Raytec Ltd - Experts & Thought Leaders

As a testament to its  Open-Platform approach, System Surveyor announced affiliate partnerships with three new manufacturers: Eagle Eye, Raytec, and Avycon. With the addition of these video surveillance and lighting solutions to the System Surveyor Manufacturer Partner programme, System Surveyor users have access to a more robust and diverse catalogue of products and accessories for streamlined site surveys, system design, and bill of materials automation for more efficient physical security projects.  Drag-and-drop simplicity System Surveyor users can access each Manufacturer Partner’s Element Profile to import devices and accessories to a digital floor plan with drag-and-drop simplicity, which allows integrators to intelligently select the right product for their needs. Similarly, this programme equips end users to refine their physical security system design using brand-specific products for procurement and implementation, preparing them for simple and efficient lifecycle management.  Accurate and accessible system design “From day one, we have believed that the freedom to design better systems starts with an open platform,” said System Surveyor CEO, Chris Hugman. He adds, “The addition of these key brands to our Manufacturer Partner programme furthers our goal of making system design more accurate and accessible for everyone involved, including end users, integrators, and manufacturers, all of whom need to collaborate to fulfill the promises of their technology.”  Standard industry solution As a result of the strength of its partnerships with security manufacturers including Hanwha Vision, Digital Watchdog, Ganz, iluminar, i-Pro, Mobotix, Rhombus, SensoGuard, SoundSecure, Verkada and Turing, System Surveyor is recognised as a standard industry solution, helping equip system integrators, partners and end users to specify the right solutions for their systems. Together with these partners, System Surveyor provides its security industry ecosystem customers with the ability to quickly capture security system requirements, drag and drop devices from preferred security equipment manufacturers into a system design, and generate a detailed, accurate bill of materials in seconds.  

Mayflex, the distributor of Converged IP Solutions, has appointed Francesco Bellavia in the role of Director of Sales for Security. Francesco (or Frankie as he prefers to be called) brings with him a wealth of knowledge and experience in the distribution of security products having worked for several distributors in his career, more recently as the Divisional Director for Nimans in the South. Mayflex leadership team Frankie has a charismatic personality, has lots of good ideas and the drive and determination" Ross McLetchie, Sales Director at Mayflex commented, “We are delighted to welcome Frankie to the team, his experience in distribution was key to his appointment. Having his knowledge and proven success in pioneering sales teams, working with multiple vendors and ensuring the best customer experience, really stood out.” He continued, “Frankie has a charismatic personality, has lots of good ideas and the drive and determination to lead our established team of external security professionals. Working together with myself and other members of the Mayflex leadership team, we are excited about the year ahead and growing our security business.” Mayflex works with best-of-breed manufacturers Ross McLetchie adds: “At Mayflex, we have chosen to work with a small number of best-of-breed manufacturers to ensure our teams fully understand each range and can provide the best service and support to our customers." These currently include: Avigilon Alta, Avigilon Unity, Axis, Hikvision, Indigo Vision, Milestone, Mobotix, Paxton, Pelco, Raytec, Secure Logiq, Suprema, Veracity, VSS and Wavestore. Francesco (Frankie) Bellavia commented, “I’m excited to join Mayflex and to lead the external security sales team. Having competed against Mayflex for many years, I’m looking forward to bringing my experience and ideas to shape the team and the way that we work.”  In the first few weeks, Frankie will undergo a comprehensive induction to bring him up to speed on everything that is Mayflex and particularly around the security business. For further details on the full range of security products distributed visit the Mayflex website.

OPTEX and RAYTEC, both OPTEX Group companies, will be exhibiting at SICUR (25-28 February, Hall 10, Stand A37) with their Spanish speaking team to showcase its new outdoor detection sensors and the latest suite of renowned LED lighting solutions, and engage with the market. OPTEX sales, marketing and technical team, will be attending one of Spain’s largest security fair to support successful growth in the Iberian region and to have the opportunity to hear the voice of the market. Part of the engagement is to showcase the new outdoor sensors, including the QXI series a family of compact, outdoor sensors that complements the existing suite of short-range outdoor PIR’s. A particular benefit of the new range is that the sensors are specifically designed to be mounted at heights of up to 2.7m, making them less obvious to intruders and out of reach from vandals. Reliable outdoor detection The sleek design makes them ideal for both residential and commercial buildings and the sensors will trigger both intruder alarms and CCTV. The event will also see the preview in Iberia of VXI-CMOD, OPTEX’s 180° day/night Wi-Fi camera module that can be easily integrated with its best-selling outdoor sensor VX Infinity (VXI) to create a visual verification solution. The VXI series provides highly reliable outdoor detection and is used for both residential and commercial applications, detecting intrusions in courtyards, gardens, driveways and secured car parks. For larger and bespoke projects, the team will demonstrate how LiDAR technology can be tailored to suit niche applications, including transportation, critical infrastructure, museums and other high value assets. Intrusion alarm systems SICUR has been a great event for us in the past and I look forward to exhibiting there again" The award-winning laser RLS-2020 series is now Grade 3 compliant meaning it can be added to indoor graded intrusion alarm systems, giving installers the opportunity to enhance site security by adding virtual walls and ceilings, as well as thrown object detection. Corinne Vaughan, Regional Sales Manager for RAYTEC, says: “SICUR has been a great event for us in the past and I look forward to exhibiting there again.” Milton Acosta, Regional Sales Manager for Iberia, adds: “SICUR provides the ideal platform for OPTEX and RAYTEC to connect with our partners, discuss projects, technical requirements and gather industry feedback, as well as showcase a selection of our new solutions that are generating greater demand across Iberia to potential future customers.” Number plate recognition systems Beside its core intrusion detection portfolio, OPTEX will be showcasing its innovative ViiK vehicle sensor, which has been named as part of the SICUR Innovation Gallery 2020 by a panel of industry experts. ViiK’s technology combines both microwave and ultrasonic waves to detect vehicles for a range of operations, while having the ability to ignore human traffic. The sensor requires no civil engineering works and can be easily mounted on the ground, making it ideal for historic city centres or other locations where digging is not possible. ViiK sensors can also be part of a solution to trigger ANPR cameras and LED lights to increase the capture rate of number plate recognition systems. The values of adding LED light on enhance the performance of not only ANPR systems but also security and safety applications will be demonstrated by RAYTEC.

