Just The Facts
Customer: Greenbrae Management Inc.
Location: Greenbrae, California
Challenge: Securing multiple sites for a property management company.
Solution: Around-the-clock video surveillance and access control.
Results: A modern security system that a property management company’s buildings secure.
Customer Challenge
Greenbrae Property Management Inc. is not unlike a lot of property management companies. It has multiple commercial and residential buildings under its purview and its tenants expect safety and security as they work, live and do business.
Despite their properties being in an affluent part of the Bay Area’s north peninsula, with stunning coastal views, rolling hills, and sights of both the Golden Gate and Richmond bridges, crime from the South Bay was spilling into this community of 13,000 residents.
Recognizing the need for action, the property management company contacted Safe and Sound Security for assistance. Their top priority was securing the Bon Aire Greenbrae shopping center, aiming to protect the 50 stores and restaurants, their employees and their patrons.
“They were having cars getting broken into and some illegal dumping behind the center,” says Safe and Sound Security Project Manager Zachary Palmquist. “They weren’t seeing a ton of crime, but they wanted to do something before they did.”
The property management company sought a security vendor capable of providing a cloud-based system to manage various sites, including banks, multi-tenant buildings, pharmacies, and shopping centers. Safe and Sound Security’s expertise fit the bill.
As a vendor-agnostic provider, they have the flexibility to work with different security systems, tailoring solutions to specific needs and budgets. “We are not locked into one system,” Palmquist explains. “We do a great job of pulling out information from property management companies and other customers to advise them on systems that can achieve their goals within their budget.”
The resulting system used:
- Open Eye video cameras
- Brivo access control
Though most sites use both systems, the Bon Air Greenbrae shopping center only has cameras. “There’s no need for access control there, but the other sites we’ve secured have both cameras and access control,” Palmquist says.
Technicians installed cameras at the shopping center and have added more since. Following the installation, Greenbrae Management Inc. hired the security company to protect its commercial rental buildings, with cameras and access control on all exterior doors and stairwells.
“They were trying to keep their tenants safe,” he says. “They had issues during COVID, where there was a lot of looting. Groups of people would come from elsewhere, kick in the doors and loot the businesses. So, they came to us about access control on their multi-tenant, commercial buildings.”
Since securing the shopping center, Safe and Sound Security has designed and installed camera and access control systems at six sites.
Security Cameras
Bon Air Greenbrae is considered the heart of this pastoral community with its beautiful outdoor areas and high-end shopping. Initially, Palmquist reports they recommended Verkada cameras as the logical security solution for this sprawling center.
“However, budget was a concern,” he says. “So, though they really liked Verkada, it didn’t fit the budget.”
Palmquist then explored other on-prem security camera systems, including Avigilon and Milestone. “But the customer didn’t like the idea of having to manage multiple interfaces,” he says. “They wanted to manage everything from a single pane of glass, and Open Eye technology fit the price point and functionality they wanted.”
Greenbrae Property Management could oversee the system from its administrative offices to the right side of the shopping center. “This is their central office and where they view the cameras and manage all access control user credentials,” he says.
The Open Eye cameras offer all the essentials, including basic analytics, such as person and vehicle detection. However, the system lacks advanced features like facial recognition or the ability to search for specific details, such as someone wearing a blue hoodie.
“Still, being able to detect a person or a vehicle, where it should not be, was a selling point,” he says.
Palmquist explains that behind the shopping center is a maintenance yard where Greenbrae Management Inc. stores vehicles and maintenance equipment. They had experienced issues with people jumping the fence and stealing expensive equipment. To address this, technicians set up the Open Eye system with a crossing detection line to monitor human activity after hours and on weekends.
“Now if a person enters this area during armed hours, the property management team gets notified and can get proactive instead of reactive about these breaches,” he says.
Armed hours for this area change, so the system had to be flexible, Palmquist explains. Because the system uses a Network Video Recorder (NVR), Palmquist can log into the back end of every single camera to adjust analytic settings.
