Founded in 1892, Telford College of Arts and Technology is a further education college located on the outskirts of Wellington in Telford, Shropshire, United Kingdom. With 2000 full-time students and more than 15 000 part-time students, the college offers a wide range of vocational courses to prepare students 16 years and older for employment and higher education.
As an open campus that sits on 12 hectares of land including 27 000 square metres of building space, two outdoor football pitches, and a 550-space parking lot, Telford College is committed to ensuring the safety and protection of its community.
Chosen for its exceptional image quality, ease-of-use, and reliability, Telford College deployed the Avigilon high-definition surveillance system to create a positive, safe, and stimulating learning environment across the entire campus.
Top marks in student safeguarding
Like all educational facilities across the United Kingdom, Telford College is regulated by the OFSTED, which is mandated to ensure the highest standards in care and education for children, young people, and students. A key OFSTED criteria is a college’s ability to effectively safeguard its students, a requirement that must be met to achieve an overall strong rating.
“We received an outstanding grade in safeguarding in 2010 – particularly impressive because we are an open campus – and we are very motivated to demonstrate our continuing commitment to the highest safeguarding standards,” explained Andy Wilkinson, estates manager at Telford College. “A reliable, high-quality, user-friendly high-definition surveillance system such as Avigilon’s will play a key role in helping us maintain the outstanding grade.”
From analogue to high-definition
Determined to maintain a safe and secure campus environment, Telford College felt it was time to upgrade its old analogue-based surveillance system to better monitor student behaviour and deter unauthorised individuals from accessing the campus and causing mischief. “Well passed its sell-by date, our analogue system was unreliable, difficult to manage, and delivered distorted images, making it difficult for us to achieve our security goals,” said Wilkinson.
Following a tender exercise, the college opted to work with Technical Services (Shropshire), a local provider of surveillance system design, installation, and service, and install the Avigilon system. Key factors in this decision were its ease-of-use, image quality, reliability, and scalability. “No other proposal could match the quality provided by Avigilon.”
Avigilon across campus
Wilkinson and his four-person security team manage the Avigilon high-definition surveillance solution using the Avigilon Control Center network video management software (NVMS) with High-Definition Stream Management (HDSM) technology. The college installed Avigilon HD cameras ranging from 2 MP to 8 MP in key areas across the campus including student social areas, the cafeteria, library, 3G football pitch, the delivery entrance, and the Construction Centre.
Telford College also installed an Avigilon 8 MP 360-degree panoramic dome camera in its shop to achieve maximum coverage with one camera. The college relies on several Avigilon analogue video encoders to improve the performance of its existing cameras. The college also installed an Avigilon Network Video Recorder (NVR) to store up to 14 days of continuous surveillance footage.
Over the coming years, Telford College plans to add more Avigilon HD cameras and replace existing analogue cameras in hot spots across the campus where additional coverage is required. “Because Avigilon HD cameras are plug-and-play, we can easily add new cameras anywhere a network point exists,” stated Wilkinson
Simplified search enhances security
“The search capabilities of the Avigilon Control Center software are very straightforward – Avigilon is a lot easier to use than our old analogue-based system and is much faster too,” affirmed Wilkinson.
Ease-of-use was a key requirement for Wilkinson, who wanted a user-friendly system for his security guards. “Excellent image quality was another priority, which is critical to our success in using the system effectively.”
According to Wilkinson, one of the key features of the Avigilon system is the ability to cluster groups of views by themes, making it simple to call up specific areas efficiently to further expedite investigations. “I have grouped all social areas together and all external views together, so I can pull up a view in a second and have full coverage in front of me,” noted Wilkinson.
The image quality and zooming capabilities of the Avigilon high-definition surveillance system also enhance investigation success. “The ability to zoom, particularly in crowded social areas, allows me to identify students quickly and accurately if necessary.”
With its superior usability, the Avigilon system is a big hit with the security team. “Our security guards would tell you that the difference in system manageability is immeasurable compared to our old system, which required hours to search without guaranteeing results,” said Wilkinson. “The Avigilon system frees up our security personnel to patrol the grounds, reassuring the college community that the campus is safe and secure.”
If needed, the college can also monitor potential issues live and dispatch personnel to assist on the ground as needed.
The cost advantage
Another noteworthy attribute of the Avigilon high-definition surveillance system is the ability to leverage an existing analogue-based infrastructure and transition to full high-definition surveillance over time. “I really liked the fact that we did not have to go overboard and replace all our existing cameras at once,” stated Wilkinson.
The cost of a high-definition surveillance system is neutralised by the fact that Telford College can achieve greater coverage using fewer high-definition cameras. “For example, we only needed two Avigilon 2 MP cameras to cover our new student social area – Rendezvous. We would have needed far more analogue cameras to achieve the same coverage.”
Delivering a ROI
Telford College has already achieved a ROI since deploying the Avigilon system because it required less infrastructure, less time and support to install, and delivers superior image quality, manageability, and reliability. “To make our college viable, we have to attract students,” noted Wilkinson. “With a state-of-the-art surveillance system, we can reassure students and their parents that we offer an extremely safe environment. Our old system was average at best.”
An effective deterrent
Although the college has not publicised the new Avigilon high-definition surveillance system to its students, the college has noticed a marked decline in security incidents since its implementation. “While the new CCTV system is not the only factor behind this decline – the addition of new social spaces has also contributed – there is no doubt that word gets around the college community and disruptive behaviour decreases.”
The Avigilon high-definition surveillance system plays a critical role at Telford College, which prides itself on being an open campus where students may come and go as required. “With access to reliable, clear images that deliver indisputable evidence, we are confident we can provide valuable footage to college stakeholders and external agencies to help resolve incidents as quickly and effectively as possible,” concluded Wilkinson. “As a result, we can ensure the safety and security of our college community.”
For more information contact Avigilon, +27 (0)72 584 4992, [email protected], www.avigilon.com
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