RemGuard Visual Management - part of AD Group - and its remotely monitored, detector activated, CCTV technology is revolutionising how crime is dealt with 'down under' through the growth of its local franchise operation, RemGuard (Australia) Pty Ltd.
Set up back in 2001, it delivers out-of-hours monitoring for scores of high profile industrial/commercial sites from its Sydney-based Remote Video Response Centre (RVRC), and is confidently predicting dozens of additional RemGuard system installations this coming year.
RemGuard Australia Managing Director Lindsay Brooks said: "In terms of remotely monitored CCTV we have seen interest in this event-driven technology really take-off in recent years, especially from owners of larger industrial/commercial (and some prestige domestic) sites who feel, due to their location, that they are especially vulnerable to criminal activity out of hours."
"People really are becoming much more aware of the benefits this proactive form of CCTV can bring compared to traditional approaches, and customer satisfaction is very high - more than 60% of all new RemGuard business comes directly from existing customer recommendations."
"Many site owners are keen to move away from traditional CCTV solutions that simply provide an historic record for later review, and are especially attracted by the potential for RemGuard remotely located security officers to intervene and stop crime before real damage can be done."
"They are also looking at the long-term cost of ownership, when contrasted with manned guarding. Australian tax laws favour renting complete system installations in preference to outright purchase - in fact more than 90% of all our sales have been rented. Including rental costs and monitoring fees, RemGuard systems that replace random mobile patrols generally are cost-comparable - but with a superior security outcome. Where RemGuard event activated technology replaces permanent on-site guards, however, immediate cash flow savings of 50% are not uncommon."
"When the business was first established, we felt that it was important to bring to the Australian market the most advanced remotely monitored CCTV solution available. We were therefore delighted to negotiate an exclusive deal with RemGuard in the UK. This means that they supply us with the same transmission equipment - RemVu Aquila - to install on our sites and the same software for our RVRC as is used in the UK."
The right solution for Rosehill
A good example of how the RemGuard Australia service is being applied in an Australian context is the large multi-tenanted Rosehill Industrial Estate, owned by ING Industrial Fund, situated in suburban western Sydney, where RemGuard provides overall 'perimeter estate monitoring'.
In Australia, ING Real Estate undertakes small to large scale, single sector development projects, as well as complex large-scale mixed-use developments for the ASX (Australian Stock Market) listed ING Industrial Fund (IIF). Back in 2003, ING Real Estate chose to implement an integrated RemGuard CCTV security solution at the landmark $137 million Rosehill Industrial Estate.
Located near Rosehill Racecourse, this prestigious estate boasts high profile multi-national tenants. The original intent was to employ after hours security guards on site however due to the substantial cost and burden to IIF's tenants; they chose to investigate alternative integrated technology solutions.
"ING Industrial Fund's main security concerns centred around how to maintain controlled after-hours access for authorised tenants with hundreds of employees and contractors," says ING Real Estate's Asset Manager Robert Ewing.
"And how to provide adequate ‘general site surveillance' recognising that each tenant would also have their own internal security systems and procedures."
Out of hours protection
Although the estate is totally fenced, it remained susceptible to after-hours crime and vandalism as it is located in an industrial area largely deserted at night. ING Industrial Fund ultimately chose to implement a RemGuard security solution throughout the estate. This provides tenants with strategically located outdoor sensors and cameras viewing building perimeters and key access roads, all linked to RemGuard's Remote Video Response Centre (RVRC) after hours via a 512k/512k Virtual Private Network ADSL link.
A key benefit of this solution for Rosehill is the ‘event activated' video monitoring after-hours by specially trained RVRC security officers, who are quickly alerted whenever movement is detected in a protected area. There are approximately 80 outdoor CCTV cameras plus long range and curtain PIR detectors installed across the site which are linked to nine RemVu Aquilas and RemVu Communicators.
In operation, the powerful RemVu Aquila remote alarm transmission is integrated with the automatic download of pre and post event images to RemGuard's Remote Video Response Centre (RVRC). Crucially, all of the Aquila's system parameters can be remotely monitored by the RVRC - supply voltage, battery charge state, internal temperature and video signal strength. The system will also report power loss and camera failures.
The solution at Rosehill also includes PA loudspeakers in key areas, enabling RVRC operators to verbally ‘warn off' identified trespassers before any actual break and entry is attempted via a VOIP network audio connection.
Another advantage is book-marked evidentiary logging of video events around the clock, in addition to after-hours RVRC ‘event activated' video monitoring and response. In addition there is card controlled main gate access after hours, plus emergency gate control available through RemGuard's RVRC.
"Since RemGuard's implementation began a couple of years ago, we haven't experienced any major thefts or criminal events at Rosehill Industrial Estate," said ING's Ewing.
"And we think it's reasonable to assume that the [RemGuard] video system has had a fair bit to do with that."
Lindsay Brooks from RemGuard Australia added: "To date, ING Industrial Fund has not found it necessary to employ permanent security guards at the Rosehill Industrial Estate, which represents a major saving. With the criminal threat as high as ever, it's likely that more and more building owners and developers will follow ING Industrial Fund's lead in adopting a pro-active event-driven approach to out-of-hours security."
