Putting it All Together
- By Brent Dirks
- Jun 01, 2009
The constant march to IP-based security posed a challenge for
Kentucky-based Norton Healthcare.
As the group grew into the state’s largest healthcare system in
and around Louisville, the need for security increased as well.
Spanning more than 40 locations and with 9,400 employees, the
system has grown phenomenally since being founded in 1886.
And as the organization deployed security technology, a
pattern began to emerge of disparate systems and different
products from numerous vendors. With different and competing
products, each campus had a separate video surveillance and
access control system.
But officials from Norton Healthcare are turning to Honeywell
Systems Group to provide equipment and IP video management
software to begin the transition from an analog system to
the network.
A Standardized System
“They have had a lot of vendors in and out of the picture,” said
Dan Kloenne of Ready Electric, the system integrator for Norton
Healthcare. “One hospital might have one brand, and another
campus would have another one. As they are growing with the
new hospital on the east side of Louisville and new data center,
pediatric center and campus research center, they looked back on
what they have on their main campus -- which is a system that
was very old and needed to be replaced.
“They did their homework within the hospital, saying we
needed to replace this while looking at the whole group to come
up with one standard.”
Larry Riff, division director of support services for Norton
Healthcare, said moving to an IP system was spurred by the ability
to capitalize on the new opportunities.
“One of the main advantages of a network-based system is
pulling up cameras where ever we are,” he said. “It’s also a little
cleaner than having to use a lot of cable, which has become a
nightmare over the years for us. Cabling where we need to go
back to the head-end system affords us some opportunity.” To start the transition, the system’s
downtown campus -- two hospitals, a hospital-
like building, several medical office
buildings and an offsite building where
patient financial systems are stored --
along with a newly built hospital are
scheduled to be completed this month
with the new technology.
Honeywell’s Pro-Watch Video Manager
is tying together Rapid Eye DVRs,
EQUIP Series IP cameras and other fixed
and PTZ IP cameras on both the interior
and exterior. As an extra benefit, the video
management system is bringing together
access control with OmniAssure smartcard
readers and the Lobby Works visitor
management system.
Beyond integrating access control and
video surveillance into one interface, the
technology also brings together other
components to meet a particular need. At
Norton Healthcare, the video manager is
integrated with the intercom system. Parking
garages have an intercom with emergency
pushbuttons, which tie the access
control alarms to the video data -- integrating
all events together into a single
user interface.
The video manager also provides
compatibility with analog technology --
something that Norton Healthcare sees as
an advantage.
“The analog portion of the Pro-Watch
Video Manager can be especially beneficial
for organizations that still want to use
their analog systems to some capacity but
also want to incorporate IP,” said Mark Arbogast,
regional sales manager for Honeywell
Systems Group. “For example, Norton
has 225 analog cameras throughout
campus buildings -- a considerable investment.
As part of the new installation, Norton
wanted to maintain that analog investment
and incorporate the audio portion,
and Honeywell was able to accommodate
that with Pro-Watch Video Manager.
“Norton’s analog video is tied into
Honeywell’s Rapid Eye DVR units, which
integrate with Pro-Watch Video Manager.
This allows Norton to leverage its existing
analog investment while still future-proofing
the system.”
Arbogast also said the video wall for the
installation will be different than usual.
“We have six 42-inch LCD monitors
with 16 cameras on each,” he said. “We can accommodate up to 64 cameras.
We also support the video wall through
Pro-Watch Video Manager, which enables
Norton personnel to select specific video
feeds and expand the views on private
monitors. This ultimately enables security
personnel to respond to incidents quickly
and more effectively.”
Feeling at Ease
Kloenne said having a complete line of
Honeywell products was a plus for system
officials.
“When you start to mix and match products,
you can get into trouble,” he said.
“Maybe not at first, but down the road,
you’re mixing apples and oranges. If one
company upgrades products and the other
doesn’t, sometimes some part of the system
doesn’t work like it used to. Or someone
wants an incompatible feature. Then you
might have to recommend buying a whole
new system. That doesn’t go over well. The
scalability that Honeywell offers and the
wide range of product lines makes Norton
Healthcare feel very comfortable.”
