Chubb appointed principal security and fire safety contractor for major Scottish Housing Association

Chubb Fire & Security has become the principal fire and security provider for Dunedin Canmore, a leading provider of social housing and related services in Scotland. After initially installing fire alarms for many years, Chubb now provides installation and maintenance services for emergency lighting, intruder alarms, CCTV and access control.

Chubb has worked with Dunedin Canmore, part of The Wheatley Group, for more than a decade now. Across its communities, the company has built a strong working relationship and is now servicing more than 150 sites for the Housing Association.

With a strong focus on compliance, Chubb’s services range from initial fire risk assessments and security audits through to the remote monitoring of all the sites in its care. Additionally, Chubb is now servicing the Care System (ie Warden Call), an enhanced assisted living solution, across the majority of Dunedin Canmore’s amenity housing for older people.

Stuart Phillips, compliance officer at Dunedin Canmore, said: “We’ve enjoyed a great working relationship with Chubb for over a decade. The company’s customer service is excellent and we’re delighted to have made the business our principal fire and security provider.”

Dunedin Canmore owns and manages around 5,500 homes across Edinburgh, the Lothians and Fife. Chubb also provides fire and security services for YourPlace, Barony Housing Association and Lowther Homes, all of whom are part of The Wheatley Group.

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Small Business Network advocates use of private security firms to support police

Following the latest budget, which highlighted increased funding for terrorism prevention despite recent cutbacks in other areas of police funding, the Small Business Network (SBN) of professional security companies has highlighted an opportunity for the private security industry to support public services.

“While the Budget saw extra money for the prevention of terrorism, the selling off of other police assets and the reduction in officers on the street has made life difficult when it comes to the prevention of other criminal activity,” commented Abbey Petkar, spokesperson for the SBN and managing director of Magenta Security. “The police are doing a fantastic job with limited resources and, for our part, we are perfectly placed to support them.”

Through client contracts already in existence, security companies across the UK can deliver for their clients while working in partnership with local police forces to spot and stop criminal behaviour.

Abbey Petkar

“Whether it be a CCTV supplier, an alarm company or security officers, the industry is already working to prevent criminal activity. We are on the look-out for vulnerabilities in the community that could affect clients as well as opportunists looking to make the most of any situation. A closer working relationship with the police can only improve this,” continued Petkar.  “In fact, there’s even an opportunity for those companies who have been properly certified to undertake work on behalf of the police, supplementing their forces and needs as appropriate.”

Ultimately, the SBN believes the current challenges faced by police forces across the country are an opportunity for the security sector. The Security Industry Authority’s ongoing desire to improve quality in the sector means the companies exist with the requisite skills and oversight to support public services in a professional and cohesive way. The SBN fundamentally believes that public security should not just be the responsibility of the police. Instead, everyone should do their part, working together to ensure safety for all.

360 Vision Technology moves to embrace deep systems compatibility

With a strong emphasis on the development of technical innovation and design, CCTV specialist 360 Vision Technology has forged close working partnerships with an array of technology leaders to enable deep systems integration across a wide range of solutions suitable for a host of surveillance applications.

A long list of leading UK and international technology companies enjoy a close working relationship with 360 Vision Technology, some of them for over 20 years now. Always, the driving factor in these relationships is 360 Vision’s commitment to deliver innovative high-performance CCTV camera solutions that provide no boundaries to deployment with third party manufacturers’ equipment.

Over many years, 360 Vision has developed a reputation for delivering innovation and usable functionality in its thermal imaging cameras, award-winning radar controlled video surveillance solutions and for its Sirius integrated LED white light and infrared lighting.

Commenting on 360 Vision’s commitment to reliability, Mark Rees (the newly-appointed managing director of the business) said: “Right from the design stage of any new product, our R&D team aims to ensure 360 Vision cameras are the simplest to commission and best performing in their sector. Close working partnerships with like-minded systems manufacturers helps us to achieve that goal.”

Rees added: “360 Vision’s partnerships with industry-leading technology companies helps to feed technical and sharp-end feedback into our constant product development, in turn pairing our leading-edge surveillance camera technology with the very best in CCTV control, alarm handling, access control, rapid deployment, radar and wireless system solutions expertise.”

Working partnerships with 360 Vision enable preferred technical partners from across the security industry to have a close hand in the development of the functionality of 360 Vision’s cameras. With deep third party integration to 360 Vision’s range of cameras, end users can be guaranteed the best possible surveillance imagery, the simplest set-up and seamless, intuitive control as well as numerous desirable performance benefits.

“Many of our technical partners proactively demonstrate 360 Vision cameras at our Resource Centre,” stated Rees. “Here, customers are able to experience and evaluate proposed end-to-end system configurations in action. This supports them in making an informed decision on their choice of specification for installation projects.”

