Based in the Wicklow Mountains of Co. Wicklow, Ireland, Powerscourt Estate is a leading visitor attraction with approximately 500,000 visitors every year to the house, estate and golf club. The gardens were voted number three in the World’s Top 10 Gardens by National Geographic magazine.

Type of site

Commercial – leisure and heritage

Location

Co. Wicklow, Ireland

Number of users/doors

•    11 doors
•    Golf club – 900 members
•    Hotel guests – between 50-60 per week
•    Gardens – 1,000 - 1,500 visitors per day in peak season

Solution required

•    Control access to the estate gardens, golf club and properties
•    Integration with the tilling system

Result

•    Integrated tilling and security system
•    Access control at the golf club
•    Report running between the estate management and the hotel
•    A system that secures multiple sites, controls access to the surrounding estate and runs reports on usage

Products used

•    1 x Net2 Entry
•    12 x Net2 plus control units
•    1 x Proximity P series reader MIFARE®
•    10 x Proximity HID readers
•    1 x TOUCHLOCK vandal resistant metal keypad

Integration

Intreba - software conduit to integrate the tilling system

Requirements 

Powerscourt Estate contracted Pioneer Security to provide a new security system that could control access to the house, golf club and gardens. The existing security system in place was antiquated with poor image quality, so needed updating. The goal was one platform that unified two systems – integration with the tilling system and gates, and access to the golf club.

Sarah Slazenger, Powerscourt Director, says: ‘We were looking for a solution that would integrate with our retail ticket sales system. We wanted to issue tickets with a barcode, and have a system that could work in a number of locations with different access control methods, but importantly it needed to be user friendly for our customers whilst also securing the estate.’

Solution

Jody Connaughton,  Communications Division Manager at Pioneer Security, was responsible for the installation. Jody says: ‘The estate didn’t want to have to replace two systems, but just one that could manage everything, so choosing Paxton’s Net2 was a no-brainer. They had spoken to other suppliers and had been told “we can’t do it.” But Paxton could.’

Pioneer Security used Net2 software with Net2 plus door control units to control access to the estate entrance, golf club, gardens and walking areas. 

Net2 is a user-friendly and flexible networked access control system, designed to make the management of any site straightforward. Easy to use and feature rich, it moves beyond the basics of the flow of people, offering benefits such as building control and system integration. Net2 plus is Paxton’s most advanced door control unit, employing the use of PoE technology to plug straight into an existing network with no need for additional wiring making installation quick.

The Result

The Net2 system was integrated with the tilling system  using a software conduit from Intreba to control access to specific walkways via barcode verification using a combination of MIFARE® and HID proximity readers, and Paxton’s TOUCHLOCK vandal resistant keypad. Paxton’s Net2 Entry door entry system provides high quality video door entry. Visitors purchase a ticket at Powerscourt House and within minutes can present their barcode to the turnstiles at the gates granting them one day’s access to the estate. 

Powerscourt Hotel is run separately and they are charged for their guests using the riverwalk on the Estate.  Hotel guests are given a code for accessing the riverwalk which is changed weekly so expired codes cannot be reused.  The estate management create reports of how many hotel guests are accessing the gates to the riverwalk.

Sarah says: ‘We have a number of users on the system and they find it easy to use. We now have an integrated and reliable system that suits our particular requirements. It’s straightforward and allows us to report on the various user types, for instance the number of visits, which is really useful.’

With a focus on safe and efficient distribution nationwide, Uniphar built a new distribution facility in Dublin’s Citywest Business campus and,  working with integrator Pioneer Security, installed an IP-based video  surveillance system from Tyco Security Products to assist in securing  the facility. 

Location

Co. Dublin, Ireland

System Installed

• Illustra IP mini domes
• Domes
• Bullets
• PTZs 
• VideoEdge and Victor video management system  

Introduction

Formed in 1994 by a merger of Allied Pharmaceutical Distributors and the United Pharmacists Co-op, Dublin, Ireland-based Uniphar Group is focused on the healthcare and pharmacy sectors, distributing products to meet the needs of community pharmacies, hospital pharmacies and veterinary surgeries across Ireland. The company has a workforce of more than 500, and operates wholesale depots in Dublin, Cork, Limerick and Sligo, giving it the strongest wholesale depot structure in the Irish market. 

