The customer is one of the UK’s highest performing fire services, with more than 500 full-time and retained (on-call) firefighters providing rapid emergency response services, operating with 50-plus vehicles and specialist appliances deployed from more than 20 fire stations.
These facilities are also used by local agencies and community liaison groups, sometimes for meetings out-of-hours, so they need to be run safely and securely. With essential appliances and high value assets to maintain, service chiefs wanted to find the most cost-efficient way of ensuring 24/7 protection at multiple, dispersed locations.
The goal: Safeguarding for people and appliances at dispersed locations
Solution: IDIS end-to-end solution to drive up efficiency with affordable 24/7 coverage and License-Free Video Management Software
At each location, a 16-channel IDIS NVR was set up to provide 24/7 recording of between six and ten cameras covering all key areas.
The advanced IDIS cameras used include IDIS’s full-HD DC-D4223WRX vandal resistant IR dome with varifocal lens, and the DC-D4213WRX HD vandal resistant IR dome featuring a fixedfocal lens. These deliver robust performance and are backed by an industry’s leading product warranty against equipment failure.
Together they provide a complete record of events in all lighting conditions in the priority locations including the appliance bays – where the fire engines are maintained in continual readiness – entrances, communal areas, and meeting rooms.
For improved efficiency and operational control, the external cameras at each location allow duty managers to keep an eye on the station perimeters, for example making it easy for them to check that vehicle access routes remain unobstructed.
The license-free IDIS Center VMS includes essential viewing and control tools that make it easy for the authorised operators to manage video centrally from their workstations at the fire service headquarters. Looking ahead, this will enable remote access to be granted for pre-booked visitors - including at locations where a station crew is not available - thanks to the cameras positioned outside entrances which are integrated with the remote door entry system.
The IDIS Center VMS makes it easy for specific user permissions to be set so that senior staff and system administrators can have appropriate access to specific camera streams and functionality. And the IDIS solution comes with inherent multi-layered protection, providing complete assurance against cybersecurity risks.
Initial roll-out needed to test ease of installation
A leading systems integrator was asked to find the best video technology to overcome the challenges of ensuring complete and reliable event recording plus the ability to remotely view sites in real time. The company identified an IDIS end-to-end solution, incorporating network cameras, recorders, and VMS, as the ideal answer.
An initial roll-out, covering a dozen priority locations, was agreed. During this phased implementation it was vital for the installation team to minimise disruption, allowing security to be maintained and ensuring continued, high level emergencypreparedness at every site.
Results and Benefits: Assured video capture in all lighting conditions and long-term performance guarantee
With their wide dynamic range, the IDIS cameras now capture crisp, clear images in all lighting conditions, including in the appliance bays where there can be high contrast between direct sunlight and shadow. IDIS failover technology means that the recorded video is protected against data loss, even in the event of network instability, ensuring that a full record of events is now available for review at each site. With comprehensive video coverage provided at the first phase locations – and IDIS technology proving rapid to implement thanks to true, one-click plug-and-play design – the fire service is now pushing ahead with it plans to extend monitoring across its entire estate.