Security Electronics & Networks Magazine

APRIL 2020 ISSUE 419

INTEGRATING ACCESS, CCTV, AUTOMATION l COVID-19: Security Are Essential Workers l MGA Installs Gallagher At Uni Of Melbourne l Case Study: Parkes Installs Avigilon l Product Review: Tiandy TC-C32GP Bullet l Special Report: Perimeter Fence Maintenance l Analysis: COVID-19 Changes Nothing & Everything l News Report: Body Temperature Cameras l Interview: Luke Kavanagh & Nigel Seager, Sapio l Monitoring: Cometh The Hour, Cometh The Management

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l Product Review: Hikvision 20MP PanoVu Multi-Sensor

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editorial

By John Adams

S E CU RI TY E L ECTR O NI C S & NETWO R KS A PR I L ISSUE 41 9

INTEGRATION: DELIVERING SIMPLICITY FROM COMPLEXITY FFECTIVE electronic security and automation solutions of the future will be those that meet achievable operational goals in the most efficient, secure and manageable ways. However, there’s nothing easy about real-world security integration – in many cases it requires customisation at every point that systems meet, as well as in every layer of a management system.

The user interface is particularly vital. This top layer needs to be powerful enough to liberate underlying functionality without confounding operators in labyrinthine root directories. There’s nothing easy about achieving intuitive system management – it’s an emergent property of an evolutionary process undertaken in lockstep with end users and integrators over time. More than any other security technology, a capable user interface is a partnership.

For security operators, low touch operation is the key to intuitive operation and fast response. That means sub system events are best represented as active icons on graphical maps. The ability of an integrated system to inform and to express operating procedures is vital to ensure best practise is followed every single time, including those times the security team is under severe stress. An integrated solution that is not empowered by operating procedures linked to reporting is open to interpretation and is certain to be subject to failures of escalation in real time. A balance is needed when you’re seeking situational awareness to ensure operators don’t end up drowning in detail and event logs don’t fall victim to timeline death.

Planning is the most important part of any integration. The system needs to meet a user’s considered expectations in dependable ways that deliver maximum operational torque. And the systems integrated need to be capable of integration, not only

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Communications remain fraught in terms of consistently available service and high bandwidth in Australia and New Zealand. in an effective and efficient way, but in a secure way.

A key part of the planning processing is understanding the nature of a business – how does it operate, what is essential to operation, what is the best way to manage its security operation, what risks does the business face. Some organisations have fixed business models that never vary, while other business models are far more nebulous – compare an industrial facility with a university – and these variables must be factored in when considering operational inputs and response. Nor do you want to overdo it. It’s tempting once you start customising to bring everything into a solution but that’s a mistake.

Integrated systems need to be reliable and supported – now and in the future.

The best management solutions not only manage their sub system components, but underlying infrastructure as well, including network performance, power, the presence of key team members, unfolding external threats such as bushfires, and plenty more. Yet with all this depth, their capabilities need to be available on the surface, not buried 6 clicks deep.

Communications remain fraught in terms of consistently available service and high bandwidth in Australia and New Zealand. While this applies primarily to high demand CCTV links, there are many suburbs in major cities without NBN that suffer dreadful wireless nulls and intermittent network failures that defy comprehension. Over-subscription, lack of investment in infrastructure by disengaged providers and aging hardware all play a part, as does telco ‘customer service’, which is miserable at best and in times of high demand becomes non-existent.

The lesson for integrators and security managers building serious integrations is to use dedicated networks wherever and whenever

possible to ensure security, reliability and performance, as well as to maintain the security team’s collective sanity. It doesn’t matter what promises you make, what partnerships you undertake with utilities, transport providers, other government departments, local councils, your commercial neighbours. Do whatever you must to ensure redundant uptime before the system goes live.

Again, leave no stone unturned to get this done. Use 4G routers, point-topoint wireless - beg, borrow or share appropriately secure comms paths from any responsible organisation you can find. Use telcos but do not trust them to support you when the chips are down.

Another piece in the integration puzzle now coming into focus is opting for cloud solutions supported by local data centres, preferably directly connected. There are big advantages to cloud solutions, including the ability to leverage proprietary national links, high security, redundancy of all support systems, including server failover, and the capacity for scaling. Taking CCTV, access control, alarms and automation to the cloud for management and storage is going to be a building trend as we move forward. It was coming anyway, but COVID-19 has really pressed the accelerator.

If you intend to take integrated systems to cloud that needs to be planned from the start. A strength of modern security solutions is that everyone’s field hardware is networkable, can be connected to dedicated or virtual servers, as well as being variously routed to cloud servers, and can be managed by a single overlay, regardless of hardware manufacturer.

This underlying robustness provides a layer of redundancy in the event of network failure, as well as giving security teams a flexible, modular layer on which to base their integrations. n

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40 capability have come to the fore. But despite the hype, there’s nothing easy about integrating security and automation solutions.

30: PARKES INSTALLS AVIGILON

9: ADT U.S. REPORTS 3G SUNSET COSTS RISING ADT U.S. said the company expects to spend between $US100 million and $150 million this year swapping out 3G communicators and replacing them with 4G. 10:SECURITY INTEGRATORS ARE ESSENTIAL WORKERS DURING COVID-19 SECURITY integrators and technicians, security officers, control room operators, support staff, including remote providers of support, have been classified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as “essential critical infrastructure workers during the COVID-19 response”.

16: MGA INSTALLS GALLAGHER ACROSS UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE CAMPUSES A security system upgrade at one of Australia’s most prestigious universities has seen Gallagher’s solutions installed at campuses across Melbourne by integrator MGA Electronic Security.

8: INTEGRATING ACCESS, CCTV, AUTOMATION Now more than ever, the importance of integrated security solutions, including access control, alarms, CCTV and automation with remote management

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An Avigilon video surveillance solution, including 91 cameras and Avigilon ACC with AI capabilities, has been installed to protect public space in the Central Western town of Parkes.

32: TIANDY TC-C32GP BULLET Tiandy’s TC-C32GP 2MP H.265 bullet camera features Full HD resolution, a fixed 4mm focal length and fixed lens, adjustable WDR, 50 metre IR range and an integrated housing. When the boys from NAS Australia offered to drop off 2 bullet cameras at the SEN office, we jumped at the chance to get a feel for their capabilities.

36: PERIMETER FENCE MAINTENANCE Perimeter fence maintenance is a crucial, but often forgotten, aspect of site security.

Gallagher’s Pedro De Jesus, sales manager for Queensland and Papua New Guinea, and Greg O’Neill, business development manager, discuss the importance of maintaining perimeter fencing.

38: SECURITY: COVID-19 CHANGES NOTHING & EVERYTHING COVID-19 is driving falls in market and consumer confidence and threatening to test business plans in a way not seen in our lifetimes. And that’s before you lay the personal and social impact of the Coronavirus epidemic, including a tragic and ongoing loss of life and income, onto global communities.

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40: BODY TEMPERATURE CAMERAS Thermal body temperature cameras are proving central to the battle against the COVID-19 epidemic, with government, commercial and industrial end users eager to implement BTM technology in order to detect elevated body temperatures that indicate fever.

8: NEWS Latest business, product and technical news from Australia and around the world.

42: LUKE KAVANAGH, SAPIO SEN recently spoke with Luke Kavanagh, general manager Emerging Technologies and Nigel Seager, ICT manager at Sapio about where they see the security and home automation market heading over the next few years.

46: MONITORING With a state of lockdown variously imposed on a global scale to combat the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, monitoring is a service and a technology suite whose time really has come.

48: HIKVISION PANOVU REVIEW

54: EDITOR’S CHOICE

Hikvision’s compact 20MP multi-sensor PanoVu camera features four 1/2.7-inch progressive scan CMOS sensors and a motorized vari-focal lens which can be adjusted to monitor 4 directions supporting zoom in/out to check details individually.

APRIL 2020 ISSUE 419

INTEGRATING ACCESS, CCTV, AUTOMATION l COVID-19: Security Are Essential Workers l MGA Installs Gallagher At Uni Of Melbourne l Case Study: Parkes Installs Avigilon l Product Review: Tiandy TC-C32GP Bullet l Special Report: Perimeter Fence Maintenance l Analysis: COVID-19 Changes Nothing & Everything l News Report: Body Temperature Cameras l Interview: Luke Kavanagh & Nigel Seager, Sapio l Monitoring: Cometh The Hour, Cometh The Management l Product Review: Hikvision 20MP PanoVu Multi-Sensor

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Publisher Bridge Publishing Aust. Pty Ltd ABN 11 083 704 858 PO Box 237 Darlinghurst NSW 1300 tel 61 2 9280 4425 fax 61 2 9280 4428 email info@bridge publishing.com.au

What’s new from our manufacturers.

56: HELPDESK Our team of electronic security experts answers your tough technical questions.

Editor John Adams Advertising Manager Monique Keatinge Customer Service Annette Mathews tel 61 2 9280 4425 annette@bridge publishing.com.au

Design Tania Simanowsky e: tania@ taniasdesign.com.au

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LOBAL T THE G IN W WE EWLY ING

NEWS IN BRIEF APRIL 2020

ADT U.S. REPORTS 3G SUNSET COSTS RISING n ADT U.S. said the company expects to spend between $US100 million and $150 million this year swapping out 3G communicators and replacing them with 4G. ADT is the largest security company in the United States, serving over 8 million customers and holding more than 25 per cent of the residential market and around 13 per cent of the small business market. ADT has 6 monitoring stations and monitors millions of wired and wireless alarm communicators.

“We’ve kind of gotten

through most of our experimentation in 2019,” said ADT’s Don Young. “The lesson that we’ve learned is there’s opportunities both on revenue offsets as well as some technology.

“We’re going to approach 2020 a little bit on the high end of our $100 million to $150 million range, but that’s on purpose to go in and be intentionally pragmatic and conservative,” he said.

He said the company plans to be more proactive in its radio communicator swaps in 2020.

Vlado Damjanovski “We’re feeling very

comfortable that by the 2022 sunset/AT&T sunset we’re on track.”

America’s 3G sunset is running around 2 years ahead of Australia’s.

Telstra said recently it would shut down its 3G network in June 2024 and repurpose its bandwidth to support 4G and 5G. At the time an Optus spokesperson said the company had not determined an end date for its 3G network but given the Optus 2G sunset was around 12 months after Telstra, a closure of 2025 is a realistic expectation for security installers.

NEW PELCO LEARNING CENTER LAUNCHED n ACCORDING to Pelco’s Craig Cobbin, in the spirit of the new Pelco “Bringin’ Blue Back” revival with new owners at Pelco, the company has launched the new Pelco Learning Center.

“The original Pelco Global Training Institute set the bar for CCTV training in the industry and now we have launched the newly revised Pelco Learning Centre,” Cobbin said.

“The new Pelco Learning Center (PLC) is an online platform that gives

Craig Cobbin

our clients access to training content 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Users can manage their organization’s required certifications for key Pelco products while increasing their knowledge of Pelco’s solutions.”

Other key benefits include: • Organized eLearning content in a single location • Tracked progress & performance • More efficient learning and development time

THE ORIGINAL PELCO GLOBAL TRAINING INSTITUTE SET THE BAR FOR CCTV TRAINING IN THE INDUSTRY AND NOW WE HAVE LAUNCHED THE NEWLY REVISED PELCO LEARNING CENTRE.

• Reduced support time and cost during troubleshooting • Improved buying experience for end users and resellers.

“Customers can access their PLC Portal to gain access to a wide range of practically beneficial training content and certification courses to maintain a competitive edge by harnessing all that Pelco has to offer,” said Cobbin. “Reach out to us at your convenience if you have any questions or would like to learn more about our surveillance solutions.”

TASMANIAN MUSEUM AND ART GALLERY SEEKS NEW SECURITY SYSTEM n DEPARTMENT of State Growth has gone to tender seeking a new security system for the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery.

The Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery located in Hobart, Tasmania, was established in 1846 by the Royal Society of Tasmania, the oldest Royal Society outside England.

The TMAG receives 400,000 visitors annually.

The scope of works of this tender includes supply, installation and commissioning of a new security system at the Tasmanian Museum and Art Gallery’s city location, as well as the Rosny Campus and Moonah Store.

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Genetec Expands Australian Team p.10 Motorola Solutions Acquires IndigoVision For $US37.2 Million p.12 Milestone Systems President And CEO Lars Thinggaard To Step Down p.12 More Than Half IoT Devices Susceptible To Attack p.14

COMPILED BY JOHN ADAMS

MIKE ABBOTT APPOINTED NATIONAL SALES MANAGER ELECTRONIC SECURITY, SECURECORP n SECUREcorp has welcomed Mike Abbott to the team as national sales manager for the Securecorp Electronics Division.

Abbott joined the security industry in 1995 after an initial career in the defence force and brings vast experience to the team, having worked in equipment installation, major sales, project management and product innovation.

Notable projects Abbott has been involved with include: • Design of rapid deployment CCTV trailer for Victoria Police • Designed, built and managed the security

SECTECH 2020 POSTPONED UNTIL MAY 2021 Mike Abbott

for the Commonwealth Game Village construction security • Worked closely with authorities on drone and counter drone strategies • Completed major rollouts of body worn CCTV to various government institutions.

According to Securecorp, Abbott’s strength in relationship building through listening and gaining a true understanding of team and customer needs will see him excel within the business.

KURT KOPP JOINS CRK WESTERN AUSTRALIA n KURT Kopp has joined C.R. Kennedy’s Western Australia team based in Perth as sales manager, Surveillance Division. Kopp has 30 years’ experience in security distribution and installation, as well as a deep background in electronics.

For the past 13 years Kopp headed up supplier and wholesaler Direct Security Provider, which allowed him the opportunity to sell and work with the main security brands in the Australian market, such as Dahua, Uniview, Hikvision, Axis, Samsung, Bosch and others.

Prior to founding DSP, Kopp worked for Kobi Security as Western Australia branch manager for 5 years, set up the WA Crow branch and did the same for Achieva.

“Before coming to Australia, I was qualified as an instrumentation technician working in a sugar mill and power station in South Africa,” Kopp said.

“But I started in the security industry way back in 1989 in New Zealand with a telepaging and security monitoring company (Answer Services) for 5 years, before setting up my own security installation company (Assured Security). For the next 7 years I installed most the alarm and access control panels of the time, including Tecom, DSC, Ademco, Micron, Bosch, Concept, Paradox, DAS systems, Honeywell and more.

“I rely on my electronic

Kurt Kopp

and technical background and expertise to not only support our clients’ technical issues but assist their technical understanding of our product range, help them to improve their sales skills and advise them on the solutions that best fit their client’s needs.”

Douglas Kennedy welcomed Kopp to the CRK WA team.

“Kurt’s profound experience in CCTV, access control, alarm systems and security distribution makes him the perfect fit for C.R. Kennedy,” he said.

n IN light of potential health risks to attendees, exhibitors and their families posed by the ongoing COVID-19 epidemic SecTech Roadshow organisers have decided to postpone SecTech 2020 until May 2021.

We will be booking the same venues next May and all bookings will be

carried forward at 2020 rates – there will be no increase in price for next year. Postponing SecTech Roadshow this year is a disappointing necessity that will help ensure a healthy and vibrant 2021.

Any enquiries about SecTech 2021 should be directed to Monique Keatinge on 61 2 9280 4425.