Thanks to the ongoing technical partnership between 360 Vision and selected technology manufacturers, simple product set-up, deep systems integration and performance benefits are built-in to various applications and sizes of CCTV installations across the globe. Through these long term technical partnerships, 360 Vision Technology is not only ensuring installers and end users can enjoy a fully-integrated and hassle-free systems control experience, but also promotes to the wider world the benefits to be gained by specifying ‘Best of British’ integrated surveillance solutions.

Ocucon scoops six Fraud Awards nominations

Ocucon, the world’s first Video Surveillance-as-a-Service (VSaaS) system, has been shortlisted across a range of categories for this year’s prestigious Fraud Awards, the leading accolade for those in the UK’s retail risk and loss prevention sector.

Organised by loss prevention conference Retail Risk, the Fraud Awards celebrate the very best individual and team performances, innovative new products and winning strategies within the retail and loss prevention sector over the last year.

Judged by a panel of internationally-renowned loss prevention professionals, the winners and runners-up will be announced on 4 October at the Fraud Awards Gala Dinner, to be held at Leicester City Football Club.

Breaking new ground in surveillance technology, the Newcastle-based Ocucon has been shortlisted a total of six times across five categories for its unlimited cloud-based storage platform, Ocucon, as well as its intelligent video redaction service Ocucon Pixelate.

The Ocucon team (from left to right): Simon Gardner, Maral O’Brien, Stuart Ferguson, Gary Trotter and Stephen Purvis

Categories include:

• Best Newcomer – recognising the most exciting new solution or company to enter the retail risk and loss prevention arena – Ocucon
• Best Newcomer – Ocucon Pixelate
• Most Innovative In-Store Solution – celebrating innovative approaches to an existing, tried and tested solution or genre – Ocucon
• Best Collaborative Solution – recognising products, solutions or services resulting from genuine collaboration that deliver a clear Return on Investment – Ocucon
• Most Innovative In-Store Surveillance Solution – celebrating innovative new uses of camera or surveillance technology benefiting the wider business – Ocucon
• Most Innovative Cross-Functional Solution – recognising innovative products, solutions or services that have a risk or loss prevention benefit, but sit outside of the Profit Protection Department – Ocucon Pixelate

Ocucon’s co-founder Gary Trotter commented: “To be shortlisted in this year’s Fraud Awards and across so many categories is testament to the great team we have based here in Newcastle, as well as our innovative and collaborative approach. Since our launch in October, we’ve worked with some of the biggest names in the industry, including Dell and Google, to deliver the first-of-its-kind cloud-based storage service for CCTV and surveillance technology and launch our new intelligent video redaction service Ocucon Pixelate. As a result, we’ve seen significant interest in Ocucon both from large UK corporations and retailers, but also major retailers in North America. Our story is just one example of how tech start-ups can thrive here in the North East to compete on both the UK and the global stage.”

Launched in October last year, Ocucon is set to revolutionise the ability of businesses to defend against fraudulent cases of slips, trips and falls – currently estimated to cost the UK’s economy alone more than £800 million each year – by removing physical limitations on the amount of surveillance footage an organisation can save.

Ocucon delivers a powerful, cloud-based storage and retrieval platform combining intelligent data analytics with the facility to store, analyse and retrieve unlimited amounts of HD video surveillance footage from within the Ocucon portal.

Ocucon is expected to be of interest to any organisation capturing significant amounts of CCTV data. Since its launch, Ocucon has seen significant interest from both UK and US supermarkets and retail chains.

360 Vision Technology’s ONVIF-compliant cameras on show at Security Essen 2018

CCTV design and manufacturing company 360 Vision Technology will be showing its popular range of high-performance surveillance cameras at Security Essen 2018.

Compatible with the security industry’s leading software control solutions and illustrating 360 Vision Technology’s depth of video surveillance imaging technology, those cameras on show will include analogue, HD, thermal, radar and stainless steel variants, so too models with built-in Sirius IR and White Light LED illuminators.

360 Vision Technology’s high-performance Predator and new cost-effective Invictus ‘all-in-one’ ultra low-light PTZ camera (featuring advanced SSL and 802.1 encryption protection and available in a variety of camera model/control combinations) will also be on display at MESSE Frankfurt.

Underlining 360 Vision Technology’s emphasis on technical innovation and design, the company’s Predator Radar camera has been selected as one of just 13 entries out of 75 to reach the final round of this year’s Security Essen ‘Security Innovation Awards 2018’.

