By changing its traditional gatehouse to a virtual one, Rede Bandeirantes saved US$ 180,000 per year.
Mission
Rede Bandeirantes is responsible for broadcasting radio, Internet and television programming on air, 24 hours a day. It includes more than 40 companies integrated into highly diversified communication platforms. At its headquarters in São Paulo, where its TV programs are recorded, people come and go at a hurried pace. And the gatehouse service was handled by security guards day and night, 7 days a week. They also identified and released all vehicles (light and heavy) by radio, which took about 3 minutes.
Solution
To provide greater security and speed, an automated concierge project was developed. The project, which was overseen by Rede Bandeirantes’ security manager, was installed by integrator JL Imagem, using
AXIS A8105-E Network Video Door Station and AXIS M3105-LVE Network Cameras. The Axis products are integrated with Mirasys Enterprise video management software version 7.5.
Result
The solution decreased the time to authorize entry from 3 minutes to 30 seconds. Now, there are no guards subject to threats from criminals, since the employees stay in a remote security center protected by an access control system, while visitors remain in an airlock awaiting authorization. In addition, the system has yielded US$ 180,000 in savings each year.
Financially sensible
Bandeirantes has a continuous flow of vehicles from visitors, technical staff, cast members, loading and unloading of goods and taxis, as well as more than 200 link vehicles—moving through gatehouse of the Rede Bandeirante de Televisão headquarters in São Paulo.
There, the security guards staffed physical posts 24 hours a day. The clearance process took 3 minutes, including identification of the driver, writing down information on a form, radio communication with the monitoring center, issuance of authorization and release of the vehicle to a holding area. Meanwhile, cars were subject to the approach of criminals. After this initial stage, the outer gate was closed and a second agent inspected the vehicle and its trunk. Only then was it released to enter the building.
“There was a bureaucratic analog communication system,” recalls Jorge Lula, a security expert at JL Imagens. One possibility to expedite this process was to hire more security guards, but the cost would have been quite high. Our customer was already spending US$ 15,000 per month, and increasing it would only translate into a faster process, not better security.”
“We had learned about the Axis video door phone at the ISC Brazil trade show. Afterwards, we visited the Axis office and got some equipment for testing,” says Lula.
The new project was implemented by WZS Solutions consultant and security manager at Rede Bandeirantes, Willian de Souza. It combined AXIS A8105-E Network Video Door Station with the Mirasys VMS.
AXIS M3105-LVE Network Cameras allow display of both license plates and the interior of the vehicle. Builtin infrared helps distinguish details at night.
“We were able to take advantage of the monitoring center we already had, and we added the remote gatehouse task to it. The only costs to implement the project were purchasing the solutions and dedicated storage for the images,” reports Willian de Souza.
New concept
Opening and closing the airlock is now handled 100% remotely, preventing the gate from scratching cars.
With the virtual gatehouse solution, Bandeirantes decreased the time required to identify visitors and release vehicles by 84%—from 3 minutes to only 30 seconds. In practice, the vehicle arrives at the concierge and is identified by the intercom without pressing any button to communicate with the monitoring center. Inside the airlock, the center’s team asks the driver over the intercom to turn on the car’s interior light, get out of the car, and open the trunk. Thanks to the quality of the cameras, the security agent can review the images, and if everything is in order, he or she releases the vehicle to enter or exit.
“You don’t need to press any button to speak. The monitoring center is listening 24 hours a day. The audio and microphone quality are excellent; visitors can hear perfectly from inside the car and can speak normally to be heard on the other end, without needing to raise their voice. There is no crackling, the volume is sufficient, and what’s most important, it’s more costeffective and stable,” says Willian de Souza.
“I already have other projects in mind, and we will move forward with other technologies such as Axis license plate recognition. Then we plan to extend the IP solution to the entire client base,” Willian says.