A&J TECHNOLOGY SERVICES WINS TIWI ISLANDS CCTV CONTRACT

n A&J Technology Services has just been awarded Tiwi Islands Regional Council’s CCTV contract, which went to tender in July last year. At the time, council sought 5 CCTV systems for facilities on Bathurst and Melville Islands at Wurrumiyanga, Pirlangimpi and Milikapiti.

The CCTV systems will utilize digital video recording, motion detection, email alerts, infrared or similar night recording, with possible video uploaded to a central cloud storage. In terms of infrastructure, the system’s

connections can be either wired or wireless, linking to existing council internet connections on site or recording to a local device.

A & J supplies and installs professional quality security and automation infrastructure using equipment from proven manufacturers to deliver an integrated solution that can evolve as client needs change. The company has a 50-strong team and offices in Darwin and Toowoomba. The value of the Tiwi Islands CCTV tender was not disclosed.

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NEWS APRIL 2020

DNA CONNECT DISTRIBUTING INTERLOGIX INTRUSION DETECTION AND ALARMS n DNA Connect, one of Australia’s leading specialist distributors with over 25 years of experience distributing infrastructure, security and analytics technologies to the IT and OT markets, has been appointed an Interlogix distributor.

DNA will be distributing the ZeroWire and UltraSync portfolio of residential security products. Interlogix, part of Carrier, provides a range of security solutions that cater to applications

from small domestic installations to large buildings like airports, prisons or educational facilities.

“The Interlogix ZeroWire Security Alarm platform allows our partners the ability to have a fully contained wireless alarm system, which can also connect their customers’ lights, doors, doorbells, cameras and other devices to the internet/ cloud via multiple RF sources and provide secure remote management and

monitoring services with UltraSync, so it’s the best of both worlds for the end user,” said Matthew Harvey, head of sales for operational technology and security at DNA Connect.

“DNA Connect has been supporting partners in the delivery of electronic security solutions for years. We understand that our vendors have solutions that need to be sold and supported, not just transacted,” Harvey said.

According to Erin Craven, channel manager,

SECURITY INTEGRATORS ARE ESSENTIAL CRITICAL INFRASTRUCTURE WORKERS DURING COVID-19 n SECURITY integrators and technicians, security officers, control room operators, support staff, including remote providers of support, have been classified by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as “essential critical infrastructure workers during the COVID-19 response”.

The DHS guidelines from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) are intended to assist both state and local officials when making decisions regarding essential workers in their own jurisdictions.

The guidelines encompass residential work as well as commercial and industrial applications and are likely to cover technical services including locksmithing and network support, among others.

The list of “Essential Critical Infrastructure Workers” identified by the CISA Report include: • Maintenance of communications infrastructure including privately owned and maintained communication systems supported by technicians, operators, call-centres, wireline and wireless providers, cable service providers, satellite operations, undersea cable landing stations, Internet exchange points, and manufacturers and distributors of communications equipment • Installation, maintenance and repair technicians that establish, support or repair service as needed • Customer service and support staff, including managed and professional services as well as remote

Technician Daniel Maxwell of Bravis with Inner Range Integriti panels.

providers of support to transitioning employees to set up and maintain home offices, who interface with customers to manage or support service environments and security issues, including payroll, billing, fraud, and troubleshooting • Dispatchers involved with service repair and restoration.

Security systems in Australia support some of the nation’s key pieces of infrastructure, as well as supporting law enforcement, emergency services, utilities and much, much more. The same level of importance applies to teams in Australian security control rooms monitoring hundreds of thousands of sites across the nation.

Interlogix, DNA’s national footprint, combined with the skills and size of its sales and tech teams is impressive.

“This and DNA’s channel lead generation programmes allow our partners to successfully source and deliver Interlogix solutions and made the decision to work with DNA Connect easy,” said Craven.

“This is an ultracompetitive market, and we need distributors with the reach and technical

Matthew Harvey, DNA Connect.

expertise to help partners deliver Interlogix electronic security solutions to endusers.”

Jordan Spiteri, Genetec.

GENETEC EXPANDS AUSTRALIAN TEAM n GENETEC is expanding its client support team in Australia and New Zealand with the appointment of 2 more employees.

Jordan Spiteri joins the growing team as a sales engineer, based in Melbourne. Prior to joining Genetec, Spiteri worked at Sapio as security systems engineer for 4 years. He has a Bachelor of Electronics Engineering at La Trobe University.

Bradley Ferguson has been appointed as a project engineer, based in Brisbane. Bradley previously worked at Chubb, United Technology Services as security services project manager for South East Queensland

for 5 years.

Both newly created roles reflect the upswing in demand for Genetec security solutions across the region and the continued expansion of the Australian and New Zealand team.

“Genetec is fast expanding its footprint across Australia and New Zealand and we’re growing our on-the-ground team accordingly,” said George Moawad, Genetec country manager ANZ. “We welcome Jordan and Bradley to our team, and I look forward to working with them to help elevate our client experience and deliver exceptional client outcomes.”

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NEWS APRIL 2020

SEADAN SECURITY STRENGTHENS PARRAMATTA AND FYSHWICK STORES n SEADAN Security reports that Tony Lagan is now heading up a long established and experienced team at its Parramatta store, while Mark Hill is now leading the crew at Seadan Fyshwick.

Lagan joins the Seadan

Security team with a distinguished career in the security sector and said he will continue Seadan Parramatta’s obsession for always improving upon its customer’s experience.

“I’m very excited to be joining Seadan at a time

Tony Lagan, Seadan Security.

of great change for our industry,” Lagan said. “My ethos has always been that the customer should be at the forefront of what we do and Seadan shares that view and commitment to our customers.

“Joining a business with no stock budgets and having full autonomy at the store level means that we can build our business to best suit the needs of our customers. Parramatta will soon be opening on Saturdays and this together with the assurance of having stock on hand when needed, allows us to play our part as the ideal partner to our customers.”

In Canberra, Mark Hill is now leading the Seadan Fyshwick store after an impressive career in the

MOTOROLA SOLUTIONS ACQUIRES INDIGOVISION FOR $US37.2 MILLION n MOTOROLA Solutions will acquire Edinburghbased CCTV manufacturer IndigoVision for $US37.2 million.

According to Motorola Solutions, the IndigoVision range of products, global presence and customer base are complementary to Motorola Solutions’ existing presence in video security.

“We share IndigoVision’s commitment to providing next-generation, endto-end video security solutions that enhance

safety, security and efficiency. IndigoVision’s end-to-end offering, global presence and customer base will complement our existing and growing presence in video security and analytics,” said John Kedzierski, senior vice president of video security solutions at Motorola Solutions.

IndigoVision’s portfolio includes video security solutions from cameras to video recorders to body worn cameras to security management software.

security and IT industries, as well as other distribution businesses. Hills also shares a similar set of values to the new Seadan.

“The opportunity of being part of the Seadan Fyshwick team is extremely exciting,” Hill said. “I’m really looking forward to enhancing our existing customer service-driven business and expanding on the fantastic relationships we’ve established over the years here in Canberra.

“Canberra is very much a people-centric city and my belief has always been that great things happen when you’re with your customer. Our objectives at Seadan Fyshwick are clear and absolute – to deliver exceptional customer service which extends

to not only our products and solutions, but with everything we do, whether it be in the store, at our customer’s office or on site – wherever they need us.”

You can contact Seadan Parramatta at sales. parramatta@seadan.com. au or (02) 9354 0111 and Seadan Fyshwick at sales. fyshwick@seadan.com.au or (02) 6131 9999.

MY ETHOS HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT THE CUSTOMER SHOULD BE AT THE FOREFRONT OF WHAT WE DO AND SEADAN SHARES THAT VIEW AND COMMITMENT TO OUR CUSTOMERS.

MILESTONE SYSTEMS PRESIDENT AND CEO LARS THINGGAARD TO STEP DOWN

The Scottish company was a pioneer in IP video and developed a serious global client list of high security customers.

Meanwhile, Motorola Solutions has a growing presence in the large and expanding area of video security since acquiring Avigilon in 2018. Its product offerings include high-definition cameras, advanced video analytics, network video management hardware and software and access control solutions.

Lars Thinggaard, Milestone.

n MILESTONE Systems president and CEO Lars Thinggaard will step down and the company’s CFO Lars Larsen will serve as interim CEO as the board of directors conducts an open search to appoint a successor to Thinggaard.

Thinggaard served as president and CEO of Milestone for 17 years and previously was a member of the non-executive board.

For the past 6 years, since the company’s acquisition

by Canon Group in 2014, he has led Milestone as a standalone company within the Group.

“I am very grateful to Lars for the energy, vision and heart that he has dedicated to Milestone employees and the community partners,” said Lau Normann Jørgensen, chairman, Milestone Group.

Milestone is a VMS pioneer and its solutions are widely used across the world.

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New Wisenet Multi-directional cameras for easy installation with remote PTRZ control

PNM-9084RQZ / 9085RQZ PNM-9084QZ

Wisenet P series multi-sensor cameras are equipped with multiple sensors, which means that it can effectively monitor wide areas with just one camera. Multi-directional cameras can simultaneously monitor multiple directions without any blind spots.

By installing Wisenet multi-sensor cameras, the cost of system installation and maintenance is reduced while successfully monitoring wide areas.

Remote motorized PTRZ control for easy installation The PNM-9084QZ has become more compact and lighter to make installation a lot easier even on a ladder. Both PNM-9084RQZ and PNM-9085RQZ support remote PTRZ (Pan, tilt, rotate and zoom) setup, saving installers time and effort of making adjustments on a ladder to change the setting.

PTRZ set up on Wisenet webviewer

Built-in IR sensor for monitoring in low light environment The PNM-9084RQZ/9085RQZ has built-in IR sensors to each of the four lenses.

Each lens and its IR sensors move together when users control the lenses, producing clear images up to 30 meters even in low-light environments. built-in IR sensor

Actual footage of PNM-9085RQZ

Hanwha Techwin Australia and New Zealand

Level 31, 120 Collins Street, Melbourne, VIC 3000 Email : Info-oceania@hanwhawisenet.com Web : Hanwha-Security.com

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NEWS APRIL 2020

MORE THAN HALF IOT DEVICES SUSCEPTIBLE TO ATTACK n A REPORT by Unit 42, a threat intelligence team at Palo Alto Networks, suggests 57 per cent of all internet of things (IoT) devices are susceptible to cybersecurity attacks and things are getting worse.

Researchers also discovered 98 per cent of all IoT devices are unencrypted, exposing personal and confidential data onto adjacent networks.

More than 30 per cent of all network-connected endpoints are IoT devices and a 2019 Gartner report found the adoption of enterprise IoT grew 21.5 per cent from 2018 to 2019 to an estimated 4.8 billion devices.

Unit 42 researchers analysed security incidents spanning 1.2 million IoT devices in thousands of

locations across enterprise IT and healthcare organizations in the U.S. They found that “the general security posture of IoT devices is declining, leaving organizations vulnerable to new IoTtargeted malware, as well as older attack techniques that IT teams have long forgotten.

“There’s a shift away from attackers’ primary motivation of running botnets to conduct DDoS attacks via IoT devices to malware spreading across the network via worm-like features, enabling attackers to run malicious code to conduct a large variety of new attacks.”

Password-related attacks were also found to be prevalent on IoT devices because of weak manufacturer-set passwords and poor

password security practices.

As an example, the report showed 72 per cent of healthcare organizations are combining IoT and IT assets on virtual LAN (logical grouping of devices on the same computer network), enabling infected employee computers to

spread malware onto other IoT devices.

To help reduce exposure to IoT threats, Unit 42 recommends organizations take the following precautions: • Know your risk — discover IoT devices on the network • Patch printers and other

easily patchable devices • Segment IoT devices across VLANs • Enable active monitoring • Think holistically — orchestrate the entire IoT lifecycle • Expand security to all IoT devices through product integration.

EMHS SEEKS ENTERPRISE CCTV SYSTEM UPGRADE, CENTRALISED MONITORING AT NEW SOC n EAST Metropolitan Health Service in Western Australia is seeking an enterprise CCTV system upgrade across 3 Perth sites, as well as implementation of centralised monitoring and associated system maintenance.

EMHS requires an experienced and licensed contractor to complete this video surveillance system upgrade, which must include the implementation of centralised monitoring in

a new security operations centre (SOC) at Royal Perth Hospital (RPH).

The video surveillance system upgrade involves migrating disparate systems to a new video management system on a single base licence to enable centralised live monitoring of CCTV systems at RPH, Bentley Hospital, Armadale Hospital and Kalamunda Hospital. The EMHS requires a subsequent maintenance contract for the new VMS.

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FSS1

SCEC SL4 Approved Door Monitoring Sensor

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● News report

MGA

UNIVERSITY OF MELBOURNE GOES GALLAGHER A security system upgrade at one of Australia’s most prestigious universities has seen Gallagher’s solutions installed at campuses across Melbourne by integrator MGA Electronic Security.

CCORDING to the University of Melbourne, Gallagher was selected for the upgrade due to its strong integration capability, commitment to supporting the university’s long-term site plan, and investment in development. Gallagher worked in partnership with the university and Gallagher channel partner, MGA Electronic Security, to roll out the upgrade across 150 buildings and 7 campuses. The partnerships were integral to the success of the rollout, ensuring the system was configured to best meet the university’s needs.

“We’re impressed with not only the flexibility of the system, but the support from Gallagher,” said Adam Leach, security systems coordinator at the University of Melbourne. Project leads from the university visited Gallagher’s head office in Hamilton, New Zealand, prior to the project beginning.

“The opportunity to visit Gallagher and see their investment in R&D showed us that they are committed to growth and future developments. We were looking for a long-term business relationship and we are definitely confident we have chosen the right solution.”

The upgrade included access control for over 3000 doors, over 177,000 cardholders, and thousands of inputs. Gallagher Command Centre software, a powerful solution offering complete site control from one central platform, runs at the heart of the university’s security system. The university has integrations with Active Directory, Unicard, Syllabus Plus, IndigoVision and Schindler.

“The integration capabilities of Gallagher’s Command Centre are second to none,” Leach said.

Gallagher Command Centre Command Centre is the software at the heart of Gallagher’s integrated security solutions, a centralized platform that gives the university control of every aspect of their sites. Site hardware and system components can be configured using Command Centre, which is fully configurable to meet the needs of the site.

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Command Centre offers centralized site visibility and monitoring to enhance situational awareness on both local and remote sites, with everything relayed to operators in real-time, enabling a quick and accurate response to security threats. Seamless integration with complimentary security and site management solutions creates smarter, more costeffective ways to operate. Flexible, advanced auditing and reporting allows operators to retrieve data and make operational decisions with greater precision.

One of the key decisions in choosing the Gallagher system for its upgrade was the flexibility to grow with the university.

“Our security solutions are designed to protect sites now and into the future,” said Scott Johnstone, Gallagher’s national sales manager – Australia and Papua New Guinea. “We’re pleased to be able to support the University of Melbourne with their longterm plans, all while ensuring the safety of their people, assets, and information.”

MGA Electronic Security completed the upgrade project quicker than expected and on budget, undertaking the entire system changeover in under 18 months.

With 4631 staff, 53,000 students, and grounds covering 36 hectares, the University of Melbourne is a public research university founded in 1853. Its main campus is located in Parkville, an inner suburb north of the Melbourne central business district, with several other campuses located across Victoria.

