More than 750,000 people pass through Grand Central Terminal every day. In addition to operating 24/7 and being one of the most visited tourist attractions in the US, the terminal is a historic site with much of its structure over 150 years old. These factors presented challenges for the installation of a new video monitoring and services network.

“In our operations we serve 4,000 to 5,000 guests a day,” said Jens Baake, Head of Operations, Meyers USA. “For our business to stay profitable in a space like this, we must have very good systems in place.”

Baake explained that when it came to the video surveillance system for his operations, the key functional requirements include coverage for liability, theft control, and the ability to monitor daily operations with Point of Sale (POS) system integration.

To combine resources and minimize the physical footprint of the installation, systems integrator Chris Kossifos and the CK Technology team deployed a unified IP network to integrate and transport six distinct systems: Milestone Xprotect Corporate video surveillance software managing Axis network cameras, Micros Retail Systems POS terminals and printers, computers that access the internet, Wifi for guests and staff, digital signage and audio. Each service shares the bandwidth of a single network cable to each station, which was important because there was no space to run more.

“There's a lot of flexibility in the Milestone software for bandwidth customisation based on activity, motion, and time of day,” said Kossifos. “Xprotect is by far the easiest software to use and most reliable video management platform we have ever come across in our 20 years of deploying digital surveillance solutions.”

With the historic nature of the facility, the high-bandwidth multi-system requirements, and large user-base demands, this has been a challenging installation for many reasons.

“As we add new retail locations, bakeries, and commissaries, we are able to add cameras without having to build a larger VMS. We can just add cameras and have them record over our private network, back to our main server storage in New Jersey,” said Kossifos. “Milestone has been a fantastic partner in this project: their service and support have been great, and as far as the product is concerned, Milestone VMS is the best choice for our business.”