Seamless Transition to Symmetry SR System

With three hospitals, 15 clinics and 45 buildings, Cambridge Health Alliance was growing and needed to expand its existing legacy Casi Rusco security system which it had maxed out. Rather than completely rip out the legacy system, CHA upgraded the Symmetry™ SR System and Symmetry CompleteView Video Management system from AMAG Technology™. The SR system allows CHA to use its existing wiring infrastructure, enclosures, card readers and cards, which saves thousands of dollars. With 4,000 employees to transition, the upgrade needed to be seamless.

The Challenge

• Maxed out old system’s licenses
• 300 existing cameras used older analog technology
• Difficult to get service for failing security system
• Expensive to rip and replace, needed more affordable solution – 4,000 employees, three hospitals, 15 clinics and 45 buildings

The Solution

• Symmetry SR Solution allowed CHA to use existing wiring infrastructure, card readers and cards, saving thousands of dollars
• Plug and play controller boards provided a fast and smooth upgrade process
• Upgraded to Symmetry CompleteView Video Management System and converted over 120 cameras to IP in initial phase
• Easy to add more card readers and cameras as system expands

The Results

• Eliminated the expansion restriction, allowing for easy, cost effective scalability
• Seamless transition to new Symmetry SR system
• Service calls greatly reduced as new controllers, software and video system were integrated
• Symmetry Threat Level Manager provides the ability to lock down areas in emergency situations

The Symmetry SR System and Symmetry CompleteView Video Management System allowed CHA to deploy access control in areas where they could not otherwise due to their maxed out Casi Rusco system and provided expansive features to secure their patients, visitors and staff in today’s world. The robust reporting provides usable data to make better performance decisions. The user-friendly software made training the security staff easy. AMAG’s Professional Services Team assisted with the database conversion, as over 4,000 card holder records with photos migrated over to Symmetry, saving hundreds of hours of database conversion work.