Safety in Real Time for Students and Staff

With more than 28,000 students and 3,100 staff to protect, surveillance footage at Nottingham Trent University is captured by over 1,300 cameras covering the estate of 75 buildings.

Each of the university’s three main campuses has a 24/7 control room and its own security team, ensuring that safety measures enable free movement while protecting the community from both external and internal threats.

A progressive development plan, coupled with the need to optimise legacy technology, meant the university required an integrated surveillance solution that would enable teams based at each control room to monitor and manage footage from both IP and analogue cameras, supporting a gradual transition to digital solutions and full-IP ambitions.

Cloud-based technology

In one of the UK’s first cloud-based surveillance contracts, and in collaboration with integrator PFS, Synectics deployed a tailored solution based around its Synergy command and control platform to support Nottingham Trent University’s (NTU) long-term objectives.

“Throughout the process, Synectics has gone the distance to deliver. We’re delighted with the results and sure the system will help us in our mission to provide an ever-safer environment for our students.”

Improving student security

Mark Stacey, Security Systems Operational Manager, NTU, said: “Moving the university onto a sophisticated surveillance monitoring platform has significantly improved the provision of student security, saving our team vital minutes in the event of emergencies.

“As well as supporting analogue and IP inputs, where many solutions on the market do not, Synergy offers impressive functionality and is easy to use.

“The ability to import an interactive camera map means we can now bring up footage in just seconds. Operators previously had to spend time manually correlating sensor triggers to the relevant cameras. This enhancement helps keeps our students safe in real-time.

“Perhaps what has surprised me, though, is how well and easily we’ve been able to incorporate the system’s features to enhance our specific operational set-up.

“Synectics even created a new feature at our request, which enables us to circle an area of the on-screen map and immediately view up to nine local cameras in that zone. Furthermore, opting for a cloud-based system means we don’t have to look after a physical server, freeing up space and resources.

“Throughout the process, Synectics has gone the distance to deliver, as highlighted by the tailored training sessions provided for the team and its commitment to support us throughout the life of the system. We’re delighted with the results and sure the system will help us in our mission to provide an ever-safer environment for our students.”

Saving staff time

Martin Bonfield, Sales Manager at Synectics, commented: “We passionately believe that command and control systems should be flexible enough to allow for the evolution of customer needs. Only then can you provide seamless, future-proof solutions that improve safety both now and in the long term.

“Working closely with the team at NTU to understand their needs, the Synergy platform has been designed to ensure they have an intuitive system that saves staff hours and significantly improves incident response times.

“Nottingham Trent University is nationally recognised, having received the University of the Year award three years in a row. I’m delighted that we’ve provided them with this leading-edge solution, along with support, and ongoing training, to help safeguard their students, staff, and premises.”

“Moving the university onto a sophisticated surveillance monitoring platform has significantly improved the provision of student security, saving our team vital minutes in the event of emergencies.”

Mark Stacey, Security Systems Operational Manager, Nottingham Trent University