Before the Indigovision cameras were brought in, the Orlen Lietuva refinery had 256 analogue cameras across its huge operations. These were reaching capacity, and expansion was difficult, due to high cabling costs and distance constraints with older technology.

Indigovision’s local partner Euroelektronika suggested a solution: an IP solution that could help reach the remotest locations, allow more people to view video streams, and offer access to safety and procedural information as well as security.

Ninety of the original cameras have been reused by connecting to Indigovision encoders, along with 12 Indigovision 9000 PTZ dome cameras. The other existing cameras are still connected to the analogue network, and will be switched to IP over the course of the next five years. Without Indigovision’s open architecture, this hybrid solution involving close integration with the existing Orlen Lietuva systems would not have been possible.

The distributed architecture of Indigovision’s solution allowed the team to site NVRs closer to cameras in several areas, reducing the load on the network. Several remote sites, some over 100km away, including a railway station and an oil terminal, can now be monitored by Orlen Lietuva’s surveillance system.

Using ‘Control Center’, Indigovision’s video management software, operators view live and recorded video using workstations in five departments: security, process control and monitoring, logistics, fire safety and administration. Recorded video from several cameras can be viewed on the same viewing window and can be time synchronised.

These operators are using the IP video network for more than surveillance: they can also check the positioning of valves, and any leakages from pipes, as well as monitoring how well staff and contractors follow safety procedures.

Activity controlled framerate (ACF) on all Indigovision cameras dramatically reduces overall network traffic. ACF controls the framerate of the video stream based on the amount of motion in the scene. When there is no activity, video is streamed at minimal framerate; the instant any motion is detected, video is simultaneously transmitted at maximum configured framerate.

Bronius Balciunas, Director of Security and Corporate Control for Orlen Lietuva refinery, stated “Indigovision’s IP video solution has transformed operations. We can cover remote areas that were previously out of reach, and give access to the video to any operator who needs it. The ability to monitor the position of valves and pipe leakage, and to check that staff follow safety procedures, saves us many man-hours and all at the click of the mouse. The overall installation costs were considerably reduced by the use of existing networks.”