There are 10 colleges located on the main campus and in nearby suburbs offering academic, sporting and cultural programs alongside accommodation for Melbourne students and faculty. n

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See you in May 2021!

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SYDNEY

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● Special report

Integration

INTEGRATING ACCESS, CCTV, AUTOMATION Now more than ever the importance of integrated security solutions, including access control, alarms, CCTV and automation with remote management capability, have come to the fore.

But despite the hype, there’s nothing easy about integrating security and automation solutions.

NTEGRATION has been the Holy Grail of electronic security for decades, as security managers seek ever more powerful situational awareness using technology more effectively and more efficiently. Advances in networking and management software, as well as SDK’s and API’s, have made the creation of integrated solutions easier, but there’s nothing simple about creating an overarching management system.

According to Brad Sheen of Inner Range the key to successfully integrating access control, automation and video surveillance is all about obtaining situational awareness.

I

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BY J O H N A D A M S

“Empowering the security operations team with a simplified and single user interface, rich in graphics and able to provide targeted data on demand, is the key,” Sheen says. “The system needs to provide a detailed action plan quickly upon the receipt of an alarm or escalated alert. The information needs to be accurate without being too overwhelming or lacking key details when needed.

“The same goals need to be achieved when generating reports for the users regarding automated devices, intrusion and much more.

Given the evolution in the CCTV space, Inner Range’s Melbourne-based engineering team works closely with our technology partners, ensuring features obtained from modern analytics and innovations are seamlessly integrated.”

A key choice when it comes to integration is going for an open or a proprietary solution. In Sheen’s experience, open and proprietary solutions have pros and cons that are sensitive to individual

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applications and he says a healthy balance is the best option.

“Closed protocol deployments are typically restrictive and limited in functionality, integrations, service providers who are factory supported, and potentially, could affect local stock availability,” Sheen explains. “Open protocols could jeopardise security, deliver solutions which have never been tested and could cause conflict in other areas of the system. Best practice is to only use open protocol devices or integrations which have been tried, tested, endorsed and are supported by both manufacturing parties.

Something else that’s vital with integrated solutions is ensuring end users focus on realistic operational goals during the planning process while avoiding over promising on what can be achieved at a realistic cost.

“It’s essential to ensure the client has clear operational goals and expected functionality from deploying an integrated system,” Sheen says. “The integration is being completed for a purpose – that might be simplicity of management, detailed reporting and a high level of control. Or perhaps the integration allows data to be compiled in one system, reducing operational and training costs, improving data consistencies, saving time on administration and delivering reports via a single source of truth. If the integration is not deep enough and the delivered solution doesn’t meet the client’s operational goals and expectations, simplicity is not achieved, and the systems may perform best if segregated.”

Sheen argues open protocol systems are not necessarily security risks.

“Open protocol does not mean open-door security risk - these ideas should not be confused,” he explains.

“The key word here is protocol. It is preferential to integrate using open protocols because the source

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Integration

code of these protocols is freely available and subsequently scrutinised by the cyber security industry to the benefit of the protocol and its users.

“Open protocols are used all the time to secure our communications, systems and databases, for instance SSL/TLS, IPSEC, DNSSEC, SSH, WPA2, etc.

Ensuring only the required strings of data and their associated population fiends are disclosed is what creates a secure network.

“To reduce the challenge of integrating third party systems be sure to integrate systems that use standard/open protocols and have been integrated in a deep and mature way by their developers. These mature integrations are feature-rich and have overcome the setup and operational challenges that hamper integrations with less real-world feedback.

As a mature solution, Inner Range integrates to over 60 different systems across a variety of industries, for instance, CCTV, BMS, intercoms, visitor management, lifts, duress, etc.”

Is the network side the most important part of an integrated solution, in Sheen’s opinion?

“The network is the veins to feed the brains – without quality network infrastructure and suitable data communication permissions, the teamwork between the integrated solutions can’t make the dream work,” he explains. “Restrictions or delays in data communications will create a faulty integrated solution. When used for automation applications, this can create a snowball effect of failures throughout the flow of processes.

“Networking is a leading consideration in integrating a modern IP-based security platform with an IP CCTV solution,” Sheen says. “Networking maximises ease of deployment so multiple databases can migrate and populate data seamlessly from a LAN device all the way through to servers – whether on site, remote or virtual machines.

“As a manufacturer, it’s essential for us to maintain up to date integrations with our many CCTV technology partners and their individual, evolving platforms and versions. Given Inner Range’s engineering team is based in Melbourne, we have the best resources available to ensure integrations are maintained at the highest level for our local

NETWORKING IS A LEADING CONSIDERATION IN INTEGRATING A MODERN IPBASED SECURITY PLATFORM WITH AN IP CCTV SOLUTION.

Australian and global market.

“With a networked, integrated system it’s also essential to consider the data management and associated risks in deploying single, or multiple IP based integrations on a network. Increased traffic of data is required to flow seamlessly for the integration to perform. The potential for cyber-attacks could increase, given the volume of devices needing to communicate and their individual methods in communication.

“The best standard practices about hardening a system and network always apply, for instance, changing default passwords, patching/updating, isolating systems and network, password policy, etc.

Deployment of closed protocol integrations, which are endorsed by both manufacturer parties, is also suggested. When deploying a custom integration, it’s suggested to engage a network professional to ensure cyber security protection is paramount, and the deployment and maintenance will not expose the client to any potential risks.”

A decision some security managers and their integrator partners are going to battle with will be how to manage an integrated solution – through a video management system, a security management system or a PSIM. According to Sheen, there’s no single answer – the solution depends on the needs of the customer, specifically on their risk profile.

“Some customers will largely be focussed on access control and alarm management with a lesser focus on CCTV/VMS, for example an infrastructure or utility provider with a huge number of remote assets, many of which have low-bandwidth links that support alarm/access management, but not CCTV,” he explains. “In this case, a powerful security management system with sophisticated alarm management capabilities built from an underlying access and intruder system would be most beneficial.

“On the other hand, some customers will drive their security operations through the CCTV/VMS - a shopping centre which only needs a handful of access control doors but has hundreds of CCTV cameras.”

When it comes to the physical installation challenges of any major integration there’s plenty more for integrators to think about.

“An initial consideration involves the communication methods to circulate data to and from every device - WAN/LAN, Mobile or RS-485 BUS communication,” Sheen explains. “In the case of Inner Range, considerations for solutions should consist of IP-based head end controllers which offer both flat or deep architectural expansion though our TCP/IP, fibre, wireless or RS-485 BUS of modules and field devices to maximise the expansion. The Inner Range Multipath T4000 uses 3G/4G communication to provide live bi-directional communication for mobile assets or sites with no existing communication infrastructure.”

Another consideration is ensuring physical

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● Special report

Integration

space is made available to enclose the controlling hardware and thought is given to maximising the efficient use of that space. An example is the innovation of a hinged expansion plate which can increase enclosure capacity by up to 30 per cent.

Also having over 6 different enclosure designs, supplying the best solution for the required project or the consideration for the likes of a 2RU rackmounted secure drawer.

“Finally, in any challenging integrated security application there is considerable reassurance in deploying an end-to-end solution from a sole manufacturer of long experience, which is readily available through a mature national distribution network via highly trained integrators – a manufacturer which can provide holistic solutions from controllers/expanders, intelligent power supplies, enclosures, readers/keypads and 3G/4G communication devices.”

For Gallagher’s Mike Margrain, the key to successfully integrating access control, automation and video surveillance is by starting with clearly defined requirements.

“Knowing what you want to achieve and why is the foundation for any successful integration - this ensures your solution will not only meet functional requirements but do so in a reliable way,” Margrain explains. “A robust interface between systems typically relies on mature SDKs or APIs, and reliable networking, whatever that transmission medium may be.

“When it comes to realistic operational goals, the most realistic part will often come down to project capital. A lot is achievable with the right amount of development effort — ultimately translating to dollars. A realistic goal will be one that aligns technology with budget, and a solution that meets functional requirements with an intuitive interface for operators.”

When it comes to open or proprietary solutions Margrain says each approach has its benefits.

“Open systems or protocols have the benefit of peer review from a wide industry, which is particularly important when it comes to cyber security,” he explains. “Sometimes open standards can be very fluid, especially in early development stages, which can create issues of compatibility or

reliability. This open approach can mean slower development or even a lack of features — trying to do too much for too many systems. When ‘open’ works, it works very well.

“Meanwhile, proprietary solutions can address some of these issues whereby a single vendor is not constrained by the needs of others and is free to develop robust and secure technologies at a faster rate. Ultimately, it can be said that the best systems will employ a combination of open and proprietary technologies — where each will have a fit in different parts of the platform.”

The greatest challenges when integrating the most common access control solutions and CCTV solutions can revolve around each system’s capacity to integrate, according to Margrain.

“Robust and well documented SDK’s and API’s are critical to the success of these integrations,” he says.

“Vital, too, are strong, clear paths of communication between all parties involved. Test harnesses also assist in ensuring everything works right through the development process. Missing/ambiguous documentation, or poor support and backup, can severely impact the success of an integration, leading to extended projects, poor outcomes and massive cost overruns. Thankfully, most systems today tend to have a long history of lessons learnt.”

Is it easier to manage an overall solution via the VMS, the access control and alarm system, or via a PSIM, in Margrain’s opinion?

“An ISMS/PSIM tends to provide a better platform for centralised management than a VMS typically can, given these systems have much stronger frameworks in place to manage incidents and provide site reporting,” he explains. “Regardless, there is value in enriching the VMS with information from the SMS so an operator utilising either

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● Special report

Integration

system can perform a function with more useful information than would otherwise be available.

No integration will ever replace all functions of a subsystem and there is always value in making some low-level functions available to experienced operators within those individual systems.”

For Margrain, the robustness of underlying SDKs or APIs is the most important part of any successful integrated solution.

“Without this the necessary functions may not exist, or the solution could be unreliable,” he says.

“In today’s world, a reliable network is still critical, but some integrations may still perform well under high latency, packet-loss, or jitter — subject to the functional requirements and capabilities of those endpoint systems.”

Cyber security in a networked, integrated solution is critical, too.

“The security of a total solution is only as strong as its weakest link and unfortunately not all systems treat cyber security in the same way,” Margrain says.

“Many systems still have no encryption at all, let alone strong encryption. Utilising open standards with peer-reviewed cryptography, strong ciphers and keys, adequately securing keys and certificates, and employing perfect forward secrecy where possible are all areas that should have serious focus for any vendor serious about cyber security.

“Furthermore, constant improvement is important in this space as what is treated as secure today, may not be secure tomorrow. End-users should ensure that their vendors have dedicated penetration and cyber security review teams, utilising both internal and external audits and vulnerability disclosure policies should be made available, with clearly defined patch and support mechanisms in place.”

Is it fair to say that open protocol subsystem communications are a serious security risk in Margrain’s opinion?

“Not necessarily - the benefit of an open system is that it’s able to be peer reviewed by a large part of the industry and this brings with it a level of collaboration and transparency that’s especially important with cyber security,” Margrain says.

“Unfortunately, many open protocols are old and were developed when cyber security was an afterthought, so they are not at the standard considered best practice today. Conversely, some newer open protocols end up with compromises in order to be interoperable with a wider number of systems. The suitability of open protocols and the security of them should absolutely be part of the decision-making process during vendor or product selection.”

For security integrators, how difficult is managing the integration process – what should they be looking out for in terms of controlling the process and the wider circle of interest groups, in Margrain’s opinion?

“Security integrators should have a clear understanding of functional and non-functional

THE SECURITY OF A TOTAL SOLUTION IS ONLY AS STRONG AS ITS WEAKEST LINK AND UNFORTUNATELY NOT ALL SYSTEMS TREAT CYBER SECURITY IN THE SAME WAY.

requirements with system integrations,” he says.

“This requires a strong level of collaboration with the end-user - and a consultant if involved – as well as relationships with vendor product management and support staff. This ensures questions can be answered quickly and issues resolved adequately and promptly. Problems tend to arise when there is no communication, or when there is separation causing slow progress. Strong communication channels are crucial during this process.”

Genetec’s Lee Shelford argues the key to successfully integrating access control, automation and video surveillance is having a single application to install, maintain and train users on – as well as a single pane of glass to laser focus the operator’s attention and workflow.

“This helps simplify and enhance the customer experience, but integration only gets us halfway there,” Shelford explains. “It’s the unification of video surveillance, access control and automation, along with other key systems like license plate recognition and intrusion, that drives optimal results.”

When it comes to open or proprietary solutions, Shelford says everything can work.

“I believe freedom of choice should be something that everyone has access to – whether in their personal, professional or security lives,” he says. “End users should be able to choose hardware based on their preference or requirement, be it aesthetics or advanced security features, budget or local support capability.

“As an industry we saw this with the standardisation of IP camera codecs with ONVIF – today security managers wouldn’t even contemplate adding a proprietary CCTV device to their network.

Why shouldn’t access control customers have the same level freedom of choice with open platform systems allowing multiple access control brands to

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● Special report

Integration A MAJOR CHALLENGE IS MAKING SENSE OF THE SEA OF ADDITIONAL DATA WE NEED TO ENSURE WE CAN SHAPE, VISUALISE AND ACT UPON.

be connected to the same system via a single unified platform?

“The unification of systems allows for much deeper functionality between them because they’re all part of the same system rather than integrated via a potentially limiting API or SDK. Having a unified solution allows customers to push their operational goals further than previously imagined. It also allows the software vendor to educate the customer on how we can help improve their operations using unification and technology.”

When it comes to the greatest challenges when integrating the most common access control solutions and CCTV solutions, Shelford says a few points stand out.

“When the access control hardware manufacturer is part of the software vendor’s ecosystem there are usually very few challenges, as both R&D teams work in unison,” he explains. “This also applies to our CCTV technology partner eco-system; we write and test firmware, drivers, extensions and the application together, so devices are connected securely at their maximum potential to the platform.

“When an integration outside this ecosystem is required, we depend on how much functionality can be accessed by the API or SDK - sometimes it’s either technically or purposely restricted by the 3rd party manufacturer. There are also often version control complexities, as well as security risks. For instance, how do you know how secure your integration is if it was written by a 3rd party manufacturer or even an independent developer? It’s imperative to remember that you are only as strong as the weakest link in your chain.

“The ideal scenario when 2 systems do require integration via API’s and SDK’s, is that both vendors collaborate on the integration, with a comprehensive and functional plugin developed internally by the software vendors themselves. This kind of close collaboration ensures that security, functionality and version control are all maintained.”

Is it easier to manage an overall solution via the VMS, the access control and alarm system, or via a PSIM, in Shelford’s opinion?

“When a unified platform is leveraged and the

front-end administration and management is conducted via a single application, report filters and layouts are identical across all functions,” he explains. “Further, this allows for assets from CCTV, ACS, intrusion and LPR to be included in the same report or dashboard. This is perfect for a Monday morning email or a glimpse at the monitor wall dashboard to see exactly how well your system is performing, if you have any offline devices and how well the day is going to go. All this can be achieved without the cost and version control complexity of having a PSIM over the top of everything.”

When it comes to automation, how big a challenge is it to automate third party systems in a meaningful way?

