Macleay Tower and Villas is a residential apartment complex comprising a 23 storey tower and two separate three storey villas with a total of 105 residences. The building was originally completed in 1998 and as such its electronic security system was fast approaching the end of its effective service life. With the maintenance of the old system costing considerably more each year, it was decided to engage Aztech Integrated Systems and pursue a security system upgrade.

Macleay Tower and Villas required that only the buildings existing system capabilities be replicated. This meant that the intercom and access control equipment had to consistently work and interface to the lift system to allow apartment owners ability to grant visitor access to their floor level.

Dahua was the intercom and CCTV system of choice due to its cost effectiveness, innovation and commitment to product and software development. The 22 existing CCTV cameras were replaced with Dahua digital IP cameras, managed using their associated video software. This software enables the viewing of camera output either individually or in groups, facilitates the efficient searching of recorded video footage and allows the exporting of video and images in formats typically required by external parties.
The change to an IP video intercom system meant that the existing vertical cabling had to be upgraded using copper and fibre. The existing horizontal cabling however, was able to be utilised to facilitate the TCP/IP network requirements thereby representing considerable saving to the client. The five external intercom entry stations were changed over and the apartment video handsets replaced. Apartment owners were given the option of three different intercom stations, allowing them to choose the model that best suited the aesthetics of their space.
The Inner Range Integriti platform was chosen to facilitate the upgrade in access control capabilities at Macleay Tower and Villa for its inherent capabilities and value for money.
The existing access system was already monitored by Inner Range’s Concept controllers and LAN modules. The challenge therefore was to re-purpose or re-use as much of this equipment as possible whilst still managing to attain all the modern functionality and administrative flexibility that a more modern security management system could deliver.
The use of the integrity system ensured that all existing security cable and lift interface infrastructure was already compatible. So too was all existing air key transmitters with or without access fobs, receivers and door locking mechanisms. The utilisation of this existing equipment represented another significant cost saving to the client. The migration from Insight and Concept 4000 to the cutting edge Integriti platform needed to be well planned so that the buildings security remained protected and the normal access of residents and visitors was not impeded in any way. This was achieved through the seamless transfer of the user database, reducing system down time during this upgrade to under an hour.

The upgrade of the electronic security system at Macleay Tower and Villas took about two months to complete with very little disruption along the way. The electronic security upgrade has not only proven to be a cost effective solution to deal with the buildings immediate security requirements, but also represents a scalable, future proof design providing expansion options when considering their long term security requirements.