“I can configure the analytic rules myself,” he explains. “Rule One allows them to monitor the entire screen, so if anyone enters the camera’s field of view, intrusion detection gets triggered. I can also set up line-crossing events, where an alert is sent if a person or vehicle crosses a designated line. I can schedule when these rules should be active by setting up an arm and disarm schedule. For trigger actions, I can choose to send an email, SMS, or push notification, along with an image, to a specific individual.”
The Greenbrae Management employee receiving the alert would first attempt to address the situation themselves. However, if the trespasser refuses to leave or is engaged in illegal activity, they contact authorities, he explains.
Planning & Installation
Securing a massive shopping center made planning and installation complex, according to Palmquist.
The presence of intermediate distribution frames (IDFs) throughout the center and adjacent buildings aided the process. An intermediate distribution frame (IDF) is a freestanding or wall-mounted rack used to manage and connect cables between end-user devices and the main distribution frame (MDF).
“Our cables could not span the distance required without the IDFs,” Palmquist says. “Luckily, they set up the right infrastructure when they built the center and ran underground conduits from one IDF closet to the next. We were able to create multiple IDFs with PoE switches and then link all of them together so we could use one Internet source for the entire site.”
For reference: A PoE switch is a device that combines a network switch with the ability to provide power over Ethernet cables. It can power devices like wireless access points, IP cameras, and VoIP phones. By using a single Ethernet cable, it eliminates the need for separate power cables and delivers both data and electrical power.
“They also set up a commercial Internet service inside the Minimum Point of Entry (MPOE), which allowed us to span out from there with the underground conduits to all the IDF rooms, which made the install a lot easier,” he adds.
Troubleshooting
The system’s design also makes it easier to maintain cameras remotely. “It breaks the entire system into segments, which are a lot easier to troubleshoot than if we have one giant system.”
Safe and Sound Security conducted a 30-day burn-in period for system testing. Following these tests, Greenbrae Management Inc. entered a comprehensive service level agreement (SLA) that covers maintenance, according to Palmquist.
The cloud-based system allows backend access to all devices, Palmquist adds
Should a problem occur, technicians can log in remotely to address it. If a remote solution is not possible, technicians are sent to fix the problem. Palmquist says technicians bring replacement parts with them. If the device cannot be repaired, a replacement unit is installed. Technicians are also dispatched to clean and test systems annually.
Greenbrae Management added an SLA for every one of its installations, he adds.
Training is part of this SLA, and Safe and Sound Security has conducted several sessions at the company’s administrative office. During the initial training, management and the owner participated together, each with their laptops, while Palmquist shared his screen to deliver instruction. One-on-one training is also offered for new staff members.
Access Control
The access control system didn’t present as many challenges, according to Palmquist.
He explains they opted for Brivo, which is quite simple to install and set up. Greenbrae Management also opted to use mobile passes for its staff, and issue cards and fobs to tenants. These passes can be used on exterior doors, interior doors, and pool gates at the residential facilities. Each fob holder only has access to areas they are authorized to enter.
“One nice thing is they can control access to the pools at multi-tenant facilities and set schedules for their use,” he says. “No one can enter those areas after 10 p.m. And they can manage all of this from their property management office.”
The new Brivo card readers worked with the old access control system’s fobs, he adds, saving the property management company money and time.
“They had hundreds of tenants to issue fobs to,” he says. “They sent us one of their existing fobs, and I tested them with the Brivo system and verified their existing fobs would work. As a result, they didn’t have to purchase new credentials for hundreds and hundreds of tenants, which can run up to $7 per fob.”
Property Management Challenges
Managing a diverse range of properties, Greenbrae Management Inc. faces unique challenges in securing each one.
“There are many more issues that can arise,” Palmquist explains. “Once the system is installed, a lot can go wrong. We work closely with our property management clients to ensure they have a positive experience.”
He adds Safe and Sound Security’s extensive experience with property management companies makes this a breeze. The company can install various systems, including cameras, access control, alarms, and multi-tenant intercoms, and manage all of them with a cloud-based interface that allows for centralized oversight.
Safe and Sound Security
156 2nd St, San Francisco, CA 94105, United States
+1 415-366-8067
https://getsafeandsound.com/locations/san-francisco/
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