Parking / Security / Access Control – NOC – EMEA

Based in Southampton, Premier Fire Security has built up a first-class reputation in the Fire and Security industry by successfully delivering high-quality customised projects to a diverse range of clients.

The Challenge

One of their established prestige clients is the National Oceanography Centre (NOC). The NOC is a marine science research and technology institution based on two sites in Southampton and Liverpool, United Kingdom. It is the UK’s largest institution for integrated sea level science, coastal and deep ocean research and technology development. Across its two sites, the NOC is responsible for the global mean sea level data archive, the UK’s sea level monitoring system for flood warning and climate change, the national archive of subsea sediment cores (British Ocean Sediment Core Research Facility), the National Oceanographic Library, which houses the nationally important RRS Discovery and HMS Challenger archives, and the UK’s main facility for holding and distributing data concerning the marine environment. Premier Fire Security were selected to install an ANPR system as the solution for their challenging car park management needs. The NOC’s Southampton facility is a busy site with around a 1000 users competing for spaces. Security staff were finding that the two on site car parks were often full when they shouldn’t have been, which meant authorised visitors were struggling to park their vehicles.

The Solution

After researching the options, Premier Fire Security proposed a Vaxtor ANPR system that would allow each user category individual access periods ensuring the car parks are used according to the site management rules. The main user categories are Students (the NOC is co-located with the University of Southampton), Staff, Contractors and Visitors.

With an entrance and exit at each of their two car parks, Premier Fire Security installed a multi-lane ANPR system with four ANPR Cameras adjacent to each of their existing entrance and exit barriers. The cameras were then connected to an ANPR PC in the Security Gate House which runs Vaxtor’s security and access control application. From here the onsite Security Manager is now able to control and monitor all car park traffic and use the ANPR system to provide an invaluable extra layer of security.

Through the use of a database made up of different groups (Staff, Visitors, Contractors & Students) all with different access periods, the ANPR system ensures that vehicles can only enter the car park during their designated periods. Categories or individuals such as a visitor or contractor can be given permanent access or a temporary virtual permit with specific access times and an expiry time and date.

The Result

The NOC is now completely in control of its car park and is able to interactively monitor all vehicles entering and exiting the site. As well as granting access to those vehicles they do want on site Vaxtor’s software can also provide a security alert for any vehicle by means of a customised message.

Registered users can intelligently search the SQL-based event logfile complete with captured images and view the exact time, date etc. for each vehicle entering or leaving the site.

The NOC use the data produced in conjunction with the parking permit database, to calculate carbon emissions as part of their ongoing commitment to environmental responsibility.