Securing one of London’s most impressive groundscrapers

Frontline Security Solutions is one of the leading security system integrators in the EMEA region and specialises in access control, CCTV, intruder, and intercom systems.

In 2015, Frontline was invited to tender for the security contract for one of London’s newest and biggest buildings. This impressive new 13-storey ‘groundscraper’ raised the bar for office and workplace design.

The challenge
As one of London’s newest construction projects, the building offered the client’s employees an exciting and ultra-modern place to work. It features four large trading floors and seven levels of offices, which can accommodate up to 3,000 desks, and boasts an impressive roof space with solar panels to utilise renewable energy. As well as protecting the building, the client also needed security for its business-critical assets, which included the thousands of people working there daily.

The solution
Following a competitive tender, Frontline was awarded the security contract and began to work collaboratively with the client to understand their security requirements fully. The building already had an existing security system, so Frontline designed a range of solutions that enhanced and improved the protection of the client’s building, assets, and people.

At the time, this building was London’s most impressive new building and required a strong team of engineers to complete the fit-out. Frontline’s solution was an integrated security package comprising access control, CCTV, intruder detection, and intercoms.

Frontline engineers installed over 400 card readers, 10 intercom points, over 200 cameras, and 24 single-entry turn styles in just 18 months so that the client could begin using their new premises.

The access control system enabled the client to manage efficient entry to the building. Each employee was given identification credentials and coupled with the single-entry turn styles, this meant that unauthorised personnel could only make it as far as the front door. The access control system was also installed across other areas of the building to protect high-value assets. The system was programmed to restrict access and only allow senior employees with the correct clearance to enter.

The result
The security infrastructure installed by Frontline provided a more suitable, varied, and flexible system. It increased security and allowed the client to maximise building efficiency, manage employee occupancy, implement capacity constraints when necessary), and drive more efficient ways of working. Following the successful fit-out, Frontline secured an ongoing maintenance agreement, which led to the security experts being awarded security contracts for the client’s other buildings across Europe.

More recently, in the summer of 2022, Frontline returned to London to refit some of the office space due to the client’s changing needs. Before the pandemic, approximately 8,000 people used the building daily. But since hybrid working has become much more common, that number has significantly dropped. Therefore, so has the client’s needs.