The Client
The North West Ambulance Service (NWAS) NHS Trust operates around 1,000 vehicles to provide 1.1 million emergency and non-emergency patient journeys. It was established in 2006, by the merger of ambulance trusts from Greater Manchester, Cheshire and Merseyside, Cumbria and Lancashire. The Lancashire regional HQ is based near Broughton in Preston.
The Challenge
The trust needed to secure the perimeters of their premises at the Lancashire regional HQ and appointed Expert Security UK, Frank Whittle Partnerships and W. Monks Ltd to design and install a new centrally controlled vehicle security system.
The Solution
Expert Security UK approached Nortech in order to integrate the Nedap Automatic Number Plate Recognition (ANPR) into the system. New automatic barriers were installed to secure the perimeter and prevent unauthorised vehicles. Nortech supplied the ANPR camera housed in a robust stainless steel bollard to protect the camera from any potential vehicle knocks. As vehicles approach the new barriers the ANPR reads the number plates and converts each valid number plate into a Wiegand ID string, which it sends to the access control panel in the same way as a standard card reader. The Wiegand number can then be checked centrally for access rights so that vehicle access can be granted or denied accordingly.
The Benefits
- Integrates with most access control software
- Avoids the need for vehicle tags
- Automatic vehicle identification at between 3-6 metres
- Avoids the need for manned gates
- Prevents unauthorised vehicle access
