Calor Gas Limited was founded in 1935 and is now the UK’s lead supplier of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG).
Calor Gas products have become commonplace and essential items for heating, cooking, camping, machinery, business, and other needs.
The company has a gas cylinder distribution centre in Tonna, Neath which serves all of Wales and South West England.
The Scapa Works depot, which is closed to the public, is classified as a high-risk site due to the risk of explosion and has been identified as a potential terrorism risk.
Calor Gas had carried out a review of site safety and identified that the CCTV system was an integral part of this.
Ultimately, it was determined that the previous system required multiple repairs and renewals to bring it back into full operation.
The company approached Vaughan Sound to initially look at remedial works and the addition of some new cameras.
However, upon further investigation and a full site survey, it was evident that the previous system was not only outdated but in a very poor condition.
Furthermore, it was determined that it was unable to provide ‘site safe monitoring’ as required. It was therefore agreed that a completely new, bespoke system would be designed for the site.
The CCTV system needed to be easy to use, with redundancy and futureproof credentials.
Following several site meetings, budgetary requirements were discussed, and the Plant Manager elevated the discussions to national level to secure funding through capital expenditure.
The project was classified as essential for the ongoing health and safety of the site.
Vaughan Sound’s design and sales teams immediately sought meetings with equipment manufacturers to discuss the intricacies of the project.
Further to this, we initiated a period of design engineering, in which we explored the options available in terms of hardware and software products, cabling and system control, plus ancillary items needed to provide a fully integrated CCTV system.
The Calor Gas site would need to have no disruption or downtime to CCTV coverage, so we needed to ensure that the new system was fully installed before the existing system was decommissioned, thus adding a further layer of complexity.
A consideration identified early on was the cable infrastructure requirements, with data transfer, bandwidth, and network security needing to be factored into the design process.
The new generation of camera now had multiple enhancements and improvements over the existing system, not only in terms of image quality but also recognition properties, area coverage, controllability, and smart operation – however, all this requires efficient data transfer.
To achieve the bandwidth and transfer times required for a site of this size, it was agreed that a brand-new cable network would be required.
Fibre optic was chosen, and Vaughan Sound turned to a local, specialist fibre cabling company to supply the cable required.
The poor condition of the existing containment infrastructure on site meant that we had to install new and additional cable trays and catenary systems to support the cable throughout its run.
Fibre optic cable must be installed to conform with strict guidelines with regards to radius and length constraints.
The site layout meant we could not efficiently install a complete ring system, so a radial configuration was chosen.
To achieve contingency, Vaughan Sound doubled up on the conductors within the multicore to create a virtual ring.
This meant that if any failure occurred in an enclosure on the circuit chain, the other conductors would carry the data.
Intelligent switches and interfaces were used that would notify of failures within the system.
Each post location has a network switch. Our experience has shown that power supply units (PSUs) are typically a weak point and prone to premature failure.
A PSU failure can cripple a system, so in anticipation of this Vaughan Sound specified switches which utilise two power supplies, with one permanently installed for redundancy.
A crucial requirement of the new system was the need for 30-day recording and sufficient hard disk storage to facilitate this, in line with health and safety surveillance guidelines.
Following further research, client discussion, liaison with equipment manufacturers, and design reviews, this led to Vaughan Sound specifying a 42TB NVR (network video recorder), which would more than meet the essential data storage requirements and provide capacity for future expansion of the system.
Vaughan Sound successfully replaced an outdated, analogue format CCTV system with poor quality recording and video reproduction in this bespoke site-wide scheme.
The new IP, full HD solution is both intuitive for client staff and suitable for future additions and alterations, as may be deemed necessary as technology and/or the needs of the company evolve.
Is the CCTV at your premises up to scratch? Is it an outdated, analogue system?
Do you require some expert advice on coverage, monitoring, and recording?
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Simply get in touch to discover the many ways in which we can help you and your business.