“It can be a huge challenge to tap into IoT and automation edge devices and systems,” Shelford explains. “A major challenge is making sense of the sea of additional data we need to ensure we can shape, visualise and act upon. Genetec uses a protocol gateway device to translate and transform this data. This is very powerful, as it allows us to run analytics at the edge to make even more sense of what we are receiving. We then securely pass this refined metadata onto our IoT platform to leverage computer learning and correlation engines to further filter and act upon the data in a meaningful way.”

According to Shelford, a customer’s network is always important, but in a unified platform the network just needs to connect edge devices to the core platform. The different roles within the platform - video, access control, LPR, automation, intrusion, etc - are part of the same code and application, so all communication over the network between them is encrypted and secure in flight, even the video.

“And obviously the security of security is of paramount importance,” he says. “A unified approach also allows network security by default and with an open platform ecosystem, the platform is able to advise when connected hardware, whether it be CCTV cameras, ACS controllers, LPR cameras or other devices, have weak or default passwords, old or vulnerable firmware, or have been attacked or compromised.

“It’s absolutely not fair to say open subsystems are not secure; the use of open protocol subsystems and standards allows for increased standardisation across the industry. It’s the transport method in which these subsystems communicate that needs to be secure and encrypted, like SRTSP, HTTPS and SIPS with TLS for example.”

According to Shelford, in terms of controlling the integration process, integrators working with a unified solution will find it allows for reduced risk and exposure during deployment or migration, single application training and configuration, while delivering native redundancy across all of the platform’s roles to minimise downtime and ensure zero risk in version control during upgrades. Most importantly it means one phone number for support,

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Integration

with no finger pointing in the event of an issue.

“With a unified platform supporting all the required roles and tasks, including video, access control, SIP audio, LPR, automation and intrusion, the physical installation has never been simpler,” he explains. “As all of the software is part of the same platform, sizing and design is risk-free - you know exactly how many servers or virtual machines you need to deploy for the number of cameras, doors, SIP devices, LPR cameras, etc.

“With a unified software solution coming from a single vendor, the use of appliances with hardware designed from the ground up with the application and performance in mind allows for maximum density, hyper convergence, cyber hardened out of the box and even the application pre-installed. This further reduces deployment delays and risk for the SI and end user.”

According to Trent Schroeter of Saab Australia, the key to successfully integrating access control, automation and video surveillance is to look at the whole outcome sought, rather than focussing on individual sub-systems, or integration platform/ subsystems being used to provide whole of system integration.

“The solution can be bigger than the individual parts by allowing each subsystem to augment the functionality of another to achieve a multiplier effect,” he explains. “The subsystem or dedicated integration platform chosen to provide the integration must be easy to use, as success is measured equally in terms of user acceptance, as well as a measure of pure functionality provided.”

When it comes to open or proprietary solutions, Schroeter says open systems allow the integrator to have total flexibility over the choices of solutions they can use to achieve the integration.

“Proprietary systems do not allow this level of flexibility, so they do not always provide the best outcomes for the client, as they often restrict choices that can be made either during initial system delivery, or as part of system lifecycling,” he explains.

CYBER SECURITY IS CORE TO ANY NETWORKED SOLUTION, BECAUSE SECURITY NEEDS TO BE DESIGNED INTO AND BE INTEGRAL TO A SOLUTION.

“It’s very important that the system integrator conducts extensive and collaborative user workshops with both stakeholders and end-users to ensure that all parties understand up front what is planned and can be achieved as part of the integration. User workshops allow a customer operationally to dream the dream, to understand what is possible and feasible.”

According to Schroeter, some of the greatest installation challenges include finding a match between the functionality required and the features supported across subsystems that support integration to each other.

“They may not be a combination of vendor subsystems that when combined provide the entire set of features sought as part of the system integration,” he explains. “That’s when the use of an integration platform to allow the missing ‘glue’ to be inserted often becomes invaluable.”

On the question of managing an integrated solution via VMS, access control and alarm management system, or via PSIM, Shroeter has clear ideas.

“It’s definitely easier to manage the overall solution via a PSIM, as a PSIM is designed specifically to provide a single integrated solution for a control room,” he explains. “It means that you can decouple the rollout of the subsystems from each other allowing parallel rollout and focus on ensuring that each subsystem is able to be progressed without cross-dependencies.

“Once a solution is in service, a PSIM based solution will provide greater flexibility, in the way that lifecycling and enhancements can be progressed.

By design, a PSIM abstracts and amalgamates the functions of the underlying subsystems. This allows new subsystems to be introduced, for example, a new CCTV subsystem, with little or no impact to the end-user. This then allows an integrator or maintainer to seamlessly expand or lifecycle an existing solution with a different subsystem, without impact to the end-user.”

The size of the challenge to automate third party systems comes down to a “depends” response, according to Schroeter.

“If the site is a greenfield integration then it is not a challenge to achieve, as an experienced integrator will ensure that the total requirements of the integration are understood prior to the selection of the underlying subsystems,” he explains. “This selection process is dependent on the experience of the integrator with a number of subsystems in each of the functional areas of VMS, access control and intruder detection.

“Having a number of candidate suppliers of technology for each of the subsystems means that an integrator can choose the subsystems that meet the automation requirements for the project, rather than being forced to use a subsystem because it is already present (brownfield site). That’s where the “depends” comes in. No matter how good your

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integration platform (or PSIM) is, trying to obtain suitable integration from an existing 3rd party system running at a customer site outside of the control of the integrator can sometimes present a challenge when trying to achieve the desired level of automation.”

Is it fair to say open protocol subsystem communications are a serious security risk and if so, what’s the solution?

“Security through obscurity is not a valid mechanism,” Schroeter says. “Open protocol subsystems are not any less secure than closed protocol subsystems. An open protocol does not inherently mean there are security risks, assuming that the protocol has been designed to be secure. If a protocol is open it has the benefit that it can be easily scrutinised by others to identify potential flaws or security concerns in the design.

“I would clarify that an open protocol is not the same as open communications. Open communications imply all data is sent and received in an easily interpretable format, including plain text, which can be a major concern for information leakage, privacy and information interception, and network attacks. Working around this is very easy nowadays, with the availability of certificate-based authentication and perfect-forward-secrecy based encryption protocols supported by class leading subsystems or provided by network infrastructure.

Layered over this should be a restrictive network design, to ensure that communications are restricted to those communications that are expected, via appropriate traffic routing and firewalling.”

Is the network side the most important part of an integrated solution, in your opinion?

“The network is not the most important part, as the network is an enabler for the deployment of a solution, rather than the solution to the problem,” Schroeter explains. “Having said that, a network that has not been properly designed to meet redundancy requirements, sized based on expected traffic flows and carefully installed will undoubtedly cause issues to the overall outcome of a solution. But equally, deploying network dependent solutions is not a skill requirement unique to the security industry, and there are plenty of resources, training courses and best practices available to ensure a top tier integrator can deploy a scalable, redundant and secure network.

“Cyber security is core to any networked solution, because security needs to be designed into and be integral to a solution. It cannot be added in later. I know that’s a short answer, but that is really all that needs to be said. Performing a penetration test on a solution will only highlight the problems. Putting in place a design with mitigations already in place is the only way to achieve a demonstrably secure solution. Band-aids after the fact generally don’t work.”

For security integrators, how difficult is managing the integration process – what should they be

looking out for in terms of controlling the process and the wider circle of interest groups?

“As a security integrator, you need to make sure you have direct access relationships and commercial arrangements to ensure unfettered access to your key dependencies and stakeholders,” Schroeter says. “Many projects suffer from either long communication chains or lack of commercial arrangements to set expectations up front and to ensure direct communication between parties occurs when required. This does not mean integration needs to become an unstructured or uncontrolled process. But managing the integration process can be more difficult if these arrangements have not been formalised prior to a project.

“When it comes to the physical installation challenges of any major integration you are talking available rack space, continuous A/C and power, control room refurbishment constraints, obtaining temporary commissioning and operating locations, with an acceptable live staged cut-over strategy. Just the normal things that require up front planning and preparation, rather than relying on the hope an integrated solution will somehow come together during delivery.” n

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● Case study

Parkes

PARKES INSTALLS AVIGILON An Avigilon video surveillance solutions, including 91 cameras and Avigilon ACC with AI capabilities, has been installed to protect public space in the Central Western town of Parkes.

ARKES’ video surveillance solution incorporates 91 closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras, including bullets and multi-sensor cameras, located throughout the Parkes CBD, from the Star Hotel to the railway bridge.

The CCTV system is built around 20 wireless links to provide connectivity between sites, with all cameras able to be accessed and monitored in real time from Parkes Police Station.

Parkes Shire Council partnered with Central West Police District to roll out the final phase of upgrades to the Parkes central business district (CBD) security network, which was funded by the Australian Government’s Safer Communities Fund. The final phase saw the installation of 24 new cameras, a video management solution incorporating artificial intelligence software, as well as a new video workstation based at Parkes Police Station.

The $A226,306 grant enabled Council to install new CCTV cameras, signage and upgrade 16 old analogue cameras. The grant also allowed Council to erect 9 solar security lights and purchase a portable CCTV trailer with 7 cameras, as well as purchasing removable bollards to integrate with

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Parkes Shire Council’s Anthony McGrath, network & systems engineer Mitch Miles, Parkes Shire Mayor Cr Ken Keith OAM, Chief Inspector David Cooper, and Probationary Constable Michael Whiting.

its existing security system. The mobile CCTV trailer can be deployed at any events and areas of concern.

The trailer has 4 cameras providing 360-degree vision around the trailer at eye level and 3 PTZ cameras on a mast to provide coverage to areas up to 450 metres away. The trailer is integrated into the management system and can be viewed at the police station in real time.

The project involved upgrading the existing analogue CCTV cameras at the Parkes taxi rank, as well as installing new CCTV cameras in Welcome Street, Grenfell Street, Lower Bogan Street and at the Parkes railway footbridge. Meanwhile, new solar security lighting has been installed in Jansen Lane (behind the Cambridge Hotel) and at the Parkes Railway Station footbridge precinct to support CCTV, and in Grenfell Street.

Officer in charge of Parkes Police, Chief Inspector Dave Cooper said Parkes Shire Council had driven a great initiative.

“Parkes Police use the CCTV system as part of a suite of investigative options,” Cooper said. “Being able to view and review incidents in real time means that police can utilise the full functionality of the system and act quickly. The CCTV is a major part of our crime prevention and detection strategies. I would like to thank Parkes Shire Council for its support and collaborative approach to crime prevention.

“Statistics indicate that these precincts are busy areas for anti-social activity, particularly on Friday and Saturday nights. This project will help mitigate some of these problems and greatly improve community safety and wellbeing.”

Meanwhile, Parkes Shire mayor, councillor Ken Keith OAM said the grant had enabled Parkes to invest in a new security network and adequate lighting throughout the central business district, which helped to improve safety for the community.”

“Thank you to Parkes Police, who worked closely with us to identify the hot spots for anti-social behaviour and crime throughout town, Keith said.

“The new system will act as a deterrent for crime and anti-social behaviour, assist police monitor and reduce these crimes, mitigate the threat posed by hostile vehicles and improve the perception of safety in the community.”

The H4A bullet camera used at Parkes features an integrated lens with remote focus and zoom control and is ONVIF compliant. Embedded with Avigilon self-learning video analytics and Unusual Motion Detection (UMD) technology, H4A cameras are designed to integrate seamlessly with Avigilon Control Center (ACC) video management software and provide object detection and classification capabilities.

Meanwhile, the H4 Multisensor camera line combines Avigilon self-learning video analytics with exceptional coverage, featuring 3 or 4 individually adjustable camera sensors that can be positioned to monitor virtually any area. Smart analytics recognize threats without predefined rules to help operators detect, verify and act faster. n

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AD-Acusense-Australia.pdf 1 2020/3/23 下午1:51

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FOCUS and ACT

AcuSense Technology

WHAT YOU SEE Human & Vehicle Events that Matter and Should Receive Attention

WHAT YOU WON’T SEE

Up to

90

%

of the false alarms that were taken out Powered by a deep learning algorithm, AcuSense products recognize and respond to human bodies and vehicles in the field of view. This greatly reduces irrelevant alarms that so often get triggered by animals, leaves, or other nuisances. You will also enjoy more efficient video file searching when looking for clips related to specific event with AcuSense’s advanced object classification capability. * 90% false alarm reduction rate is obtained through labatory testing.

This percentage may vary under different situations.

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Distributed by

Hikvision Oceania Hotline 1300 976 305 salesau@hikvision.com @HikvisionOceania

www.csd.com.au

SEN420_31.indd 1

www.nesscorporation.com

www.videosecurityproducts.com.au

@HikvisionOceania

www.hikvision.com.au

31/3/20 10:11 am

â—? Product review

Tiandy

TIANDY TC-C32GP BULLET Tiandy’s TC-C32GP 2MP H.265 bullet camera features Full HD resolution, a fixed 4mm focal length and fixed lens, adjustable WDR, 50 metre IR range and an integrated housing. When the boys from NAS Australia offered to drop off 2 bullet cameras at the SEN office, we jumped at the chance to get a feel for their capabilities.

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BY J O H N A D A M S

his TC-C32GP day/night IP67 bullet camera is the smaller of the 2 Tiandy cameras we’re going to test over the coming months. It’s a compact little unit that’s extremely simple to set up, with a solid feature set at this price. Build quality is good and the design is pleasing and discreet. This Tiandy bullet is light – it’s the smallest bullet camera we’ve ever put into the Magic Arm. In terms of overall features, the TC-C32GP bullet has a 1/2.8-inch CMOS sensor, delivering colour down to 0.0008 lux @ an aperture of F1.6 with ACG ON). These numbers are probably optimistic, given starlight without moon is 0.002 lux. In monochrome with IR activated, the camera delivers usable images down to 0 lux. Shutter speed is adjustable from 1s to 1/100,000s and this day/night camera features an IR cut filter with auto. There’s also digital WDR. The angle adjustment bracket pans from 0-360 degrees, tilts from 0 to 75 degrees and rotates from 0 to 360 degrees. The lens is fixed at 4mm with a mildly fast aperture of F1.6, giving an angle of view of 87.6 degrees, which is ideal for my scene. The focus is fixed, too, which is less ideal though it does make installation simpler.

There are a pair of LEDs operating at 850nm and giving a range of 50 metres. Operating conditions are from -35 to 65C, which is excellent and power supply is 6-7W, which is very economical. The dimensions of the camera are 208 x 82 x 81mm, with a weight of only 350 grams. There’s only one comms interface - an RJ45 10/100 self-adaptive Ethernet port and an audio input.

Image settings include saturation, brightness, contrast, sharpness, adjustable by client software or web browser, image enhancement BLC/3D and DNR/ HLC, there’s a privacy mask and smart defog. There’s also intelligent coding, intelligent image, intelligent alarm and alarm triggers via motion detection, IP conflict, MAC conflict and mask alarm. Compression options are H.265, S+265 and H.264 and bit rate is variable form 32k to 6Mbps.

There are some things you don’t get on this stripped down camera, including Audio I/O, alarm I/O, reset button, ROI, video analytics, early warning, picture overlay, audio compression, audio bitrate, network and network storage. But what you do get is tough – the body is heavy poly and cast aluminium and that IP67 rating means the camera can withstand being submerged in water to a depth of 1 metre. Just make sure you use an IP67-rated connector to connect the flying lead to your cable run.

