Single Bold management platform for Runnymede Control Room

21 Jul 10

Bold Communications has supplied its Gemini software solution to enhance operations at the Runnymede Control Room. Brian Sims reports.

By Brian Sims

Revenue generation for the public sector Control Room is always a hot topic, of course, but never more so than at the present time given the threats of serious budgetary pressure.

For some Control Rooms, this has meant a fundamental re-examination by management teams of both their purpose and scope of activity.

While a number of town centre CCTV monitoring schemes have in the past sought to avoid wandering outside of their core surveillance brief, there’s now a growing long-term trend for revenue generation and maximum value leverage towards the integrated monitoring centre.

Centre of the organisation

In truth, it’s not uncommon to find local authorities offering a comprehensive range of security and Out of Hours services within their facilities, in turn placing their activities at the centre of the organisation.

While this isn’t a guarantee of future prosperity, it does enhance the Control Room’s contribution to the bottom line, at the same time making sure that revenues are kept in-house.

A further important consideration is that, by doing so, the authority concerned retains control over the types of security systems, technology and service contracts used, and avoids being propelled down the proprietary product route. Not so much ‘arms length’ as ‘hands on’.

Inevitably, a variety of disparate monitoring and control systems will be in use within the typical Control Room. However, software development technologies and co-operation between manufacturers has meant that it’s now possible to pull together most security applications into a single management platform.

The benefits of using such a system are obvious. It realises a common operator interface as well as universal reporting across all systems and, perhaps most important of all in the current fiscal climate, delivers optimal efficiency.

Open platform integrated security management

Bold Communications is a well-known name among those providing open platform integrated security management systems. The company approaches its 30th birthday and, for most of its operational life, has been a principal UK provider of monitoring solutions (duly supporting a wide range of commercial and public sector central stations along the way).

A Bold customer for the last eight years, the Safer Runnymede Control Centre’s management team won the Public Sector Security Award in April last year for significantly reducing the number of burglaries, auto theft, damage and personal attacks experienced by its customer base.

Recently, the decision was taken to upgrade its monitoring software to the new Bold Gemini solution. This is managed at Runnymede’s multi-function Control Room which, in addition to CCTV monitoring, deals with care-line calls and is a fully-equipped Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC).

Thanks to a well-established working relationship with the local police, Runnymede’s management team and operators can provide an effective and fast alarm response.

Functional specification for the software

The functional specification for the Gemini software was led by the requirements of Bold’s group of central station customers, including many council Control Rooms. As this is such a diverse group, the result was a very comprehensive system design which then had to be developed into a live product with multiple communication methods and many different alarm signalling protocols.

What made Gemini different is the integration with other security technologies. For example, CCTV monitoring software, access control and lone worker systems were designed-in at the planning stage and not added as an afterthought. The result of this is the sheer ‘usability’ of the product, and it was this that really persuaded Runnymede to choose Gemini.

An essential part of the innovative approach adopted in this project is the use of dynamic reporting, allowing instant access to the SQL database to obtain management information according to a schedule (or, alternatively, on an ‘as required’ basis).

Setting up new monitored sites and administration is vastly simplified, and configurations are created which specifically match the user’s needs.

With a familiar Window’s interface following Microsoft’s Fluent User conventions, Gemini can be quickly mastered by Control Room operators.

Sophisticated web access administration

Gemini also offers a sophisticated web access administration and reporting module and an SMS receiver, the latter used by Runnymede Control Room’s operators for communicating directly with the public by way of text messaging. Many integrated projects now also require customisation, and this is typically handled by Bold’s UK development team.

The Runnymede project was co-ordinated with a Bold project consultant attending pre-installation meetings with contractors and other involved parties to ensure the end result was in line with the client’s requirements.

Operator and administration training was provided to ensure that the maximum benefit was obtained from the system, and Out of Hours support made available as and when required.

Having now fully implemented Gemini, Runnymede is able to monitor all current alarm panel types and will be able to accommodate new technology as it becomes available across the security marketplace.