“Designed to protect against hacking and ransomware attacks, we’ll be showcasing 360 Vision camera technology including advanced SSL and 802.1 encryption protection,” explained Mark Rees, business development director at 360 Vision Technology, in conversation with Risk Xtra. “We’re also delighted to have our Predator Radar camera selected for the final round of the prestigious ‘Security Innovation Awards 2018’.”

*Visitors to Security Essen can find 360 Vision Technology in Hall 5 on Stand 5E08

OPTEX showcases high security intrusion detection solutions at Security Essen

Next month, the OPTEX EMEA team will be showcasing its range of intrusion detection and perimeter protection sensors on Stand 5B48 in Hall 5 at Security Essen 2018.

The global sensor manufacturer’s stand will include a broad range of applications for its intelligent intrusion sensors and demonstrate how they can further enhance the overall effectiveness and reliability of CCTV and integrated security systems.

OPTEX will be showcasing its multi-layered intrusion detection capabilities for commercial premises and critical infrastructure sites. The company will demonstrate, for example, how a fenced perimeter can be protected using fibre optic sensors from a group company, FiberSensys. Alternatively, ‘virtual’ perimeter walls can be generated by using its REDSCAN laser-scan detectors. The newly-launched RLS-3060SH Version 8 enables detection up to 100 metres in vertical mode.

To protect the approaches to a building, OPTEX will be demonstrating both its long-range motion sensors. The SIP Series sensors are capable of detecting objects within an area of 100×4 metres or 50×30 metres and provide three independent zones to drive cameras positions. The new version of the RLS-3060 LiDAR has more application-specific modes. There’s now an extended range for a pre-warning zone beyond a 30-metre radius up to 50 metres.

For asset protection, and particularly to protect high-value or potentially hazardous items, the high resolution REDSCAN RLS-2020 can create a virtual shield that will detect something as small as a child’s hand.

“Since the opening of our German office last September, opportunities within the region have been increasing and we look forward to exhibiting at Essen and meeting our customers to discuss potential projects,” observed Masaya Kida, managing director of OPTEX EMEA. “The wider European team will be on the stand, including the sales teams from the Benelux region and Eastern Europe as well as the Nordics. Our EMEA product, technical and marketing managers will also be there.”

Kida added: “Our sensors are part of an overall security solution. We hope to show visitors how our different sensing technologies can be used for a variety of applications. Some sensors, such as our LiDAR products – the REDSCAN series, are highly versatile and reliable, even in the most challenging of outdoor conditions.”

As a business, OPTEX continues to go from strength to strength in Europe as its sensors become integrated with an increasing number of VMS platforms, including Genetec. OPTEX will also be exhibiting on Genetec’s Stand (5G30 in Hall 5).

Amthal wins support contract to maintain security solutions for Mitsubishi Electric’s UK headquarters and regional offices

Amthal Fire & Security has been awarded a new support contract with global technology leader Mitsubishi Electric Europe to upgrade and maintain security solutions at the latter’s UK headquarters in Hatfield and across its estate of regional UK offices.

Mitsubishi Electric has eight regional offices, including its UK head office in Hatfield, supporting over 700 staff members. The new contract with Amthal covers the provision of support and maintenance across each of Mitsubishi Electric’s sites to ensure that security arrangements, including CCTV, intruder alarm and access control solutions, are maintained to the highest level and upgraded quickly where required.

Karen Kelsall, facilities co-ordinator for Mitsubishi Electric’s Business Services team, observed: “Each of our UK office locations has its own security arrangements that must be maintained on a regular basis. We needed to source a reliable company that could not only meet this requirement, but also ensure that we continue to offer our staff complete peace of mind at their place of work.”

Mitsubishi Electric’s head office in Hatfield

Kelsall continued: “Amthal proved themselves even before the contract was signed, responding to several different site requests quickly and with true technical capability and professionalism. In addition, being a local company to our head office makes a difference when it comes to ensuring the efficient and sustainable supplier service that we now look forward to building.”

Jamie Allam, commercial director for Amthal Fire & Security, responded: “This contract award is extremely significant for Amthal. It’s great for us to be associated with such a global brand. It also demonstrates our commitment to our customers, both new and existing. The team’s knowledge, experience and expertise together with an ability to react quickly and ‘get the job done’ undoubtedly contributed to our appointment. We will continue to work in partnership with Mitsubishi Electric to deliver the highest levels of operational excellence and continuity of service, both on a local basis for its main office and regionally across all sites.”

Amthal Fire & Security is dedicated to satisfying end user needs for security safety and convenience, offering design, installation, service and remote monitoring services for advanced electronic fire and security solutions including intruder alarms, access control and CCTV systems.

The business is accredited by the Security Systems and Alarms Inspection Board, the United Kingdom Accreditation Service and British Approvals for Fire Equipment.