Beyond security:
ATEC’s contribution
to Birmingham
Airport’s
management
systems
As progressive transport
hubs such as Birmingham
Airport (BAL) invest in brand
and revenue development,
they look to technology
deployments to deliver
multiple benefits across
their business.
ATEC is a security partner to Birmingham
Airport. However, the terms security systems
designer, integrator or installer don’t
account for the far reaching business and
operational benefits that have resulted from
the projects delivered.
ATEC at Birmingham Airport
l
Airport Remote Control Room systems design
and integration
l
CCTV, access control, fire alarm and fire suppression
integration with Guardlink®
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3D airport maps development for navigating
between cameras and alarm points
l
RAID 1 Digital Storage
l
Security Management System facilitating aircraft
stand allocation, baggage control, Midlands Police,
Counter Terrorism Unit, UK Border Agency
l
Anti-back-tracking solution
l
Transit security facial recognition
Centralised control, deep systems
integration, accessible data and
enhanced intelligence
ATEC was first commissioned, in 2009, to combine BAL’s six airport management control rooms into one primary control room, plus a hot standby back-up. The work included a switch from analogue to digital systems and the integration of 15,000 alarm points.
ATEC designed and integrated an IP network and complex security management system ready for a month-long transition period. To prevent security risks, the new systems had to work in tandem with the previous system and required ‘site acceptance’ testing to demonstrate its stability before ‘switch over’.
The challenge was to expand the CCTV system from 300 to 420 cameras and integrate multiple disparate systems such as Fire Detection, Fire Suppression, Access Control and Environmental Monitoring.
Numerous onsite airport control centres were centralised in order to allow the West Midlands Police, Counter Terrorism Unit and the UK Border Agency to access critical information.
Access to information is required for 31 days, so enough storage was installed to house the increased levels of data flowing through an expanded system. The storage is fully duplicated for complete resilience.
The new control room affords BAL the ability to see more, share more information and analyse events in order to take timely, informed, effective action.
Enhanced situational awareness now informs not only BAL’s security operations but also its airport management systems, from apron control and stand planning to health and safety. Notably, BAL also saw an immediate reduction in airside accidents as a direct consequence of the new systems.
Creating value across the BAL
business through convergence
and innovation
Staff in the BAL remote control room can now view incidents rapidly. ATEC built the system logic so that edge devices communicate alarm events and CCTV images via an intuitive GUI. Bespoke software allows operators to reset the system quickly and remotely through the same platform.
BAL’s new systems have contributed to the advent of a new breed of multi-skilled control room operative; as technologies have converged, so have people’s roles. BAL’s control room original headcount of 58 specialists now comprises an agile team of just 24. Smarter technology and systems standardisation have made BAL staff more capable and productive, which helped to deliver a nine-month ROI.
A common theme in ATEC’s transport sector work is the automation of routine activity in order to release personnel, resources and budgets to more advanced operations within facilities.
BAL invited ATEC to review the efficiency and effectiveness of its passenger exit lane procedures to mitigate the reliance on security officers. The installation of an anti-back-tracking solution to prevent passengers from returning airside, wilfully or accidentally, enabled BAL to re-deploy 9 staff to more productive areas in the business. ATEC observes that the most effective technology deployments today are business-oriented and strategic, as opposed to reactive or tactical in conception. Security technology has evolved rapidly in its capability to deliver management intelligence, operational advantages and staff productivity increases, as well as advancing in its core functions of managing risk and threat.
in the future, to use CCTV to manage passenger flow and queue times to improve the customer journey, and to use biometrics to gain insight into customer behaviour (using global and group analytics as opposed to personal data, which would contravene privacy laws).
As a transport and critical infrastructure specialist, ATEC takes a holistic view of projects, from producing a business case for its designs and systems, to developing the software and middleware to ensure deep integration with legacy or disparate technologies.