Matching present and future needs

Commenting on the project, Brian Kelly (the forward-thinking managing director at Bold Communications) told SMT Online: “At the moment, Runnymede Control Room operators monitor fire, intruder and panic alarms for all of the linked council properties as part of the organised programme of partnership working. The requirement to monitor a number of alarm types via a range of transmission methods fits with the Gemini open platform integration approach, and we’ve been pleased to provide a system configuration which ideally matches both present and future needs.”

Today, Bold Communications provides IT solutions to ARCs worldwide. Based in Warrington, the company has been developing communications systems for over 20 years, and is a leading UK provider of alarm monitoring systems to the security sector.

The company offers a 24/7 technical support service to clients, among whom are commercial and corporate central stations, universities and colleges, local authorities and NHS institutions.

BoldNet IP for austerity savings

We’re forever being told that global warming is threatening the planet. The economy, on the other hand, is rapidly cooling down.

While achieving best value can usually be found near the top of the agenda, the recent emergency budget has powerfully concentrated peoples’ minds.

The Government has targeted cash savings as the top priority, but also wants this to be an opportunity, wherever and whenever possible, to improve the quality of services provided.

Whether in the private or public sector, the expectation today is very much to do more with less, but one area where cost-cutting could have unfortunate consequences is in the provision of security.

Keeping people and property safe is a fundamental responsibility without which not much economic activity can happen. Perhaps the threatened social disaffection will not materialise but, if it does, the need for security measures will grow rather than recede.

Remote monitoring: a cornerstone of security

For a long time now, remote monitoring has been an essential cornerstone of security provision and also, relatively speaking, a cost saver. Rather than having local security personnel and security systems operators, it makes sense to centralise alarm and CCTV monitoring with a reduced overhead for staff and infrastructure.

That said, to make the savings real – and not involve a simple cut – the quality of service has to be maintained and improved.

An additional spend to save area opportunity is offered by the public and private IP network. While take-up was hesitant during the ‘boom’ years, the new economy provides persuasive reasons for finding ways to leverage more value from the existing infrastructure.

The growth of IP networks for alarm signalling over the last ten years has not been electrifying, but the return on investment – and improvements in service – are both measurable and significant.

Put simply, moving alarm signalling from telephone lines to the IP network can mean a saving of hundreds of pounds per site. Multiply that by a few hundred sites and it’s obvious the sum saved can be the equivalent of several full-time employees.

Initial caution from central station managers

Bold Communications launched the original BoldNet IP alarm signalling solution back in 2006. While the early technology adaptors got stuck in, most central stations were understandably cautious.

In the alarm panel signalling world, the focus is very much on making sure the signal gets through. If a signalling method has worked reliably for the last 20 years, why take the risk of changing?

It is, however, realistic to say that the technology is now thoroughly proven, while the new ‘savings challenge’ has meant the subject has again become active in the public domain.

Most monitoring projects now delivered by Bold incorporate an IP signalling element, which wasn’t the case only three or four year ago.

The Bradford MDC experience

One such public sector Bold customer seeing the benefits of a change to IP is Bradford Metropolitan District Council (MDC). A Bold customer for ten years, Bradford MDC has been using BoldNet IP for the past 18 months.

BoldNet provides a comparable level of security to premium alarm signalling services, offering up to Insurance Grade 4 alarm signalling (the highest) with a polled and managed network solution.

Thanks to its deployment, Bradford MDC knows of any network issue in just three minutes. With each packet of data holding only 265 bytes, network performance remains unaffected.

Phil Holmes of Bradford MDC commented: “BoldNet was chosen as it offered a simple way of reducing costs, at the same time as improving the integrity and security of our alarm transmission.”

Upgrade to the Gemini platform

Bold Communications provided the Council’s original security management system, which has recently been upgraded to the new Gemini platform.

“This means that we can manage a range of different manufacturers’ security products and transmission methods,” explained Holmes. “So, on top of the benefits of using BoldNet IP for the alarm signalling, we had the comfort of working with an experienced supplier who we know as an alarm communications and management specialist.”

Alarm signalling over the IP network is no longer the Brave New World of ten years ago but, perhaps, only now in the cold economic climate will its value be fully realised. Time will tell…