To live up to the needs of its users, the BC Empresarial building opted for a BMS that allows them to offer a sense of security to their occupants while ensuring maximum operational efficiency.
BY SECURITY SALES
THE CHALLENGE: Implement an IP CCTV system that would allow you not only to control the security of the building, but also make it possible to maintain the levels of sustainability necessary to receive LEED recognition.
THE SOLUTION: Milestone Systems XProtect VMS and Andover Continuum software.
THE ADVANTAGES: Scalability, ease of operation, robustness, execution of video searches in a synchronized and simultaneous way between cameras and an alarm manager are some of the advantages that generate a significant contribution to the operation of the security of the building.
BC Empresarial is an office building that is oriented towards large corporations (national and international) and that was designed under high sustainability parameters in order to obtain LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) certification. To that end, it chose to install a BMS system managed by andover Continuum software.
The building – with approximately 12,000 square meters of offices and 19 floors – receives 1,500 visitors daily, including workers and the floating public. And being an exclusive business center, from the beginning it implemented the philosophy of working with brands that could offer long-term, scalable and easy-to-operate solutions. "We installed IP video surveillance technologies based on an open architecture concept and a building automation system that monitors and controls the basic services of the building," confirms Naisir Abdala, representative of AP Ingeniería (integrating firm in charge of the project); the expert adds that for this purpose – for the IP CCTV system – the Milestone Systems VMS platform, AXIS IP cameras and the Andover Continuum automation platform were used.
To complement the above, according to Eric Domínguez (spokesman for BC Empresarial), the main objective of this project was the automation and control of the systems that contribute most to the energy consumption of the building, such as lighting and air conditioning.
The challenge of sustainability
For Abdala, the great challenge of this initiative was the focus that the client had in that everything installed had to offer sustainability, energy savings and operational efficiency, so that the aforementioned certification was obtained. "For this building, the IP CCTV system was designed based on an open, scalable and easy-to-manage platform. This was where Milestone Systems played an important role in offering a friendly interface, while remaining robust as a VMS system should be," explains the expert, who adds that it was possible to automate the services of greater consumption (air conditioning and lighting) with the Andover Continuum platform.
In this project, both Milestone Systems and Andover contributed to BC empresarial achieving a high level of operational efficiency, providing everything necessary to achieve LEED Gold certification, being the first building on the Caribbean coast of Colombia to achieve this important distinction.
Within the implementation process it was necessary for operators to receive training to know all the additional functionalities offered by Milestone Systems and Andover compared to other traditional security and automation software respectively.
In the case of Milestone Systems, it refers to being able to perform video searches in a synchronized and simultaneous way between cameras, being able to have an alarm manager, characteristics that generate a significant contribution to the operation of the security of the building. As far as Andover is concerned, the functionalities are the generation of alerts and events automatically in several subsystems before fire detection events.
"Practically the systems become the best ally of the operation of the building, leaving everything duly registered, audited and most importantly, the systems work by the operator," says Naisir Abdala.
Demonstrating effectiveness from the start
Although it is evident that the implementation and development of the project were carried out with total normality, there was an incident that, although it was delicate, evidenced the importance of the system.
Eric Dominguez relates that during construction, when the entire system had not yet been put into operation and the cameras were being tested, members of the construction site staff stole two cameras. "The person in charge came up to us and told us he had bad news and good news ... The bad news was that the equipment had been stolen and the good news was that the whole event had been recorded. We were quickly able to locate the people who committed the robbery and it was possible to recover the cameras," concludes Domínguez.
Although both the integrator and the end user assure that there are no future expansion plans with Milestone Systems, Naisir Abdala emphasizes that the Return on Investment is positive, even in the short term, given that only one operator is required to manage the entire building system, thanks to the operational and management functionalities of the platform. In addition, no additional investments will be required in the long term, since it is an open architecture platform.
For Abdala it is very important to emphasize that BC Empresarial is the first building with LEED Gold certification on the Caribbean coast of Colombia. In this building operate companies of great recognition such as Transelca (main administrator of the energy infrastructure in the country) and Cable & Wireless (administrator of one of the fiber optic cables that arrives in Colombia); these two companies also implemented Milestone System and AXIS solutions in their internal facilities, after verifying the benefits offered by both brands.
What is LEED certification?
It is a recognition system for sustainable buildings that was developed by the Green Building Council in the United States and whose emergence dates back to 1993.
The certification includes rules on the use of strategies that seek sustainability in all types of buildings, covering aspects such as the use of alternative energies and the efficiency of water consumption, among others.
It should be noted that this certification works towards the improvement of the environmental impact worldwide.
According to the scoring system implemented by this certification, award-winning buildings may belong to categories such as LEED Certificate, Silver (LEED Silver), Gold (LEED Gold) and Platinum (LEED Platinum).
In Latin America, countries such as Mexico, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Costa Rica, Panama, Peru, Uruguay, the Virgin Islands and, of course, Colombia have buildings that have already obtained LEED certification and others that are in the process of achieving it.
About Milestone Systems
Milestone Systems is a global industry leader in open platform IP video management software. It was founded in 1998 and currently operates as an independent company within the Canon Group. Milestone's technology is easy to operate, reliable and has been successfully tested in thousands of customer installations around the world. Milestone Systems supports a wide range of networked equipment and integration with other systems. It is marketed through authorized and certified partners in more than 100 countries. Milestone solutions help organizations in risk management, protecting people and assets, optimizing processes and reducing costs. For more information, visit: www.milestonesys.com and The Milestone Post at http://news.milestonesys.com.
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