By Jeff Storrs, Vertical Market Director – Banking & Financial Security, Johnson Controls

A banking institution with employees spread across 14 different Canadian offices was managing multiple leasing agreements with multiple property owners. To simplify building management and encourage collaboration, the bank built two new 45-story buildings to serve as its global headquarters with the capacity to bring 15,000 employees together. All that remained to complete a successful consolidation and ensure a safe, productive workplace was to install a top-of-the-line security system.

Finding a personalized solution for the optimal employee experience

To guarantee a completely customized integration of solutions, Johnson Controls experts built a model workplace to perform various tests. By using a floor from an existing property to pilot the solutions’ functionality and how employees would receive them, Johnson Controls strategically tested security solutions to confirm the perfect fit.

That ideal solution included fully connected access control and video solutions, integrated with the Genetec Synergis platform for optimal connectivity. The Johnson Controls team installed access IP cameras equipped with various viewing angles, including horizontal view and corridor mode. This provides peak security for employees, capturing video in places with a traditionally limited field of view. Additionally, multi-purpose intercom solutions were installed for making routine announcements or as a component of emergency notification. Designed to provide audio clarity and prevent feedback in the most diverse and demanding environments, this solution will cut through the noise of the bank’s bustling headquarters.

Benefits beyond security

With their new high-tech security system, the company is on track to save roughly $500,000 in IT spending over the next five years. In addition to promising a more secure, and overall better, work experience for its 15,000 current employees as they transition into a new facility, the company will also be able to attract top talent through enhanced security measures. Johnson Controls fostered a relationship with the bank throughout the duration of the project, and as a result the team was asked to be involved in future global products to ensure the best results.

Learn more about how Johnson Controls is improving facility security across North America and beyond.