Henry Bath

The Problem

Henry Bath has been storing and handling metals traded on the London Metal Exchange for over 220 years. They employ sophisticated stock control systems for accurate real-time reporting and, due to the rising value of metals and the resultant high-profile thefts, turned to Fortecho Solutions to create a state-of-the-art wireless security solution for metals in storage at various locations.

Business Challenge

• Wirelessly monitor hundreds of metal stacks in real time.
• Monitor access, asset movement and asset location.
• Ensure the wireless system operates in a harsh, outdoor, heavily metalised environment.
• Allow only pre-authorised movement of metals in and out of the site.
• Enable software monitoring locally in Rotterdam and centrally at Knightsbridge Guarding’s headquarters in London, UK.
• Allow ground staff to manage everything.
• Integrate the system with on-site CCTV cameras.
• Protect metals stored in open spaces before a warehouse is built around them.

The Solution

We worked closely with Henry Bath and Knightsbridge Guarding, their security operators, to create a cost-effective system with flexibility and integration at its core.

• A ruggedised IS-TGAKIN movement-sensing tag was fitted to the metal ingots at the top of each pile, detecting when one of the pieces in the pile is touched.
• Tag design was optimised for on-metal performance.
• Tags were also fitted to shipping containers that create a wall between the metals and the rest of the site. These must be moved to access the piles.
• RFID readers with a 150m range were installed in weather-sealed boxes on light rigs around the site, providing blanket coverage and asset triangulation.
• PCs loaded with Fortecho Industry, our RFID asset-tracking software, were installed at each location, offering real-time monitoring alongside local asset registration and control.
• The software interface with the CCTV system enables cameras to pan and zoom towards an asset if it is moved.

ROI

• Enhanced security for all assets before and after the warehouse is built around them.
• Real-time asset audits accessible from anywhere.
• Instant, precise location and object information.
• An electronic historical log of all alarms.
• Henry Bath avoids devastating losses while adding a unique selling point to its offering.