staff and Volunteers
Today, the God’s Love team relies on the Security Center unified platform
to make sure that operations are running smoothly and that people
are safe. At any time, the team can view video of common areas, the
new conference floor and rooftop events spaces, volunteer workspace,
delivery docks and the building’s perimeter using the Omnicast system.
They use the Synergis system to secure all doors which are set on
a schedule to accommodate volunteer and staff hours. This facilitates
access for people such as kitchen staff and delivery drivers who need
to begin their workday before everyone else at 5 a.m.
Using the Synergis system, the God’s Love team also restricts
floor access from the main elevator. Only full-time staff with permission
can access the office floors, while volunteers are free to come and
go to their working areas.
“Because we have such a huge influx of volunteers, it’s great that
we can configure the system in a way where volunteers don’t feel like
they are being shuttled or restricted, but still offering security for the
rest of the building,” Tien said.
When weddings or corporate events are booked into the conference
floor or the rooftop venue space, the team saves time by enabling
pre-planned event schedules.
“The events we host vary, so we have created templates. Once we
know what’s needed, we can choose a template and tweak it for that
event. It makes everything easier for the operator on duty,” Tien said.
Intuitive Platform Helps Staff Keep an Eye on Events
Having all information in one intuitive platform keeps operations
fluid at God’s Love. TRITECH Communications also integrated a
glass-breaking detection and intercom system to the Security Center
Platform. If someone buzzes at the door, tries to force a door open
or breaks glass panes on the roof terrace, the receptionist or facility
staff are notified immediately.
Users can pull up video and respond from an interactive map of
the building using the Plan Manager map-based interface. “The Plan
Manager map interface is a really great way for us to handle alarms
and manage our events. We have a lot of different levels of users using
the platform, and they’ve all found it very intuitive,” Tien said.
Since implementing Security Center, there have been no major incidents
at God’s Love. However, the team has retrieved high-resolution
video to help local law enforcement solve cases which occurred in the
neighborhood.
The organization has also praised the technical support, and Tien
said that anytime he needed to speak with a support engineer, they
have been very knowledgeable about the system, and the network
too. “Overall, I’ve just been very impressed,” he said.
Evolving into Operational Improvements
As God’s Love continues to evolve its platform, the team is looking
to improve budget management by using access control cards to
track the amount of printing per department. Other system features
such as the Security Center Mobile App could make monitoring even
more convenient for the team.
“Genetec Security Center is a flexible platform with very granular
controls that we can adapt to fit our environment. It’s made it easier for
our team to secure our building, so that staff and volunteers can focus
on helping the people who need us most,” concluded Tien.
Infrastructure at a Glance
TRITECH Communications installed and programmed Security
Center to manage more than 55 doors equipped with HID Global
iCLASS R40 readers, and 55 Axis Communications
network cameras. All video and data stream
over a dedicated security network to Hewlett
Packard servers which provide 10TB of storage
and up to 60 days of archive retention.
This article originally appeared in the May 2017 issue of Security Today.