by Ana María Restrepo
Some companies need to implement security systems to protect their personnel and assets, others also use them to protect the investments of their customers, as is the case with freight transport companies, which make use of security for their benefit and that of their users.
In 2007 the Spanish company Tipsa, which offers urgent parcel transport and documentation services throughout Spain, Andorra and Portugal, installed the Intellex digital video, designed for complex Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) solutions, as well as a management control support system that has allowed it to carry out character procedures internal, in addition to implementing a package location system that allows to quickly locate the geographical location of shipments.
DHL Express also installed in different warehouses of the company in Europe an electronic security system that includes alarms, access controls, CCTV, electronic surveillance system of articles and systems of labeling at origin, in order to guarantee the best protection of the goods of the clients.
For its part, the Medellín Metro (Colombia), will install for the stations of La
Line J, of the Nuevo Occidente Metrocable Project, an alarm and CCTV solution that will operate on a one hundred percent (100%) IP platform, and that will be integrated with other systems such as energy management, data from the corporate LAN network and the collection system called Civic.
Common crime losses
Most transport companies endure theft of their goods almost daily. According to Juan A. González, director of Assekuransa, (a company specialized in insurance for goods in international transport for Latin America and the Caribbean), in the region the countries most prone to this problem are Argentina, Brazil and Mexico.
Speaking specifically of Mexico, the Mexican Association of Insurance Institutions (AMIS) presented in September 2007 its study "Radiography of insecurity in motor transport in Mexico", in which it gives some data that demonstrate the increase in merchandise thefts in the country. According to the report in 2006, 9 were presented. one thousand 875 claims, which when bought with the 10 thousand 5 of 2005, decreased.
As for the Mexican states with the highest rate of robberies as of June 2007, the Federal District and the State of Mexico top the list, followed by Jalisco and Nuevo León. The municipality that reports the most stolen vehicles is Guadalajara, with 308, followed by Iztapalapa with 197, Monterrey (196), Gustavo A. Madero (179), Puebla (175), Tlalnepantla (160), and Tijuana (141).
Transport of protected goods
Last year, the Mexican company Transportes Águila de Oro, implemented DVTel's Intelligent Security Operations Center (iSOC), which provides an integrated video and access control system, in the offices and maritime transport terminals located in Monterrey, Santa Rosa (located in Apodaca Nuevo León) and Laredo (in the state of Tamaulipas).
Transportes Águila de Oro (TAO) is a group of companies dedicated to the transportation, logistics and distribution of merchandise in Mexico, the United States and Canada, which was born 54 years ago as a family business Treviño Cantú Hermanos, with a single truck and a plant of 12 employees. It currently has 500 employees and a fleet of more than 300 trucks, which provide refrigerated and dry transport services, and door-to-door service.
With the provision of these services, as well as with its work team, TAO seeks to meet the needs of its customers and international competitiveness, so it decided to use a security system that would provide security, protect goods, in addition to helping it ensure compliance with the established rules against trade and terrorism, in order to carry out its activity without problems.
The solution installed by GBS (Global Business Solution), is composed of 100 cameras and around 75 access points distributed in several buildings in the three cities. HID Global supplied key components of the IP-based access control system including 45 iCLASS ® readers, the 25 VertXTM V2000 controllers, four bioCLASSTM readers for the office, and one EdgePlusTM reader.
Both security systems are distributed in several distant physical locations, but thanks to the fact that the solutions base their transmission on IP networks, you can have a centralized management of events.
Single system, multiple locations
The video surveillance solution consists of approximately 100 cameras distributed in Monterrey, Santa Rosa and Laredo. "It is in Monterrey where you have in a monitoring center of Transportes Águila de Oro that, with Latitude of DVTEL, which integrates the monitoring of the data network and the satellite monitoring of the units. It is in Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo where you have the recording sevidores, "explains Jorge Vásquez Suárez, general director of GBS
Likewise, access control is based on HID IP technology, with the range of Vertex controllers and Edge Devices, with a central LNA (Longitude Network Appliance) controller unit. These elements are integrated into DVTEL's Longitude platform, which is also monitored in real time at the Águila de Oro transport monitoring center.
