In the near future, a five-storey parking garage will be constructed in front of the terminal building and security will expand to those projects as well as increase coverage on the airside.

“It’s a complex operation — the airport is a living business,” says Halifax International Airport Authority (HIAA) security manager Mario Carbonneau. “We have so many people and so many flights to manage and an operation of this magnitude requires cooperation with everybody.”

When the airport underwent an expansion in 2004, and again in 2006, which included the establishment of a U.S. pre-clearance facility — the only one in Atlantic Canada — it provided the opportunity to upgrade security systems at the facility. Top of mind was to establish a 21st century network capable of handling state-of-the-art security equipment including IP surveillance video and access control data that would now be travelling via the network.

The $4 million project began in 2004 and was completed in the fall of 2006 following the expansion of the airport. “With the expansion we had to come up with a new, centralized system because we had installed a lot more internal and external cameras and we had a greater area to cover,” says Carbonneau.

While he won’t say exactly how many cameras are now installed at the airport, the new system can handle additional units and Carbonneau says he is looking to expand the network in a few years. Working with Carbonneau and the HIAA security department was a team that included integrator Chubb Security Systems, as well as consultant Dan Butler, manager, security and IT systems group with Marshall Macklin Monaghan Group Ltd. (MMM).

Butler has 20 years experience in the industry and has done extensive work for the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority (CATSA), responsible for deploying the Restricted Area Identification Card security screening systems throughout the country. Butler conducted an evaluation of the existing HSIA building and then developed a plan to integrate the two expansion projects.

“We went through their whole facility, built a new network and converted the airport to a common use model. All the gate counters are now based on common use and security needed a network too, so we procured and designed a rather robust network to run this facility that is fully redundant,” says Butler. “It’s one of the advantages of going to an integrated solution. I know security people like to have their own networks, but if I put one good network in for the whole airport I can get a better network for less money.”

Butler says that rather than “counting on a vendor to give you whatever he can get away with to keep the price down and win the bid”¦” MMM designed a network separately. “The quality of the network you end up with is better,” he says.

The IP-based access control and intercom system at HSIA was part of the project as well. The airport also deployed the C-Cure 800/8000 security management system on the network, which integrates CCTV with other system components. The security operations centre monitors the system 24/7. A biometrics system is also integrated with C-Cure as part of the Restricted Area Identification Card (RAIC) program which involves two systems — fingerprint and iris scanner.

“We have 3,500 people programmed into the C-Cure system from 372 companies. It’s a lot of people moving in and around the airport,” says Carbonneau. “It’s a very smart system — not much goes on in the airport without it knowing. For example, if someone tried to bypass security, within seconds we could see that person on the cameras and follow them.”

When it came time to switch from the old system to the new one, with all pieces of the security system unified on the network, there were some challenges changing over from the old system.

“The biggest problem was some of the old system was from the Transport Canada maintenance days that had been patched and added to over a 10- or 15-year period since the late 80s,” he says.

In choosing an IP video surveillance system, HIAA chose Omnicast from Quebec-based Genetec, which was recommended by Butler. MMM had used the product in other installations.

“They chose it for the classic reasons to have an IP system,” says Steve Bocking, sales manager, Canada at Genetec. “It’s a campus style, large surface facility and running it in the traditional way of home-running it to a central location or coaxial cable didn’t make sense.”

“Scalability is the big thing. We focus on three issues in a CCTV system — open architecture, scalability and failover archiving,” says Bocking.

The RFP asked for a complete IP solution available from multiple integrators, says Butler. “That was a big thing — that we could get the product from more than one integrator. That was part of the basis of the evaluation,” he says. “It’s a big deal for the client because if you get into a proprietary solution that is only available from one vendor — you’re stuck for life.”

Butler says HSIA wanted a true IP solution as opposed to a conventional matrix. “The problem with conventional matrix is that whenever you want to change anything you have to run coaxial cable all the way back to the switch. Part of the challenge was we were moving that facility but we didn’t know where we were moving it to,” he says. “The beauty is you wire it back to the nearest LAN room and then you’re on the network. If they want to put their security operation centre in downtown Halifax they could do it.”

Because airport security operations centres are often located in the centre of the building, if there is a bomb scare or an unattended bag, the operations centre has to evacuate the area. “I’ve seen this in some airports — the police come in and say ”˜Ok, here’s the perimeter and you’re closed. You guys (operations centre) all have to leave.’ So it was easy, with the IP system, to say we better set up a training room at the other end of the building to move the operations centre to for emergencies and it just means plugging a PC into a LAN room.”

Carbonneau also emphasizes the importance of the airport’s iWatch program, which educates members of the airport community about staying aware of suspicious activities in their surroundings. “We try to educate every RAIC holder that they are responsible for security as well and we have a training program to do that. To get the card you have to attend a training presentation that reinforces the idea that everyone is responsible for reporting any activity they think is suspicious. We have rewards for people who report incidents to us and it works well,” he says.

HSIA also has support from the Corps of Commissionaires. “We have a great team here at the Halifax airport; you can’t do security on your own — it’s a partnership. We have a great relationship with Transport Canada, CATSA, the RCMP and other agencies."