The Challenges

Safety and security within the pharmaceutical industry is of paramount importance. Uniphar has a duty of care to the people of Ireland to ensure that the integrity and supply of its product through the correct channels is maintained at all times.  Despite the presence of analogue security cameras, Uniphar felt that a complete review of its security strategy and hardware was due, and thus adopted the expertise of Dublin-based Pioneer Security. 

To improve both internal controls as well to improve its overall security, the company wanted to install additional security measures at its €65m, 180,000 square foot warehouse in West Dublin. The state of the art temperature-controlled warehousing and office facility was designed and constructed to meet the specific needs of the pharmaceutical industry. In addition to the facility’s 52,000 square feet of office space, there is room for 10,000 pallets, 350 additional cold storage pallets and the country’s first ASRS (automated storage and retrieval system) catering for over 120,000 storage crates. These fully alarmed cold rooms are the largest in the country. 

Among the unique features of the new warehouse facility is an A frame system for replenishing the fastest-moving stock by selecting it, dropping it onto a conveyor belt and quickly dispatching it to the appropriate transport unit. The warehouse also deploys “pick by light” technology that identifies items for stock pickers, who then can pick and drop those items into the correct shipper. 

With all of this new technology deployed, another concern was the ability to fully track the process through which orders are created, picked and packed to further refine the logistics systems and comply with the necessary regulations and certifications that are required within the pharmaceutical industry. 

Clients choosing to work with Uniphar often come to the new facility to see firsthand how the distribution system works and whether the company is providing adequate security and quality control. Some drugs, for instance, require special conditions such as placement in refrigerated boxes to ensure the temperature is controlled during the shipping process. Thus, Uniphar wanted to present a system that was efficient, secure and met the unique needs of every product. 

“Uniphar has made significant investments into state of the art distribution and logistics technology that would allow our operations the ultimate in quality and efficiency,” said Wayne McGarry, Group Operations Manager Citywest. “We needed to ensure that we were getting those same qualities from our new IP CCTV system.” 

Under its old system, Uniphar deployed nearly 100 analogue cameras, but the addition of more temperature-controlled warehouse space allowed the company to undertake an upgrade to an IP-based system. 

The Solution

With its new system from Tyco Security Products, designed and installed by Pioneer Security, Uniphar more than doubled the number of cameras throughout its facility. Selected for the site were upwards of 250 cameras, including Illustra IP mini domes, Illustra PTZ 625 domes, Illustra 610 bullets, Illustra 610 IR domes and Illustra 825 fisheye cameras. 

Along with the cameras, Pioneer and Uniphar implemented the Victor video management system from American Dynamics, a brand of Tyco Security Products. Using the Victor unified client, the group operations and facilities managers at Uniphar are able to view, manage, and control recorded video from VideoEdge NVRs and VideoEdge Hybrid NVRs using Raid 5 for maximum hard drive reliability. The system was installed on a separate LAN so it doesn’t compete with bandwidth from other systems, nor is the information compromised.  

Managers can now monitor via CCTV the entire ordering process.  The surveillance system records the complete process in the warehouse from the time an order is taken from the chemist and entered into the system, throughout the movement of the empty transport unit through automated or manual item picking, to the final invoicing of the completed order.  

“The Uniphar team required a surveillance system that could provide a comprehensive picture of their operations and easily demonstrate the integrity of the order fulfillment process,” said Eamon Reilly, Integrated Solutions Manager of Pioneer Security. “The Victor platform provides that ability to view and manage all of their video in one place.”  

Visitors to Uniphar’s facility can also easily see what is happening throughout the order picking process via 31 viewing monitors that are mounted at the warehouse entrance and through the facility.  

Using Victor, it is easy for those monitoring the system to share video between day and night shifts as well as monitor activity from multiple PCs. The system also provides forward compatibility, so it can accommodate further expansion whether through the addition of cameras, monitors or recorders.