DBSA thermals

January 2009 Surveillance

The Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA) is one of several development finance institutions in South and southern Africa.

Located in South Africa, between Johannesburg and Pretoria, security threats are real for the DBSA. The building contains a lot of valuable material and artwork that a lot of people would like to steal. In order to protect the building, the DBSA recently decided to expand its security network with four FLIR Systems SR-50 thermal imaging cameras.

Security day and night

“We monitor the area around the bank and all entrances continuously with CCTV cameras,” explains Jaques du Plessis, regional manager, Gauteng of Holbert Boikanyo Technologies, a provider of integrated security systems in South Africa and responsible for all the security installations at the DBSA. “During daytime this works perfectly. However, security also needs to perform during the night so I was looking for a good solution for seeing in total darkness.”

Although the initial investment for installing infrared illuminators seemed quite reasonable, Du Plessis quickly found out that it is actually an expensive solution. Replacing the infrared beamers is a costly exercise. “Furthermore, we needed a good range performance. this would dramatically increase the total cost of ownership.”

Low TCO

Du Plessis did some research for other solutions and found FLIR Systems. Although the initial investment in thermal imaging cameras might be higher, he says they pay for themselves in the long run. Thermal imaging cameras do not consume a lot of power and since they contain an uncooled vanadium oxide detector which does not contain any moving parts at all, they are maintenance free. Once in operation they are good for several years, hassle free, continuous operation.

“After studying the perimeter at the DBSA, we decided to install four FLIR Systems SR-50 thermal imaging cameras. They have good range performance allowing detection of a man at a distance of about 800 metres. They are overlooking the areas next to the building and also the parking lot.”

In order to increase its situational awareness, the bank decided to mount the thermal imaging cameras on a pan/tilt mast to allow operators to point them in whatever direction was needed. “It also allowed us to cover the entire perimeter around the DBSA with only four cameras. We have installed a FLIR Systems SR-50 at every corner of the building.”

Easy installation

“The thermal imaging cameras were really simple to install,” continued Du Plessis. “We display the images of the four SR-50 thermal imaging cameras on one large display in the control room. From the control room we can turn the pan/tilt, on which the SR-50’s are installed, in every desired direction. If something unusual is detected we send out a walking patrol with dogs to the area where there is unusual activity.”

The FLIR Systems thermal imaging cameras are doing well with no problems reported. The next step at the DBSA is to install a video motion detection (VMD) system.

For more information contact Tinus Diedericks, Timeless Technologies, +27 (0)21 914 6144, [email protected], www.timetech.co.za





Share this article:
Share via emailShare via LinkedInPrint this page



Further reading:

Vumacam highlights concerns with proposed Johannesburg CCTV by-laws
Vumacam News & Events Surveillance
Vumacam has raised objections to critical provisions of the by-laws governing privately owned CCTV cameras with a view of public spaces in the city, which were promulgated on Friday, 28 February 2025.

Read more...
Milestone announces a platform to enable access to data and train AI models
Surveillance AI & Data Analytics
Milestone Systems has announced Project Hafnia to build services and democratise AI-model training with high-quality, compliant video data leveraging NVIDIA Cosmos Curator and AI model, fine-tuning microservices.

Read more...
Benchmark in long-range surveillance
Duxbury Networking Surveillance Products & Solutions
Duxbury Networking says the long-range, high-resolution monitoring AXIS Q1809-LE bullet camera has been enhanced further with integration into Milestone XProtect to set a new standard for forensic-level image clarity, intelligent event detection, and enhanced security management.

Read more...
AI for retail risk management
Surveillance Retail (Industry) AI & Data Analytics
As businesses face mounting challenges in a volatile economic environment, Ares-i remains an essential tool for proactively identifying, assessing, and mitigating risks that threaten operational stability and customer satisfaction.

Read more...
The need for integrated control room displays
Leaderware Editor's Choice Surveillance Training & Education
Display walls provide a coordinated perspective that facilitates the ongoing feel for situations, assists in the coordination of resources to deal with the situation, and facilitates follow up by response personnel.

Read more...
Six key security technology trends in 2025
Axis Communications SA Surveillance
Axis Communications examines some new trends for the security sector in 2025, as well as some new, old trends that are once again highlighted because of their benefit to the end user in the race to obtain optimal value from technology installations.

Read more...
edgE:Tower video analytics integrated with SEON
Surveillance Integrated Solutions AI & Data Analytics
Sentronics has announced a new integration between its edgE:Tower advanced AI-driven video analytics solution and SEON, a Central Monitoring Software (CMS) platform. This integration enhances real-time situational awareness and automated threat detection for control rooms.

Read more...
The impact of video analytics on business security
AI & Data Analytics Surveillance
As more enterprises work to integrate AI-enabled solutions into their networks, enterprises must not lose sight of the implications of these integrations and the added value they are working to unlock.

Read more...
The need for integrated control room displays
Editor's Choice Surveillance Training & Education
Display walls provide a coordinated perspective that facilitates the ongoing feel for situations, assists in the coordination of resources to deal with the situation, and facilitates follow up by response personnel.

Read more...
Integration is the key to smarter surveillance
Duxbury Networking Surveillance
According to recent market projections, the local security industry is expected to grow by more than 10% annually through 2029, reflecting the increasing demand for smarter, more proactive security solutions.

Read more...