Municipal infrastructure doesn’t fail politely.
Pump stations, electrical substations and service buildings are spread across large areas, often unmanned and frequently targeted. When security is inconsistent from site to site, the real problem isn’t only intrusion… it’s poor visibility, slow response times and systems that are difficult to manage once they’re live.
A municipality in the Western Cape faced this exact situation. They needed to secure pump and electrical substations, along with buildings housing various local government departments, across hundreds of locations throughout the Cape Peninsula. Just as importantly, everything needed to be monitored from a central control room.
This wasn’t about installing an alarm panel at a single site. It was about putting a long-term security framework in place… one that could grow, adapt and remain manageable over time.
THE CHALLENGE: Central oversight across hundreds of sites
The requirements were clear, but far from simple.
The municipality needed a system that could protect high-risk infrastructure, provide centralised monitoring, and support access control for authorised personnel across hundreds of locations. Each site had its own layout and risk profile, yet the overall solution had to remain consistent enough to be supported and expanded over time.
Like most municipal environments, the reality was that security requirements would not stay static. As infrastructure expanded and risks increased, the system would need to be upgraded and extended without starting from scratch.
THE SOLUTION: A scalable Paradox platform built for the long term
From the installer’s perspective, the focus was on getting the foundations right.
From our side, the biggest priority was consistency across sites, without locking the municipality into something that couldn’t grow later. We’ve worked on enough municipal projects to know that once a system is live, requirements change. Using the Paradox EVO192 gave us a commercial-grade platform that could be rolled out site by site, integrated into the control room environment, and then expanded or upgraded over time without having to start again.
The Paradox EVO192 was selected as the core panel for the deployment. Its commercial-grade capability made it well suited to protecting critical infrastructure.
Where access control was required, the system was integrated with Paradox ACM12 access control modules, allowing maintenance teams to gain authorised access without compromising overall site security. Detectors and IP communication devices were selected according to the needs of each location.
All sites were then integrated into the municipality’s existing control room monitoring software, providing operators with real-time visibility of system status across the entire footprint.
Why this approach works in municipal environments
Municipal security projects succeed or fail on structure, not just hardware.
By standardising on a single platform, the municipality avoided the complexity of managing multiple systems across different sites. This reduced training requirements, simplified maintenance and made future expansion far more practical.
Centralised monitoring meant that incidents could be identified and responded to quickly, without relying on site inspections or fragmented reporting. For maintenance teams, integrated access control provided a safer and more accountable way to work after hours, with clear rules around who could enter which sites and when.
THE RESULT: A system that grew with the municipality
Over time, the solution was implemented across hundreds of sites, upgraded as risks evolved, and expanded to support additional infrastructure and monitoring requirements. That ability to grow without disruption is what ultimately defined the success of the project.
Closing thoughts
This case study demonstrates how a Paradox solution, properly specified and implemented, can meet those demands, providing reliable protection today while remaining flexible enough for tomorrow.
Olitron stocks the full Paradox range and works closely with installers and system designers across a wide variety of applications.
If you need guidance on specifying the right Paradox solution for your environment, speak to the Olitron team.
You’re also welcome to visit Olitron’s Customer Experience Area at the Somerset West store, where you can view, test and compare the Paradox alongside other leading security products…all in one place.
