Integration News
Dominion Nickel Alloys deploys 3xLOGIC thermal and HD cameras

Dominion Nickel Alloys Ltd. is a scrap metal recycling facility that specializes in the purchasing, sorting, processing and marketing of a range of high temperature and special nickel-based alloys.

Dominion’s operations are based at an approximately 20-acre facility where different merchants bring in high-value scrap metal for processing. Trucks entering the facility first have their cargo weighed at the entrance before depositing their load at a specified location in the yard.

Sonitrol Canada took over Dominion Nickel’s security in 2005. The surveillance technology initially installed was triggered by outdoor motion sensors that activated a PTZ camera for verification.

The new 3xLOGIC thermal technology was an upgrade intended to eliminate the challenges from outdoor motion sensor technology, the company says. These challenges were primarily high false alarm levels and limited detection range.

“They were having a very high incidence of false alarms. False alarms can cause ‘alarm fatigue’ and eventually apathy at so many non-events. The biggest risk for Dominion is someone making it into the yard undetected and making off with tens, even hundreds of thousands of dollars of metal,” said Ed Bodbyl of Sonitrol Canada.

Bodbyl and his team designed a video surveillance system for Dominion comprised of 14 3xLOGIC thermal cameras, each paired with a 3xLOGIC HD 3MP bullet camera for verification. The yard is covered with this deployment, offering HD images during the day and 36-degree thermal images at night, backed by HD video.

Since installation in January 2018, Domion has experienced no incidents of theft. Camera views are monitored by the Sonitrol central station and the operator will take action on alarm to either summon a private guard service or request that law enforcement be dispatched to the scene.

Cameras record to 3xLOGIC V5000 NVR located on site. Camera views are dictated by what areas need to be monitored for intrusion detection, and the end user has access to these camera views for operational use and incident review.

“With this camera technology and the Sonitrol monitoring, our security is seamless to me. It takes the worry away, I’m not concerned about what is going on in the yard, Sonitrol takes care of that for us,” said Howie Fleisher, vice president, Dominion Nickel. “The new thermals give us the images we need, the HD cameras function very well in low light. With the old system, we had too many false alarms and after a while operators become immune to responding to so many false alarms.”