The security preparations required for any international sporting event are always on a very large scale. ATEC was proud to play its part in delivering some of the strategic upgrades required to the security infrastructure around Birmingham as the city hosted the Commonwealth Games.
ATEC was selected from a competitive tender process with a technically proficient and commercially acceptable design to deliver a variety of key solutions ahead of the event. This included everything from upgrading the CCTV system with new servers, storage, cameras and integrating the newly installed equipment into other key agencies over a WAN connection. Anti-terrorist bollards were also installed across the city centre to provide an additional layer of security for the public.
“It was an extensive project with varying and complex elements that needed to be deployed, whist still providing a 24/7 operational control room,” notes Ian Farrell, Strategic Account Manager at ATEC. “The original scope was regularly expanded throughout the project and we had to ensure we provided our client with the right solution, fully tested and field proven prior to the commencement of the Games.”
One of the major challenges for the upgrade was that the existing system needed to remain operational throughout the installation project. “We had to still support and provide operational functionality to not only our client but our client’s clients,” says Farrell. “We had to ensure everything was installed and operational in parallel, so when we migrated the systems across, the amount of downtime was as minimal as possible. The level of co-ordination was huge.”
Reflecting on a project that stretched from the stadium to the city centre and beyond, Farrell is proud of the role that ATEC played in ensuring that Birmingham was ready to host the Commonwealth Games. “It was not something that you typically get to do. Nothing was standard and we needed to overcome a variety of complexities, but it was a hugely rewarding project to be part of and everyone was impressed with the work that we did.”