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Network video cameras and Australia-made surveillance software consign CCTV to history
At a glance
The New Security Environment
The Non Conforming Tender
The Big Push
Safe, Today and Tomorrow
At a glance
Port Macquarie Airport
Industry
Aviation
Geographies
Port Macquarie, NSW
Canon Products Used
Canon VK-64 Network Video Recorder software; 15 Canon network video cameras (VB-C50Fi and VB-C50iR)
"I did not want to buy a technology that was five or eight years old knowing that in ten years' time the technology would be 18 years old. We wanted to invest in today's state of the art and next year's standard."
Lane Dechaineux, Airport Manager, Port Macquarie Airport
When Port Macquarie Airport conducted a risk assessment after the creation of the Aviation Transport Security Regulations (2005), it became clear that introducing video surveillance was an absolute necessity. The airport responded to its current and future needs by selecting a fully digital, internet protocol-based surveillance system from Canon that is providing comprehensive security today with unlimited adaptability for tomorrow.
Port Macquarie Airport is owned and managed by the Port Macquarie Hastings Council, in the Mid-North Central Coast region of New South Wales. The airport is responsible for more than 100,000 passenger movements a year, including five air services a day to Sydney and two each day to Brisbane. Two Qantas and Sunshine Express aircraft are parked overnight at Port Macquarie Airport, every night. Other services operating from or through the airport include private charter operations, flying schools, aircraft maintenance, air freight transport, aerial ambulance operations. To cope with this level of activity, the airport has two runways, one more than 1.5km long.
Securing such a large and active area is not a simple task.
The New Security Environment
In 2005, the Department of Transport and Regional Services introduced regulations affecting regional airports such as Port Macquarie Airport. According to Lane Dechaineux, the Airport Manager at Port Macquarie Airport, these regulations did not lay out exactly which security tools the airport had to use. Rather, they specified the level of security the airports had to provide.
The airport's first step towards complying with these regulations was conducting a comprehensive security risk assessment. This led to many initiatives, such as upgrading the airport's boundary fencing to a "man proof" standard, improving the gate access system and enhancing the outside lighting. The airport also began investigating its video surveillance options.
"During the risk assessment process, we decided that if we were going to go down the security path then we'd go the whole hog," said Mr Dechaineux. "We'll invest in the best possible equipment that's available and we will train our staff and move with the times."
The Non Conforming Tender
As a first step towards finding the right video surveillance system, the airport downloaded a tender schedule from the Department of Transport and Regional Services' website. However, they found the tender schedule actually assumed that any video surveillance would be provided by close-circuit television (CCTV), which involves linking analogue cameras to a bank of VCRs. But the airport understood that CCTV was not the future of video surveillance.
"I did not want to buy a technology that was five or eight years old knowing that in ten years' time that technology would be 18 years old," said Mr Dechaineux. "We wanted to invest in today's state of the art and next year's standard. We needed the ability to recognise foreign objects that had been left in a public area. We needed motion detection, back-up systems and the ability to view multiple cameras from our large screen in our Security Operations Centre hardware room. We wanted IP addressing because we wanted to be able to have a monitoring screen in my office so I could at any time look at a record from the past or see what was happening in real time."
To open the tender process to newer technologies and all possibilities, the airport modified the request for tender. They allowed vendors to submit non-conforming tenders, as long as they gave full details of their non-conformance as well as a clear explanation of why this would better suit their needs.
"This really opened the floodgates for tendering companies to offer something that may not be specifically requested in the exact text of the tender," Mr Dechaineux said. "It was beneficial too as it allowed us to make a conscious decision about whether to get the state of the art or perhaps save a few dollars upfront and get five-year-old technology."
QOLiT, a network video specialist, leapt at the chance to submit a non-conforming tender, and recommended a solution based around Canon's cameras and VK-64 Network Video Recorder software, which was developed in Sydney by Canon Information Systems Research Australia (CISRA) ? Canon's largest research and development centre outside of Japan and one of the largest private R&D facilities in Australia. This was the winning tender response.
There are many reasons the airport selected this tender, but one of the key reasons was that QOLiT was offering the only truly digital solution ? based on digital Canon surveillance cameras, rather than analogue cameras connected to a digital converter. Mr Dechaineux said the Canon cameras were very compact, and he liked the idea of investing in an integrated package connecting Canon hardware and software. Another important factor was that large Australian companies, including a large power station, were already using this technology. "It gave us considerable confidence that not only was it brand new but, it was recognised by the big end of town as being a state-of-the-art system," he said.
The Big Push
The first step was to review the location of the cameras.
Some parts of the airport could be monitored effectively by the Canon VB-C50Fi, a fixed network video camera featuring motion detection. At other points, it made sense to select the Canon VB-C50iR, which is similar to the VB-C50Fi but has a range of additional features including infra-red night-mode, auto-tracking and pan/tilt/zoom capabilities, which allow it to do the work of several fixed cameras by regularly scanning a wide area. QOLiT was also able to improve the surveillance outcome by just changing the angle and monitoring some areas from an angle other than the one initially suggested by Port Macquarie Airport.
The installation was completed in just fifteen days, by the Tuesday before Christmas, and all training and configuration of the Canon VK-64 Network Video Recorder software was finished in January 2006.
Safe, Today and Tomorrow
Today, the Canon surveillance system monitors Port Macquarie Airport 24 hours a day, seven days a week. When employees arrive at the monitoring centre, the system notifies them of any incidents that triggered a camera's motion detector. As all monitoring is saved to hard disk not video tape, the employee can instantly view the related footage and, if there is anything untoward, copy it to DVD for further investigation or as evidence to give it to the police.
Knowing the system works is essential to Port Macquarie Airport, as some of the realistic risk scenarios that it developed during the risk assessment process were truly frightening.
"Part of the risk assessment is determining the levels of risk and resultant damage that could be caused," explained Mr Dechaineux. "A catastrophic event might be classed as loss of life and greater than $10m worth of damage. Somewhere between catastrophe and 'business as usual' there are realistic scenarios that involve damage to or loss of property, or injury. Our risk assessment covered the range of damage outcomes that are likely to occur and how they might be minimised. Part of the answer was improved fencing, improved lighting and digital network video."
Even if there is not an incident at the airport itself, there is always the risk that the government will place the whole country on a higher level of security alert in response to new intelligence. If this happens, the Canon video surveillance solution is ready to be expanded at very short notice, as it's built using tomorrow's standards not yesterday's video tape and analogue cameras. For example, if the airport's security requirements increase, it can use a feature of the VK-64 Network Video Software to automatically notify an on-call staff member or security contractor whenever a motion detector is triggered.
Thanks to the Canon network video solution and a range of other initiatives, Port Macquarie Airport is now confident that it has minimised all realistic risks to the passengers, employees and businesses that use its services every day. With this peace of mind, it is free to focus on its core business ? supporting 100,000 passenger movements per year and the airport stakeholders.
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