Hospital System Handled With Intensive Care

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In a testament to the pace at which IP-based video solutions have become more accessible in just the past few years, planning for the Renaissance project essentially preceded the emergence of IP affordability. The installation’s use of analog cameras is also proof of the traditional format’s continued viability.

“We had been talking to the [end user] about cameras for at least two years. At the time, IP was still in its infancy and some of the early cameras were significantly more expensive,” Mramor explains. “The other consideration was we had to integrate more than 100 existing cameras. At that time the technology that integrates analog and IP wasn’t available either.”

Couple the budgetary consideration with the IT department’s bandwidth apprehension and the decision to expand upon the existing analog backbone was a no-brainer.

“It wasn’t like an entirely new building in which we’d be starting with a clean sheet of paper. We had to always keep in mind that at some point we are going to have to integrate those existing cameras and some existing digital recording capability into the control center and we wanted to make it as seamless as possible for the officers,” Mramor says. (Torrence Sound will be quoting bids for IP-based video solutions for a couple of standalone buildings under consideration at the hospital complex.)

The hospital’s security personnel view video feeds on three 15-inch monitors, eleven 20-inch LCDs and three 42-inch plasma displays, all from Panasonic. The vendor’s camera types used in the new tower include compact domes for most areas, other models for high contrast lighting areas, plus a few outdoor and indoor pan/tilt/zoom (p/t/z) cameras.

The cameras feature Super Dynamic III (SDIII) technology with 128x dynamic range and pixel-based contrast correction circuitry to maintain image integrity regardless of contrast within a single scene or changing lighting conditions.

“We use Panasonic’s SDIII cameras in areas where there are glass partitions and doors,” says Mramor. “The ability to see inside and outside simultaneously has just been phenomenal. It has worked out very well for the hospital.”

Sullivan sees plenty of advantages to working with a single major supplier of video systems. “I have worked with Torrence for 26 years and for all those years we have used Panasonic equipment,” he says. “When the new project came up, we obviously wanted to expand and continue to use the same technology.”

Challenge, then Solution

While all aspects of the video surveillance solution installation were largely straightforward,  Torrence Sound discovered its most significant challenge back in the security control center. The company would be allowed scant leeway while transferring multiple systems to the newly expanded, modernized control center in the north parking garage.

Before the transfer could even take place, there was the sticky proposition of seamlessly tying years-old intercom, video and remote gate control equipment i
nto the new control center. Compounding the matter were strict budget constraints. The relocation of the control center was budgeted entirely separate from the well-funded work in the new tower.

“You always think that you can get things done in a certain amount of hours and a certain amount of materials, but nine times out of 10 you run across a few problems and it becomes a very cost-conscious issue,” Mramor says. “When we got to a particular issue we said, ‘It would be nice to do this’ and the owner shook his head and said there was no money left in the budget.”

The most difficult wiring dilemma Torrence Sound faced was, in some cases, taking a 20-year-old cable – be it for intercom or camera – and splicing it into a junction point in order to extend the signal to the new control center, roughly 70-feet away in proximity.

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About the Author

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Although Bosch’s name is quite familiar to those in the security industry, his previous experience has been in daily newspaper journalism. Prior to joining SECURITY SALES & INTEGRATION in 2006, he spent 15 years with the Los Angeles Times, where he performed a wide assortment of editorial responsibilities, including feature and metro department assignments as well as content producing for latimes.com. Bosch is a graduate of California State University, Fresno with a degree in Mass Communication & Journalism. In 2007, he successfully completed the National Burglar and Fire Alarm Association’s National Training School coursework to become a Certified Level I Alarm Technician.

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