“IT IS NOT OFTEN THAT YOU CAN IMPROVE TENANT SERVICE AND SAVE MONEY AT THE SAME TIME,” STATES LIPSCOMB. “WE ARE EXTREMELY SATISFIED THAT KASTLE HAS ENABLED US TO DO BOTH.”
CHALLENGE
Fifth Street Management in Atlanta employed a guard service to secure two buildings and an adjoining parking structure (600,000 square feet). Understanding the inherent limitations of traditional guard service programs, they were receptive to changes to enhance security in and around their properties. “It is our practice to continually look to technology as a way to improve the service we provide our tenants,” states George Lipscomb, COO for Fifth Street Management. “We felt that there had to be a smarter approach to provide more effective security at a lower cost.”
APPROACH
Kastle Systems conducted a security audit of the Fifth Street properties, extensively surveying the area and working with Fifth Street to understand their challenges. The two companies then defined customized security rules for each different sector. As an example, a rule that prohibits loitering in a lobby would contain different parameters from a rule that prohibits loitering outside a back door after hours. “I was impressed by the thoroughness with which Kastle analyzed and designed our solution,” states Chris McCall, Senior Property Manager at Fifth Street. “They spent a lot of time with us to understand our goals and develop solutions to address them.”
SOLUTION
Kastle Systems installed a smart video system which turned Fifth Street’s existing surveillance cameras into proactive sensors, detecting security incidents using advanced analytics. The solution is remote video monitoring; a service which Kastle manages 24 hours a day to help Fifth Street respond to events of interest. Each camera uses smart video analytics to detect pre-defined unauthorized activities such as loitering, removing an object, leaving an object behind or tailgating through entrances. When a breach is detected, an alert is immediately dispatched to the Kastle Operations Center. A security expert at Kastle then notifies a guard on the premises to directly address the situation.
RESPONSE
The results seen by Fifth Street Management were both immediate and astonishing. In a typical week, an average of 64 security events are detected. Of these, approximately 91% are incidents which a guard almost certainly would have missed. Fifth Street has transformed the role of security staff from attempting to detect issues, to actively addressing issues, allowing a reduction in guard hours. Finally, the changes have meant that Fifth Street has been able to realize a savings of 7 cents per square foot.