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Chairman of Kingswood’s Security subcommittee, Fielies Nieuwoudt, furnished The BUZZard with the freshest stats on impact factors, and the latest news regarding continued initiatives to enhance resident safety.
Daily data captured in monthly reports
‘What’s new?’ was our question to Fielies Nieuwoudt when sitting down to exchange info for this edition of The BUZZard. His response had rather a few addenda – suffice it to say, Kingswood’s entire security system is now successfully digitised, allowing for a minimum of human error. ‘We’re making the most of technology, since security is a moving target,’ he says.
The Security subcommittee’s work is recorded meticulously in a monthly report distributed among role-players before they gather to discuss the past month’s progress and possible challenges. Fielies had the February edition of this important doc on the table to demonstrate the task at hand. ‘These monthly meetings give everyone a chance to contribute. The estate is represented by CEO Willem Jacobs and data are provided by maintenance manager Mornay Stoop, with Fidelity site manager Pieter van der Walt attending on behalf of security personnel.
‘Information is received daily and processed by security coordinator Caron Manchest. Data typically include info such as which camera captured unwanted traffic, or the frequency of alarms going off, as well as facts and figures on traffic at access gates, equipment used, and incident reports. Finally, this information is shared with our trustees – we have to show how our budget is being sensibly spent.’
Smile for the camera
First up, when perusing graphics contained on the early pages of this monthly KGE security tome, it’s telling that ‘all the yellow bits’ are provided with camera equipment, these points covering a vast portion of the estate’s 9.6km perimeter. Also indicated in bright colours are kiosks reticulated with power and fibre cable, and data communication points that lead to the server room located alongside the contractors’ gate, to which it’s connected with Wi-Fi equipment and network cables.
‘The fibre currently installed measures 2,734 metres and enables camera coverage of an area spanning 2,621 metres,’ explains Fielies. He reminds that the security team is also in charge of all points where access is managed: four homeowners’ gates, the contractors’ gate and one connecting gate to George Golf Course, all of which are furnished with multiple cameras.
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‘We worked all December to perfect and refine this plan, keeping in mind the estate’s non-homogeneous exterior – rivers, neighbourhood streets, green belts and more. ‘When considering cameras on the fence bordering the golf park, for instance, we have to respect those residents’ privacy.’ He adds that, although all cameras are mapped, it’s not in the interest of good security practice to divulge their exact locations.
KGE currently comprises 763 stands, on 630 of which building has been concluded. The gatehouse and new clubhouse/community centre now under construction form part of the estate’s fixed built facets.
‘The reality is that Kingswood Estate covers 220 hectares and therein exists the challenge of safeguarding the entire area, its borders and surrounds. This includes the Outeniqua Research Farm; roads comprising Plattner Boulevard, Airway Road, Meent Street and Barkhuizen Drive; links with Fancourt and George golf courses; green belts and other bushy areas.’
On equipment and other staggering stats
Figures pertaining to electrical wiring and CCTV cameras on site are as follows:
• Gate 1 – 18 cameras
• Gate 2 – 12 cameras
• Gate 3 – 10 cameras
• Gate 4 – 18 cameras
• Contractors’ gate – 9 cameras
• Perimeter – 26 thermal cameras
• Inverters (gates and control room) – 6
• Inverters (fence) – 4
• Lithium batteries (fence) – 4
The current permanent perimeter fibre fence coverage comprises 400m at Phase 1 and 900m at Phase 2, while the mobile Smurf security camera covers a radius of about 300m of the area in which it’s strategically placed. Tools that assist KGE’s human security crew are countless, including everything from a base radio to handheld radios, torches, batons and mobile phones. The control room is manned by Fidelity staff – the company currently fulfilling its five-year contract – on a 24/7 surveillance basis.
The site manager, supervisors, controllers, and guards are equipped with paintball guns, body cameras and handcuffs, a four-wheel drive vehicle, a motorbike and a golf cart, as well as a drone, tablets and scanners. Access control is virtually managed by Gallagher, which operates via cellphone technology.
Counting feet
Numbers of homeowners and golf members accessing the estate via the Gallagher app hit a monthly total of 46,066 during January, while over 32,000 visitors entered via the My Estate Life app (MEL, i.e. those without Gallagher access).
Others categories entered for the month can be broken down as follows:
• Service providers and construction workers – 9,592
• Deliveries – 2,407
• Walk-ins through turnstiles (domestic and garden workers) – 21,536
This last category of foot traffic also gains access via facial recognition tech at the gate – and when witnessing this process first-hand, one clearly hears the face-bot saying ‘thank you’ after each scan. During January 2025, the average total of thank-yous was 1,025 per day!
The number of those registered on the Gallagher app currently stands at 2,176 users, with MEL users at 1,011 and those registered for facial recognition at the turnstiles counting 9,377. These stats paint a vivid picture of the vast task when considering daily and monthly access management at all of Kingswood’s entry points.
Single incident an inside job
There were no major issues to report in December, even in the context of increased seasonal visitors, and the only incident reported in January involved the theft of garden equipment that disappeared from outside a house in the first week of the year.
Fielies and his fellow subcommittee members are convinced that this was an inside job. ‘Take into account that trucks or vehicles leaving the property aren’t searched to check the content of each box. We urge residents to be vigilant. Remember that criminals are innovative and have lots of time on their hands!’
This brings us to the necessity of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) regarding access control at all entry points, which currently stand at 16 and pertain to the multitude of ways that various visitors should be dealt with.
‘A case in point is when someone enters the estate in an Uber, for example. The apt SOP in this instance is to grant access to the driver rather than via the resident’s phone app, thus allowing the driver to exit the estate again. Our training in this context is non-stop, to ensure that all security personnel remain on top of this ever- evolving environment.’
Note these numbers
‘The security control room remains in its temporary housing container, and will be resettled once the new clubhouse complex is completed and space in the gatehouse is repurposed for this control hub and other tenants,’ says Fielies. ‘Most importantly, the control room is operational 24/7 and the OmniVision staff will gradually be phased out.
When we’re one hundred per cent happy that our staff training is complete, we’ll be able to do without any outside personnel.’ Residents are urged to have these numbers handy to report suspicious behaviour, and remember that there is a panic button on the MEL app:
• Control room (landline): 087 537 9733; (mobile/ WhatsApp): 083 522 0731
• Gate 1: 044 874 6877
• Gate 2: 044 874 4797
• Gate 3: 044 874 4597
Please be sure to use these numbers for security matters only. Remember that a puppy irritating you with its yelping is an estate management rather than security issue. Fielies and his subcommittee colleagues urge residents to call these numbers for security- related issues only, and to consult the house rules when uncertain. ‘In case of a nuisance, please make sure your complaint gets to the right people,’ he says.
The luxury of troubleshooting
‘All that remains for this year is the addition of cameras and the digging of trenches. By the end of May or early June, we’ll have completed the expansion of fence cameras, as well as the fibre and electrical cables feeding it,’ according to Fielies.
‘So approved projects for 2025 are on track and all steps are being taken to secure Kingswood residents.
‘With no notable incidents to report, you can rest assured that nothing got over the fence or through our gates that we didn’t know about. We are now in a position to handle troubleshooting, since all systems are doing their job!’
