France trusts Honeywell’s flexible and reliable security solutions

France trusts Honeywell’s flexible/reliable security solutions

The Customer

Nantes University Hospital is spread over three major sites – l’hôtel-Dieu, Saint-Jacques Hospital and Nord Laënnec Hospital (comprising an area of around 440 000 m2) – and provides routine as well as highly specialised medical and surgical services, 24-hour casualty patient care and alternatives to traditional hospitalisation…

The situation

Grégory Quirion, who heads up the Hospital’s security systems, provides an overview of the equipment installed on the premises:

“Prior to installing Honeywell security solutions, Nantes University Hospital’s security comprised solely an access control system for staff to access car parks and some main entrances. Card readers and some PIN codes frequently malfunctioned at employee access points/entrances. In 2006, when the maternity wing was being refurbished, the Hospital began the process of upgrading the security systems across its entire estate in order to improve protection patients, staff and visitors.”

The solution

Nantes University Hospital selected Honeywell’s Pro-Watch® integrated security management suite, a solution that has continually evolved over its 20 year heritage. For video surveillance, Honeywell MAXPRO VMS was chosen to replace the existing system that was installed eight years earlier.

“The new systems are capable of retrieving all analogue signals from existing recordings,” states Vincent Métayer, Head of sales and business development at systems integrator Girard Le Temps (GLT) “And the solution also supports the customer’s legacy system in a cost-effective manner” providing additional cost benefits. According to GLT, Honeywell’s product range is attractive as it includes all three security disciplines – access control, video surveillance and intruder detection – which seamlessly combine into one integrated security platform. “The systems can easily interact with each other,” explains Métayer. “For example, in the case of an intruder alarm, different actions can be activated such as triggering a video camera to record or blocking access etc.”

The benefits

A unique card for access across the campus

Today, there are 12,000 professionals with an active card which allows access to the hospital’s buildings, car parks, restaurants and also activates IT permissions. An additional 5,000 cards are registered to trainees, students, and external building and service contractors. “In fact, Honeywell access control has secured the Hospital’s maternity wing since 2004, and has been expanded over the years to protect all the buildings,” Adds Grégory Quirion. The Pro-Watch suite is a flexible and reliable system which offers a comprehensive solution integrating access control, video surveillance, intruder detection and card personalisation. The solution is supported by a powerful Microsoft database which facilitates the speed and reliability of transactions.

Extremely flexible access card management
At Nantes University Hospital, access control is managed by two separate teams: the security/safety team that monitors and processes alarms, and the professional access management team that programmes access for all card holders according to their profile, profession and authorisation level. “The access card management solution is extremely flexible and adjusts permissions according to the information that is entered about a user (address or professional codes),” continues Quirion. Security managers, however, have access solely to the information they require for their job (e.g. departments, telephone number) ensuring sensitive data is kept safe. Therefore the solution can support a large number of readers and cards; different access profiles are possible for specific user groups, all of which is clearly defined through the graphical interface. In the hospital “there are over 1300 devices linked to the Pro-Watch® software, with 1000 card readers”, confirmed M. Quirion.

“The system is reliable and we have noticed a reduction in the number of card malfunctions,” says Grégory Quirion.

Video Surveillance: an indispensable tool for the security team
The system’s integrated video surveillance includes around one hundred cameras installed across the three sites. “The use of a CCTV monitoring centre strategically located in the casualty department allows alarms and video footage to be monitored by security staff on wall-mounted screens. This is now a major asset in controlling situations involving violence, theft and vandalism across the whole site. Recordings are kept for 15 days” allowing for future playback and review of previous incidents.

Other cameras are simply used to control the access of ambulances and delivery vans to the Hospital.

Nantes University Hospital intends to expand camera deployment across its sites in the future.

“From a global point of view, Honeywell systems are proving to be a really useful tool for the Hospital security team,” concludes Grégory Quirion. “We make sure that every new construction or refurbishment project includes video surveillance and access control”

Partner of Choice
For over 30 years, GLT (Girard le temps), located in Loire-Atlantique, France, has been a distributor of products for BODET, a European leader in industrial clockmaking. With evolving customer needs, GLT has expanded its services to include specialised building security with access control solutions. GLT Girard le temps is a member of the Honeywell Channel Partner programme, and a member of the Honeywell Integrated Security (HIS) certification programme.

The products

• Pro-Watch ® solution
• MAXPRO VMS (Video Management System)
• Cameras
• Badge readers

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