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TEST DRIVING TIANDY TC-C32GP BULLET We’re not using SEN’s server to drive this camera – instead we’re using a Tiandy 8-input NVR to wrangle the video stream via our NetGear router with a flick pass from the Dell Optiplex 9020 to the usual Benq monitor. There’s a second Tiandy camera on the NVR – a high end bullet. How much impact this setup has on performance isn’t easy to say objectively, but there would be a little attenuation and latency,

Image is well balanced with low blur.

Face ID best inside 10 metres.

compared with directly viewing the camera on a monitor connected to the NVR. Before we start, there’s a downshift to be made – the last camera we tested was the Axis 3245-LVE dome. The 3245-LVE is a serious camera for high security applications. This fixed lens, fixed focus Tiandy bullet plays on a different park – it’s designed to very affordably monitor shallower scenes with less challenging environmental inputs. Typical applications would include commercial, retail and residential applications with a required depth of field of up to 10 metres and situational awareness further out.

The most complex part of setup is getting the twisty ties off a new 20 metre CAT-6 cable without my glasses. Angle of view with a 4mm focal length and a 1/2.8-inch sensor is close to perfect for our street scene – about 90 degrees. My first reaction on seeing the live stream is to tweak focus but that’s not an option – plug and play is the name of this game.

I can’t zoom, either. The fixed lens means installers will need to think slightly longer about installation and select a mounting point that puts the sweet spot between hyperfocal distance – around half a

MY FIRST REACTION ON SEEING THE LIVE STREAM IS TO TWEAK FOCUS BUT THAT’S NOT AN OPTION – PLUG AND PLAY IS THE NAME OF THIS GAME.

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● Product review

Tiandy THIS CAMERA DELIVERS ITS PEAK PERFORMANCE VERY CONSISTENTLY, MANAGING VARIABLE LIGHT AND FAILING LIGHT WELL AND EASILY HOLDING COLOUR UNDER 5 LUX.

No plate...

...And no faces but lots of detail.

IR has good reach.

Blooming is well controlled.

metre - and useful infinity, which pixel spread and processing artefacts set at about 15 metres.

I take a look at the office first. Strengths include vivid colour rendition especially of reds and blues, mild barrel distortion – it’s probably about 4-5 per cent. I have face recognition inside to about 8 metres, but you can see there’s over exposure in the kitchen doorway from 70,000 lux of afternoon sun. Chromatic aberration is very well controlled, which is a strength of fixed lenses. I can see none at all, even when pixel peeping. The image has characteristic softness that is consistent all the way through the scene.

Next, I take the Magic Arm up the stairs. Our street scene is not the easiest – it delivers full sun in the morning, bright and dark areas in the middle of the day, deep shadow in the afternoon and multiple colour temperatures from street and ambient lighting in the evenings. The Tiandy shows some processing noise, a little stepping of the image stream that might be down to the way we are viewing the camera as it’s not evident on the NVR, latency of about 350ms, which is quite good at this price point.

There’s softness deeper into the scene, as well as some over exposure – the camera is exposing for the shaded foreground in this part of the test but overall, the scene is reasonably balanced.

Looking at the scene I don’t expect I’ll be able to get fast moving plates. I have plenty of situational awareness around vehicles – colour, make, model – but my expectations are born out. Closer in I have no trouble with faces and other details, including clothing, accessories, footwear. A cyclist goes by on the opposite pavement and I get clothing and accessory details.

I notice there’s some blurring about fast moving leaves and branches in the foreground of the scene – because we’re in shadow and exposure is set to auto this is probably a combination of slow shutter speed and tone mapping artefacts. When it comes to handling scenes with variable lighting, the Tiandy bullet does well as the afternoon goes on.

There’s some over exposure but it’s well controlled.

During the day I try to limit exposure in settings but with WDR activated the scene darkens in a way I’m not happy with for our application. Over exposure in a bright background is a price worth paying for a brighter foreground, in my opinion.

The image stream stays very consistent. By now I’ve decided I’m happiest with performance out to 10-12 metres when it comes to recognition pedestrians

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and vehicles, but the depth of field is not bad, and it remains useful as light fades.

I still don’t get moving plates but when it comes to pedestrians, I’m getting plenty of detail much of which is accurate to 40 metres – details like gender, height, clothing colour, shoe colour, hair colour, gait, general behaviour, etc. Something I notice as workers a couple of doors up go in and out from their work vehicles later in the afternoon is that there’s a little blur being dragged behind them. Later on an electric scooter whizzes down the street and I get good but soft detail of the rider.

As night falls, the image stays consistent – it doesn’t get any sharper but doesn’t go to pieces, either. In fact, if anything it gets brighter and depth of field increases. There’s a point at which vehicles and pedestrians start to drag a noticeable tail of blur – around 7pm – but it’s getting dark between the towers by then. At this time the camera is still very bright, but the image is becoming strained by the digital processing going into maintaining it.

There’s some increase in noise and softness once the light has well and truly gone. At this point I’m not getting court admissible faces close to the lens and fast-moving vehicles can no longer be as clearly identified. As the light fades, the tone from the low kelvin sodium lights at the end of the street becomes more noticeable. Regardless, there’s a surprising amount of useful detail and the sky at the end of the street remains a lovely cornflower blue, even through it’s dark outside.

And there’s no sign of the camera wanting to go over into night mode, either, even though I measure only 5 lux out the front. In the end I push it over into night mode with IR activated. In a busy scene like this IR has advantages and disadvantages – the array certainly has good reach – it goes all the way out into general situational awareness past 25 metres.

With IR activated there’s some flare from nearby objects and I don’t get faces or plates. Regardless, in applications characterized by complete darkness IR gives situational awareness you would not otherwise get, including clarification of intrusion, presence of vehicles, attempts at intrusion and more.

CONCLUSION Tiandy’s TC-C32GP Bullet Camera is an economical surveillance device designed to be robust and very easy to install. It’s ideal for applications with a depth of field out to about 12 metres – from 4-8 metres is the sweet spot. Past 12 metres things start getting soft, although the image stream remains useful in terms of situational awareness. While outright performance is modest and the feature set is relatively lightweight, this camera delivers its peak performance very consistently, managing variable light and failing light well and easily holding colour under 5 lux. Performance in low light is a particular strength and IR has excellent spread and reach. n

No plates.

But loads of detail.

FEATURES OF SALTO FEATURES OF TIANDY TC-C32GP BULLET CAMERA l 1920 x 1080p @30fps l Compression - S+265/H.265/H.264 l Min. illumination in colour: 0.0008 lux @ F1.6 l Smart IR, 50 metre IR range l Operating conditions -35 to 65C, 95 per cent humidity l POE, IP67 l Smart Codec/Image/Alarm.

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● Special report

Perimeter Security

PERIMETER FENCE MAINTENANCE Perimeter fence maintenance is a crucial, but often forgotten, aspect of site security. Gallagher’s Pedro De Jesus, sales manager for Queensland and Papua New Guinea, and Greg O’Neill, business development manager, discuss the importance of maintaining perimeter fencing.

MONITORED pulse fence is a significant investment, but one we believe is worthwhile for superior protection of people and assets.

Supporting this investment with regular, planned maintenance is vital to ensure the reliable performance of your security system when it’s needed.

A neglected fence becomes a hindrance. Missing or broken wires make a fence appear weak and ineffective, turning your site into a target for thefts and vandalism.

Overgrown vegetation and broken components can trigger false alarms, leading to a system you can’t rely on and which can cost a fortune in guard callouts.

Perimeter fence maintenance shouldn’t be an afterthought; it’s something that needs to be considered before the fence is even installed. The fence location, environment, and locations of conduits, controllers, and underground services should be carefully thought through to enable site maintenance plans to be implemented and easily carried out by a qualified technician.

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PREVENTATIVE MAINTENANCE VS REACTIVE MAINTENANCE For any perimeter solution there are 2 approaches to maintenance – preventative maintenance and reactive maintenance. Preventative maintenance involves

regular, scheduled maintenance to ensure the fence detection system remains operational. Reactive maintenance reinstates correct fence operation following an unexpected event – such as an attack, accidental damage, or animal activity.

By taking a proactive approach to maintenance, issues can be identified before they become critical.

While reactive maintenance has a place in responding to issues, it is not a complete maintenance solution and shouldn’t be solely relied upon to keep your fence operational.

Preventative maintenance creates efficiencies.

Not only does it maintain the performance of your fence, preventative maintenance can also save you time and money. Any repair or replacement work can be performed during standard working hours, rather than expensive after-hours callouts, and the subsequent reduction in maintenance-related alarm activations saves costs through fewer guard patrol dispatches.

We recommend maintenance is carried out by a qualified technician, who will check the conditions of the fence and components, clean tensioners and insulators, carry out an oxidation assessment, and remove any rubbish, debris, and vegetation from around the fence. We see some strange repairs out in the field – fences quickly mended with whatever equipment was on hand, like PVC pipe or even plastic hose connecters.

We advise technicians to always carry out repairs with the correct replacement parts. Incorrect parts are likely to raise faults in the monitoring system and can cause false alarms, rendering the fence more ineffective than before the repairs were carried out.

ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES Environmental factors such as vegetation, rubbish, oxidation, and contamination can affect the performance of your security system. While these can’t be eliminated, regular maintenance can minimize their effects. No 2 sites are the same, so it’s important to consider local conditions and create a custom plan for managing environmental factors on your site.

As part of the preventative maintenance schedule, technicians can address environmental influences by inspecting for damage caused by corrosion or oxidation; cleaning the fence components to remove build-up of contamination and dirt; removing any rubbish and debris within the fence vicinity; and maintaining a vegetation clearance of at least 500mm on either side of the fence line.

Businesses often don’t realize the value of fence maintenance until it’s too late. Preserve your investment by working with your security provider to create a maintenance plan that will protect your fence, your people, and your assets. n

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● Special report

Analysis

COVID-19 CHANGES NOTHING & EVERYTHING COVID-19 is driving falls in market and consumer confidence and threatening to test business plans in a way not seen in our lifetimes. And that’s before you lay the personal and social impact of the Coronavirus epidemic, including a tragic and ongoing loss of life and income, onto global communities. here’s no point pretending the COVID-19 epidemic will not have an impact on the security market in many ways. Global news services are following events in real time as jobs and lives are lost, borders are closed, markets tremble and local currencies head south in ways that seemed impossible a few weeks ago. In a business sense, how much is real, how much is panic-based and how much will be made real by panic remains opaque. The only certainty is that we are all in this together.

From a security management and supplier perspective, it’s difficult to disengage from the turmoil. Conceiving a global epidemic and its ramifications can be overwhelming. But it’s important security people at every level resist panic, stay firmly welded to the industry’s protective function and strive to mitigate real world challenges as they arise, using the most efficient procedures, technologies and functionalities available.

It’s equally important to consider that COVID-19 does not change the operational demands of the security function. If anything, it sharpens them, while at the same time highlighting the serious potential of some of our electronic security technologies to assist colleagues, whether suppliers, integrators, corporate and government end users, and those members of the public security people ultimately serve.

Clever sensors, global notifications, powerful over-arching management solutions; integrated access, alarm, automation and CCTV solutions with remote management; app management of anything, cloud stuff, guard tours via existing CCTV solutions, AI-enabled thermal ‘fever’ cameras, video analytics of all kinds, drone response, no-hands face recognition access, high quality CCTV cameras and intercoms allowing management of entry ways, network redundancy and smart power systems,

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redundant comms paths, including serious wireless, secure 24-hour monitoring facilities, the ability to include medical testing as an access control rule – all these and many more have a role to play when security teams are reduced or isolated.

Within organisations – many public facing – security teams have a role to play in safety, as well as support for staff and the public, including first aid. There’s nothing new in any of this. What will be new is embracing the fact many of these functions can be handled remotely – from checking ID in real time to maintaining databases remotely, actioning alarms using intelligent mapping functions, as well as undertaking system maintenance down to the level of checking resistance on sensor cable runs using remote installer apps.

Security managers will have their work cut out getting team members back home from OS or interstate, mapping out safety strategies, and implementing freshly-minted procedures around security, first aid and remote management of sites half-emptied of staff. They are also likely to be presiding over changes to access control parameters and trying to stay on top of government healthcare directives in real time. Security officers, meanwhile, will find themselves assisting the public in different ways in more stressful times, and they’ll be facing a different risk profile. Control room operators are going to find themselves more than ever the eyes and ears of their customers yet be without recourse to patrol response. Some of you might end up living at work.

Suppliers and integrators have a major responsibility, too. Most systems incorporate smart functionalities never commissioned that are capable of delivering more flexible management of integrated solutions – including remote connectivity. These functionalities must be communicated to customers and liberated and implemented by integrators – securely. Importantly, remote management is not only found in high-end systems. NVRs and security controllers have capabilities few installers have jolted out of default. It’s time to discover what those functions are.

Prior to COVID-19, the year 2020 was shaping up to be particularly busy, with more tenders than usual flowing through and a lot of upgrade work taking place. In almost all cases, these upgrades sought to improve operational performance, enhance management capabilities, sharpen situational awareness and improve the efficiencies of security teams without increasing manpower. Far from being off the table, all these operational demands are now an even greater priority.

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BY J O H N A D A M S

Time is the key – some of us are going to have more of it and it’s vital to invest that time proactively in a future that’s just around the corner. There’s time for planning, for training, for writing and implementing new procedures, for testing remote management and maintenance strategies, for getting the whole team across your product stack or emergency response procedures. Time to think about sourcing product from local suppliers with local manufacturing facilities to better cover bases when global supply lines break, time to look hard at supply chains, time to think about network and comms redundancies, time to design integrated enterprise solutions that can be driven by anything from anywhere.

There’s going to be time to consider the profound healthcare applications of security technology, the ability to save lives by detecting illness, to provide support for local communities, to investigate DIY systems that can be delivered, installed by customers and then commissioned by remote techs. There’s also going to be time to maintain those expensive tools you forgot you bought, for cleaning out vehicles, for streamlining tired processes, for choosing between Microsoft Teams, Zoom or Slack, for getting your head around 5G and deciding on IoT strategies, for doing the SWOT analysis you’ve been meaning to write for 10 years. Time to spend exploring the remote capabilities of existing systems for clients who need your help now more than ever before.

Now is definitely the time for listening to customer problems more carefully than usual, for answering the phone first ring, for checking your junk folder for lost customers, for economising on cabling and components by working more carefully, for taking note of what’s going on around you and recording its impact – noting the way challenges were or weren’t

THIS IS A PEOPLE INDUSTRY AND IT WOULD BE A MISTAKE TO FORGET IT AT THE MOMENT PEOPLE ARE MOST IMPORTANT.

resolved. Now is also time to think about partnerships with companies interstate, for getting healthy but isolated team members to assist with remote work, such as help desk duties, remote commissioning and maintenance, even admin. It’s also the time to do loads of pre-commissioning and to do outside work – trenching, cable runs, infrastructure – anything that keeps your team isolated while pushing a job forward. And now is also the time to invest in your team – they won’t forgive you if you don’t and it will be hard to rebuild with a bent reputation. This is a people industry and it would be a mistake to forget it at the moment people are most important.