Stanley Helm, Norton Healthcare’s
security director, said the long-term goal
is to have every site in the system centralized
with the main hub being at the downtown
campus. After completion of the project’s
initial phase, two other hospitals are
scheduled to be migrated in the 2010-
2011 timeframe.
“What we are looking at doing is eventually
having a centralized dispatch where
we do not have to have someone at every
facility monitoring cameras,” Helm said.
During the first phases of the IP revolution,
Kloenne said the installation at
Norton Healthcare wouldn’t have been
feasible because of costs and other issues.
But now that has changed thanks to technological
advances in components like
video management software.
Centralized Savings
Even though IT departments are sometimes
viewed as impediments to putting
security on the network, there were no issues
in Norton Healthcare’s case.
Putting physical security on the network
managed by the Honeywell technology,
the organization will be able to
streamline many other processes, including
IT access and payroll.
Thanks to the integration, the hospital
will start to see the benefits of a centralized
and standardized system.
“The IP software will help them react
quicker to what is going on at the new
hospital and the other buildings through
one system instead of many systems,”
Kloenne said. “With the software, they
can do a lot of things like programming
and adjusting cameras that will help save
money on service calls. It also helps on
the installation because it’s saving on
cable and labor costs. Overall, it gives
Norton Healthcare a stronger set of tools
for its security system.”
A New Installation
Meanwhile, the Stoughton Area School
District in Wisconsin is using IP video
management software to help secure
school property.
Unlike in Kentucky, the school district
had no previous surveillance system, but
incidents of vandalism and reports of a sexual
predator in the community prompted the district’s facility committee to move up the timetable for installing
a video solution.
Like for many school districts, the selection of an IP-based
video surveillance system was an easy choice for officials due to
the flexibility, ease of use and expandability. After consulting
with system integrator Boldtronics Inc., the officials selected
OnSSI’s NetDVMS management system.
“The OnSSI solution was selected because of its simplicity
and ease of use, among other criteria,” said Dennis Barkenhagen,
director of buildings and grounds for the district. “We looked at
several manufacturers’ products, attended trade shows and researched
solutions online but ultimately went with the OnSSI Net
DVMS product because of its user friendliness and its capability
for expansion -- especially the ease with which supplemental
cameras can be added.”
Ready To Investigate
The more than 3,300 students in the district are spread between
three elementary schools, two middle schools and one high
school. Now, more than 60 cameras are watching over the outside
of the campuses to deter any kind of illegal activity that might
happen on school grounds 24 hours a day.
All six schools are linked to the administration building via a
fiber backbone partitioned for video use from all of the cameras.
A server in the building contains the NetDVMS software and is
the hub for the video recorded by the system. Even so, each
school’s principal can view information from each building.
Since the cameras aren’t monitored, Barkenhagen said the
ability of the NetDVMS software to PTZ into recorded images is
an important feature to the district.
“It was very important to have a system that would allow us
to forensically examine the video for events and exceptions,”
he said. “The concept behind our surveillance revolves around
motion detection. If motion is detected, the NVR records the
motion at a higher frame rate. All of this is set up in the software,
and we don’t have to do anything once it’s programmed. It’s the
same for the PTZ units. They are programmed for tour sequences
at night around the high school.”
District officials also were pleased with how little training
was needed to fully master the software, according to Boldtronics
president Burt Boldebuck. He also said the district plans
to upgrade to OnSSI’s Ocularis software in August, which will
support video analytics.
And with the success of the current system -- no incidents of
vandalism have occurred since it was installed and the few
occurrences of fighting or drinking have been quickly resolved --
Barkenhagen said the district is looking to add cameras inside the
schools, something easily accomplished with the scalability of
OnSSI’s video management software.
“I think everyone is happy, and because of this, we will likely
be moving forward to install cameras inside the high school,”
he said. “Every time we catch someone through the use of the
system, it makes the system that much more worthwhile.”
This article originally appeared in the June 2009 issue of Network-Centric Security.
About the Author
Brent Dirks is e-news/Web editor for Security Products and Network-Centric Security magazines.