The iSOC provided Transportes Aguila de Oro with the necessary functionality to obtain the C-TPAT (Customs and Commercial Association against Terrorism) certification; such requirements demand compliance with closure, effective control of the load and monitoring of the load at all times.
It should be noted, as Vásquez comments, that the transport company also increased the level of security in its operations with several initiatives in addition to the video surveillance and access control system, which allowed it to also achieve BASC certification (voluntary cooperation agreement, between companies and U.S. Customs. Uu, to comply with safety standards, personnel selection and logistical-operational procedures in shipments and international traffic of goods), which is a guarantee for the customers of Transportes Águila de Oro.
To the defense of assets and clients
Previously Transportes Águila de Oro did not have any security system, therefore the unified video and access control system is the first solution implemented in the organization, which to date has already allowed the company to obtain some of the proposed objectives.
The solution provided by GBS is characterized by being 100% IP and open. It has DVTel and AXIS cameras, as well as DVTel encoders. Access control is carried out by means of HID IP controllers, both Vertex and Edge, R10, R40 HID readers, as well as Byoscript biometric readers. The video recording server is SUN Micriosystems equipment and has four 500GB discs to store 10 days of video. The video has MPEG4 and MJPEG format depending on the cameras and their location on the network. "It is scalable, we have been able to grow the solution by taking advantage of the phase one infrastructure, which has only had to be expanded in capabilities," explains the GENERAL MANAGER of Global Solution.
Video surveillance of offices in Monterrey, Santa Barbara and Laredo is carried out through DVTel 9840 day/night PTZ domes, located in courtyards and large areas, AXIS PTZ 213 cameras for interiors, DVTel fixed minidomes for offices, as well as AXIS 210 cameras for indoor still shots and AXIS 211 for still shots in The video surveillance system covers all entrances and loading areas, as well as perimeters in order to minimize the theft of goods.
The access system achieved the unification of time control and staff attendance in all locations, including those places where there are no supervisors. Access control also limits entry in some areas at certain times of the day, allowing the passage of only authorized individuals.
To control the access and presence of personnel, Vertex controllers are used in offices, EDGE controllers in remote areas, R10 readers in narrow doors, R20 in wooden doors or wide frames and Byoscript readers for the registration of employees and their working times.
DVT's iSOC is customized with advanced features including a GPS map, a network map, and the full range of options for viewing images from cameras. It should be noted, as Vásquez explains, that these systems have more than 99.99% uptime, operate correctly and without interruptions
Benefits of integration
This system, which has been in operation for approximately six months, allows the company to offer services with the highest level of certification and safety for customers, as stated by Raúl Treviño, general manager of Transportes Águila de Oro. "In addition, this unified system allows us to improve security while managing several different operations at the same time," said Treviño.
The choice of this security technology was based, as Jorge Vásquez explains, on the unique characteristics of flexibility, openness, IP networks and novelty of the system, which fits the innovative spirit that Transportes Águila de Oro has, as well as the mastery of Information Technologies and networks of its staff.
As we mentioned before, the company did not have an electronic security solution, so there were no resources from a previous technology to implement the new one, however Ángel Rodríguez, IT director of Transportes Aguila de Oro, explains that "since it is an IP-based technology, we can say that much of the existing infrastructure in terms of networks is concerned, could continue to be used and facilitated the implementation of the solution".
Eli Gorovici, President and CEO of DVTel, is pleased with the results: "Video has become a standard product, as has access control. But we combined the two functions and expanded the capabilities of the system to improve operations, all over a network with a strong interface, and now we have an integrated and intelligent security solution, based on an IP network."
Satisfaction with the service
Despite the short time that the company has been with the security system, the directives are satisfied because the system has brought good results since important events related to security have been identified, the investigation process has been streamlined, it has helped to prevent security incidents and has allowed to determine areas of opportunity to include new elements to the system.
The Transportes Águila de Oro project was the first to use HID IP technology in Mexico, and is one of the first in Latin America.
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