Now is not the time for face to face contact but there are many ways security people can contact and assist each other. For end users, consider leveraging overlapping security capabilities – including things like PTZ coverage, thermal fire detection camera angles of view, security patrols and most of all, intel. End users also need to make sure their lines of communication with law enforcement and emergency services are up to date. Integrators and suppliers should also reach out for support; whether from your team, your suppliers, even your competitors. It’s time to share resources with anyone who needs them.

There are going to be issues of broken functionality, maintenance, problems with commissioning of halfcompleted solutions with half a team, challenges with remote and interstate site access, staff issues at 24hour monitoring centres, product supply issues and plenty more besides. Today, the customer comes first – everyone’s customer comes first – but we can only deliver on that promise by working together.

Finally, don’t lose sight of what’s most important in life – take care of your teams, yourselves and your families. n

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● Special report

Technology

BODY TEMPERATURE CAMERAS Thermal body temperature cameras are proving central to the battle against the COVID-19 epidemic, with government, commercial and industrial end users eager to implement BTM technology in order to detect elevated body temperatures that indicate fever.

HERMAL body temperature cameras can’t detect a virus, but they can detect elevated body temperatures in public and private spaces, alerting security and healthcare teams to the need to test scanned subjects for illness. There are challenges. Operationally, it’s important that BTM cameras can see the forehead or the corner of the eye – that means no hats or glasses can be worn – and the camera should be placed no more than 2 metres away from subjects. And be sure the environment has no strong light sources, sunlight or people not being tested in it.

Because these cameras are measuring skin temperature, not core temperature, expect false positives and be sure the display mechanism is sufficiently subtle to show temperature differences.

Controlling the environment is vital – you need temperatures between 18-24 degrees and make sure the equipment you select has a noise equivalent temperature difference of 50mK – that’s 0.05C and a spectral range between 7.5 and 13 microns. You also want low latency in the image stream and higher resolutions. The standard relating to the use of thermographic cameras is ISO 13154 – make sure you’re across it.

Some BTM cameras available include Dahua’s PoE DHTPC-BF3221-T thermal network hybrid bullet camera.

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This camera features 256 x 192-pixel VOx uncooled thermal sensor technology, a focus free thermal lens with a focal length of 7mm and an operating distance of 3 metres, body temperature measurement with an accuracy of ±0.3C, with an adjacent black body, which is vital for correct calibration. The camera includes a 1/2.8-inch 2MP progressive scan Sony CMOS, region of interest, motion detection and colour palettes, active deterrence with white light and siren, 2 alarm inputs and outputs, MicroSD memory and IP67 rating.

Another option is the BTM-T5 body temperature detection camera, which is a BTM measuring and screening system suitable for areas where there are large groups of people. This IP66-rated thermal camera has a 384 x 288-pixel IR detector with a temperature measurement range of 0C to 60C and a measurement accuracy of ≤ 0.3C that’s ideal for fever screening programmes.

The BTM-T5 comes with a range of temperature measurement tools which includes motion detection and alarm I/O, temperature alarm and many more.

The BTM-T5 allows non-invasive fever screening to take place meaning there is no major disruptions to the flow of people in an area. The BTM-T5 has an uncooled IRFPA microbolometer detector with an 8mm fixed lens, while the optical camera has a resolution of 2MP and features a 2.7mm to 12mm motorised lens, H.265, H.264, and MJPEG codecs, 120dB of WDR and simultaneous access for 10 users.

Another option is Uniview’s dual-view infrared USS-TIC-500 series dual-spectrum infrared body temperature rapid screening instrument. It uses a non-refrigerated core and low signal-noise image processing technology and is a non-contact, real-time, continuous and accurate temperature measuring system. Software visually displays the temperature information of subjects in the field of view, making it ideal for entry-exit points.

Key features of the USS-TIC-500 include 384 x 288 pixel sensor, body temperature detection with abnormal temperature alarm, automatic exposure control and automatic white balance, face temperature measurement mode that intelligently analyzes face targets and measures body temperature.

Hikvision’s new range of thermographic cameras and handheld devices provide a non-contact and highly efficient way to measure body temperature.

With advanced algorithms, these thermographic cameras can detect elevated body temperatures in moving crowds such as passengers, commuters and shoppers, with an accuracy of ±0.5 degrees celsius.

The cameras include AI human body detection which allows the user to fix the measurement areas to human bodies, reducing false alarms. They also have embedded audio alarms, which can trigger other alarms to notify operators when a person with a fever passes by. n

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We keep innovating to protect our future innovators Educational institutions across the world rely on our products to protect their staff and students.

Inner Range specialise in enterprise-level solutions that are scalable, intuitive - and most importantly - secure.

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● Regulars

The Interview

Sapio Says SEN recently spoke with Luke Kavanagh, general manager Emerging Technologies at Sapio and Nigel Seager, ICT manager at Sapio, about where they see the security and home automation industry heading over the next few years.

JA: Would you agree that with the loss of telco rebates, many security installation businesses face a more challenging future?

LK: Yes, definitely. For those who don’t know, alarm panels make calls to control rooms and every call costs roughly 25 cents. The rebate would mean that the security company that owns the phone number would receive 25 cents from a telecommunication company who hosts the phone number, thus offsetting the cost for businesses. Say several hundred thousand events come in a month, that is a large rebate generally in the tens of thousands or more for a security provider. As the rebates have been dwindling for years now, security companies have had time to prepare themselves for the future and be future focused to create a business model that can operate under these new dynamics.

there. It is up to security companies to find out what those things are and look to monitor them.

JA: Do you think diversification may hold the key to success for many installation companies? If so, in which directions?

LK: In the current climate, security companies will need to diversify in order to survive. If they continue with traditional security, they will be unable to operate long term. This could be done by offering remote video monitoring and verifying LAN events using live video cameras as an upsell strategy, or personalised monitoring using an App. Another interesting space is aged care and trying to keep people in their own homes for longer.

With the widespread growth of the Internet of Things there has never been a greater range of monitored things out

JA: How important are partnerships with suppliers, manufacturers, customers – even competitors – in a networked world?

LK: Partnerships are important, and without them a business can’t succeed.

Power of partnerships is such an important concept. If we can leverage the people around us and bring that all together, Sapio is the perfect partner for a systems integrator. The focus at Sapio is turning your supply chain into a dynamic process that creates outstanding value to the end user through specialised products, services and installation.

JA: In your opinion, what is the business model of the security installation business of the future – which areas of technology must it focus on, what must its expertise be, who are its customers? What are its income streams?

LK: The Internet of Things will be driving the security businesses of the future. We have got a vast array of edge devices that are connecting to the internet, ultimately creating a potential for businesses to monitor those devices.

Future security companies will leverage these devices with analytics, artificial intelligence and machine learning to sell security into businesses and deliver greater business outcomes.

JA: DIY – is there a way in which DIY solutions could feed into the business

models of security installers via professional monitoring, support, additional services, supply – even superfast wireless and internetconnected installations undertaken for less tech-savvy elderly users?

LK: There absolutely is, however, it hasn’t been done yet and provides the industry with a great opportunity. At the moment, individuals can’t go and buy a Google Nest or Amazon Cloud camera to have monitored 24/7 by a provider or to include a distress button in case of a break and enter. A hop-on hop-off style service is something that would be interesting to see also, offering individuals who, for example, travel frequently, an option to enable 24/7 monitoring only when they are away from their home.

JA: How can the modern installer compete with huge companies like Google, Apple and Amazon for a slice of the security and home automation pie?

How can they market themselves to create a point of differentiation?

LK: Google and Amazon offer individuals the opportunity to look and see if their kids are home, or if their dog is running around, however, provide little response to home security concerns. These devices are essentially webcams, allowing for malicious individuals to gain access to home video feeds without owners knowing. Modern installers could address this opportunity by providing encrypted home security solutions that provide home automation features that do not allow for devices to exist on the open web.

JA: Would you say the big data business models of the huge internet players suggest their home automation plays are more about customer knowledge than customer protection – does this ring fence pure security services to some extent?

LK: Big data business models focus on the collection and learning of consumer behaviour to retain customer stickiness rather than the safeguarding of homes.

This does ring fence pure security services, which have a sole focus on protection and security, providing consumers with a specialised service solely targeting their needs.

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L U K E K AVA N A G H A N D N I G E L S E A G E R W I T H J O H N A D A M S

CUSTOMER TRUST IS THE CRUX OF OUR ENTIRE VALUE PROPOSITION, WITHOUT TRUST, THE SECURITY INDUSTRY COULD NOT OPERATE.

JA: A recent study in the US suggested 92 per cent of consumers trust security installers and integrators to protect their data – that’s a huge number – would you say it infers opportunity and responsibility?

LK: Without a doubt, security does come along with a certain level of trust. As a licensed operator, that alone carries weight. Customer trust is the crux of our entire value proposition, without trust, the security industry could not operate.

Companies who foster trust with their customers and reaffirm this notion on a regular basis are on their way to long term success. Consumer needs are constantly evolving and so too are the requirements needed to gain the trust of consumers. This could be seen in the handling of consumer privacy as well as a reliable service.

JA: Nigel, how important is it that security technicians look cabled and wireless networking square in the eye in terms of business models and training?

NS: Everything is based around networking. The technicians need to have the ability to understand connections and configure networks.

Cutting edge technologies provide us with the tools Sapio needs to provide outstanding security solutions. But if technicians don’t install something correctly or are unaware of the full capability of a technology, that could have real world implications for end users.

Any error in technology could severely limit response time, monitoring effectiveness and the potential of open access to a consumer’s home. These

days we use devices with SIM cards in them to ensure a faster installation with a lower labour cost and a greater level of flexibility and reliability.

JA: The race to the bottom on hardware prices – how vital is it for system performance and the revenues of installers and end users that the slowmotion collapse in hardware prices is arrested and how do you think that process can be managed? Do you find end users are prepared to pay more for obviously superior quality?

NS: While price is always relevant, if you can look towards solving business problems, price becomes less relevant.

Consumers are willing to pay more for solutions created by integrators, these solutions are points of differences that solve actual business challenges. This

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● Regulars

The Interview

concept is also key for manufacturers, as they must look at how their products create outcomes for end users, not just dormant monitoring just in case.

Through this innovation cycle we will see consumers opting for more than just the cheapest offering available. It is the integration of human intelligence and technology that provides end users with superior quality.

JA: Business models like Vsaas, cloud services, support for networked solutions – how can these be wrangled into recurring revenue by installation and integration businesses?

NS: This is a very interesting space to be in and poses an exciting opportunity for security companies to take advantage of.

At Sapio we are looking to capitalise on

THE INTERNET OF THINGS WILL BE DRIVING THE SECURITY BUSINESSES OF THE FUTURE.

growing market trends through exciting new products and solutions.

JA: How important are network speed, service uptime, reliability, failover to local storage and the inclusion of redundant comms paths to the future of security electronics? Are there some areas in Australia that simply don’t yet have the network capacity to support the latest tech, in your opinion?

NS: All these factors affect service uptime, reliability and failover. It is essential security companies move away from single points of failure to mitigate risk and increase reliability. There are lots of places in Australia that just don’t have the network capacity at the moment and some of them aren’t even really regional.

I live in a metro area and sometimes struggle to get 3G. I also experience patchy internet via wireless at the best of times. All of this happens just 10 minutes from a fairly major city. With the rollout of NBN, 5G and other new technologies

reliability, speed and coverage will improve and provide users with better ways of communicating data.

JA: We are seeing the acquisition of quality installation and integration companies – is this trend likely to continue and what is driving it, in your opinion?

NS: The shift in consumer spending towards home DIY solutions are changing the place of security companies. This trend of acquisitions between installation companies and integration companies looks like an organic consolidation of resources, ultimately integrating services and offerings to provide innovative solutions moving forward.

The industry is at a point where it needs to think long and hard about what it is. Traditional security is not going to survive. We need to be looking at the monitoring of things, using machine learning and analytics to deliver value to customers. n

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Proudly brought to you by

● Regulars

Monitoring

Your Monitoring Specialists

1300 130 515

www.bensecurity.com.au

Cometh The Hour With a state of lockdown variously imposed on a global scale to combat the outbreak of the COVID-19 virus, monitoring is a service and a technology suite whose time really has come.

ECURITY managers looking to bolster their organisation’s security profile during the COVID-19 epidemic should make professional monitoring services the central pillar of their strategies. The question is, which alarms and systems events they should elevate in order to ensure their sites remain secure, no matter how threadbare local staffing levels become?

The best monitoring stations are designed to never fail, to never lose power, to never lose comms – in a way they are built for times like these. Their ability to monitor events as diverse as perimeter intrusion, gate and door openings,

S

flood, personal emergency beacons, fire and smoke sensors, exceptions in automated process control, power and comms failures, breaches of defined VMD boundaries, the presence of unauthorised staff or visitors, along with anything else techs have integrated into systems in recent years, places them front and centre.

Most security managers will already have monitoring station partners and now’s the time to scale up the relationship, even if it’s just to alter scheduling for the foreseeable future to ensure sites without staff or with low staffing levels don’t continue with current 9-5 scheduling across the facility. Planning will be needed here, because the new numbers must be

programmed in at the monitoring end and instilled at the customer end.

As well as tweaking alarm scheduling, you’ll likely need to play with permissions/ authorisations to ensure the company and its sites are covered during a lockdown and/or in the event key personnel are suddenly taken ill. Having the security function entirely in one person’s hands is an operational weakness.

Some end users already have remote CCTV capabilities built into their CCTV systems, allowing management to view live footage or alarm events in real time, as well as checking out recorded footage of events. Other end users will have multiple system workstations across multiple sites to allow failover in the event of technical issues or loss of personnel.

For companies that don’t have this capability covered, there are monitoring providers whose services include remote CCTV monitoring such as guard tours, viewing of alarm events, including intrusion and fire, as well as communicating with management and orchestrating emergency response wherever required.

Another issue for monitoring stations and their customers over the next 3-6 months will be managing response. For customers whose services include CCTV this is less of an issue, but end users whose systems can’t verify alarm events will need patrol response and it remains unclear whether this response will be consistently available. There will need to be communication between monitoring stations, customers, law enforcement agencies, ASIAL and relevant government health departments to establish which security roles are considered critical.

While the U.S. has designated security industry works critical, in the UK, the BSIA is still pleading with the government to clarify the status of security officers who carry out private security work, including cash in transit, for its members. Presently there has been no response but given many security staff and contractors are engaged in critical industries including healthcare, utilities, transport, vital public services, local and national government administration, along with public safety and national security, it seems certain

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Proudly brought to you by

Your Monitoring Specialists

1300 130 515

www.bensecurity.com.au

many fall into that category. The same ruling should apply to monitoring stations supporting such organisations.

David Ward, chair of the City Security Council said last week that clarity around security teams would: “avoid buildings being left vulnerable and ensure building management systems and fire and intruder alarms could continue to be monitored and responded to in the event of an activation. With so many businesses reliant on home working at this current time it is essential that their building hubs

are kept in a safe good working order.”

Making the situation opaque in the UK, the government said that if workers think they fall within the critical categories, ‘they should confirm with their employer that, based on their business continuity arrangements, their specific role is necessary’.

Presently there is no word from the Australian government what will constitute a complete lockdown – layered government here makes this more complicated than in some other countries.

It’s entirely likely that in the event the federal government fails to act in the face of an ongoing spike in COVID-19 infections, the state governments will take matters into their own hands and institute a state by state shutdown overseen by local law enforcement.

