Construction site safeguarded with surveillance and mass notification.

Not a single piece of equipment has been taken from the site since the system was put in. Project managers use the video system to monitor the work site and remotely manage any issues. Should there be an incident to report to law enforcement or a safety issue with a worker, the VMS can produce footage that will aid the investigation by substantiating the details. Most importantly, the mass notification system has the capability of communicating an audible alert to everyone on-site via the Axis network horn speakers mounted on each post.

In addition to providing security, safety, and mass notification, the solution provides Graham with the hard evidence it needs to support investigations in the event of a breach — a fact that makes Graham more desirable to work with. “From a competitive point of view, when you’re going after very highly sought-after trades for a project, I think a top-of-the-line construction site with a heightened level of security is an incentive for them,” says Mike Candow, project manager at Graham. “As far as I know, there are very few folks out there even coming close to what we’re doing with Accara and Axis on construction projects and I think that’s a huge draw.”

“It’s very modular,” describes Candow of the solution. “We’ve actually designed it, because construction sites are always changing, so when we dug the posts in, we made sure that we could pick the whole post up. The complete system can be moved anywhere throughout the site at any given time, all depending where the construction is ongoing,” he says. The equipment is powered via movable LED light towers situated near each post. By way of diesel engines, the towers provide light to the job site during low-light conditions or for added safety, and act as generators to provide power for the security equipment.

Given the scale of the project and the fact that more than 700 workers can be on-site at any given time, one of the primary functions of the safety solution is the ability to signal an emergency and potentially evacuate the site. “If something on-site happens — you have a gas leak or you have a major incident, a first-aid scenario — any of the workers on-site can hit this button, which basically engages all of our cameras, all of the horns, and evacuates the entire site. We’re able to evacuate everybody quickly and safely in the most efficient manner possible,” Candow explains.

The PTZ network cameras are programmed for guardtour operation. The 360-degree network cameras are fixed, but each contains four independent sensors on a ring; sensors may be rotated around the ring until desired coverage is attained. Fleming configured the system so that both cameras on each post operate as one module. Recorded video is stored on the AXIS Camera Station server, located in the construction office, for 30 days or longer in the event of an incident.

Candow believes the system will provide the same benefit it did at another work site, also in Ontario. “We had two generators stolen off the site before we got the cameras installed, unfortunately. I had the Ontario Provincial Police come out and they said, ‘We can open a file for you, but we can’t open an investigation unless you have either an individual by name … or video proof’ so you can identify the face,” Candow recalls. With these cameras installed between 12 and 15 feet high, “that’s a perfect height to be able to zoom-in for facial recognition. Then we can send that to the police department and open a proper investigation. Without it, you couldn’t do much,” he says.

Additionally, recorded video is essential for substantiating any safety-related occurrences. “If there’s ever an incident on-site, we do a thorough investigation. As project management teams, we are bound by the court of law for anything that occurs on a job site. Having video proof of exactly what happened is a safety net for project management staff,” he says.

Candow believes the solution is a testament to the flexibility and scalability of the Axis product line. When this project is done, he plans to uninstall the security poles and re-install them at the next construction site. “Axis as a whole have been very supportive,” Candow says. “The speed and efficiency at which we can have these cameras installed, working with Brian and his team, is quite impressive. We had everything up and running within a week. Overall, from upper management to the workers on site, everybody is more than pleased with the efficiency and the quality of the product and what it brings to the table.”