Responding to the challenges facing the sector, four of the main Argentine banks updated their CCTV system to avoid observing, clearly and constantly, everything that happens in their facilities. A guarantee garment for its visitors.
by Network Video Technologies (NVT)*
Prosegur and the manufacturer of video signal transmission solutions Network Video Technologies (NVT) joined forces in a project that allowed, during 2011, the updating of CCTV systems in all the national branches of Banco Galicia, Standard Bank, HSBC and BBVA Banco Francés; the project complied with regulations A5120 and A5136 issued by the Central Bank of the Argentine Republic for this purpose.
The update consisted of changing the recording and display technology, moving the storage resolution to 4CIF. The improvement of the installed cameras required the improvement in the installation, in order to guarantee high quality in the resolution of the image.
"The quality of the NVT products allowed us to guarantee a lossless transmission in the image generated and without the noise of other facilities, thus being able to avoid not having recordings or the use of the storage disk space due to degradation or noise in the video signal," said Gabriel Apel, manager of the Electronic Security division of Prosegur. And so much customer satisfaction with the early stages of the projects was that the four banks standardized their cabling infrastructure to work with devices of the brand.
Prosegur, the integrator of the solution, is worldwide one of the leading companies in the private security sector. It offers comprehensive security solutions covering all the needs of customers in that area. Prosegur currently has a team of more than 120,000 employees worldwide spread across Europe, Asia and Latin America; in Argentina alone, more than 14500 employees work.
Due to its experience, Prosegur was able to make crucial decisions to deliver to customers a highly competitive solution from the technical and from the financial: NVT technology allows the use of analog cameras with UTP Cat 6 cabling (easy installation and quick connection, which also discards the false contacts generated by BNC terminations), turning the application into a hybrid system that enables the network infrastructure for a future IP, but without the need to scrap traditional cameras to install digital equipment, which typically comes at a higher cost.
Conversion for success
The update of the CCTV solution at Banco Galicia, Standard Bank, HSBC and BBVA Banco Francés involved the replacement of the cabling system, which until then was based on coaxial. For Apel this meant a challenge, since it was necessary to proceed to the use of UTP without losing recording time or records in the banking activity.
UTP cable is one of the most effective transmission methods today. In addition to allowing the sending of video signal, the UTP makes it possible to supply the cameras located over long distances. When a security project requires the sending of video, power and data telemetry, UTP cables work perfectly with PVD (Power, Video and Data) transmission solutions, also manufactured by NVT.
The aforementioned applications are designed for the recording and supervision of the operational areas during the day and events during the night in internal and external areas of the bank, in the street and parking of the armored, but also in the accesses to the branches, ATMs, customer service boxes, lounges, treasure and safe deposit boxes.
Each bank branch required between eight and 16 cameras, mostly Samsung SNB-2000; The Sony SCC-G113, Honeywell HD73X, equipment located at distances ranging between 100 and 180 meters from the control rooms, were also used. The lenses, on the other hand, are auto iris varifocals with distances between 2.8 to 12 mm.
As for the recording systems, March Networks DVRs of reference 4316LC and 4416LC were used, as well as DVRs from Scati Labs. The visualization in the control center is done by a video wall of nine cubes configured by the monitors.
The operation of the system is explained by the fact that each DVR unit is connected to the corporate network and transmits the event to be displayed for the analysis of each operator, being able to call several branches simultaneously for review.
A strategic partner for the banking sector
Gabriel Apel, who led the upgrade project for the four banks mentioned, considers NVT to be a strategic partner when thinking about CCTV projects for banks.
The quality of the product is an advantage. According to Apel, none of the devices installed in the more than 3,000 cameras used have reported any failure that has required warranty claims. Another important element was the ease of installation, by which the country's technical installation teams fulfilled their work without major setbacks.
Functionality was another outstanding advantage. "The NVT solution is ideal for application on banks as it allows voltage to be carried over the same video cable. Thus, the energy sources are placed under guard in the technical room and not next to the camera. In addition, the bank branch has many security devices that can be wired by the same UTP cable," Apel said.
NVT even offered financial facilities through its project program, which allowed the upgrade to be done smoothly.
Technical support was another added value highlighted by the integrator: "The support was constant from NVT; Gislaine Luz, Business Development Executive for the Southern Cone, visits us periodically to update the commercial area on the new products and to inform the technical area about the new applications of the products (...) we have been working for a long time with NVT and they have always validated their great professionalism and exceptional product", pointed out the integrator.
*If you want more information about this project you can contact Gabriel Apel at the email [email protected]