Airport expansion presents new
challenges and opportunities
A significant part of ATEC’s mission is to help its customers advance their business objectives and profitability, either by reducing costs or boosting revenues. The new control room delivered a quick ROI and improved communications and response times, while the anti-back-tracking solution paid for itself within 12 months and liberated staff from relatively mundane tasks.
As has been its history, the world of BAL is changing fast and its new runway extension goes far beyond a few hundred metres of concrete. It will change the game for long-haul travel, create new jobs, open up trading opportunities and save thousands of miles in unnecessary surface journeys.
With airlines planning to re-fuel and stop-over at Birmingham Airport, so transit security became a hot topic. ATEC designed and installed a facial recognition system that allows international and domestic passengers to use the same lounge, with touchscreen control and iPad functionality deployed at the gate to ensure all passengers are accounted for.
The transit security solution provides a dual benefit, in the form of an efficient security measure and a business uplift. The risk of an international passenger not returning to their flight is contained while their dwell time in the lounge contributes to the airport’s retail revenues.
The ATEC difference, working in
uncharted territory
BAL credit ATEC with integrating systems when other potential suppliers said it was not possible, which would necessarily have had a negative effect on budgets and running costs. ATEC describes as part of its difference the ability to help customers to build Requirements and Specifications from scratch, when a project enters uncharted territory and there is no definitive brief.
ATEC’s background in wide-area surveillance, and multi-layered capability from terminal to airport perimeter and third-party integration, has enabled ATEC to provide BAL with proactive, strategic advice on technology, systems development and budgets.
EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT
EYE WITNESS ACCOUNT
Chris Wilson
Airport Manager, Birmingham Airport, explains what BAL looked for in a security partner:
“We needed a supplier that clearly demonstrated significant
experience in complex operational security systems and guaranteed zero impact on our day-to-day safety critical operational
environment. Because of the complexity of the project, expertise in integrating security systems into complex multi-technology operating environments was of the highest importance.”
Simon Adcock
ATEC Managing Director, ATEC Securities, commented on ATEC’s role at BAL:
“We always try to create value for our customers by getting to grips with current and foreseeable requirements and designing a fully integrated solution with measurable operational and business benefits. Building trust and understanding over time with the BAL management team, and getting a forensic view of the airport’s operations, has given ATEC the opportunity to invest and innovate to achieve results that help across the business, including control, command and passenger-facing functions.”
Chris Wilson
Concurs and comments on the results of ATEC’s projects:
“The quality of ATEC’s design, installation and integration is outstanding. Improved visibility across the airport coupled with superior security control enables our team to provide the highest level of operational performance possible. Critically, ATEC was able to integrate the back-track solution with our remote control room whereas competitors could only propose more costly standalone solutions.”
Caribbean. The strategic advantages of Birmingham Airport, with its proximity to motorways and the rail network are recognised in a recent Master Plan, which concludes that BAL should continue to be developed as the Midlands’ principal international gateway.
About ATEC
ATEC is a security and control systems specialist with thirty years’ experience working on complex design and integration solutions. The company’s heritage includes acclaimed, innovative projects for clients in critical infrastructure, public space, transportation and multi-site commercial environments.
ATEC’s proprietary methodology comprises a holistic approach to its clients’ technology investments that ensures projects deliver multiple benefits across all areas of their business, including security, operations and financial. ATEC manages the full lifecycle of projects from building a business case for potential developments, to design, systems installation and integration, and full-service after care. ATEC’s trademarked software and middleware, and in-house programming expertise, facilitate deep integration between disparate systems, which is a capability that contributed to ATEC winning the Security Excellence Award for Systems Integrator of the Year (2013).
Creating Value through People, Process and Technology Unit 1 Element Court,
Hilton Cross Business Park
Featherstone, Wolverhampton WV10 7FE
t: 0845 242 6010 w: atec-security.co.uk
Systems Integrator of the Year 2014
Winners of 7 Security Excellence Awards for
Systems Integrator of the Year (2014, 2013) and
