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To help with monitoring the large numbers of people attracted to The Gate, around 150 CCTV cameras have been installed throughout the facility. The complete system also comprises 5 x 32-Channel 800 Gb Integral DVX recorders, one x 16-Channel 240 Gb recorder and 3 x Oasis graphical operator workstations.

"The prominence of the cameras, combined with a high profile manned security presence, helps to provide a secure environment for the thousands of people of all ages who visit The Gate each week," states Mike Varney, Land Securities' senior electrical engineer.

"One of the major benefits of Andover's Integral system is the simplicity of reconfiguration. This flexibility was invaluable when we were translating a two-dimensional plan into a three-dimensional reality," adds Varney.

All CCTV images are monitored from a central, dedicated Control Room in addition to a second workstation located in The Gate car park's security office. "The clarity of the images is very good," stresses Darren Frost-Younger, technical services manager at The Gate.

"We can view everything that goes on both within and around the complex. A good example of the system working at its best was shown only recently, when a lady fainted in one of the lifts. The incident was caught on camera and a member of our Security Department was with her on scene in less than a minute. She was then taken to our medical facility and looked after until she had fully recovered. It's incidents like that which serve to highlight how important the system really is."

Using motion-activated cameras
Another major benefit of Integral is the end user's ability to ensure that there are no security breaches at the time when the centre closes in the early hours. Motion-activated cameras make certain that the integrity of the building is maintained as the many external doors are systematically closed and then locked.

The Integral system provides Land Securities with 31 days of online hard disk drive storage, as well as video multiplexing, video switching and PTZ control on all cameras. The all-in-one solution doesn't require third party video matrix switchers or telemetry control equipment, so the client benefits from hardware cost savings – as well as the added (and quite crucial) advantage of dealing with just one supplier.

"In addition to hardware savings, there are no ongoing tape management costs, and the ability to instantly access and retrieve stored data is invaluable," adds Mike Varney. "We've also been impressed with Chubb Electronic Security. The system installation was carried out in an extremely professional manner, while the ongoing service we have received is of a similarly high standard."

DVX 4000: helping to avoid a tragedy waiting to happen
Medhurst row is situated on the Tonbridge to Redhill railway line in Kent. It's one of many unmanned crossings that are to be found on the rail network. Vehicle drivers wishing to cross the line use the trackside telephone to check with the nearest signal box that the track is clear. Once given permission, they then open the gates, drive over the railway line and close the gate on the other side before moving on.

Usage analysis appears to suggest that unauthorised crossings are being made during the day. As such, near misses, objects abandoned on the track, gates left ajar and the use of the crossing without telephoning the signal box for permission to do so are all cause for alarm. Each incident is a potential disaster.

To fully understand what's happening at Medhurst Row, investigate incidents and (ultimately) enable the authorities to take action against offenders, Andover Controls has now installed a CCTV system at the crossing. Two unobtrusive, vandal-proof cameras with auto-iris lenses and separate LED illuminators are linked to an Integral DVX 4000 digital recorder complete with built-in modem and CD/RW drive. The camera lenses compensate automatically for variable light conditions, including the hours of darkness – allowing useable images to be archived on a round-the-clock basis.

The DVX 4000 recording equipment and the power supply are both installed in a trackside cabinet. The recorder archives up to one week of normal crossing activity using the image motion-activated method to trigger recording. The amount of recording time can be extended as and when required. No external sensors are needed to trigger the recording. Trigger sensitivity is adjusted for various parts of each camera's view, which eliminates the unnecessary recording of the movement of trees or small animals.

Accessing the recorded images
Archived images are accessed locally using a laptop computer, or remotely via a telephone link using an internal PSTN modem. Higher speed connections may also be used as standard where available.

Today, when a rail operator receives a 'near miss' call from the train driver, they use Integral's freely-available RemoteView workstation software to instantly access the recorded video on the DVX, and to download the period relating to the event.

Video clips or single still-frame images of incidents are easily identified, isolated and exported locally via the built-in CD writer and floppy disk drive respectively.

As RemoteView also allows operators to access the live cameras at the Medhurst Row crossing, both time and money are saved in the investigation of hoax telephone calls reporting objects or incidents on the tracks.

During the first ten days immediately after RemoteView was installed, two occurrences of misuse had already been recorded. On one occasion, a person crossing without obtaining permission cleared the track just before a train thundered past. In both cases, registration details of the vehicles involved were captured and passed on to the British Transport Police.

"This system is really proving its worth," says Integral's development manager Graham Porter. "In addition to identifying crossing misuse, it's also being deployed to discourage fly tipping and railway crime."