All this uncertainty only underlines the importance of monitoring stations and their ability to provide varying levels of situational awareness for tens of thousands of remote sites from a single highly secure location. n

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● Product review

Hikvision

HIKVISION PANOVU 20MP Hikvision’s compact 20MP multi-sensor PanoVu day/night camera features four fully adjustable 1/2.7-inch progressive scan CMOS sensors, each with a motorized 2.8-8mm vari-focal lens adjustable in any direction, while motorized zoom and autofocus increases the camera’s capability in real world applications.

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BY J O H N A D A M S

IKVISION’S 20MP DS-2CD6D54G1-1ZS PanoVu is a compact multi-sensor PoE+ camera with four 1/2.7-inch sensors delivering a 360-degree field of view. Each camera head has an individual lens with a 2.8-8mm focal length (2.9x optical) and a comparatively slow maximum aperture of f/1.9 to deliver the best possible balance of low light performance and depth of field.

The 4 adjustable camera heads provide a 360-degree field of view with each sensor offering an angle of view of 49 to 100 degrees and a resolution of up to 2560 x 1920 pixels at 24 fps with a bit rate of up to 16 Mb/s. Camera heads can be individually adjusted between 60 to 60 degrees in a horizontal axis and from 10 to 90 degrees in a vertical axis. The camera is equipped with four 90-degree IR LEDs giving up to 30.48 metres of night vision and uses a built-in IR cut filter to switch from colour to black and white at night. PanoVu delivers colour images down to 0.0125 lux at f/1.9 with AGC on, while monochrome images supported by IR are available at 0 lux.

Compression options include H.265+, H.265, H.264+, and H.264 video compression, and there’s automatic gain control, backlight and highlight compensation, 3D digital noise reduction, 120 dB wide dynamic range, defog functionality, electronic image stabilization, target cropping and camera settings including rotation, saturation, brightness, contrast, sharpness, AGC, and white balance all adjustable via client software or web browser.

Smart analytics including line crossing detection (up to 4 configurable lines), intrusion detection, region entrance detection, region exiting detection, unattended baggage detection, object removal detection (up to four configurable regions), scene change detection, audio exception detection, defocus detection, motion detection, tamper detection, and exception detection. There’s also event trigger and event actions, including recording, notification and alarm activation supported by 2 alarm inputs/outputs.

Shutter speed is adjustable from 1/100,000 to 1s and there’s triple streaming with supported compression options including H.264, H.264+, H.265, H.265+, and MJPEG and support for 32 simultaneous users. Audio streaming is 2 way, though there’s no integrated microphone, and audio compression formats include G.711, G.722.1, G.726, MP2L2, and PCM. Integrators are covered by API, ISAPI, SDK and Ehome options.

Like every modern Hikvision camera, network security is covered intensely. You get digest authentication, support for HTTPS, IEEE 802.1X, IP address filtering, password protection and watermarking. Supported protocols include Bonjour, CIFS/SMB, DDNS, DHCP, DNS, FTP, HTTP, ICMP, IGMP, IPv4/v6, NFS, NTP, ONVIF Profile G, ONVIF Profile S, ONVIF Profile T, PPPoE, QoS Layer 3 DiffServ, RTCP, RTP, RTSP, SMTP, SNMP v1/v2c/v3

H

Resolution strong, WDR too.

Quirky angles easy to achieve.

Faces a snap.

(MIB-II), TCP, and UDP. Construction is poly and cast powder coated aluminium with a clear poly dome and the camera really is compact, being 24.9cm across and 11.2 cm high with a weight of just 2.13kg. PanoVu has an IP67 and IK10-rated enclosure with a built-in 128GB microSD card slot for onboard storage of footage, while audio in/outputs support duplex audio. Operating temperature range is good at -30 to 60C. Other physical specifications include 3.5mm external audio input/output, RS-485 serial interface; PoE+, AC and DC power options (max PoE draw is 19W, max DC draw is 22W); 850nm IR illuminators, iVMS-4200, Hik-Connect and HikCentral support. Given standard 802.3af PoE

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● Product review

Hikvision

delivers 15W to the port, you’ll need to use an 802.3at PoE plus router delivering 30W to cover times of higher draw – night when all IR arrays are activated.

SETTING UP HIKVISION PANOVU Unboxing the PanoVu my impressions are rock solid build and a compact form factor – it’s what you’d expect from IP67. Getting the camera set up on the Magic Arm out front is much easier than I expected. As all this is going on, I decide what’s going to be a challenge will be getting the most out of a camera with so much optical capability.

Near plates at 2.8m

Plate at 25m with digital zoom.

Plate with digital zoom.

SOMETHING ELSE THAT’S GREAT IS HAVING PEDESTRIANS OR VEHICLES MOVING BETWEEN CAMERA VIEWS ALMOST SEAMLESSLY.

In the end I find the adjustment is so flexible there’s plenty to entertain me. A combination of multiple camera heads and elevation in this application means I’m able to include wide views and tighter views underneath the camera you’d never get with a bullet or dome. I set the angles of view so that through a huge chunk of vertical and horizontal scene, as well as underneath the 180 degree limitation of the streetscape, I’m getting 5MP of resolution across each 90-degree angle of view.

We are running PanoVu through a 60W PoE injector, into the NetGear GS108P and then into the Dell server and viewing it on the usual Benq monitor. Given there are four 5MP sensors in the system, I start out concerned the CPU might be stressed by the 20MP load but usage hovers around the 17 per cent mark and there’s no stepping or latency, no sign of processor or video card stress at all.

The secret to a multi-head camera like PanoVu is realising that it’s a system. This happens intuitively when you’re driving the views. Even though I have Hik’s iVMS 4200 open, along with the camera browser complete with every camera view and all settings to hand, in no time at all what’s on the Benq is a full screen 4-way split that gives me enormous coverage with some overlap.

As an operator you don’t realise how much you want to see a pedestrians front, back and sides until you have the ability to do so. The beauty of this is that not only are you getting a person or vehicle on approach and departure, you’re getting faces across 90 degrees from 4 different directions, which is excellent when you’re collating admissible evidence.

Something else that’s great is having pedestrians or vehicles moving between camera views almost seamlessly. Getting this right took some mucking around but if you need seamless coverage, then it really is possible to achieve and in terms of continuity, this quality is very hard to beat. In this case I have pedestrians simultaneously in 3 angles of view and they move from Cameras 4, 3 and North, to Camera 10 (apologies for the labelling).

And my setup is perfect for seeing if a pedestrian is being followed and how closely. I’ve not done as well with cars, but I have video of cars through 180 degrees on 2 cameras and could do better if the application demanded it.

While I’m droning on about form factor and setup, it’s easy to forget about actual camera

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performance. And there are some surprises there as well. Often with cameras that offer additional flexibility in terms of moving parts and overall capability, there’s a temptation for manufacturers to claw back margin by taking short cuts with the camera engines. Sitting in front of the monitor I’m pleased to see that doesn’t appear to be the case with PanoVu.

TEST DRIVING PANOVU My set up is with all the lenses at the wide 2.8mm end of the focal range. That’s wider than my preference for this scene, which is around 4-4.5mm. I find there’s some barrel distortion going on – probably 10-11 per cent, which is on the strong side. But my first impression is all about the strong resolution and that’s a good thing because it means I can retain my total coverage while leveraging digital zoom to dip in and out of scenes, rather than backing out to access optical zoom. However, having the ability to drill in with a camera view (and an IR array) to cover a hot spot in the scene is a strength in the real world.

I set up in the morning and it’s immediately clear this camera has low noise, excellent sharpness, strong contrast and a colour rendition slightly less saturated than I’m used to from Hikvision.

During setup, I activate automatic WDR to brighten images facing strong backlight of 70,000 lux in order to more clearly see faces, but that’s the only

tweak I make, apart from refocusing after changes to camera head position.

In the very strong light of early morning WDR is well handled across the scene. I notice that Camera 4, which is viewing the bright side of the road out of shadow, is overexposing somewhat for bright areas in the scene. This is not an unexpected outcome.

Motion blur is very well handled, with the caveat that Camera 4 is viewing fast moving vehicles at near right angles and this tests shutter speed. The distance from lens to vehicle is only 8-10 metres, making the camera’s job much harder.

I notice latitudinal and longitudinal chromatic aberrations in areas of high contrast at the wide end of this lens – they are probably more than 5 pixels deep and are not restricted to the outer edges of the image. CAs are due to wavelengths of light being focused in different optical planes by a lens – it’s a sign of too much tolerance in the lens mechanism and because it’s the same across every camera I can’t fob it off as sample variation. Given this is an affordable camera system that’s also very light, plastic lenses are at work here.

Something else I notice is that at the wide end ,these lenses are tending to flatten longer objects, such as vehicles, more than expected. This is likely due to lens shape, which has been optimized to capture as much detail as possible in a 360-degree application, where there may be a demand to peek around a corner. No doubt this distortion and the

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● Product review

Hikvision COLOUR BALANCE IS GOOD, RENDITION IS GOOD, TOO, AND THERE’S ALWAYS THAT RESOLUTION WHEREVER YOU TURN.

PanoVu is a capable system.

Getting multiple views great.

Tracking is easy.

CAs would improve significantly under optical zoom.

Along with subtle colour rendition and that endless high resolution, I’m impressed with depth of field and the camera’s ability to snare faces.

This is not as easy as it sounds with the camera elevated like this, but even at acute angles, where softness or processing noise would really test a camera’s ability to deliver recognition, the PanoVu’s big resolution and clean video stream delivers, with no holds barred.

As the afternoon wears on, I find Camera 4 is where it’s at. The other camera heads are all viewing areas of uniform lighting and they are making short work of it. But poor old Camera 4 is gazing across the deep shadows stretching three quarters of the way across the street to 70,000 lux bouncing off a white van parked on the far side.

It’s a recipe for overexposure but while the image is not perfect, the camera contrives to hold things together. Although I’ve lost detail of the van itself, I have excellent detail in the foreground and the background is supported by lots and lots of pixels. I find light coloured cars show less detail moving through this area, too. But it’s not long before clouds and growing shadows cover the entire street and the 4 image streams become uniform.

Something that’s interesting about PanoVu is how quickly I get used to blanket coverage of my scene. When I drop anchor on one camera view there’s an element of FOMO that creeps in, nudging me to go back to the 4-way split, just in case something happens. Given we’re in COVID lockdown, there’s not as much happening as usual, even in busy Surry Hills. It goes on like this all afternoon. No sooner do I double click a window for full screen than I’m double clicking it for the split.

And it’s the same when I use digital zoom, which is stronger than usual thanks to the 5MP resolution, even with a 2.8mm lens. Oh look, plates at 25 metres. Oo-er, what am I missing behind me? It’s a good problem to have and it suggests that in some applications this camera and a large monitor might constitute your entire CCTV system.

As the afternoon goes on and light levels change, the image stream holds together in a pleasing way.

Colour balance is good, rendition is good, too, and there’s always that resolution wherever you turn.

There is a yellowing of colour tones at the end of

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the street in the later part of the afternoon but this is normal, more than normal, given the fact the camera heads are covering pavement and street with very little coverage of things I usually see but have no operational use for – buildings, walls, trees, sky.

That’s a definite strength of a multi-head camera.

You really can create an overall ‘scene’ using multiple views that gives profound situational awareness of what you need to see at a single glance. And you can achieve this with one camera, one cable run, one input, one license. It really is very compelling. The vast resolution makes up for the slight softness inherent in the lens, while Hikvision’s highly evolved camera engine is utterly removed from the blocky image stream we encountered in the original Darkfighter 5-6 years ago.

Something that’s interesting about PanoVu is how quickly I get used to blanket coverage of my scene.

When I drop anchor on one camera view there’s an element of FOMO that creeps in, nudging me to go back to the 4-way split just in case something happens. Given we’re in COVID lockdown, there’s not as much happening as usual, even in busy Surry Hills. It goes on like this all afternoon. No sooner do I double click a window for full screen than I’m double clicking it for the split.

And it’s the same when I use digital zoom, which is stronger than usual thanks to the 5MP resolution, even with a 2.8mm lens. Oh look, plates at 25 metres. Oo-er, what am I missing behind me? It’s a good problem to have and it suggests that in some applications this camera and a large monitor might constitute your entire CCTV system.

As the afternoon goes on and light levels change, the image stream holds together in a pleasing way.

Colour balance is good, rendition is good, too, and there’s always resolution wherever you turn. There is a yellowing of colour tones at the end of the street in the later part of the afternoon but this is normal, more than normal given the fact these camera heads are covering pavement and street with very little coverage of things I usually see but have no operational use for – buildings, walls, trees, sky.

That’s a definite strength of a multi-head camera.

You really can create an overall ‘scene’ using multiple views that gives profound situational awareness of what you need to see at a single glance. And you can achieve this with one camera, one cable run, one input, one license. It really is very compelling. The vast resolution makes up for the slight softness inherent in the lens equation, while Hikvision’s highly evolved camera engine is utterly removed from the image stream we encountered in the original Darkfighter 5-6 years ago.

After hanging onto quality in colour for longer than you’d expect, the transition from day to night is smooth and the camera goes over into night mode at more than 10 lux without any mucking about or increase in noise. Auto IR is activated and all the IR lights come on. Range is good – it’s probably a touch

Night performance under IR is strong – that’s excellent rendition of a car in 4 lux.

longer than the claimed 30 metres, and the spread is more than enough. I get the usual flare off those trees out the front of the office and this leads the camera engine to darken the entire stream a touch.

Under IR light, contrast and sharpness are strong – cars are shiny and there are high levels of detail in leaves, tiles and brickwork. Under IR light I notice the hyperfocal distance is close to the lens and combined with the strong resolution and nearly 3x optical zoom I’ve not explored yet there’s lots to see.

Shutter speed falls away at this point and I have less detail of vehicles and pedestrians but there’s still detail of clothing, gender, accessories like bags, shoes and more. Camera 4, which is at right angles to fast moving traffic, battles the most in these conditions but overall performance remains strong.

CONCLUSION Hikvision’s PanoVu multi-head camera is an excellent offering from the company. Taken as a whole, it’s a polished solution – that observation includes the iVMS4200 software I’m using to drive it. Strengths of this camera include its flexible 5MP camera heads, but the overall optical performance, including modest bitrate, can’t be ignored. It doesn’t jag number plates as well as dedicated bullet cameras with longer focal lengths, but when it comes to delivering immersive situational awareness, PanoVu is hard to beat. n

FEATURES OF HIKVISION PANOVU DS-2CD6D54G1-1ZS l Four 5MP 1/2.7” progressive scan CMOS sensors l Four 2.8-8mm motorized varifocal lenses l 120 dB wide dynamic range l Defog functionality l Electronic image stabilization l IP67 and IK10 l Smart analytics l Up to 32 simultaneous users.

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● Regulars

Products

Editor’s choice

What’s new in the industry.

UNIVIEW MAKING WI-FI EASY

HANWHA WAVE & INCEPTION INTEGRATION

l Wi-Fi Kit from Uniview’s Easy series is a popular choice for

l A NEW and exciting integration has been released between Hanwha Wisenet Wave VMS and Inner Range’s Inception security and access control solution which allows bi-directional control of both systems in one and is simple to use through Hanwha’s mobile app, Wisenet Wave. This integration incorporates features such as arming and disarming of the system and unlocking and locking doors on Inception from the Wisenet Wave mobile App. Video analytic triggers alarms, activating security inputs and emergency Icons on the Wisenet Wave Mobile App which then activate alarms on the Inception panel. This feature rich integration is the first of its type for Inner Range’s Inception and creates some very exciting opportunities for CSD’s customers.

entry-level application such as residential and small retail stores.

