Melbourne Cricket Ground selects Genetec Omnicast IP video surveillance and Synergis IP access control solution

(08/01/2010)

With a circumference of 1.2 km, the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) is considered the eighth largest sports stadium in the world based on seating capacity and is included amongst the most famous international cricket venues.

Genetec has announced that the MCG in Australia has selected and successfully deployed Genetec’s Omnicast IP video surveillance and Synergis IP access control solution to protect the historic sporting venue and the 100,000 sports enthusiasts who visit the stadium on a regular basis.

With further expansion on the horizon, Omnicast is currently managing about 400 Pelco cameras inside and outside the premises, in tandem with Synergis which controls over 70 back-of-the-house doors that are equipped with HID readers. The successful deployment of the new integrated system was made possible by the collaborative and direct involvement of Genetec’s Australian distributor, Open Platform Systems (OPS), and integrator, Integrators Australia.

Previous to adopting Omnicast and Synergis, the Melbourne Cricket Club (MCC), the organization appointed by the MCG to manage and maintain the sporting venue, was working with two legacy systems that were complex in design and thus, difficult to operate. Moreover, the systems were independent with no information or data being shared between them.

The local integrator suggested Genetec solutions as a replacement since they met all of the MCG’s key requirements. As IP-based and open-architecture systems, Omnicast and Synergis allow the MCG to choose from best-of-breed hardware, regardless of the manufacturer, and benefit from the latest security technology advancements as they are released on the market.

The MCG also chose Genetec’s unified solution as it offered a single easy-to-use interface for both access and video, and provided consolidated access and video reporting consolidation of information. With Omnicast and Synergis, the MCG is now relying on the technology and experiencing significant savings in manpower.

“We did our due diligence in looking at what the market had to offer,” said Andy Frances, Manager - Security and Venue Support at the MCC. “But the underlying attraction with Genetec was their willingness to meet with us, listen to our requests and adapt their product for our specific needs. In subsequent product releases, we were already seeing features that we had asked for. That was a true testament to the Genetec organization and people.”

With such expansive grounds, the MCG is also leveraging Omnicast’s mapping feature, allowing operators to pinpoint specific cameras in a matter of seconds and pull up video with the click of a mouse. Before, operators would memorize camera numbers around the grounds, a seemingly inconceivable task. More than that, operators are now forgoing once manual chores by using Synergis’ advanced features to set timing for automatic locking and unlocking of doors, and to open and close doors remotely.

The MCG has also been able to exploit the system for other uses outside the security department. The Events Management department has been given access to the Omnicast system for crowd management and queuing purposes. When live events draw masses of spectators, the events management team is able to see where they need to move their ticket sellers, or when they need to open extra ticket windows, amongst so much more.

“We are thrilled that the MCG picked Omnicast and Synergis to secure their historic site,” said Charles Cousins, Managing Director - APAC at Genetec. “More than that, we are happy to have worked so closely with the MCG, OPS and the local integrator, to make sure the product met all of their expectations. We recognize that listening to our customers can only make our products even more effective in the long run.”

Although the MCG is currently running an integrated system with Omnicast and Synergis, they are soon looking to move their system to Genetec’s unified security platform, the Security Center, for a deeper level of unification and added benefits.

Related topics:  Building access control system   CCTV system and accessories   Digital CCTV   Intrusion detection   IP monitoring   Monitoring systems   Safety and protection systems   Security guarding 

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