ESS President Kurt Kottkamp (left) and Metrolina Greenhouses Network Administrator Adam Freeman collaborated to bring the facility’s new IP video surveillance system to fruition.
While "going green" is all the rage, one security systems integrator has taken it quite literally. Enterprise Security Systems (ESS) provided a video surveillance solution that is not only helping safeguard Metrolina Greenhouses — America's largest heated single-site facility of its kind — but also improving the giant complex's operational efficiencies.
"Security surveillance is very important to have in a facility this large," says Adam Freeman, the client's network administrator. "With over 160 acres of greenhouses, having a DVR security platform gives us eyes in many places 24/7. Monitoring areas such as chemical storage and water pumping is very important."
Located just north of Charlotte, N.C., the busy wholesale plant and services company employs 725 people and ships more than 100 trailer loads of product daily during peak season. The greenhouse's intense pace necessitated swift action when it became disenchanted with the existing surveillance system and security contractor. That's when the business turned to ESS.
"They contacted us by referral from one of our existing customers," says ESS President Kurt Kottkamp. "They had a legacy video system and recognized it could be a resource for them, but it wasn't being used to its full capability and was an older system that had technical limitations."
After stepping in to service and maintain the existing system, in short order the integrator cultivated a solid relationship and bond of trust that would pave the way for a long-term partnership with Metrolina.
"We initially started ESS out with smaller projects such as camera additions, replacing existing cameras and camera maintenance," says Freeman. "I was quite happy with their performance so we continued with them."
ESS subsequently upgraded the client's analog CCTV system to a hybrid DVR, and added IP cameras, megapixel cameras and wireless connectivity. In addition to its anti-theft and crime deterrence purposes, the solution allows the greenhouse to keep an eye on its people and assure smooth operations throughout the sprawling, highly automated plant.
Opportunity Sprouts Up
Celebrating its 10th anniversary in 2011, ESS is a comprehensive systems integrator supplying card access, CCTV, ID badging, emergency communication, intrusion and fire systems to commercial, industrial and institutional clients. A member of PSA Security Network, ESS has more than 1,000 installed accounts. Its primary vertical markets are property management, manufacturing/industrial, financial, health care, education and government. Despite that variety, the Metrolina project took ESS outside its typical breadth.
"It's a totally unique installation as greenhouses are certainly not a vertical market we have targeted," says Kottkamp. "However, because of their size, automation and the types of problems they are trying to prevent or mitigate, there are a number of similarities to our core business and customers."
Launched in 1972, family-owned Metrolina Greenhouses is one of the most automated greenhouses in the United States with several internally designed machines such as automatic plant transplanters and mechanical shipping belts. Its 160 acres of greenhouses is augmented by 30 acres of outdoor growing space.
Happening upon the operation after rounding a bend on Huntersville Concord Road feels like an encounter with something otherworldly. And indeed the mammoth glass-encased development — which continues to be expanded — is said to be visible from space.
Metrolina ships goods to big-box retailers, mass merchandisers, home improvement chains, grocery chains, and other greenhouses within a 400-mile radius. The facility uses up to 700,000 gallons of water each day, recycled by collecting 3 million gallons for every inch of rain that falls on its glass rooftops.
Such attention to operational efficiencies positioned greenhouse management as a prime candidate to fully embrace the many benefits networked video surveillance can bring.Ol
d System Weeded Out
Although the existing 20-camera CCTV system was fairly new when Freeman joined Metrolina in 2006, it was riddled with problems.
"I found it to be very difficult to maintain and the previous contractor became hard to deal with," he says. "The old platform lacked reliability. It had to be sent back to the factory multiple times for different issues, which would leave us without coverage for days at a time."
Adding to Freeman's quandary was inheriting a makeshift server room that at times had him running several fans to keep processors cool during heat waves and bailing water after downpours. These were desperate attempts to maintain automation functionality amid horrendous circumstances.
"The server room was a nightmare to anyone who has spent time in the IT industry," he says. "The conditions were dusty, humid, and unsecure for the amount of hardware and infrastructure we had in that room. It also had inadequate cooling systems and a lack of redundancy built into those systems."
Much to Freeman's relief, not only was he able to overhaul his employer's surveillance system but he also received the go-ahead to commission a new, state-of-the-art network server room.