Easy consists of 2MP/4MP IP cameras and 4/6/8 channels network video recorders. All are featured with stream scramble, which can protect the videos safety from abnormal network attack. The key feature is the long transmission, which can be up to 40m across a 30cm reinforced concrete wall. With the function of cascade connection, it can realize the barrier- crossing between cameras and recorders.

Easy Wi-Fi Kit products are very easy to use – connect a mobile phone with NVR Wifi hotspot and live view can be presented on the mobile app with no additional configuration required.

Uniview’s Easy Series Wi-Fi Kit is a cost-effective option for residences and small business application.

Distributor: Central Security Distribution Contact: 1300 319 499

Distributors: CR Kennedy, Seadan, SecuSafe

USS-TIC-500 BODY TEMPERATURE MANAGEMENT CAMERA

SENSTAR SMART PERIMETER & LIGHTING SOLUTION FROM BGWT

l UNIVIEW’S dual-view infrared USS-TIC-500 is a dual-spectrum infrared body temperature rapid screening instrument. It uses a non-refrigerated core and low signal-noise image processing technology and is a non-contact, real-time, continuous and accurate temperature measuring system. Software visually displays the temperature information of subjects in the field of view, making it ideal for entry-exit points.

Key features of the USS-TIC-500 include 384 x 288 pixel sensor, body temperature detection with abnormal temperature alarm, automatic exposure control and automatic white balance, face temperature measurement mode that intelligently analyses face targets and measures body temperature, support for multiple alarm linkages, dual-light temperature measurement linkage, and the ability to draw regular and superimposed temperature measurement information on a standard optical image for easier monitoring in real time.

l BGW Technologies has launched Senstar LM100, a hybrid perimeter intrusion detection and intelligent lighting system.

The Senstar LM100 acts as a powerful deterrent against intruders, detecting and illuminating them at the fence line while alerting a security management system. The system can sense vibrations caused by attempts to cut, climb or break through the fence, and it uses a wireless self-healing mesh communication network technology to relay intrusion information.

The system also provides configurable, localized, uniform lighting, enabling security cameras to operate with a higher dynamic range. Typical users include utilities, ports, transportation and warehousing, public transport operators and council depots.

Distributor: BGW Technologies Contact: +61 2 9674 4255

Distributors: CR Kennedy, Seadan, SecuSafe

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CROW SHEPHERD WIRELESS SMART SECURITY SYSTEM FROM CSM l CROW has developed a new security and surveillance application for residential or commercial environments that takes advantage of the full suite of Crow’s analytics algorithms, software and cloud running on co-located servers, or as a web service running on public or private cloud.

Crow’s analytics make devices intelligent by analysing content in real-time, extracting metadata, sending out alerts and providing intelligence to the whole security ecosystem. The system is able to extract only the valid motion in a scene, filtering out noise, such as lighting changes and animal motions.

Key features include object classification (human/pet/vehicle), intrusion detection and line crossing, people/vehicle counting object left/removed and video summary.

Distributor: CSM Contact: 1300 663 904

POWERG WIRELESS OUTDOOR MAGNETIC CONTACT: ROBUST, STURDY, POWERFUL l POWERG Wireless Outdoor Magnetic Contact with Auxiliary Input is a high-performance contact detector, perfect for protecting outdoor entries or exits, including perimeter gates, pool and garden enclosures, shed doors, windows, and more.

This outdoor magnetic contact has a two-way communication protocol, ensuring highly reliable, advanced security.

A robust device that boasts of both back and front tamperproofing and upcoming anti-obstruction capabilities unseen in the market adds an extra layer of protection to the device (for selected systems), while a paintable exterior makes it easy to conceal. An extra-long transmission range makes it suited for very large properties. IP66 dust-tight and waterproof rating ensures dependable operation even in extreme environments.

This device ensures superb performance over many years, with a long-lasting battery and reliable operation in severe weather conditions, including temperatures of -40 to 66C. Installation in challenging outdoor settings is made easy by an ultra-strong magnet that allows a wide gap tolerance. Wireless technology makes installations easier, faster, and less disruptive.

Distributor: Tyco Security Contact: +61 499 688 921

GENETEC AUTOVU SHARPZ3 FROM HILLS l GENETEC has announced the immediate availability of its

next-generation mobile license plate recognition system, AutoVu SharpZ3, which goes beyond traditional license plate identification and brings new levels of insight in vehicle analytics, situational awareness, and accuracy.

The AutoVu SharpZ3, distributed locally by Hills, is among the first specialized in-vehicle ALPR systems in the world to use Intel’s latest machine learning and computer vision technology to unlock new insights through innovative analytics. The AutoVu SharpZ3 system will not only be able to improve the accuracy of license plate reads in difficult environments (such as bad weather, heavy traffic, and fast speeds), but record additional vehicle characteristics such as vehicle type, colour, and more, in real-time, and without requiring large amounts of bandwidth.

Designed with a third optical sensor, the AutoVu SharpZ3 can accurately capture multiple plate designs in complex urban environments. These include flat, embossed, reflective and nonreflective license plates. The extra sensor will also allow more precise positioning of vehicle data on maps to provide more precise occupancy data than before.

Distributor: Hills Contact: 1800 685 487

NEXT GENERATION AI SOC, WISENET 7 COMING SOON! l FROM the moment a UHD Wisenet7 lineup camera is connected to the network, secure boot blocks prevent unauthorised attempts to gain access to the camera’s firmware, whilst signed software prevents the intrusion and booting of malicious firmware.

The new Wisenet7 lineup offers a high level of cybersecurity by utilising an operating system (OS) which securely processes data and prevents hardware cloning, whilst the use of Crypto acceleration greatly increases the speed of encryption.

At the heart of the new Wisenet7 lineup is a powerful artificial intelligence (AI) engine which can detect and classify people and vehicles in real-time. Wisenet7 lineup is designed to capture the varying attributes of a large number of objects, including people, vehicles, faces and license plates. This enable operators to use AI applications running on a back-end server, to more accurately search for and analyse the information they need. It can also significantly reduce false alarms caused by waving trees, video noise and even moving shadows.

Distributor: EOS Australia Pty Ltd Contact: +61 2 9749 5888

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● Regulars

Help desk

Q: We are getting bubbling under the powder coating of a quality PTZ that has been installed outside for several years – what could be the issue here? The damage is rapidly increasing.

A: It sounds like corrosion caused by metals of different nobilities in contact with each other and this is causing purified metals to go back to their oxide form. The deterioration is a result of reaction with oxygen, sodium chloride and moisture in the environment. Oxidation of metals is an electrochemical reaction in which a natural battery is formed and the current that flows in this battery is central to an anodic process that sees metal disintegrate. The process can be accelerated when 2 metals with different nobilities are in contact with each other. During this process the metal with the least resistance to corrosion is always the one that corrodes first, and it does so much faster than it would if corroding on its own.

Listed from lowest resistance to corrosion to the highest resistance are metals including magnesium, zinc, untreated iron or steel, lead and tin solders; copper, brass and bronze; stainless steel (all SS grades ranging from lowest to highest in quality).

At the top of table with greatest resistance are the noble metals including silver, gold and platinum.

Important to consider is that the anodic relationship applies to

Our panel of experts answers your questions.

electronic security installations where cheap metals are used in screws and mountings in contact with higher quality metal parts. As a result, you need to ensure housings are properly prepared and painted or powder coated, with screws and bolts being marine grade stainless steel or galvanized steel and properly coated and prepared before installation.

There are coatings you can apply that will help parts resist corrosion. If you can’t find them at Bunnings try a Marine Chandlery like Whitworths.

The idea is to properly prepare and maintain external metal fittings, painting them and ensuring any nicks or scratches in the paintwork are retouched. You also need to ensure there’s no way moisture can build up on and around the metal conduit or its fittings. In terms of ultimate choice, we’d look at galvanised steel, stainless steel or copper conduits (galvanised steel and copper are cheapest) with galvanized or stainless-steel fittings. Bear in mind even stainless steel will rust. It needs to be cleaned as part of a maintenance programme.

Q: What would you argue are the most important elements of commissioning and maintenance?

A: Knowledge of the systems being installed is central. That goes for smaller systems, as well as for big integrated

solutions. Some systems are installed by techs not familiar with them who are left floundering if there’s an issue that crops up during commissioning. If you’re having trouble with equipment during installation or maintenance, before you call a help desk, think hard about the basics. Pull out the manual and go over the set-up process step by step. Check the simple things first. Are all plugs and connections in, is the power on, does a network device need to be cycled? Look at your fuses and/ or circuit breakers. Think about the events that led up to equipment failure. Could your recent actions have knocked a connection or termination loose? Does the system have diagnostics, and can you run them to get a snapshot of your issue?

Q: What’s the most vulnerable aspect of a fixed cable run?

A: Most wiring failures take place at connection points where corrosion on wiring leads to the formation of copper oxide – a substance that causes resistance in connections and will eventually break an electrical path and generate a trouble signal. Given the popularity of crimping in the electronic security industry, one of the most important ways to ensure quality connections is to buy a quality ratcheting crimp tool, either a single crimp or a double.

What’s great about a ratchet is that it won’t let go of the crimp till the terminal is fully

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crimped – nor can you over or undercrimp.

When making terminations to blocks in the access control or alarm panel, or sensor, be sure the connector and screw are the same size – poor sizing means a poor electrical path. In addition, ensure that your terminals, screws, nuts, washers and all the rest are galvanically compatible and made of metals that resist corrosion equally.

Remember too, that stranded cables with a large quantity of small-diameter strands, improve a crimped joint’s performance.

Finer strands fill the contours of a terminal as it is crimped. This even distribution of strands allows loads to be distributed more evenly. Any air pockets or voids in a crimped joint with coarse stranding increase resistance and temperature, which in turn can lead to a faster rate of corrosion.

When selecting the correct terminal, make sure the terminal’s wire range is compatible with the actual wire size. Also ensure the terminals and wire strands are clean when installed. This will insure a positive connection. While crimping, an adequate amount of pressure must be applied so that oxides that build up on the inside of the terminal barrel before it’s used are broken down. Unless good metalto-metal contact occurs, resistance can build up on the terminal and that means circuit failure in the future.

Q: What should we be thinking about when selecting heat detectors for warmer applications?

A: IF you’re putting in heat detectors when building a security system, don’t just go for the cheapest ones you find, think about the application to avoid false alarms, especially in commercial or industrial applications.

All heat sensors incorporate bimetallic switches that stay open under a temperature of 57.7C but they’ll close once the temperature gets higher. When the switch closes, a circuit is completed, and an alarm is activated – simple enough.

But these heat sensors are going to be vulnerable to legitimately high temperatures in locations like metal sheds, and industrial or manufacturing sites. The upper spaces of steel and glass buildings will also give trouble.

If there’s a likelihood of higher than normal temperatures, then think about using higher temperature heat sensors.

You can buy units that won’t activate until the temperature passes 93.3C). While you wouldn’t think so, a fire raises temperature at the highest point in a room or building very fast – much higher than 93.3C within minutes of actual flame. If you’re in any doubt, however, go for sensors that activate at lower temps.

When installing commercial and especially domestic systems, be aware that dangerous levels of smoke can be produced without a significant increase in temperature. Never install heat sensors alone in a domestic environment. Go for photoelectric smokies and use more than you need – at least one on each level depending on the size of the home.

then put negative to the cable end and positive to the terminal after setting the DMM to volts.

If the meter reads zero, then there’s no ground fault problem and the chances are the panel is faulty. If the meter measures any voltage at all then there’s a problem. All ground faults are short circuits caused by things like flawed wiring and terminations, bad switches or moisture getting where it should not be and causing corrosion. You’ll need to use your ammeter setting to trace the exact location of the trouble. If you want to further evaluate the ground fault first, connect your ohmmeter between the disconnected positive battery terminal and the negative connection of the battery. What you’re looking for here is the resistance of the fault. The lower the reading the more serious the leak is likely to be. n

Q: What could cause repeated battery discharge in an alarm and access control system, even though the battery is connected to the controller transformer?

A: Should batteries in a hardwired access control or alarm system keep discharging for no apparent reason then the chances are that you have a ground fault. This earth-flowing current will discharge batteries quickly, but the presence of a ground fault is easy to detect. Turn off AC power and then disconnect the positive cable on the positive side of the battery se&n 57

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events

APRIL 2020 ISSUE 419

INTEGRATING ACCESS, CCTV, AUTOMATION l COVID-19: Security Are Essential Workers l MGA Installs Gallagher At Uni Of Melbourne l Case Study: Parkes Installs Avigilon l Product Review: Tiandy TC-C32GP Bullet l Special Report: Perimeter Fence Maintenance l Analysis: COVID-19 Changes Nothing & Everything l News Report: Body Temperature Cameras l Interview: Luke Kavanagh & Nigel Seager, Sapio l Monitoring: Cometh The Hour, Cometh The Management l Product Review: Hikvision 20MP PanoVu Multi-Sensor

PP 100001158

Security 2020 Exhibition & Conference Date: Postponed until further notice.

Venue: Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre Contact: +61 3 9261 4662 Security Exhibition & Conference is the industry's annual opportunity to reunite for 3 days of quality networking and education.

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Security Essen Date: September 22-25, 2020 Venue: Messe Essen, Messeplatz 1, Essen, Germany Contact: +49 (0)201 72 44-524 Security Essen 2018 draws 950 exhibitors from 43 countries to show their security and safety innovations to 36,000 visitors from 125 nations at Messe Essen, Germany.

SECURITY & GOVERNMENT EXPO

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Security and Government Expo 2020

Date: November 12, 2020 Venue: Realm Hotel, Canberra Contact: Monique +61 2 9280 4425 SAGE 2020 is the perfect opportunity for government and commercial end users, as well as integrators, installers and consultants, to see the latest security products and technologies in the nation's capital.

Intersec Dates: January 24-26, 2021 Venues: Dubai World Trade Centre Contact: +971 4 389 4500 Intersec, the leading trade fair for Security, Safety & Fire Protection, with its unique product diversity and thousands of influential trade buyers, is one of the most important industry meeting points with influence across the Middle East, Africa and the Indian subcontinent.

SecTech Roadshow 2021

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Dates: May 2021 Venues: 5 city Australian tour Contact: Monique Keatinge +61 2 9280 4425 SecTech Roadshow in its 6th year takes leading electronic security manufacturers, distributors and wholesalers on a national tour.

DAILY, WEEKLY, MONTHLY.

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INCEPTION NOW INTEGRATES WITH WISENET WAVE

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ARM / DISARM INCEPTION BY WAVE

ON ACCESS SHOW VIDEO ON WAVE

LOCK/ UNLOCK DOORS ON INCEPTION BY WAVE

VIDEO ANALYTICS CAUSE ALARMS ON INCEPTION

AREA ARMS ON INCEPTION STARTS RECORDING ON WAVE

EMERGENCY ICON ON WAVE CAUSE ALARMS ON INCEPTION

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