Paul Dobbins

Said the following about IP CCTV Migration Team: Steve Schofield, Dominic Osborne, Wayne Trickett, Kieran Theobald and Dave PudneyIP CCTV Migration Team::

“The telent IP CCTV upgrade team have overcome difficult technical challenges and operational constraints to so far replace over 700 cameras in five stations, with station staff almost unaware the migration was happening other than the progressive improvement in security surveillance images. The team have worked extremely hard to ensure there has been no disruption to coverage or the running of the stations served even though the time available to undertake the changes was often as short as 4 hours during the night when the stations were closed

Managing equipment obsolescence is always a challenge, but upgrading all the CCTV cameras in a station to an IP system, without interrupting the day to day operation of the system or the station, including not changing any of the systems in the control room, presents an enormous challenge.

The Challenge

Canary Wharf station came first. As camera maintenance became difficult towards the end of the life of the existing aging CCTV system, with available spares dwindling, a system upgrade became essential. The system had to remain operational, yet 160 cameras could not be swapped in a single night; new and old cameras would need to run simultaneously. It was also essential cameras continued to be controlled by the existing Station Management System to support the safe running of the station, used by over 60,000 passengers daily. A further complication was that replacement of the coaxial cable infrastructure was not feasible.

With Canary Wharf a great success, further Jubilee Line stations were to come with four more completed to date.

The Process

The job started long before any site work started, with selection of the core system, cameras and integration with external interfaces requiring extensive lab testing. Only then could the complex design process begin, to be followed by the challenging installation.

Steve provided the overall coordination of the team and masterminded the complex migration plan, while Dominic and Wayne worked on system design and lab testing, with Kieran and Dave carrying out the migration within the stations. All elements presented plenty of difficulties: when working with systems that have been in place for many years, drawings and system information are often out of date. When it comes to installation, replacement without disruption relies on meticulous planning for each four-hour night shift to ensure the system is back working and ready for when the staff to reopen the station in the morning.

At the end of a successful station upgrade, the only thing that has changed for the operator a much clearer view of their station!

Results so far:

In addition to the 160 camera system at Canary Wharf, the team have also now upgraded a number of the iconic ‘cathedral’ Jubilee Line stations, including, West Ham, Southwark, North Greenwich and the largest, London Bridge, with 190 Cameras.

Dave Perry, Delivery Manager, Station Capital Expenditure of London Underground, said: “A big big thank you to all of the team who have worked tirelessly to continue to shape and improve the future, helping us at London Undergound to delivering a World Class Railway for a World Class City”.

Teamwork

Nominating the migration team, Paul Dobbins, telent CTO said “the complexity of this project, in both design and installation, makes the achievements of the team impressive, but with the new IP technology involved, the team have undertaken work never done before in this environment, with no technical back up during the many nights of change over, and having the pressure of having to ensure these major stations are fully working every morning, making this success even more impressive. They continue to achieve seamless upgrades resulting in very high levels of customer satisfaction.”“