“We wanted a comprehensive solution that offered multiple levels of security, allowing video surveillance to be integrated seamlessly into all aspects of our district. A canned, off-the-shelf solution wouldn’t have given us such an open, easy-to-use system.” Bret Emerson, COMMTECH
“Since Milestone’s XProtect integration into our school district, we’ve had instances on campus where having a reliable security system has easily reinforced our decision to upgrade.” Paul Mahon, TCAPS
The challenge: The Traverse City Area Public School District (TCAPS) covers 300 square miles over three counties in Central Michigan, hosting thousands of students, teachers and staff throughout the academic year. With a need to protect those walking through the doors, as well as the valuable public property occupying its 26 buildings, school officials required a custom security system that would enable authorized users to monitor all school activity with one integrated solution.
The solution: Traverse City Schools contracted with design consultant COMMTECH Design to determine the optimum security solution, designing a custom system for the entire school district. With nearly 700 IP cameras, centrally managed through Milestone XProtect® Corporate, the school now runs a comprehensive networked solution, installed by authorized Milestone Partner NETech, leading the way for the multiple levels of security within TCAPS.
The advantages: The Traverse City School District now boasts a comprehensive security hub that integrates all security systems in the district’s buildings into one easy-to-use yet effective platform. Milestone XProtect Corporate software allows authorized staff to monitor the buildings for safety, security and disciplinary actions at all times.
Traverse City Area Public Schools
Covering 300 square miles over three Michigan counties, the Traverse City Area Public School District (TCAPS) hosts more than 10,000 K-12 students and 1,300 teachers and support staff every day during the school year. The district spans 26 buildings, including 13 elementary schools, two middle schools, two high schools, an alternative high school and multiple facilities management buildings, with more than 2 million total square feet of roof cover.
Recently, the school decided to upgrade its security system to connect all 26 buildings together on one network. A full-scale solution was needed since each school previously had a stand-alone system. Paul Mahon, Director of Construction and Maintenance for TCAPS, partnered with COMMTECH Design to design the completely integrated solution, supported by Milestone as its central hub.
“We’ve worked with multiple solutions over the years, each deploying its own stand-alone presence with pros and cons,” stated Mahon. “Installing a district-wide solution that’s easy to use, scalable and supports our multiple levels of security ensures the safety of our students and staff, which was the number one priority for this project.”
Plans were drawn for a full-scale federated security solution, which included video streaming, alarm management, access control via card access systems, emergency panic lockdown abilities, video synchronization for all the above, and the ability to control each system centrally from one main control unit.
Simplified Monitoring
Bret Emerson was the assigned consultant from COMMTECH who worked on the TCAPS design. He spent weeks surveying the buildings to determine the best solution for the district’s needs and ensuring the district made the best security technology decisions for the safety of each campus.
“TCAPS was quite a large-scale design: we had to understand the intricacies of not just one building, but 26 structures that were all unique in their own needs. A vast amount of engineering had to be examined, dealing with the different wiring, ceiling setups and potential monitoring station locations in each of the 26 buildings,” stated Emerson. “We wanted a comprehensive solution that offered multiple levels of security, allowing video surveillance to be integrated seamlessly into all aspects of the district. An off-the-shelf solution wouldn’t have given us such an open, easy-to-use system.”
After Emerson’s report on the system’s architecture and design, TCAPS contracted with Windemuller Electric to provide the customized solution, including access control, lockdown and alarm systems. NETech, subcontracted through Windemuller, integrated the Milestone solution, ensuring the VMS core of the implementation was perfectly tuned for the district.
