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| Security and high-quality images is of premier importance at Arriva Midlands Ltd’s bus depots |
Covering an area that stretches from Birmingham to Wrexham, through to Derby and Leicester, Arriva Midlands Ltd is a major provider of public bus transport in the midlands region. Securing both company assets and staff, Arriva Midlands Ltd recently embarked upon a major security programme at their newly built Shrewsbury bus depot. The comprehensive surveillance system’s specification includes Network Video Technologies (NVT), PVDTM unshielded twisted pair (UTP) Hybrid VideoTM transmission technology.
Surveillance system installer, Mace Midlands Ltd, began working for Arriva Midlands Ltd when they equipped one of the company’s new build depots with the latest in CCTV technology. This led to subsequent projects at other Arriva depots, updating existing CCTV to match the specification of the new-builds.
Security and high-quality images is of premier importance at Arriva Midlands Ltd’s bus depots, where buses often carry large amounts of cash back to the depots from their daily fares. Additionally, the service and maintenance work that takes place in the depot workshops requires adherence to strict health & safety guidelines. High-quality CCTV imagery is an effective way of ensuring compliance, and of retrospectively investigating the precise circumstances of any incident.
Picture-perfect specification
“This new specification has proved such a success that Arriva Midlands Ltd have been very enthusiastic about rolling it out across more of their depots, including this latest one,” explains Richard Sheard, Senior Security Engineer at Mace Midlands. “The latest project has seen the installation of CCTV equipment at the Shrewsbury depot, corresponding to the specification of our previous upgrades at Arriva Midlands Ltd’s other sites.”
At the Shrewsbury depot, Mace engineers installed 38 650TV line Videcon AIR4526HG infrared cameras to cover the exterior of the depot building, and 24 600TV line DSIRHRV/24 infrared cameras to view the interior. All cameras are connected to multiple Videcon VXH264-16/3000 DVR units using NVT PVDTM (Power, Video & Data) transmission on Cat6 UTP cable.
“We installed NVT NV-216A-PV Power & Video Passive Transceiver units at each of the 38 cameras. Images are transmitted back to three NVT NV-1672 16-Channel DigitalEQ™ Active Receiver Distribution Amplifier Hubs, whilst power is supplied to all cameras over Cat6 UTP cable runs, via multiple NVT NV-16PS10-PVD 16-Channel Power Supply Cable Passive Integrator Hubs,” continues Richard. “Specifying NVT for this latest Arriva Midlands Ltd site was an easy choice, based on our experience of enjoying simple installations and fantastic image quality when used within the previous projects.
NVT advantage
“From on-site assistance in the system specification stage, to the support we have received from the technical department via the telephone, NVT support has always been no more than a phone call away throughout the project, with nothing being too much trouble. The installation was as smooth and simple to commission as our previous projects for Arriva Midlands Ltd - aided by our tried and tested specification of proven system components and manufacturers.”
“Using Cat6 cable and NVT PVDTM transmission is a primary factor in the success of the system. Installing Cat6 cable in the building was so simple compared to the installation of coax, and the NVT PVDTM technology allows the use of high-performance and cost-effective analog cameras, as opposed to their IP equivalents.
“Additionally, the inherent ability of NVT products to reject electrical interference meant that even when we discovered that the electrical contractor had installed the main electrical feed for the depot’s lighting columns in the trunking earmarked for our Cat6 runs, the install was still able to go ahead as planned. This meant no disruption to the project schedule or the quality of images received by the DVRs.
“Also, identifying any faults within the cable run is simple using the diagnostic LEDs on the front panel of each hub. This feature ensures quick and error free installations ensuring any cable fault can be detected and rectified simply and easily, without any impact on the program of works.”
Hybrid system
System images from the cameras are transferred to a DVR located within the depot, in the same secure communications room as the NVT transceivers and power supply hubs. From there, the images are transferred onto Arriva Midlands Ltd’s’ own IT infrastructure, enabling functionality for remote monitoring, and creating a truly Hybrid CCTV system, with the best of both worlds performance from combined analog and digital genres.
“Mace’s specification of NVT PVDTM equipment reduces installation time and cost to the customer, negating the need for an electrical contractor to provide a fused spur at each camera point,” adds Richard. “When we are dealing with over 60 cameras, this adds up to a significant saving.”
Now fully commissioned, Arriva Midlands Ltd enjoys highly detailed live and recorded CCTV images from the whole of the Shrewsbury depot. Dave Fryer, Senior CCTV Controller for Arriva Midlands Ltd explains: “On the exterior of the building, images are used to ensure that only authorized personnel are on-site at any time. Apart from the obvious capital value of our buses, the value of our technicians’ tools and equipment can run into thousands of pounds, so it is our duty to protect this. Additionally, we are handling cash on-site, and take the protection of our assets and employees very seriously.”
Inside the building, cameras cover all aspects of the facility; including bus parking areas and the busy maintenance workshops. “Our health & safety procedures are critical to a safe working environment,” adds Dave. “Using highly detailed CCTV images helps to ensure that our staff adhere to these procedures at all times, and is vital in providing a detailed visual account of what led to, and what was the result of any incidents on-site.”
“We are delighted at the level of service we have received from Mace throughout this and the other security installations they have handled for us. The NVT based camera network gives us the reassurance we require, providing highly detailed images that afford the detection or retrospective investigation of any incident at the depot.”
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