Many security manufacturers are working towards ISO 14001, an internationally-recognised standard for the environmental management of businesses How green are security industry manufacturers? As innovation (much of it driven from home video and mobile phones) continues, it’s likely that our sector’s carbon footprint will decrease since compact products use up fewer raw materials. Even casual observers will note that integrators are falling over themselves to gain environmental accreditation since it’s often a prerequisite at tender stage. In the integrator community, environmentally-aware practice will soon become the default way of working and barely worth mentioning as a credential. For the major sources of potential improvement in environmental impact we should look to manufacturers. Are they trying to be environmentally-friendly in terms of material consumption, recycling and waste management? Working towards green marketing campaigns A cynic will say that the only real motivation towards being green is when good environmental practice also benefits the bottom line. Fortunately, there are many cases where green initiatives do make business sense. Researching manufacturers while preparing this article, I discovered that as an industry dealing to a large extent with crime, we are probably slow to play the ‘green card’ even when our practices are essentially sound. Our marketing must have a high level of integrity. There are horror stories of promotional ‘greenwash’ in other sectors, notably an outrageous claim by Shell that they were “using waste CO2 to grow flowers.” Friends of the Earth scrutinised this and found that just 0.325 percent of Shell’s output was used in such a manner and the (UK-based) Advertising Standards Authority insisted that the campaign be pulled. Many security manufacturers are quietly working towards ISO 14001, an internationally-recognised standard for the environmental management of businesses. However, take-up in the US (where the standard is regarded with less respect than in Europe) is lamentably slow. As it moves from a criterion for “conformance” to one of “compliance”, ISO 14001 is likely to acquire more teeth.   Security products deemed to originate from manufacturers with a poor environmental record can be simply thrown out and the consultant told to look for an alternative Achieving ISO 14001 environmental management certification SourceSecurity.com reports regularly on manufacturers gaining ISO 14001, most recently HID Global. Within CCTV, Pentax was one of the first manufacturers to be awarded the standard. There are many other examples. Raytec is not just preventing light pollution with its products but is minimising pollution in the conventional sense with environmental policy that meets ISO requirements. The company has focused on electricity consumption, use of non-recyclable packaging and generation of non-recyclable waste. Its ultimate goal is being carbon neutral and many of Raytec’s suppliers are based locally, a policy that reduces truck miles. For large units and consignments, the company has introduced ‘rotate and re-use’ packaging systems with distributors. Samsung Techwin is also environmentally aware with scrupulous analysis of any hazardous materials generated by production processes and a green procurement and supplier programme involving over 300 companies. Tyco’s record in terms of environmental practice is also exemplary; there are initiatives in place to collaborate with waste haulers on maximisation of recycling and reduction in materials sent to landfill. Analysis of Tyco’s working practices has broadened my own terms of reference: it’s easy to focus exclusively on fossil fuels in this type of discussion but every element of environmental impact should be considered and Tyco is able to boast that its strategy at manufacturing facilities has reduced water usage by 11%. American LEED certification vs. UK-based BREEAM standard Under pressure from environmentally-aware clients on major civils projects at tender stage, construction companies and M&E sub-contractors are scrutinising the green credentials of every single component. Security products deemed to originate from manufacturers with a poor environmental record can be simply thrown out and the consultant told to look for an alternative. (The London borough councils are particularly vigilant in this area.) Consultants are now arbitrating on the green credentials of products in their initial designs, especially when the client is working to the American LEED green building certification system which evaluates projects against common green criteria including stewardship of resources. A rival code of practice is the UK-based BREEAM standard which has been developed to provide information to the building industry on sustainable development. Both certifications analyse energy usage in cooling of electrical components which is a significant factor for security manufacturers. Chinese manufacturers are experiencing greater pressure from global sales markets to conform to environmental standards for security products Eco-friendly challenge for Chinese security product manufacturers A development that should surprise nobody is stringent requirements from standards bodies on likely product lifecycles. The (abysmal) norm of built-in redundancy after three to five years that is tolerated in the IT sector has never been accepted by users of security products. Requirements from the International Organisation for Standardisation may soon codify the product lifecycle that manufacturers should strive for but without impeding R&D. Despite all the success stories, there is an elephant in the room that should not be ignored. Chinese manufacturers must realise that if their products are to be used on the world stage then green isn’t optional anymore. It should of course be said that regulatory frameworks in China are lacking (there has been some improvement since 2014) and legislation is complicated by the fact that individual provinces have a level of autonomy. Sadly, there also appears to be a lack of will. Here is just one statistic. The Environmental Protection Agency in the United States currently has 15,000 employees compared with 200 at its Chinese equivalent. All of this puts the onus on Chinese manufacturers to self-supervise in terms of environmental impact.