Providing Security Camera Access to your Local Police Department? Check.

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers.

Sharing your security cameras with the police.In today’s world, video cameras are everywhere. These cameras can help a city gain more situational awareness and help police fight crimes better than ever before. Wouldn’t it be nice if the police could access any camera at any time? Unfortunately, video management systems can be complicated and most video management systems are not compatible with each other.

However, there is hope.

Unified camera management starts with a standard. In order for video management systems to communicate, they must first speak the same language.

In the security camera space, there is already a common standard called ONVIF. The standard is pretty well adopted. If the standard is followed, it allows for video to be streamed between a client (usually a camera) and a server (usually a video management system). The standard doesn’t guarantee that all of a camera’s features can be accessed, but it’s a good starting point for basic video streaming.

The ONVIF Bridge

ONVIF BridgeMarch Networks ONVIF BridgeWhat if instead of a camera being ONVIF compliant, we made a video management system act like a camera or multiple cameras? The video management system is already receiving video streams. Could it send the camera stream out to somewhere else as well?

That’s exactly what Milestone is doing. Milestone Systems has released a server component called “ONVIF Bridge”. This allows your Milestone system to re-broadcast the video that’s being sent to an additional server. As long as the additional server is ONVIF compliant (most are) it will be able to see and optionally record the video.

So how does this solve our problem?

If a company wants to loan some or all of their cameras to a police department, it’s possible with a Milestone system that’s compatible with ONVIF Bridge. The police department can connect to your ONVIF cameras. Then they could use your cameras to help with situational awareness and help solve crime. In our lab at Kenton Brothers, we were able to successfully connect the Milestone ONVIF Bridge to Aviglion and Genetech equipment.

If you would like to know more about providing camera connections to your local police department, please give us a call.

March Networks ONVIF Bridge

Medical Marijuana in Missouri: What to consider when purchasing IP Video Surveillance

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By David Strickland, Vice President of Kenton Brothers.

Medical Marijuana in MissouriOver the last few months, we’ve gotten a lot of questions about Medical Marijuana in Missouri and state regulation in relation to Security – specifically IP Video Surveillance. Why is it such a hot topic? There’s a lot of information out there and it causes information overload.

Kenton Brothers is here to help. Let’s tackle the task at hand.

Many owners are awaiting there licensing decisions, but are exploring the options for security and tracking compliance around the MDSS regulations. We cover the specific security requirements here.

IP Video Solutions for Medical Marijuana

For this blog, let’s concentrate on the IP Video Solution that checks all the requirements and even exceeds in some cases.

Based on the feedback we’ve received, it’s important to understand that you’re not just trying to meet state regulations.

The system must be functional, easy to use, reliable, affordable, cover multiple locations and also proactively deter theft. Many times when we talk about regulations we sometimes overlook the practical nature of these systems. How am I going to interact with it? Is it easy to train a new associate? How will it make my reporting to the state easier? How will it help me run a profitable business?

Here are some of those answers.

Medical Marijuana in MissouriKenton Brothers would like to introduce you to March Networks.

March Networks is an IP Video Surveillance management platform that combines State of Missouri compliant IP Video surveillance with the added benefits of  RFID tracking, theft prevention – both internal and external, POS data merging, people counting, dwell time, queue length and of course, reliable forensic video.

Enhance security, ensure compliance with government legislation, and get a comprehensive view of your cannabis operation with March Networks integrated video and RFID solution. The advanced video and data analytics platform, March Networks Searchlight™ for Retail, helps licensed cannabis growers, producers and retailers monitor the location and movement of plants, providing clear video footage of cannabis operations and the ability to rapidly search for missing inventory.

Using the March Networks Searchlight for Retail data analytics platform, licensed growers, producers, and retailers can run searches on a wide range of data contained in the RFID tags, including a plant’s ID code and its last detected location. In the case of an anomaly, such as missing inventory, users can quickly access the associated video footage to see exactly where the item went and who was involved. The clear video eliminates assumptions about what’s occurred and provides strong evidence to support further investigation.

