8 minute read
Video System Monitors Students
Campus-surveillance system upgrade to digital technology provides efficient control and management.
The video wall in the public-safety dispatch center has eight 55-in. monitors and four 32-in. monitors, with two 19-in. monitors. Video can be pushed back and forth between the monitor wall and the operator consoles to track specific activities of interest. P rotecting the collective 30,000-plus students, faculty, and staff at the various Missouri State Univ. campuses is a daunting job that requires the best in personnel and technology. From its founding in 1905 to its distinctive mission and identity in public affairs today, the university has spread across four physical campus locations, including the main campus in Springfield, MO; a satellite campus in West Plains, MO, that offers two-year associate degrees; and a satellite campus in Mountain Grove, MO, that focuses on fruit science and agricultural research. The fourth campus is located in Dalian, China, in partnership with Liaoning Normal Univ. A total of 23,838 students are enrolled in Missouri State in the university’s domestic campuses, with approximately 4,000 students living in university housing and approximately 4,000 faculty and staff members.
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One of the most recent enhancements to the university’s safety program occurred when the video-surveillance and security system was upgraded from an analog to a digital platform. The new video-surveillance system has been initially deployed at the main campus in Springfield, where a centralized public-safety dispatch center was installed. At the heart of the public-safety dispatch center is a video wall that displays feeds from the more than 500 constant and motion-activated cameras located throughout the 225-acre campus. To efficiently con
trol, manage, and record the large number of cameras deployed in the system, the university installed OnSSI’s, Pearl River, NY, Ocularis video management system (VMS).
“Much of the credit for MSU moving toward OnSSI rests with our own university telecommunication specialists,” said Jay L. Huff, assistant director, Department of Safety and Transportation, MSU. “Their technical knowledge and assistance has been instrumental in making this transition happen.”
The university’s cameras are monitored live on a 24/7 basis and recorded to a server. The video wall in the public-safety dispatch center has eight 55-in. monitors and four 32-in. monitors, with two 19-in. monitors. Video can be pushed back and forth between the monitor wall and the operator consoles to track specific activities.
“One of the things that really intrigued us was the ease in pulling up individual camera feeds to specific monitors in our dispatch center,” said Huff.
Live feeds are directed to the public-safety dispatch center, where they can be viewed on two desktop monitors on both dispatch consoles. Satellite monitoring stations are located in various academic buildings, allowing campus security and/or administration personnel to view cameras locally as well as from the public-safety dispatch center.
“Compared to the older analog-matrix switching system we were using, the new digital architecture and video-management platform is very user friendly and much more efficient,” said Jacob Welch, radio communications supervisor, MSU. “We can now easily scan through the live or recorded video, or move it from the monitor wall to a console monitor for upclose viewing.”
Conversion of the video-surveillance system to digital is an on-going process that started more than two years ago and is being handled by Netwatch Inc., Springfield, MO, a systems integrator. To date, more than 300 of the 500 video-surveillance cameras have been converted to IP (Internet protocol) technology. Future plans include integrating the video-surveillance system with other security systems around the campus, such as the blue-light and emergency phones, as well as the access-control system. The system will also eventually be expanded to include the additional satellite campuses using the IP architecture and video-management system.
“Our goal is to have less infrastructure and more security,” added Welch. “IP surveillance with the Ocularis video-management software is a cost-effective and efficient solution to achieve this goal.”
The Ocularis video-management platform is designed with open architecture to optimize and ease system integration and place all facets of the campus security under one umbrella for improved control and access. The system is also highly scalable and will enable MSU to continue adding IP and/or analog cameras as needed, without having to incur substantial costs for cabling, power, or installation. Once all of the campuses on are the network, any of the cameras at any of the locations will be accessible to authorized personnel through a web browser.
When ready, the university will also be able to deploy the system as a mobile application using Ocularis Mobile. The mobile client allows real-time wireless streaming in HD of as many as 16 cameras simultaneously onto an iPad or iPhone. Mobile apps can be used for security at special events or in emergency-response programs. The video is recorded live and sent to the server with the capability for reviewing footage captured as many as 20 min. prior to an incident.
Currently, video footage from the system is used by MSU for a number of purposes including promoting and publicizing the school’s extensive security measures. For instance, the communications personnel in the dispatch center often observe suspicious activity in parking lots that leads them to dispatch field officers to investigate. In another case, video footage captured by the university’s video-surveillance system was instrumental in providing evidence about a work-related accident. According to Welch, when a security officer fell on an ice-covered parking deck, the incident was captured by their video-surveillance system and the footage helped to substantiate his claim. “We are excited about all the potential and continuing improvements that OnSSI provides,” said Huff. “I feel that we are moving from an older standard system to a more modern, advanced system that will enhance our campus-safety platform.”
Universities today are facing challenges that range from safety and security to financial and academic misconduct. The vision and integrity of Missouri State Univ. have put the school on a solid track to keep these issues at bay, and the video-management platform is playing an important role in the process. CBP
DATA CACHE
Want more information? The resources below are linked in our digital magazine at cbpmagazine.com/digital/julaug2014.
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Experience Ocularis software through a complete overview.
Visit OnSSI’s video center to watch several videos and tutorials. Below. Communications personnel in the dispatch center often observe suspicious activity that leads them to dispatch fi eld offi cers to further investigate.
Above. Conversion of the video-surveillance system to digital is an on-going process that started more than two years ago. To date, more than 300 of the 500 video- surveillance cameras have been converted to IP technology.
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