Cameras Keep Close Eye on Western Community College Parking Lot

Western Wyoming Community College (WWCC) is just one of many institutions that have turned to video surveillance as a way to monitor parking.

In addition to revenue management and traffic control, campuses can help keep parking attendants, students, patients, staff and visitors safe with video surveillance. Western Wyoming Community College (WWCC) is just one of many institutions that have turned to this type of solution. The system installed addressed several challenges often associated with parking facilities: weather, power, cable/wire trenching hassles and network accessibility.

In WWCC’s case, the cameras needed to be mounted on existing light poles, but all of the lights were running on a photo cell so only high voltage power was being supplied to the lights between dusk and dawn. This posed a problem because security cameras require low voltage power.

Additionally, the cost to trench through concrete and install conduits/cable for the video surveillance system was not in the project’s budget, and the downtime it would take to dig the trenches would hinder campus activities. On top of all of this, there was no existing way the new IP cameras could be connected to the campus network.

A wireless video surveillance system was needed to address the trenching and network issues, and WWCC officials chose Fluidmesh Networks for the job. Because the system transmits video via a wireless network, WWCC contractors would not be required to dig through concrete, which would save the campus time and money. Additionally, the Fluidmesh solution will be able to expand when the campus grows in the future.

To solve the power issue, SunWize provided a system that would generate the low voltage required by the video surveillance solution. The power system charges a bank of batteries during the evening hours while the parking lights are on. When the lights are off, the batteries supply power to the Fluidmesh network and cameras.

To address the high winds and extremely cold weather, Panasonic IP pan/tilt/zoom cameras were installed. The units’ auto tracking feature activates during the evening low activity hours. Additionally, the SD card slot allows the camera to record onboard if system signal is lost. Once the signal comes back, the camera automatically updates the NVR.

“In planning for our parking lots, we had several physical obstacles to overcome to provide sufficient coverage and reach project goals,” says Mark Padilla, security director for WWCC. “This technology helped resolve many of our concerns to provide the best possible coverage without driving up our costs.”

 

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