In addition, the Searchlight solution provides producers and dispensaries with real-time and historical views into their operations via mobile device or workstation, enabling them to conduct remote audits and identify areas for improvement. It also offers video analytics and point-of-sale (POS) transaction integration presented in customizable reports to help dispensary owners quickly detect and review suspect transactions, analyze performance trends, improve customer service and gain other business insights.

Kenton Brothers and March Networks

Kenton Brothers is proud to partner with Missouri Medical Marijuana licensees to help them be compliant and secure, but to also help them run a profitable business.

As a 122 year old partner in Missouri, Kenton Brothers has become a leading integrator of these kinds of systems. March Networks has more than 15 years of experience helping some of the world’s largest commercial and government organizations with advanced surveillance technologies used for security, loss prevention, risk mitigation and operational efficiency.

Let’s talk about your specific application and how we can help!

 

Commercial Security and Video Surveillance Project in New Mexico… with a rare find!

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers.

In July, we were tasked with converting several banks in New Mexico to new security and video system. No two branches were alike. Some had analog video, some had digital, sometimes there was a Honeywell panel, sometimes DSC, sometimes no panel at all. And just like any road trip, it can’t be perfectly smooth, there have to be some bumps.

Our two adventurers this time were Terry McCurdy and Ryan Holtshaus.

New Mexico ProjectThey loaded up the van and began their merry journey just after the fourth of July weekend. In the end, they converted seven branches to Honeywell intrusion panels and Milestone Video management, but it’s the stuff in the middle that makes it the best.

At some point in the trip, they needed some more BNC connectors. Even though the guys had left “loaded for bear”, they had used up all of their supply of those connectors and needed more. For those of you who don’t know… BNC connectors have kind of gone the way of the dodo bird. They used to be everywhere, but now they are much harder to find in a store.

In Kansas City, I can only think of 2-3 places where we can get BNC connectors. In Santa Fe, there’s only one.

A-1 Communications to the rescue!

A-1 Communications in New MexicoTerry said the store was really cool. It was full of modern-day electronics like you would expect, but what made it cool was the older electronics. One such piece of art was a tube tester that the owner had created. It‘s amazing to me how much skill was required to make electronics years ago.

When Terry was done with his purchase, the man behind the counter said, “Let me put those in a bag for you.” After he was done, he asked, “Do you know why I put them in a bag for you?” Of course, Terry didn’t know. The man said, “So when you lose them, you lose all of them and have to come back.” Ha! How’s that for truth in advertisement?

When you’re out of town, you have to enjoy the local treats.

The guys had dinner at the Church Street Café. This establishment was owned as a home for 400 years and then turned into a restaurant. The restaurant has some amazing southwestern features and great food. (The guys give it two-thumbs up.)

Overall, it was a long two weeks, but the customer was thrilled with the success of the project. They commented to me after it was all done that they were impressed with Terry and Ryan’s tenacity and creativity towards creating solutions. It was great to hear that… that’s why we’re here. To solve the customer’s problems and have some adventures along the way. Here’s to the next time, we’re on the road!

Church Street Café

Solving Their Pain: Warehouse Security Project in Wichita, KS

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director and Brinton Hallum, Project Manager at Kenton Brothers.

The Pain

Wichita Project SpotlightA large warehouse customer of ours was in a lot of pain when it came to their various security systems.

  • The video management system was consistently crashing with cameras bouncing offline. On top of that, the user interface was not very user-friendly.
  • The wires for all the systems were a mess, making maintenance hard.
  • The Access Control system was in bad shape. Nests of exposed wires that weren’t labeled. Controllers accessible to anyone and often locked by a broken nail slipped through an eyelet.
  • The intrusion system had frequent false alarms and sensors that weren’t working.

None of these items were up to KB Standards.

Our customer takes a lot of pride in their business, that includes the security of their people, products and property. Their culture is “Promises Kept”. We promised them an enterprise system that exceeds their expectations and that’s exactly what we delivered.

The Plan

Wichita Project SpotlightTo ease their pain on Video Surveillance and Access Control, we brought in Avigilon.

