The Football Association of Wales (FAW) and Cardiff City FC have both enhanced the fire and safety systems at their head offices thanks to Plexus FS.
The two football organisations share the same building within the Hensol Estate just outside Cardiff, which is also home to The Vale Resort and Spa, and in 2020, Plexus commenced a project to overhaul the existing systems.
“Cardiff City have been clients of ours for over five years,” said CCTV specialist Chris Thomas, “and when both organisations decided to upgrade the systems, they called us in to look at the project.”
Alongside new high-resolution IP CCTV cameras, the Plexus team also reviewed the fire safety requirements of the building and, led by Chris Thomas and James Watts, the Plexus team designed a bespoke system covering both CCTV and fire safety.
“As we cover all aspects of fire and security, we were able to propose a solution that not only met the needs of both organisations, but we were able to install the systems with minimal disruption as our engineers could work side-by-side on this project,” explained James.
With a fire safety solution that included over 100 devices across a 3-Loop system all linked to the local fire station for rapid response, as well as multiple CCTV cameras covering carparks, training pitches and other external sites, the project was comprehensive.
“We specialise in integrated fire and security solutions,” said Chris, “so we were best placed to respond to the needs of the FAW and Cardiff City, and were able to turn the project around quickly.”
Also included in the project was a state-of-the-art access control system that uses facial recognition to give specific players and staff access to certain parts of the facility without them having to carry an access card.
In addition to facial recognition, the system also allows security staff to issue access cards to visitors that restrict where they can access and when, as Chris explained:
“Confidentiality is key to both organisations, so we installed a “zoned” access system whereby security can specify which areas in the building an individual can access and during what time periods, so the card will stop working at a set time, preventing the person from staying onsite longer than permitted.”
