ACT Public Schools Project Profile
Site:
Approximately 70 schools within the Australian Capital Territory
Client:
ACT Department of Education and Training
Project commenced:
April 2008
Business unit:
Commercial
Schools are one of the most important facilities in our community, but unfortunately they have also become an attractive target for thieves and vandals. The damage to and loss of property from schools has run into millions of dollars over the years, and an effective security systemis an essential component of the school asset management strategy.
Schools are vulnerable because they are unoccupied for significant times – overnight, weekends and school holidays. School buildings are often isolated from neighbours and can span over multiple sites. A remote alarm and security system is the only practical option. ADT Security has been providing fire and intruder monitoring services to ACT Public Schools for many years and so have developed a deep understanding of the specific needs of school security.
New technology, new opportunities
The previous alarm and monitoring system was largely based around telephone lines – effective but some what limited and costly, and open to vandalism such as phone line cutting.
New ADT Security products, combined with the ACT Department of Education and Training computer network infrastructure, has allowed these limitations to be largely removed while reducing the overall cost. The end result is a system that provides more reliable and responsive protection.
Getting even more value out of Internetconnections
With the Internet an integral tool in learning and teaching, ACT Public Schools have installed broadband and extensive computer hardware networks. This improvement in technology provided the ideal platform for a more robust and advanced security monitoring solution.
ADT IP Connect is part of the next generationin remote security monitoring services. The IP Connect Gateway connects each school’s security system, via the Department’s computer network, to the ADT Security Response Centre.
ADT Security offers ACT Public Schools confidence that their security needs are being looked after by a security partner with proven expertise in similarly challenging environments.
System Benefits
ADT IP Connect delivers significant benefits:
- Frequent, automatic checking of system connectivity. With the old phone system a line could be out of action for up to 24 hours before the fault was discovered – and that was often too late.
- Wired IP and wireless GPRS monitoring paths provide in built redundancy. If one path is down, the other continues to transmit alarms.
- Security data is encrypted, protecting schools from determined intruders.
- Analogue phone lines can be freed up for other use or removed altogether to cut costs.
Smarter reporting
ADT Select is a web based customer service portal that provides easy access to important data about the security system’s performance and events. This allows the Department of Education and Training to easily review their monitoring activity online and run reports directly, at their discretion, without having to request them from ADT Security.
ADT Select can also help the school identify false alarm activations triggered by specific users. Through matching the individual access code to the alarm activation event, the school is able to determine if a specific user, such as a cleaner or teacher, is the cause of frequent alarm activations. This information allows the school to address the issue directly with the user to help result in cost savings on patrol call outs to false alarms.
Reduced cost
With multiple path alarm signalling, ADT IP Connect provides greater reliability; if the wired network becomes inoperable, the wireless GPRS takes over. This built in back up increases system up time and may reduce the need for guard callouts.
Before the ADT IP Connect system was implemented, whenever the phone lines or systems were down a guard would be required to physically monitor a school overnight. This happened at 2 or 3 schools each week and was costly. ACT Public Schools benefit from the cost savings provided by the increased reliability of ADT IP Connect.
Simple installation
ADT Security’s technology philosophy ensures forward and backward compatibility. For ACT Public Schools, this keeps costs down as both older and new security alarms and devices could be incorporated in the security solution.
The upgrade to the system was carried out over just 6 weeks, during school hours, with no disruption to schools. This was a result of the planning and system design work done by ADT prior to implementation.
Through ADT IP Connect and ADT Select, ADT Security provides the ACT Department of Education and Training with the confidence that their schools are more secure.
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