Littleton Public Schools (LPS), in Colorado, continue to roll out new cameras and 3xLOGIC hybrid NVRs as they move toward their ambitious goal of creating a district-wide, comprehensive Physical Security Information Management (PSIM) system. Upon completion, the new system will oversee and coordinate security for approximately 15,000 students and staff at LPS’ 28 school and administrative buildings.

“Our overall goal is pretty simple,” said Guy Grace, LPS director of security & emergency preparedness. “We must have quality technology delivering quality results, because we cannot have a successful educational experience without safety and security taken care of, and taken care of well.”

In late 2012, Grace came to an important conclusion: “I was so frustrated with our DVRs that we’d been installing since the last bond issue approval. At first, they were meeting our needs, but over time the supplier started eliminating basic functions we needed. It was making our jobs harder than they needed to be.”

Around this time, Grace was introduced to 3xLOGIC at a tradeshow. “I found out the company was local and I decided to learn more.” A few months later, LPS had a bond referendum. “We selected 3xLOGIC as a vendor for that bond issue, and in early 2013, we began purchasing NVRs and cameras,” Grace said. “What I really liked was the hybrid NVR allowed me to incorporate existing analog cameras and add new IP cameras whenever I wanted. This is a life saver, because I can eliminate older tech and migrate to IP at my pace. This also allows us to have compatibility across all our schools, and that’s crucial.”

In December 2013, LPS suffered a fatal shooting at their Arapahoe High School. “The shooting caused us to expedite everything and 3xLOGIC responded well to our sped-up timeline,” Grace said.

After the initial installation projects, LPS adopted 3xLOGIC NVRs at other school locations. As DVRs failed, they replaced them with 3xLOGIC. After another recent bond issue provided him with more budget, Grace moved to convert nine more schools to PoE. “I’ve got 29 miles between all of our buildings, so the cameras are our extra eyes. If you don’t have those extra eyes, you’ll have to count on luck to see all the things you’ve got to be able to control. All I can say is it’s been very positive from the get go.”

Once the entire project is fully completed LPS will have a total 1400 cameras, of which 780 are now installed. Grace expects the mix to be about one-third IP and two-thirds analog initially and a full migration to HD IP cameras sometime in 2017.

“A full-fledged PSIM system is our end goal,” Grace said. “We can bring a variety of systems that are non-proprietary — access control, VMS, fire detection, perimeter, mass notification, barrier protection/detection, and diagnostic systems — all together into one unified system. Technology has my back.”