MaktabiTech takes control of AV operations at the new PIF headquarters.
SOARING 385M ABOVE THE SURROUNDING CITYSCAPE, the PIF Tower is the centrepiece of the new financial plaza of the King Abdullah Financial District. Formerly known as CMA Tower, the iconic 80-level crystalline office tower is currently the tallest building in Riyadh and according to its owners is said to symbolise the beginning of a new era of global financial leadership within the Saudi capital…
“The PIF has very high standards and so we opted to work with Activu and Samsung to fulfill their requirements,” explains MaktabiTech technical director Khaled Al Sheikh…
“There’s an Activu DisplayNode server connected directly to the video controller that provides the output to the screens, and there’s also another server for system management. This system manager is the core of the solution. One server runs all three command centres at the same time and handles the registration of the users.”
MaktabiTech implemented Activu, a cutting-edge video management software to provide real-time situational awareness and facilitate swift decision-making inside the command centres.
The [Activu visability] software’s interface provides users with a comprehensive view of critical information. “On the software side, we’re running the Activu software platform for command centre management,” says Al Sheikh. “This was ideal as it can integrate with any IT software, such as those that the PIF uses. The IT department is streaming everything onto the data network and at the same time it is being encoded onto the displays; the system manager is doing all the management of the streams….”
“These operators can be inside the command centre itself, or anywhere else around the world… highlighting something on the display, or changing the layout of the canvas on the LCD screen without being inside the room itself”
MaktabiTech has provided licensing capabilities for the Activu solution for up to 100 users. “These operators can be inside the command centre itself, or anywhere else around the world,” Al Sheikh furthers. “They can operate the system remotely, for example, highlighting something on the display, or changing the layout of the canvas on the LCD screen without being inside the room itself. The configuration of the management system was quite complicated, but we got great assistance from Activu here in Saudi Arabia.”
With the goal of providing mission-critical information in the timeliest manner, the Activu solution has also been integrated with the Pyrotech Technical Consoles, which house RGB “status-alert” indicators. “If, for example, there is a red alert ticket raised on the system, the console will change colour to attract the operator’s attention,” notes Al Sheikh. This integration works both ways, and the console’s functionality, such as the ability to move the motorised desk up or down, change the colour of the LEDs or trigger the alarm on or off, can also be accessed directly from within the Activu interface.
With the rest of the building’s construction still an ongoing process, the two additional centres will be installed in the coming weeks. “The PIF is still building on a number of floors, so our solution is not quite fully integrated into the IT software at this point,” notes Al Sheikh. “However, our Activu server is live on the network, it’s online and we are just waiting for others to complete their interior finishing works. At this point, we’ll move onto the second and third command centres.”
[Al Sheikh concludes],“The success of this transformative AV integration project at the PIF wouldn’t have been possible without the collaborative efforts of our esteemed partners, whose commitment to quality craftsmanship ensured that the C&Cs have not only met but exceeded the highest standards of functionality and design.”