The Celtic Manor Resort near Newport in South Wales will be most widely known as the host course to the recent All*Star Cup celebrity golf championship. For golfing aficionados it will also be known as the host to the Ryder Cup in 2010.
The Resort is noteworthy on several levels, not least of which is that it represents the single largest private investment ever made in the entire British hospitality industry. Welsh telecommunications entrepreneur Sir Terry Matthews personally funded the development at a cost of £140 million.
Situated in 1400 acres of lush parkland, the complex is a very impressive ‘gateway' to Wales. Visual surveillance is a key management tool for this jewel in the Welsh crown of commerce, tourism and championship golf.
Security was very much to the fore during the All*Star Cup held on the August 2005 Bank Holiday weekend, when some of the world's most bankable stars of sport and show business competed in a USA vs. Europe Match play tournament that received extensive Sky TV coverage. But even if there were such a thing as a run-of-the-mill day at Celtic Manor, security is still maintained at a very high standard because even without celebrity presence, the sheer size, diversity and net worth of the assets on site merit only the best in visual surveillance.
Celtic Manor provides a relaxed and friendly environment for staff and visitors alike. This can be attributed partly to the on-site approach to security, and people's awareness of the security systems' capabilities, allowing for very smooth running and rapid response to problems - of any magnitude.
The original analogue system had been installed at the time of the Resort's initial construction in 1999. The pace of technological change and the scale of operations at the Resort itself very soon meant that in 2002 an upgrade strategy was required to see in the phased replacement of all analogue components to digital.
March Networks' 4000 Series DVRs are among the Resort's most outstanding examples of smooth digital surveillance management. The array of March Networks DVR systems at Celtic Manor allows a flexible capture rate of up to 240 fps - depending on the number of active cameras. Sixteen NTSC/PAL inputs are provided for video capture, and advanced video compression stores this video very efficiently to scalable, high-capacity internal hard-drives. With all four hard-drives installed, the internal storage capacity is 1.2 terabytes. Additional capacity and data security is achievable due to options including mirroring and external RAID-5 archiving.
Complete networking features include bandwidth control to match LAN or WAN capabilities, comprehensive local and remote management (including full compatibility with March Networks Enterprise Management Suite of multi-site management software), and local or remote export of video evidence to CD.
High profile event surveillance and management
Hosting successful conferences is a major revenue-earner for the Resort and high-profile events are good for business and for the image of Celtic Manor at home and abroad. The All*Star Cup is a prime example of how little margin for error there is in the operation of a surveillance system. Aside from the decidedly A-List celebrities that were competing, a public gallery of 35,000 people and extensive television coverage on Sky the whole weekend long, meant that any slip-ups would be very public indeed.
Barely a few weeks after the golfing event, the resort hosted the EU Foreign Ministers' Conference, during which the security and comfort of Europe's most powerful political decision-makers drew the scrutiny of the Resort's security by the Metropolitan Police - among others.
During the conference, the police needed to connect to and utilize the DVR systems to increase CCTV coverage in and around the Resort. There were several visits and vigorous examination of the surveillance and image management equipment by the Home Office and the Police Scientific & Development Branch (PSDB). At this stage it was determined how compatible the DVRs were with the police's own systems, which remained confidential as they were given access to a secure golf training room, in which to set up as their own CCTV control centre.
While the primary role of the surveillance system is crime prevention and detection, the health and safety issues that affect the Resort's ever-changing clientele are also a major consideration. For example, conference delegates require different considerations to users of the gymnasium. Guests who drive to the resort need to know their vehicles are safe, whereas golfers arriving by coach and taxi need to know where their bags are best left so as to be secure while causing the least obstruction. Children in the swimming pool require different monitoring to players browsing in the golf pro shop... and so forth.
At present, a total of 120 CCTV cameras cover the 14-floor hotel and leisure complex, clubhouse, golf academy, golf maintenance depot, pro-shops, car parks and access roads. The digital data is managed and archived across a range of 14 March Networks DVRs.
Surveillance system is key to securing the business
According to Ian Currie, the March Networks DVRs at the core of the surveillance system provide him and his team with outstanding speed, efficiency and ease of use.
"There is just no comparison with the previous analogue system," says Ian. "When required, the police have found the system to be compatible with their needs and it has proved effective in identifying individuals."
A recent security issue involved two persons entering the Leisure Centre changing rooms and stealing from lockers. One suspect was clearly seen on CCTV and it was quickly established by use of a March Networks DVR that he was an unauthorized visitor. He returned two days later and was immediately identified by security officers using images from the archived video. He was detained until the arrival of the police, subsequently admitted the thefts from the lockers and implicated another person who, when arrested, admitted numerous burglaries in the Newport area and was subsequently sentenced to a lengthy term of imprisonment.
Due to the fact that the security system at Celtic Manor is constantly evolving, it has been a key element of the Resort's strategy to retain specialist installers and integrators to ensure smooth operations. South Wales Cameras of Cardiff has a wealth of experience in electronic, physical and manned security. Managing director Neil Winter is unequivocal in his admiration for DVRs.
"The use of DVRs is a major plus for Celtic Manor, as with all modern businesses that operate CCTV," says Neil. "The main advantage is that the images are stored on hard drives and not on tapes. The picture quality is superior and it is extremely easy to find an incident by date and time. Another advantage to the Celtic Manor is that CCTV images can be viewed throughout the network, which is extremely useful to the departmental managers."
"The March Networks systems are by far the best on the market. They are both high-tech but at the same time easy to operate and easy to install.
The European Ryder Cup Board selected the Celtic Manor Resort to host the 2010 event after it was nominated as the official candidate venue for Wales. This means that following the postponed matches at the Belfry in 2002, there will be three consecutive Celtic venues, starting with the K Club, Ireland (2006) and finishing with Gleneagles, Scotland (2014), before the matches move to continental Europe.