Videx has won a three-year contract with North Tyneside Council. The Council wanted to refurbish 16 sheltered housing schemes with better suited door entry systems and provide new systems to a further ten new builds. These schemes ranged in size from a new build development comprising of eight bungalows to a 54 bed extra care scheme. The number of properties in total that required access control additions or modifications was 1,000.
Videx worked with Goldshield Securus on providing door entry systems that offer access control that meets both the needs of the residents and also the operational aspects of the staffing arrangements.
Steve Natton, Projects Manager at Videx, said: “The requirement was clear – the Council wanted an easy way for residents to report issues such as anti-social behaviour, general maintenance faults and any other non-emergency related issue that did not require a call through their warden call system. With the Videx IP based door entry system, tenants have been provided with a remote IP help line through to a dedicated team at North Tyneside Council. By using the door entry handset the tenant can place a call through to the Council which is handled by an operator on a PC based concierge. The operator views the call on the screen and can call the resident back over the IP connection. This call has no cost associated to it as it utilises the authority intranet and also provides inclusion for all tenants living within their schemes whether they have a telephone line or not. Another main benefit of this feature is that it also relieves the strain on the Warden Call system freeing up time for emergency calls.”
An access control and CCTV system with IP remote monitoring covers the external perimeter, controlled access doors, lobby area and an additional camera is set up in the Scheme Manager’s office. The controlled access door cameras are made available on the residents’ communal IRS TV system allowing them to validate the visitor and the office camera can be switched on to also broadcast on to the TV system to allow the residents to view the Scheme Manager during morning calls. This feature was a request by the client to provide the residents with a visual presence if they wish during the call process. Perimeter intruder alarm detection was also provided with remote monitoring which interfaced with the CCTV.
