Intu Braehead

2012 – 2013

Kings Inch Road, Glasgow G51 4BN

Paul Lucas, Operations Manager

(intu policy strictly prohibits giving of direct supplier references, please do not contact site without first liaising with Link CCTV Systems)

Link were commissioned by intu in 2012 to provide a cost-effective system upgrade at their Braehead Centre in Glasgow. The existing system was based on an ageing Visilynx matrix coupled with analogue DVRs, Bewator Solaris dome cameras and Baxall PTZs. Additionally, Link were tasked with reconstructing the control room in a ‘ground-up’ refit. The original system comprised approximately 222 camera positions.

Starting with the control room, Link stripped out the existing monitor wall and furniture while providing a temporary workstation to allow operations to continue. A cavity floor was installed to allow discreet cabling and three new height-adjustable operator desks were installed on the raised floorspace. The main monitor wall consisting of a single large display and 15x 17” TFT monitors was replaced with a free standing monitor rack housing 8 x42” HD LCD displays. The three operator positions were fitted with 2x 19” widescreen HD monitors each structured in a dual-screen arrangement to allow for graphical mapping.

In the adjacent server room, the Visilynx matrix and DVRs were systematically swapped with a new DVTel Latitude server and multiple RAID storage units coupled to a new video network hosted on 14 ComNet gigabit switches. The network was built using a combination of strategic, dedicated fibre backbones and Ethernetover- coax media converters. A combination of Axis and DVTel fully-functional HD domes were installed to replace key Solaris and Baxall positions and additional Axis static megapixel cameras were installed to enhance coverage in priority areas. To comply with budgetary limitations, certain static and Solaris positions were retained and encoded centrally at the DVTel servers with a view to future lifecycle upgrade. Two DVTel HD domes cameras were linked via a wireless Ethernet bridge from the edge of the property and perform exceptionally well for both video streaming and operator control. The final camera count is approximately 245 positions.

In late 2013, the system was expanded to a fourth remote operator station in the management suite and following the Centre’s installation of side-wide public Wifi, the management were able to manage the CCTV system via a small pool of iPads on a DVTel Remote Licence. This facility allowed both Centre management and Security management to view both live and recorded images on or off-site via their tablets at anytime. The operational benefits have been dramatic in the way the Centre use their surveillance systems. Link have continued to provide service and maintenance to intu Braehead since the completion of their system in 2013.