Ryan Armstrong (left), crew leader and Josh Davis, senior technician, work on camera and conduit installation after Dallas Galleria operating hours. While the initial intent was to minimize disruption to the shopping center, the off-hours work sped up installation dramatically as it presented a safe and obstacle-free environment that would have been difficult to achieve with heavy traffic in these areas
"The goal was a system that was future-proof, and no one ever got hurt having a dedicated power line," says Sprague. "We can add line extenders such as the Nitek VR124UTP to get us past the 100-meter Ethernet distance limitation, but running 120VAC power lines after the fact can get pretty expensive."
A team of a dozen 911 employees was assigned to the project, with four subcontracted personnel handling the fiber pull and termination. The team worked from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. during the conduit installation, cable pull and camera-mounting phase to minimize disruptions.
Tabbara spent about 15 percent of his time onsite making sure things went according to plan and that his people were supported properly. "I like to stay close to the customers and make sure that I hear any complaints or things that could be going wrong. Getting real feedback to make sure we are on schedule is critical, and I also want to be close to my guys. If there are any problems, I can solve them pretty quickly."
Although the installation phase came off without any especially challenging hurdles or nagging problems, Sprague highlights a few small issues that cropped up.
"Sure, there were the usual changes and improvements," he says. "There were plans initially to put the IDF points in air-conditioned cabinets in the garage because of the Texas heat, but we felt that would be a failure point once we got past the three-year warranty period. We decided to go with hardened switches and fiber-optic modules that could withstand these environmental conditions and 911 selected ComNet, a relatively new entrant in this field. We looked at them closely and were impressed with the product and the people behind it and it has worked out well."
Similar problems - though relatively minor - concerning command center layout, rack locations, camera positioning and other issues were worked out quickly and efficiently. A communication practice RG&A has deployed on projects for quite a while worked out particularly well.
"We create an E-mail address for every project," says RG&A Office Manager Terri Timmons, who handles project communications. "Any messages sent to that address automatically forward to a list of project contacts, including the client and our own people. Once the project is awarded, the integrator adds their people to the list, and if there's an architect or general contractor we add them as well. It really simplifies things, as no one gets left out. You just send an E-mail to one address and it goes to all the right people."
Director of Security Earl Morgan walks the shopping center, shown here talking to Dallas Police Sr. Corporal Jeff Ell. It is important to visualize the coverage area in person while looking at the cameras, says Morgan. The best way to do that is to review the areas in person, on a regular basis.
So how is the system working? Galleria Dallas personnel weren't surprised with the coverage. "We had walked every square inch of the parking garage, so coverage was exactly what we expected," says Morgan. Asking him about the possibility of adding cameras elicits a smile. "Right now coverage is so good it is hard to imagine where we could possibly need more cameras. I'm sure that once we've been working with it for a while we will make some minor tune-ups and adjustments."
But the real surprise he says was the ease of use: "The other day I had two other security officers with me and I wanted to see how easy it was to go back and review some footage. I asked the operator to show me a review, and she made a couple of mouse clicks — 1 second, 5 seconds, 20 seconds, 30 seconds — she went right where she needed to go and hit 'play.' Video popped right up and that's with no training."
Other advantages are being realized as well. From an operational standpoint, as the management team continues to get familiarized with the new capabilities, they are looking forward to being able to view cameras from their offices and performing virtual walkthroughs of the facility. Cameras near emergency call boxes will allow security staff to evaluate the situation before dispatching someone and eliminate false alarms. And on the rare occasion when crime does occur they will be able to help law enforcement catch the criminal, which is a powerful deterrent in itself.
Witry sums it up nicely: "You know, from an operations standpoint I have 19 million people who travel in and out of this shopping center on an annual basis. If our security programs — CCTV, call boxes, patrols, bikes, vehicles — provide them with a feeling or perception of safety, and they can go home and say, 'My visit to Galleria Dallas was just phenomenal from beginning to end,' it's something to be proud of."
Robert D. Grossman is president of R. Grossman and Associates Inc., an electronic security consulting group specializing in casinos, government facilities, commercial and retail applications. He can be reached at (609) 383-3456.
Integrator Finds Value in Consultant's Counsel
While 911 Security Cameras had worked on projects designed and specified by consultants in the past, the Galleria Dallas job was its first time actively working with a consultant overseeing the installation. Following are some comments the integrator's president, Robert Tabbara, had about the experience.
On a more competitive bid process:
"In cases where the specifications allow some innovation, it really promotes the spirit of competition. When we have the option to choose different manufacturers, we can go to the manufacturers and see who wants this major project. By doing that, we can get much more aggressive pricing and, in the end, that really helps the customer a lot. There's a lot of good camera companies and [network] switch companies out there and they all want a chance for your business."
On teamwork:
"When there were modifications during the installation phase, it was good to have someone who had experience with doing things differently to run things by. It was more like, 'let's really find out what is the best solution for the customer.' For example, during the value engineering phase [following the project award and prior to the construction phase] we got together on the design and talked through different options. The brainstorming helped us decide the absolute best solution for the customer and not make last-minute changes."
On feedback:
"It was good to get some third-party feedback. At one point there was a discussion between operating systems for the client workstations — Windows XP versus Windows 7 — and our combined experience was a big help. Different methods of securing cables, suggestions on how to mount things in the cabinets in the field — all of these things will help take us to the next level. And we want to continue to get better and better — there's always a next level!"