"The new server room was built as a data center should be," he says. "It has raised floors, water-detection systems, data center-grade cooling with dehumidifiers, UPS-controlled power, fire-retardant construction with fire suppression systems, and secure access."
After learning more about their business, operations, budget and future needs, ESS recommended upgrading to a hybrid surveillance platform. This would allow retaining analog cameras mixed with new IP cameras, and leverage the newly fortified network.
Hybrid Allows Growth
For the heart of the system, ESS installed a 32-channel ExacqVision Pro hybrid DVR with 6TB of storage. A combination of 32 Pelco analog cameras, 10 Panasonic IP cameras, 6-megapixel cameras and three pan/tilt/zoom (p/t/z) cameras are used to capture the surveillance images.
The system also includes Altronix centralized camera power supplies. Camera coverage includes employee and visitor parking lots, chemical storage structure, water-pumping facility, maintenance garage, offices, driveways, boiler control rooms, and employee break areas.
"Mostly, the greenhouse and production areas are under one roof, but it is a massive site and the system is used throughout and within over a dozen buildings," says Kottkamp. "Video cameras are strategically placed at critical production, storage and operational areas, and also traffic and parking lots."
Due to the size of the campus, distances between cameras can exceed 1,000 feet. In some cases, fiber has been run to those locations and connected to American Fibertek transmitters. In other situations, IP networks handle the task. In addition, a Firetide wireless mesh link was installed to facilitate transmission among remotely located buildings.
"The physical size of the site has always been a challenge in deploying cameras due to the added cost of long cable runs or using fiber optics and transceivers," Kottkamp says. "The hybrid DVR allowed us to leverage the existing Ethernet backbone and add cameras in previously difficult-to-reach areas along with megapixel cameras to capture greater resolution and detail."
In addition to the requirement of negotiating large expanses, there was one other notable stumbling block.
"Installation was actually very simple since the majority of the infrastructure was already in place," says Freeman. "The only real challenge was the original Exacq server would not power on after ESS had hooked it up in the rack. Apparently it was just dead on arrival. However, ESS took care of it without question and a new Exacq server was racked and running later that same day."
Despite that hitch, both integrator and end user have been extremely pleased with the solution. Freeman is particularly impressed with its ease of use — making user training a breeze — and H.264 compression efficiency as compared to the pre-existing DVR.
"The Exacq platform has a very user-friendly interface with the familiar feel of Windows-type applications," he says. "I was also very impressed with the storage capabilities. More modern compression standards allow it to store nearly twice as much video in half the space. The Exacq platform also handles video processing better and recalls video much faster than the older unit. And setting up and configuring cameras is very straightforward."
Seeds Planted for Future
By systems integrator standards the Metrolina Greenhouses installation itself was not terribly complex. In fact, the manner in which the solution meets the end user's needs demonstrates beautiful simplicity. What makes the project truly noteworthy are the unique nature of the client's business and how the system offers not only better security but especially more efficient operations.
Metrolina's large grounds means there are relatively few workers present at a given spot during the course of a day. That often leaves no witnesses if something comes up missing or damaged. This is where cameras in strategic control, production and traffic locations are so essential to document events.
"The system benefits Metrolina because it puts eyes in places people cannot always be," says Freeman. "The presence of cameras has helped deter crimes in our parking lots. A camera in our chemical storage facility allows us to track chemicals or if someone accesses the area without proper authorization. Managers also use cameras to ensure employees don't take excessive breaks."
Other ways the system has proved valuable include keeping watch on suspicious vehicles lingering around, making sure truck drivers follow proper procedures when loading up, and tracking down equipment that has been moved. In one specific incident, video was used forensically to solve a mystery.
"They had a particular type of plant that was dying and they suspected someone was dumping a poison into the tanks," says Kottkamp. However, after reviewing and monitoring the video, Metrolina determined that tampering was not involved. With foul play ruled out, the firm was then able to focus their efforts in other areas to pinpoint the cause.
Metrolina will undoubtedly continue to discover new ways to take advantage of the capabilities inherent in its new networked surveillance system. And ESS will be right there to help its client realize those safety and productivity enhancements.
"I expect to continue to use ESS for future work and I would recommend them to my colleagues," says Freeman.
View the Metrolina Greenhouses photo gallery.