The Goodyear Canada manufacturing plant in Napanee, Ontario, recently upgraded its video surveillance system to an IP-based video surveillance system, consisting of Axis Communications PTZ network cameras, four-channel video encoders, and a VMS system that combines software and technology from Milestone, Cogito, Netshield and others, to improve access control and prevent tailgating at the 18.4 acres (800,000 square feet) facility. The system was installed at the plant gate by system integrator Forcefield Systems and Meglan Technologies.
The Goodyear Canada manufacturing plant in Napanee, Ontario, recently upgraded its video surveillance system to an IP-based video surveillance system, consisting of Axis Communications PTZ network cameras, four-channel video encoders, and a VMS system that combines software and technology from Milestone, Cogito, Netshield and others, to improve access control and prevent tailgating at the 18.4 acres (800,000 square feet) facility. The system was installed at the plant gate by system integrator Forcefield Systems and Meglan Technologies.
Covering almost 18.4 acres, the plant produces approximately 1,900 tires daily, is open 365 days a year and has about 750 employees and contractors. With cartage companies, deliveries, visitors and staff coming and going, the main gate accommodates a great deal of traffic. Goodyear must approve every person who wishes to enter the property and monitor sensitive areas within the plant.
Goodyear opted to outsource its access control to security company Meglan Technologies. The gate video feed is sent wirelessly to be recorded at the plant, 0.5 kilometers away, and to Meglan's office, where it is monitored in real time and stored redundantly in the cloud. The installation also employs four-channel Axis video encoders to digitize existing analog cameras, custom outdoor servers, and a VMS system combining custom software and technology from Cogito, Milestone and Netshield, all integrated by an Averics system.
Prior to the upgrade, the quality of the security video did not allow Goodyear personnel to accurately identify people seeking entrance. An analog camera was used to view visitors but “our video looked like there was always bad fog,” said Larry Kimmerly, the plant's Security Manager. “Our people would hear the buzzer and simply let visitors in because we couldn't see them well.” While terrible image quality from the analog cameras was a problem, it wasn't the biggest one. That was Mother Nature. “There was a buried analog coax cable that ran alongside a pond [from the gate to the plant],” explained Jim Paterson, founder of Meglan Technologies. “Lightning strikes fried the old camera on a few occasions.” To overcome this environmental hurdle, Forcefield Systems installed PTZ network cameras and linked them wirelessly to the plant and Meglan's off-site monitoring center – thereby eliminating the inground wire need. Surge protectors and batteries ensure “the entire system can run even in a blackout,” said Jim Paterson, founder of Meglan.
The video is stored on-site for two weeks and video of any event requiring Meglan interaction is backed up to a data centre in Toronto and stored for at least three months, said Paterson. Multistreaming and multi-resolution functions are also utilized. Videos are stored in high resolution at the gate and a lower resolution version in the plant as back-up. Operators can switch resolutions, based on their needs.
The clear images delivered by the cameras enable Meglan staff to make positive identifications and view license plates and identifying critical information on vehicles, such as company names. Piggybacking – i.e. driving in after an authorized truck – has also been reduced. “Now when someone piggybacks we can follow that person through the video system. I make contact and find out what's going on,” Kimmerly said. “Before, we would get a report of a piggyback but would have no idea where that person was [once through the gate].”
The new system is also a deterrent for external and internal theft – including time theft. “We have fewer incidents now. After you effectively follow up on a few incidents, word spreads and people know they can't get away with it.” The system also supports forensic investigations, and video evidence has been successfully used by local police to thwart a province-wide theft ring.