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Automation an essential component of effective mine security systems

Mines are invariably large-scale enterprises that, because of their sheer size, cannot rely solely upon physical security measures to protect assets and operations. To ensure effective security, technology and automation are required.

Dr Bennie Coetzer

Like many industries, mining tends to emphasise and specify products in tender documents rather than solutions. Tenders for security systems call for products to certain specifications and capabilities but the overall operational solution is often glossed over or ignored.

More emphasis should be placed on the operational aspects to establish how technology manages incidents rather than selecting products on price and specification and then trying to develop a management system around those products.

Digital CCTV surveillance technology is a critical component of any large-scale security system. It is a technology that is developing very rapidly with ongoing R&D efforts regularly resulting in significant improvements to the operation and capabilities of overall systems.

While the technology currently cannot provide the perfect picture or store recorded images forever because technical limitations exist in compression, storage and communications technology, continual improvements and the addition of new algorithms can be applied, provided the system selected is upgradeable and is based on modular development principles.

This is where systems that have been selected with the focus on the specifications of individual components instead of an overall solution fall down. The overall solution takes cognisance of user interfaces and compatibility for the presentation of information and images. If individual components cannot be upgraded then the entire system becomes redundant.

When selecting a digital CCTV surveillance system it is important to consider the solution as a whole. It should comprise an overall control system that receives, controls and presents images and information from various sub-systems. It should have open systems interfaces, adhere to established standards and be adaptable to each user's unique requirements.

Key features

For mines, key features of the system would be the ability to control displays and provide multiple views, tactical pictures for situational awareness, immediately present to system operators appropriate views of any incident as it unfolds and other relevant information that could be critical to the control of the incident and the safety of personnel. Such information could include access to the area, which doors/gates or other entrances and exits are open or closed, the status of road access and so on. This type of information helps to quickly determine the best course of action and the quickest and safest route if personnel need to leave the area quickly.

The ability of the surveillance system to bring together visual information and correlate it with a map of the mine layout is also beneficial as it will show control room operators where key support personnel, fire-fighting equipment, water points and safe assembly areas are located - typically the kind of information required to deal quickly and efficiently with any emergency situation.

The key component missing in ad hoc designs is the integration system, which presents the user (operator) with the information he/she needs to make decisions and react to a situation. Thus the operator, upon recognising an incident, must be able to view the environment, establish his own defensive resources' location and capability and direct them toward the situation. In a reactive system where the criminal act is reviewed and investigated the information system will allow the investigators to reconstruct the event so as to apprehend culprits quickly, before the trail runs cold.

Key features of information management include the ability to monitor the system status. Thus all inputs, recorders, matrix functions and others where possible, are continuously monitored for correct functionality. This ensures that preventative maintenance takes place before the crime does.

Training of security staff and control room operators in risk management and control room procedures is essential to achieve the best possible results. The design of the system to include features such as text guidance on the monitor screens and audit processes for regular testing of personnel is also important in order to ensure a state of continual readiness. Quality control applied to both man and machine will ensure the best results.

Large mines will invariably require system automation, typically in the form of motion detection cameras and number plate recognition for vehicle entry and exit control. Motion detection cameras will only send an image to the control screen when there is movement so a change from a blank screen to an image serves as an immediate alarm.

Image analysis is also important - is the person running or walking, does the body language demonstrate agitation, has the car been parked in the same spot for too long? All of these can indicate something may be wrong and that it warrants checking.

HDTV (high definition TV) technology is making sure of progress and it may soon be possible to achieve images at 2000 x 1000 pixels, which is a huge advancement in quality over the 720 x 576 pixels currently available on PAL. Other technologies, such as biometrics (fingerprint or iris recognition) and facial recognition are also making quick progress and will eventually have a major impact on the design and implementation of security systems.

The traditional purchase of an off-the-shelf system is fast disappearing. Today's technology allows us to produce very flexible systems that cater for specific applications and may be easily expanded to cater for new requirements.

Finally, it is critical that we continue to produce systems, programming and database engineers from our education system with the knowledge and skills to ensure that digital CCTV security systems are properly managed for best results. We need to ensure the systems we design integrate seamlessly with other systems to extend capability at little cost and that components may be upgraded to accommodate new technology without having to invest in an entirely new system.

When Thales designed the Argus total video surveillance system for security and disaster management applications, a major objective was to develop a user-friendly and proactive system with the ability to record pictures of high quality at a realtime recording rate of up to 25 pictures per second on each camera (or as dictated by the specific application requirement). Other objectives included a graphical user interface to present a tactical operations picture in the control room, seamless integration with other security systems and the provision of interfaces to existing installations.

Inherent in the Argus system are the ability to rapidly and easily select views, provide graphical displays of tactical pictures, immediately review recordings for verification and monitor views that are able to mirror the tactical picture. These are essential functions that allow control room staff to properly assess any given situation and have a realistic chance of either preventing an incident or efficiently dealing with the after-effects of fire, flood, explosion or other critical event.

The overall objective is to prevent the incident or failing that, to be in a position to quickly react to it and exert as much control as possible over the consequences. The system may also be required to monitor shrinkage in the processing of precious metals or the theft of equipment and the objective in this role would be to prevent theft, or if it does occur, to at least obtain sufficient evidence to secure a conviction.

The system reconstructs events and evidence through high quality recordings (4CIF format is standard as is MJPEG, MPEG2 compression for maximum quality) with minimal or no distortion while also having the ability to track and record views of a single suspect or a number of suspects on the move. In mines, because of the size of the operations, event detection can be achieved through integrated video motion detection (VMD) technology and integration to external alarm and access detection systems.

At the same time the system caters for the reactive side of security by offering facilities to provide mine management with information and event analysis. It can be set up to improve reaction to events, manage access to controls and information, manage spontaneous events such as security breaches, fires or other disasters and to provide guidance support for system operators.

Through its modular architecture coupled with integrated control, the Argus system can be expanded to virtually any size, allowing systems of more than 1000 cameras to perform as a seamless unit. A network capability for remote control and viewing allows the system to operate countrywide. Design flexibility means that Argus can be modified to adapt to the changing requirements of users in terms of both security needs and capacity.

Essential components of the overall Argus system include the Bronte digital video recorder, capable of continuously recording all channels at a maximum rate of 25 pps for each camera. As this unit operates independently of the control computer it is immune to operating system failures and is also not affected by hard disk storage management requirements.

The recording quality can be adjusted from VHS quality (JPG file at 20 kB a picture) right up to broadcast quality (JPG file at 128 kB a picture). The Bronte system can manage sizeable hard disk drive units as well as large digital tape management (LDTM) systems that offer massive storage capacity. It also allows for audio recording on each channel and synchronised data recording.

The Argo digital video matrix component is a compact and reliable full cross-point switch with built-in text generation and a sophisticated health and usage monitoring (HUM) capability, while the Aegis control computer manages the entire surveillance system and peripherals. Aegis offers graphic user interface (GUI) and is able to integrate with other security or disaster management systems. The user interface is intuitive, providing user-friendly support of proactive operation.

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