Monday, June 17, 2013

Bosch video surveillance and evacuation system enhances safety on the new driverless metro line in Milan

The longest metro system in Italy, the Milan metro with a total length of 92 kilometers and 101 stations has a daily ridership of over one million people. To secure this important transport system, Bosch Security Systems is supporting Milan’s new driverless metro line 5, which opened earlier this year, with a security solution that combines video surveillance and public-address communication for managing passenger information and evacuation measures. Due to the peculiarity of the city’s ancient and magnificent architecture and the resultant constraints, lines of communication between the single security components needed to be as minimally invasive as possible. This was why the decision was made to install a wireless LAN network to cover the 13 kilometers of line, along with 19 new stations, where video cameras and a public address system needed to be integrated.

The main tasks of the surveillance and evacuation solution were to provide video monitoring and passenger movement control on trains and in stations. This included providing public information while guaranteeing increased passenger control and safety, as well as the management of any system alarms and diagnostics together with continuous event recording.

Ansaldo STS, who was in charge of designing the video surveillance and public address system, supported by System integrator Tyco, chose to address the challenge with equipment from Bosch Security Systems, whose solutions have been adopted worldwide. This resulted in the installation of 400 vandal resistant FlexiDome cameras, 10-bit digital processing technology, video and audio signal transmission encoders, as well as ten iSCSI storage units. The Praesideo system was selected as the evacuation component and installed in each station, connected via LAN. All sub-systems operate independently, even in the event of a network failure or other outage, providing maximum operability and thus maximum security. Finally, all the systems supplied by Bosch were integrated via a software development kit (SDK) in the control room to form one complete solution.

This means that Milan’s fully automated M5 line can be controlled by a single operations center, which processes all the information centrally. The center is able to issue all the necessary commands to ensure the correct functioning of the line, the safety of the passengers, timely maintenance measures, and the optimum use of operational personnel (mobile agents). As a result, the Italian city can rely on modern, LAN-based security technology for intelligent traffic control coupled with the highest standard of safety.

Wednesday, June 12, 2013

Our new inside sales team is focused on growth!

We've created a new inside sales team to better service our customers with a more pro-active and focused approach. The team of 12 associates is dedicated to working closely with customers to help them create high-quality solutions using products from our broad portfolio of systems for communications, video surveillance, access control, and intrusion and fire detection.
“Bosch is introducing new products at a rapid pace, and the inside sales team is helping to make customers aware of the tremendous value these innovative solutions can bring to them and their clients,” said Jim Musshafen, director of sales operations. “This group is unique among security industry manufacturers and demonstrates how Bosch is continually evolving to lead in the service and support offerings we provide our dealers.” 
Responsible for both inside sales and pre-sales activities, the team, based in Fairport, NY, is assisting our field-based sales team with the support of dealers across North America. The group is expected to help increase customer satisfaction and to enhance sales to both small and mid-sized dealers.

Monday, June 10, 2013

Our request-to-exit detectors are celebrating their 20th anniversary!

Our request-to-exit detectors have opened more than 2.5 million doors across the U.S. The detectors are installed in airports, office buildings, government facilities, hospitals, retail stores and in many other applications throughout the nation.

The performance of the DS150i Series and DS160 Series Request-to-exit Detectors continues to exceed the rigorous demands of their applications. Improvements in the design of the products made in recent years resulted in a 40% increase in reliability—helping to reduce service calls once the detectors are installed. These popular detectors now include built-in spike protection, which eliminates the need to add a separate module to prevent significant voltage spikes on the relay contact. This feature, along with the use of dip switches that make con-figuration easier and an auto-sensing 12 to 24 volt voltage regulator, reduces installation complexity—improving the efficiency of technicians in the field.

The DS150i and DS160 devices detect motion in their coverage area and signal an access control system or door control device. They can be used with single or double doors and are wall or ceiling mountable.

To learn more about our request-to-exit detectors, visit http://bit.ly/15HkajZ