Security and fire management in Africa

Cosmo Moyo of Dynamic Security Technology Ltd highlights the emergence of the electronic security and fire management industry in Africa.

“Coming to CCTV monitoring and video surveillance we also find that the situational requirements determine the solution”
-Cosmo Moyo

Tell us about Dynamic Security Technologies Ltd the company.
Cosmo Moyo. Dynamic is a privately owned Tanzanian / South African company with a joint venture in Equatorial Guinea and a representative in Nigeria. The company specializes in the installation and services of electronic security and fire management products.

What are the products and services that the company specialises in?
CM. Our core products are Access Control Systems, automatic fire extinguishing systems, video surveillance and CCTV monitoring systems. Access Control Systems is a wide and varied field but to simplify it we should answer two questions. Firstly we should ask what entrance needs to be accessed, the answer to this will determine the barrier applicable to the solution e.g. gate, turnstile, traffic boom etc. Secondly, we should ask what kind of technology will operate the barrier? Is it the Biometric finger reader, a remote control, loop detection, proximity tag etc.

Dynamic has a variety of barriers such as motorised automatic gates, traffic booms, turnstiles and doors. These barriers may be operated or controlled by biometric finger readers, proximity tags, remote controls or swipe cards depending on the requirements of the client. However it should be noted that the Biometric is gaining popularity because of its fraud proof characteristics. Further more these Access Control Systems may come as simple stand-alone systems or sophisticated IT intergrated systems with time barring and entrance barring capabilities. These are solutions to monitor who enters where and when and are a perfect tool for workers clocking in and out of work.

Coming to CCTV monitoring and video surveillance we also find that the situational requirements determine the solution. We have simple stand-alone systems for up-market residences, small shops etc and we also get advanced internet protocol based systems with remote viewing, zooming capabilities and multiple monitoring points. Mines, airports, power generation plants and large corporations are but some of the entities employing these state of the art video monitoring systems. Video monitoring has also been developed as a fire smoke detector.

Our other major product is the automatic fire detection and extinguish systems using anti-combustion gases. We install these in premises where water sprinklers can't be used. These premises include computer server rooms, power generation control rooms, telecoms control rooms and dragline engines.

Please not that halogen gas has been outlawed and replaced with FM200, which is environmental and human friendly.

Earlier you briefly touched on the video smoke detectors, may you please tell us more about this product.
CM. Well, the automatic fire extinguishing system is a good conventional product, at least in its detection aspects. But good is not good enough in a world of excellence.

It should be noted that the ionization detection process takes a little longer and is hardly applicable in very large warehouses let alone wide open high risk areas. How do we monitor and detect fire in petroleum depots, petrochemical plants and lumber yards?

The video smoke detector turns to solve all these challenges, by detecting fire at its very inception. It records the sequence of events so that engineers may later study and prevent the cause of that fire in future. It also acts as a security camera. The video smoke detector is a must for all new fire detection installations and a great compliment to be added on existing installations.

It looks like your organisation covers a substantial area in the security and fire management industries. Can you tell us who your target markets are?
CM. The African economic growth is fuelled by resources, telecoms, power generation, banking and oil and gas companies. So it is natural for us to follow developments in these industries and claim our share of the action. Some of our products such as the automatic remote controlled gates are targeted at executive up market residences and embassies. Dynamic is also registered by the South African Police Service as its security service supplier and adviser.

What other peripheral products do you offer?
CM. We sometimes get request for full body scanners from airports and mines. I am glad to say we have proven products in this field. We also do electric fencing and perimeter intrusion beam detectors.

Cosmo Moyo is Managing Director for Dynamic Security Technology Limited. Moyo went into the Electronic Security business in 1995. Dynamic Security Technologies Ltd initially specialized in automatic remote controlled gate and later diversified to include electronic and fire security systems. A former locomotive engineering technician, Moyo is studying for an MBA, and currently lives in Cape Town with his family.

For any projects in Africa, Dynamic invites you to call on them on the following details:

www.dynamicafrika.com

Email:

sales@dynamicafrika.com
info@dynamicafrika.com
dynamic40zw@yahoo.com

Telephone:

RSA: +27 72 4381 857 (for all international enquiries)
Tanzania: +255 713 608 999
Equatorial Guinea: +240 27 40 12
Nigeria: +234 80 358 68145