Working directly with the manufacturer, we were able to design a system that will meet the needs of the customer and alleviate their pain. We also provided additional features such as License Plate recognition, Appearance Search and Learning Analytics to eliminate false motion triggers from blinking lights.

Avigilon Control Center directly integrates into Avigilon Access Control Manager, providing additional information for the video system. This means that they can search for video based on access control events like access granted/denied, door left open or door forced.

There are many benefits for a combined Access and Video system worthy of a blog post all by itself.

For the Intrusion/Fire system, we designed a Bosch Fire/Burg B9512G. This is the Cadillac of Fire/Burg and provides all the bells and whistles. We utilized a touch screen keypad to allow for visibility of Areas and custom triggers for Fire/Medical/Tornado. We tested each and every point, and adjusted so the customer doesn’t have to worry about false alarms.

The Team

Wichita Project SpotlightThe timeline for the installation was short, so we used several guys from the Kansas City office to get the job done.

Being away from home is bittersweet; there’s always places to explore, but being cooped up in a hotel room is trying. This time we did something different. We rented an Airbnb for our guys. Everyone had their own room, and they got to cook real food and have some bonding time together.

The guys worked hard and very well together. Each has their own specialized knowledge and skill set. This allowed them to focus on their own areas of expertise, but also help each other grow and learn.

Jeremy’s great knowledge of door hardware and all things conduit allowed him to create a camera mount that would keep the cameras level, even though the rafters weren’t level.

Tony’s knowledge of all things intrusion helped him troubleshoot the communication issues that popped up at the worst time.

Neeley’s great at the programming side and he rocked it out, but he also got to learn how to wire up the panels for the first or second time expanding on his capabilities.

This was Meshack’s first adventure on a large installation; he got a trial by fire and did a great job.

Kenton Brothers’ greatest strength is our team. This is one of many instances where our team pulled together and exceeded the customer’s expectations.

Project Spotlight : Subtropolis License Plate Recognition (LPR) Project

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers

Hunt Midwest Subtropolis is well known by the people in Kansas City. It’s the largest underground business complex in the world.

They boast over 6 million square feet of space available to lease and over 8 miles of underground roads. The complex offers many amenities that are advantageous to businesses. These include year-round temperate climate and 24/7 security staff. This definitely helps client satisfaction for Hunt Midwest.

Like most businesses, Subtropolis is using technology to do more with less.

Hunt Midwest provides security for the entrances to the facility. We usually say that security and convenience don’t mix. If Hunt Midwest wants to provide more security, they could restrict the number of entrances. But since there are less available entrances, it would decrease convenience, possibly creating lines.

This is where technology can come to the rescue.

Hunt Midwest Subtropolis - License Plate Recognition ProjectThe complex has a limited number of entrances and constant lighting that is a great case for License Plate Recognition (LPR). This allows them to have more security than unmonitored entrances, but still provide convenience to their customers.

Kenton Brothers teamed up with Hunt Midwest to provide an Avigilon LPR system that allows the staff to track cars and trucks entering the facility. Not only does this provide and tracked log of vehicles, but it has also vastly improved the times needed to search for video by creating a database of licenses plates linked to the recorded video.

Now, Hunt Midwest can track when and how many times a vehicle has entered the facility. Investigations that might have taken hours or days can now be done in minutes.

Avigilon LPR

Avigilon LPR is analytic software that runs on a server. Unlike some solutions where you need to purchase a specialized camera with specialized software and IR illuminators, Avigilon LPR can run on any camera compatible with their video management system. This allows us to pick the best cameras for the application.

Hunt Midwest Subtropolis - License Plate Recognition Project Hunt Midwest Subtropolis - License Plate Recognition Project

Since lighting is constant in the underground, we did not need special IR illuminators or Wide Dynamic Range. Once we reach a sufficient number of pixels on a license plate, the system will automatically tag the video with the license plate number and a confidence rating of the reading. Tags can be searched using an exact match or wildcards.

LPR, like several other technologies, is using Artificial Intelligence (AI) learning to increase confidence and accuracy. AI tech is finally reaching the masses, and recent advancements are lowering prices to make LPR and other technologies obtainable to solve business problems like mixing security with convenience.