Genetec solutions enhance operations at Heathrow Airport
James Thorpe
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Genetec has confirmed that Heathrow Airport’s multi-year investment in the company’s solutions is enabling the major transport hub to innovate and transform its operations.
The collaboration has provided the UK airport with a unified view across major operations.
By utilising Genetec solutions, Heathrow is not only boosting efficiency and further strengthening its ability to secure people and assets, but enhancing passenger experiences and ensuring compliance.
Genetec & Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow is one of Europe’s busiest airport,.
Handling approximately 80 million passengers and 14 million tonnes of goods annually, over 76,000 employees work around the clock to ensure smooth operations across a 1,227-hectare site.
This includes maintaining passenger flow, securing the premises and managing over 1,300 daily take-offs and landings for 89 different airlines.
Heathrow initially deployed Genetec Security Center to bring IP systems onto a unified platform.
What began as a 2,000-camera deployment in 2016 has now quadrupled in size, incorporating everything from video and access control to LIDAR, analytics, number plate recognition and more.
“A small city operation”
“We’re essentially running a small city operation that happens to be called Heathrow,” said Danny Long, IT Product Owner for Physical Security Products, Heathrow.
“Alongside the traditional airport security functions, we’re responsible for the monitoring of roads, retail space, three train stations, a bus terminal, offices, a church, fuel stores, a high voltage electrical network and all the other associated infrastructure that maintains passenger flow.
“My job is to translate business requirements into workable solutions and Genetec provides me with the valuable tools with which to achieve that,” continued Long.
“Our experience with Genetec has been very positive.
“We’re only looking to expand in terms of the size and usage of the system.”
“New areas where it can add value”
Genetec Security Center now supports 90 different stakeholder groups working across 110 distinct control rooms, all of whom have different needs and access rights.
Customised dashboards enable individual teams and third parties to focus on specific tasks.
“The joy of working with London Heathrow is that the team is constantly striving to put our system through its paces and identify new areas where it can add value,” added Simon Barnes, Director of Business Development, Genetec, Inc.
“While our software is configured to their requirements at the time, once in the field, new requirements emerge and we have to adjust to their reality.”
