Case Study

Application: Transport
Customer: Pihtipudas municipality
Country: Finland

Finnish Truckers can chill

out under the watchful eye
of Sony security cameras
On National road4, which runs for 1300 kilometres from the south
to the north of Finland, the municipality of Pihtipudas constructed
a secure rest area for heavy goods vehicles. Sony IP cameras keep
an eye the trucks while the drivers relax.

Background
Pihtipudas is a municipality with 5000 residents, located in Central
Finland. It is an important rest stop for heavy goods vehicles
(HGVs), because the drivers resting periods are strictly monitored
with a digital tachograph. Most of the trucks on Finnish national
road 4 stop or stay overnight in Pihtipudas, whilst some of the
drivers living in the area also use the rest area to store their
vehicles.
Pihtipudas is located in the central region of Finland, which makes
it ideal in terms of driving times, and the village offers a wide range
of services for the drivers. The preparations for the project started
with listening to the drivers requirements. Following consultation,
the municipality decided that due to the considerable amount of
space needed to accommodate vehicles of this size that they
would need to construct a dedicated guarded parking area.

Challenges
A suitable location for the parking area was found along Finnish
national road 4. The property is located next to a restaurant, a
vehicle inspection station and an automobile repair shop whilst a
new hotel will be built on the plot opposite the site. The area,
designed to accommodate ten full-trailer vehicles, is illuminated
and equipped with electrical outlets for trucks.

These valuable vehicles must be under surveillance for the
duration of their stay. The cost of surrounding the whole area with
a fence was too high and using a sliding entrance gate equipped
with a lock was considered too difficult. Maintaining the gate
would be difficult, especially in snowy winters. Video security was
the most realistic and suitable option in this environment.
Once the decision to use a video surveillance system to monitor
the parking area was decided, the next challenges were the
specification requirements. The size of the area meant that the
resolution of the cameras needed to be high enough to capture
clearly the license plates of those using the facility both day and
night in all weather conditions, low-light sensitivity and colour
reproduction were also very important determining criteria.

Sony Solution
The tender was won by an experienced system integrator called
Lempln Turvapalvelu Oy, led by Juha Eskola. The client had
thoroughly researched different camera models and also studied the
experiences of seasoned truck drivers around Finland. As a result, a
consensus on the foundations of the project was reached right away.
The chosen Sony camera model was SNC-VB632D. In total, six cameras
were fitted on four light poles along the sides of the parking area,
including two of the poles fitted with two cameras each. The weatherproof cameras have both infrared and white LED lights around the lens,
which the camera activates as required. For example, the cameras
on-board infrared (IR) illuminator can capture clear black and white
images with an effective range of 30 metres. When theres movement
within its field of view, the cameras integrated white LED illuminator is on
and switches automatically to colour video mode, capturing detailpacked Full HD images at up to a smooth 60fps frame-rate in colour to
assure positive identification of the subject. The chosen camera has
intelligent motion detection and video analytics functions, which can
be programmed to sound a warning announcement to traffic or if
vehicles are positioned incorrectly, for instance.

Results
The company Lempln Turvapalvelu is located over 300 kilometres
away from Pihtipudas. Unnecessary travelling and idle time therefore
had to be eliminated. The company first assembled the system
within its own premises and tested the operation of all the
components. The equipment was then disassembled and installed
at the final assembly location in just a couple of hours. Thanks to the
careful preparations, the system worked perfectly straight away.
SNC-VB632Ds unique mounting arm design also helped installation.
Its three-axis adjustment feature meant that viewing angles can be
set quickly and easily without requiring an additional bracket.
In addition to the cameras, an IP router was needed for the
parking area. A fibre optic cable was connected between the
router and the equipment that is being used for recording and
surveillance, located in the Pihtipudas municipal hall.
The surveillance system in the Pihtipudas rest area was put into
operation in December, during the darkest time of the year. During
the first few months, the weather varied a lot, from extremely cold
temperatures (-20C) to sleeting rain. The new system was put to a
rigorous test right away and passed the test flawlessly.

Why Sony Was Selected

The customer wanted to use the best cameras in the market for
the challenging location. Based on the technical specifications
and the drivers experiences, Sony cameras were considered
superior in terms of accuracy and reliability. The chosen camera
model is known for an exceptionally wide dynamic range, natural
colour reproduction, even in dim lighting, and very low noise.
The intelligent functions integrated in Sony cameras allowed for an
extremely simple and reliable system, which transmits new data to
the recording device when abnormal activities are detected only.
The hard drive space is therefore sufficient to store events for up to
six months at a time. The system only partially uses the bandwidth
of the fibre optic cable, meaning the number of cameras can be
increased in the future.
The three-year-advance replacement support package included
by Sony was also very much appreciated.

Quotes
Stephen Robinson, Hemel Hempstead School Business Manager
commented: When we were looking to upgrade our security solution,
we wanted a robust option which did not intrude on the daily life of our
staff and students. Steve Beadle Consultancy Services worked with
Sound and Safe to recommend the ultimate solution for our needs and
helped navigate our way towards an IP based future. Sound and Safe
recommended Sonys cameras from the outset, and since installing
the solution we have been very impressed and are more than pleased
with our decision to upgrade from our former analogue system. The
Sony technology delivers outstanding image quality as well as a more
flexible and manageable solution that supports our drive for reliable
surveillance and easy to operate systems.
Jamie Merry, Sound and Safe says of the solution: Having worked
with Sony for many years, we remain impressed by the breadth and
quality of its video security solutions which meet the high standards of
customers across various markets. Working with Steve Beadle
Consultancy Services allowed us to clearly visualise and realise Hemel
Hempstead Schools requirement for a discreet and robust solution.
The combination of Sonys mini-dome and outdoor cameras
ultimately used was the ideal option. Sonys technology has been
core to delivering the briefs and migrating the latest future-proofing
surveillance systems for this and many other installations.

Product List
SNC-VB632D : 6 units

System Integrator
Lempln Turvapalvelu

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