Tampere Vocational College Tredu (Tredu) is the second largest vocational college in Finland, with over 18,000 students yearly and 1,000 staff members spread throughout numerous locations. Tredu is not an average school; its pragmatic approach to education and emphasis on internationalization draws a wide variety of students from across the country to learn by doing, studying and working.

As its course offerings change and grow with the economy, Tredu requires a high degree of flexibility and adaptability to expand its programs to wherever workers are needed. This made it necessary for Tredu to deploy a scalable security solution that could keep pace with its growth while helping to protect what matters most — its staff and students.

To address concerns such as vandalism and unwanted visitors on campus, Tredu sought a complete security system that included high-performance video surveillance and access control solutions, as well as video analytics. While the school desired state-of-the-art technology, it was also essential to adopt user-friendly video management software that its security officers could easily learn to use.

A Scalable Solution

To enhance the safety and security of its staff, students and resources, Tredu implemented a complete Avigilon security solution. Over a number of years, Tredu has deployed more than 900 Avigilon cameras with selflearning video analytics, Access Control Manager (ACM), and Avigilon Control Center (ACC) video management software with Avigilon Appearance Search technology.

The system has been able to scale with Tredu’s growth while allowing the integration of new technologies and innovations as they’re developed. Avigilon self-learning video analytics have shifted the focus of Tredu’s security officers from monitoring to verification and response by providing them with real-time alarm notifications of potentially critical events. The exceptional image detail of the video captured by Avigilon cameras has provided full situational awareness, allowing the security officers to assess events and respond accordingly while also serving as conclusive evidence during investigations. After hours, the access control system has helped secure its campuses by restricting access to certain areas while still allowing authorized personnel to move freely throughout the school.

“Our Avigilon security solution has allowed us to achieve the goals we set out — to increase security on our campuses while improving the process efficiency of our security operations,” said Sami Alijärvi, Security Designer at Tredu. “The system not only allows us to respond to events within seconds but provides insights that help us proactively address potential problems before they even occur.”

Results That Matter

A Solution for Today — and Tomorrow

When choosing a security solution, Tredu anticipated certain needs; it knew it required a system that could offer ease of use and adjust to growth. The Avigilon system met these needs by providing a centralized system that security officers could easily learn to use to manage the school’s numerous sites and locations, with the ability to expand as Tredu did.

The Avigilon system also met several needs that Tredu hadn’t predicted, such as those associated with new rules and regulations surrounding security and surveillance technologies — namely, the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). As video is considered personal data of the subjects captured on camera, the GDPR implies that those who own and operate video surveillance systems must carefully consider, document and manage the privacy impact of their video surveillance systems. Avigilon video surveillance solutions including ACC software include features and functionality that help to support Tredu's GDPR compliance.

Proactive Security

Since the installation of the system, Tredu has leveraged Avigilon self-learning video analytics to help proactively detect and verify instances of bullying, crime and vandalism. The analytics, which are embedded in the cameras, monitor Tredu’s campuses 24/7/365. When the presence of a person or vehicle is detected and an analytic event is triggered, an alarm is generated in ACC, allowing security officers to determine whether further action needs to be taken.

If a person or vehicle of interest needs to be located on site, Avigilon Appearance Search can be used to sort through hours of video with ease to quickly identify a specific individual and track their route in real-time or during investigations. Additionally, as Tredu has expanded its access control system, ACM™ combined with the H4 Video Intercom have allowed security officers to quickly and easily identify and communicate with a visitor before remotely granting access, which has helped secure the campuses after hours.

“No matter how our needs have changed throughout the years, Avigilon has stayed ahead of the curve to offer the solutions we need to help keep our students safe,” said Mr. Alijärvi. “Continuous innovation, commitment to quality and maintaining a user-friendly design have been key factors in providing us with some of the most advanced security solutions available in today’s market.”

Continued Success

Since its initial implementation, Tredu’s complete Avigilon security solution has far exceeded expectations. By deploying forward-thinking solutions, Tredu has been able to change and adapt to its growing security needs as well as external factors, such as the introduction of new regulations.

By helping to proactively protect its students, staff and resources while maintaining ease of use, the Avigilon system has become central to Tredu’s security operations, and as a result, the school plans to expand Avigilon solution to new campuses as they develop.

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