The Brief
In 2015 Peel Land & Property were seeking to upgrade their security within the Quay West, Venus Building, Alexandra Building, Victoria Harbour, City car park and Digital World within Media City UK. The previous security measures in the 200 acre mixed-use property development consisted of an analogue CCTV access control, an intercom covering pedestrian and vehicular entrances and exits providing access without any form of audit trail. An intercom through to the reception desk operated an out of hours gate, whilst the exit gate ran on an unmanned loop. The building is open during office hours and access control was only required out of hours to obtain access through the main entrance doors aside from this there was no surveillance or tracking of footfall. Each tenant’s floor had their own access control system installed, which was not managed through the landlords system.
An eclectic mix of more than 250 businesses and residential apartment blocks, global names such as the BBC, ITV, Salford University and Bupa all call Media City home. Media City UK is a vibrant, sustainable destination to work, live and play, on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal, described by Managing Director, Stephen Wild as
A hot bed for enterprise and innovation and at the cutting edge of the tech,
digital and creative sectors
Those going about their daily business need to be able to do so without the hindrance of safety and security measures impinging on their day, whilst safe in the knowledge they are protected in a secure environment. The system needs to be invisible and non-intrusive to them, but
provide a huge wealth of data and other images regarding the volume of people, the activities of these individuals and their whereabouts at any given time to the landlord.
Our Philosophy
Advanced Security Partners provide a bespoke service to each individual client for each customised project offering in-depth research and testing of security solutions to address the needs of the project and to provide the most effective security options. Clarity of images on security cameras, timing detail and individual usage being of paramount importance. Products are selected based on trials, functionality and cost. The brief from Media City UK was to secure the building 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, with limited personal intrusion and cost saving where possible and this is what Advanced Security Partners provided.
Testing
In order to assess the appropriate equipment for any project, ASP undertake considerable testing. This involves testing equipment for effectiveness in the required role, for cameras this includes the clarity, lighting, range and coverage and the best positions for them. The testing involves detail such as assessing the distance that a car registration can be read and how clear the imagery and effectiveness of the lighting at 01.00 am. This is vital to provide Peel Land & Property with the coverage and peace of mind they require.
The Solution
The solution provided by ASP fully meets the needs of Media City UK, it’s buildings and grounds, saving the landlord £100,000 per site, a total of £1.2 million per year in comparison to the previous provision. By removing Security Guards and installing top specification, planned, tested, researched and fitted security equipment, linking up every inch of the site with cabling back to the secure room which is monitored 24 hours a day. A huge saving was undertaken and a greater level of security gained, along with documented evidence, giving peace of mind to Peel Land & Property the landlord, all the tenants, occupants, visitors and users of Media City UK.
The new security upgrade includes an external intercom door station with barriers or gates to each access point, Internal intercom help station with CCTV, Intercom telephone and Internal broadcast speaker, External broadcast speaker and two-way intercom with alarm. All items chosen are extremely efficient high-level specification products.
The main entrance door to the building is locked out of hours with the exception of the Disabled Disability Door as this incorporates Access control and manages the access in to the building for out of hours use. A new IP based CCTV system was installed along with the installation of a new dedicated viewing platform. A dedicated operator PC located on the reception desk to allow viewing of all the cameras connected to the new security network allows all of the buildings in the Media City portfolio to be viewed. The new CCTV system provides alerts with associated maps when the alarm is triggered to pinpoint where the issue lies. Externally static cameras are positioned to obtain vehicle details and number plates of all cars entering the site.
The site spans the distance of 3.2km from Media City UK to The Trafford Centre and all of this area needs to be covered by these detailed security measures. Even through the implementation period of the upgrade no area was left exposed, every inch had security measures in place.
Tony Chebrika, Head of Security at Peel Land and Property stated,
I am delighted with the work Advanced Security Partners have undertaken to date, incorporating great care and planning along with good customer service to this huge project, they continue to manage the project well and we are so impressed with their work we have chosen to work with them on several other ongoing projects.