QBE Insurance Group is Australia's largest international general insurance & reinsurance group, and one of the top 25 insurers and reinsurers worldwide. Outside London, QBE has underwriting centers located in Birmingham, Bristol, Chelmsford, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Stafford.
Head of European Security, Mark Thompson, joined QBE in 2000, becoming responsible for security throughout QBE....
QBE Insurance Group is Australia's largest international general insurance & reinsurance group, and one of the top 25 insurers and reinsurers worldwide. Outside London, QBE has underwriting centers located in Birmingham, Bristol, Chelmsford, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester and Stafford.
Head of European Security, Mark Thompson, joined QBE in 2000, becoming responsible for security throughout QBE. The requirement was to upgrade the existing security equipment and to install an integrated access, video and intruder solution.
As a result of the findings of the security audit, a five year plan was produced by Thompson and his team to address the concerns. The key focus of the plan was that each QBE site would use the same video, access and intruder equipment with complete connectivity & integration. It was important from his point of view that his teams were able to monitor each building remotely and obtain the necessary management information.
With a good working relationship already established, QBE and Mark Thompson were delighted to put this upgrade project in the hands of Direct Security and Honeywell. Direct Security is a Select member of the Honeywell Systems Integrator program, and has been prescribing and installing Honeywell products for many years.
QBE had considered removing the existing Honeywell access control system which would have incurred a considerable cost to the business. However, Direct Security produced a solution that would allow the access control system to continue to deliver considerable cost savings.
With a more integrated system across all sites and better reporting, the expectation was to reduce the need for any additional security guards and to generate efficiencies by providing the staff with comprehensive training on an intuitive, easy to use system.
Direct Security introduced an upgraded Honeywell access control system which would allow the three main QBE offices at Chelmsford, 88 Leadenhall Street, London and Plantation Place, London to be connected and managed together.
The server for the new Honeywell access control system is located at Leadenhall Street in Central London which enables central control and monitoring of all three sites. An upgrade of firmware at Leadenhall Street allowed the existing controllers to integrate with the new Honeywell access control system. New door readers were installed in Chelmsford.
The readers and smart cards installed can be programmed for multiple sites which mean that staff travelling between the company's UK sites require only one card to allow them access to all of the sites. The smart card is capable of storing and processing information and so it has multiple uses from cashless vending, personal information storage and control of access to restricted areas - keeping a record of accumulated points for discount purchases and verifying authenticity. Whilst the new cards will predominantly be used for access control, QBE has scope for wider use in the future.
At the London Office located at 88 Leadenhall Street, the Honeywell access server was upgraded, managing approximately 23 access controlled doors using proximity cards. A further project to replace the existing and somewhat dated digital video recorders is planned to take place early in 2009.
At the QBE office in Coval Wells, Chelmsford, the Honeywell access control upgrade was completed, managing approximately 40 doors. Direct Security has since installed the Honeywell Digital Video Recorder (DVR) enabling security staff to monitor and record remote images using the Video Management Software (FVMS).
The intruder alarm was connected to the main network and configured to operate directly with WIN-PAK. A recent upgrade has seen an improvement to the security stations which monitor all of the sites. A second monitor has been installed at each location which shows the floor plans of all the sites.