The GTA Construction Report – January 2009 – PAGE B3
TAKING GUARDS OFF DUTY
UCIT Online set to replace security guards across GTA
MATTHEW DESROSIERS – The GTA Construction Report Special Feature
Security guards around the GTA are prove itself on a test site. During the demon-
making their last rounds, thanks to an inno- stration, the insurance companies paid very
vative company that is simply doing a bet- close to attention to the systems results. The
ter job. system produced two arrests within a short
UCIT Online is the brainchild of entre- time-period, and convinced the insurance
preneur Sidney Sommer, owner and man- companies that it did, in fact, work.
aging director of the company. Since UCIT Online went mainstream in
“It is a little unique,” he said. “We are the GTA, they continue to average two ar-
able to watch sites from our monitoring cen- rests per week, a number that security guard
tre instead of putting a guard out on a con- companies are simply unable to attain.
struction site.” Although the cameras are only moni-
He got the idea while working for an tored after hours, they record 24 hours a day,
aerospace company designing video black seven days a week.
boxes. Instead of only recording voice and “A lot of thefts happen in the middle of
data, these also record video of the cockpit the day, so our cameras record everything
during flight. It was there that he was first that happens during the day,” Sommer said.
introduced to digital cameras. “It’s not just theft that’s a problem on con- door. This way, it’s guaranteed to be left on will continue to grow as it has over the last
Although these kinds of companies have struction sites, things also get damaged.” site.” few years. The monitoring centre is only at
existed in Europe for a number of years, the For example, if someone knocks over a The remote concierge works on the same 15 per cent capacity, Sommer said. With
technology, and this specific application of lamppost, it could cost the builder a signif- premises as site security. Cameras are more contracts and sites to monitor, they
it, was not widely used in North America. icant amount of money to fix. The company placed at the front door, in the lobby, and will be able to fill up the extra space with
In 2003, Sommer started up the company. instead calls the UCIT Online office to re- throughout the public areas of the building. more employees in the centre.
Everyone has seen security cameras be- quest the appropriate tape, and is able to de- A delivery person, for example, would Already, the company has sites in Lon-
fore, however, UCIT Online uses top of the termine who should be back-charged for the ‘buzz in’ to the building. The monitoring don, Barrie, Oshawa, and even a few start-
line Axis IP Cameras together with its DE- damages. centre receives the alert, confirms the iden- ing projects in Alberta. Over 52 major
TEXI Video Management Software which It didn’t take long for the UCIT Online tity of the delivery person, and allows them builders, developers and property manage-
allows for remote viewing and recording security system to spread throughout the in the building. From there, a special pack- ment companies in Southern Ontario, are
from anywhere in the world. What this GTA market. age room with an automated locked door is currently using their system. However,
means is from a central monitoring station, “It was a very easy sell,” Sommer said. opened, and the delivery is made to the ap- Sommer has his mind set on further expan-
UCIT Online employees are able to watch “Low-rise builders here were fed up with propriate mailbox, as specified by the mon- sion in Ontario, and beyond.
sites and catch thieves red-handed. paying a lot of money for security guards, itoring centre through a speaker system. The “I’ll be happy if next year we expand to
“The biggest problem with the guards on and still end up losing a ton of equipment recipient is alerted in his or her apartment, Vancouver, Calgary, Edmonton and Ot-
some of these larger projects is they do and materials.” and they come down to the room to retrieve tawa.”
hourly tours,” Sommer said. “You know if a They are currently active on over 200 the package, following a similar process of UCIT Online is taking the security in-
guard just walked by, he won’t be back for sites in the area. UCIT Online employs 35 identity confirmation. dustry by storm. Over the last five years, the
another hour. Whereas, with our product, trained operators at its monitoring centre, The same concept is applied to picking company has established itself as one of the
we’re constantly monitoring every street on and an additional 20 employees for instal- up packages, and every delivery or pickup is most effective security systems in the GTA,
the site.” lation and customer service, with room to archived in the event a mistake is made, or making the security guard nearly obsolete.
The cameras detect motion. When the grow. The system is able to replace security the recipient picks up the wrong package. With new services hitting the market, it
alarm is activated on the site, an employee guards in almost any setting. As word spreads about UCIT Online and won’t be long until this system is in every
begins watching live. The minute they see a Apart from superior results, UCIT On- their highly efficient, cost effective security major Ontario city, keeping everything, and
crime in progress, for example, someone line is successful because it is less costly and video surveillance system, the company everyone, secure.
stopping to load up some extra materials than hiring guards. Depending on the site,
lying around, the police are called. The they tend to be between 25 and 50 per cent
company is able to provide the authorities less expensive than hiring security guards.
with vital information such as the license There are no upfront fees to install the UCIT
plate number, description of the vehicle, and Online system. All equipment belongs to the
description of the suspect. Because it is con- company, and is installed by the company.
sidered a verified crime in progress, it gets Clients only pay the monthly security fee,
top priority from the police. which allows for a smooth transition from
“We have very fast police response guards to the UCIT Online system.
times.” “If anything breaks, we fix it immedi-
One of the primary reasons insurance ately,” Sommer said. “We keep the system
companies insist on the use of security up and running 24/7.”
guards is to report fires. The companies are Recently, Sommer added a new program
more concerned about a site burning down to the company’s services.
than material being stolen, Sommer said. The Remote Concierge Service targets
His system, however, also protects against the condominium and apartment market, he
fires. said. It automates various tasks normally
The cameras detect changes in lighting saved for a doorman, including opening and
conditions, so fires can be detected at an closing doors, accepting and sending pack-
early stage. Once again, a monitoring centre ages, and doing live video guard tours of the
employee will immediately call the author- property for security purposes.
ities, and a fire team is dispatched to the site. “The biggest problem with taking the
“Our system right now is the only sys- man out of the condo is that he usually ac-
tem approved by the major insurance com- cepts packages,” Sommer said. “FedEx,
panies to replace a guard on site.” UPS and Purolator love the system because
Before the insurance companies would so many times they have to take packages
approve the system, UCIT Online had to back because someone didn’t answer the
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