Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport formally opened in late September 2006 after many years of careful planning and construction. Thailand hopes the new US$4-billion airport, designed to initially handle 45 million passengers and three million tons of cargo a year, will surpass rivals Singapore and Malaysia as the region's most important aviation hub.
Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi Airport formally opened in late September 2006 after many years of careful planning and construction. Thailand hopes the new US$4-billion airport, designed to initially handle 45 million passengers and three million tons of cargo a year, will surpass rivals Singapore and Malaysia as the region's most important aviation hub.
Suvarnabhumi's (su-wanna-poom) seven-story terminal is one of the largest in the world, covering an area equal to 100 (U.S.) football fields. The airport was designed to accommodate an increase in annual capacity up to 120 million passengers.
Overall, the airport was planned for maximum flexibility, scalability and performance to serve passengers and accommodate future growth; hence, all chosen systems, including security, had to meet the same exacting and future-proof standards.
From the outset, airport management sought security technology that was 100 percent IP-based and would never need replacingonly upgrading and expansion. The planners envisioned an IP-based platform that would provide the highest levels of security, but one that could also integrate and manage across multiple systems and databases to provide greater operational efficiencies and even generate revenue streams.
The chosen security platform was slated for multiple locations throughout the airport itself, but in the back of the planners' minds was always the consideration that the platform be able to extend and integrate with other security systems at the airport, near the airport complex, and even to central Bangkok 35 kilometers (22 miles) away.
The Solution
At present, approximately 1,000 units of DVTel PTZ and fixed IP dome cameras have been installed in the passenger terminal and concourse buildings, the short-term car park buildings, baggage inspection rooms and baggage conveyor areas. The DVTel intelligent security operations center (iSOC) platform, with the network video management system (NVMS) at its core, provides IP network video surveillance and serves as the management software for what will eventually be thousands of cameras.
As the command and control center, the DVTel system is the platform onto which all other security and system providers must integrate. The iSOC accesses and correlates data from 16 different integrated systems, including access control, flight and gate information, fire alarms, building automation, HVAC, elevators and other data sources. Video is available at command centers and on designated desktops, but also via wireless to officials' hand-held devices anywhere in the airport complex.
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"Along with our integrator partner Semple Cochrane (Asia) led by Managing Director Johnny Trivitayakhun, we have been working with Bangkok Airport for a number of years now and the results have been truly impressive," commented Eli Gorovici, President and CEO of DVTel. "The level of system coverage and integration of this end-to-end IP system is a testament to the vision of the airport authority management. To date, the iSOC encompasses more than 16 subsystems, including the advanced building automation and flight information systems. In the future, I see an entire airport complex unified by the DVTel iSOC, a system with unlimited power to manage, integrate and expand."
Duty-free and More
In late 2006, iSOC was chosen to provide comprehensive as well as individual vendor video surveillance and advanced POS integration for the 43,000 square feet (4,000 square meters) King Power luxury duty-free shopping areas located in the airport.
Upon viewing the iSOC in action in the larger airport installation, King Power management chose the DVTel solution for their facility of 180 individual stores. King Power staff were especially impressed with the performance and quality of the DVTel PTZ cameras and have deployed more than 500 cameras throughout the duty-free shopping complex.
King Power will maintain a central surveillance operation, and each of their retail customers will also be able to manage surveillance for their own store or stores. This "layered management" approach ensures excellent coverage and response and redundant monitoring.
In addition to surveillance, future plans call for the iSOC to be integrated with a POS system in which transaction data (credit card or cash) and boarding pass information will be time-stamped onto the appropriate video. King Power expects that such security and data management capabilities will provide their customers better service, and individual shop owners will, in turn, have better protection against theft and improved inventory control.
Advanced Security and Efficiency
Because of the long planning cycles for the airport, officials had time to do extensive research and product testing to find the best, most advanced security software and systems the market could offer. The results have been impressive: In a nearly fully-automated process, the iSOC substantially increases operational efficiencies by accessing flight arrival and departure information to turn on and off lighting, HVAC and other systems at the appropriate gate area.
Once a plane departs, cameras sweep the gate area to confirm there are no passengers and/or personnel. Upon confirmation, the iSOC shuts down all systems until the gate is needed for the next flight, at which time it activates the systems anew.
More Growth and Expansion
The iSOC is so scalable and flexible that surveillance can be seamlessly expanded to any area within the airport or integrated with existing or new security systems and databases. The airport authorities have now turned their attention to how the iSOC can be used to further improve security and overall efficiency.
Future plans include expanding the number of cameras, adding various video analytics capabilities (for example, DVTel SceneTracker video stitching software), and integrating more systems and data into the single command and control management system.
The airport has kicked off the first of four phases of security expansion after the initial system was commissioned. DVTel cameras have been chosen for this first phase, which includes more than 160 cameras positioned in the arrivals and departures halls. Phases two through four will include security system improvements to the concourses, baggage handling and ground operations areas.
Future expansion plans also include system redesigns for the car parking complexes that will enable independent system functionality while also being linked to the overall command and control through the DVTel iSOC.
Semple Cochrane's work and the reputation of the DVTel iSOC have resulted in the Thailand Aviation Authorities granting Semple Cochrane and DVTel contracts for three provincial airport projects in Krabi, Loei and Burirum.
The three regional airports are part of a total of 40 regional airports that will eventually all be networked into a single command and control center to better manage all the country's airport operations and respond to any potential crisis.