Tag: legacy equipment

Car Dealership CCTV Remote Monitoring

Manned guard v CCTV

Fraught with pitfalls, remote monitoring of car dealerships has long been debated as to its cost effectiveness. However the cost comparisons against damage and loss always seem to add up in favour of a CCTV solution. For instance it can cost as little as £4000 per annum to monitor a reasonable size car forecourt and its associated compound . An on site security guard could cost as much as £50,000 p.a to provide the same service .

Cost of CCTV

Of course you have the capital cost of the CCTV equipment , certainly not a small investment by any stretch of the imagination. However once you have taken that step you will always  have a security infrastructure and this should never be underestimated . Its pure visual presence will always be a deterrent. Certainly better that a sleeping security guard when it comes to putting off the criminal. In  fairness what can a security guard actually do without the help of  CCTV? Without some kind of camera network he does not have the tools to look after the premises, after all he cannot be looking in all directions at the same the time. So you may as well get that CCTV remotely monitored.

Manned guarding , the choice

The problems of Manned guarding  can be summed up as follows. He can be taken out , bribed or even asleep and most incidents that occur when a guard is on site are “never Seen”. We would however never disregard the benefits of a guard on site but would have to point out that guards tend to be employed retrospectively in response to a specific incident that has occurred on a site rather than as a long term permanent solution.

The Integrated CCTV solution

Now broadband is a feature that most garages and car dealers possess  there is no longer the need for ISDN lines to transmit pictures to your central station . CCTV integrated to hybrid DVR’s that can easily transmit to the control centre and once criminal activity is confirmed by a remote central station operator then a guard response can easily be co ordinated to ensure any crime is stopped at a minimal cost to the car dealer. All sorts of camera  and integrated solutions are available .The Metal mickey and Predator camera range offer vandal proof solutions and Panasonic, or Honeywell IP external domes are another way forward. IP is almost always the best way forward now as it future proofs any solution the car dealer may wish to consider installing.

Use existing CCTV cameras.

However never rule out a hybrid solution, using legacy CCTV equipment integrated to codecs enables us to offer CCTV analytics and IP compatibility. The options now are endless and without doubt very much cheaper than a manned guarding solution. When you work out the cost over a 5 year period then expect to pay only 30% for an integrated CCTV security solution against manned guarding.

HD CCTV for quality images.

IP CCTV in the new HD format will give quality images that could only have been a pipe dream before and the Manned guard solution to site security will become a less and less common feature. The picture quality is stunning and a demonstration is a must to prove this.

Conclusion.

We have been through a period where car dealers, garden centres, scrap yards logistic companies and in fact any one who needs external security have had some good and bad experiences with remote monitoring. It has always been recognised as cheaper but not necessarily better. But now with the advent of broadband IP cameras and most importantly HD CCTV the balance is swinging very much in favour of the remotely monitored IP CCTV solution.



What is integrated

What is integrated ?

Why do we use the word and what does it mean when applied to the security industry?

Well the official definition from our on line friends at wikipedia says INTEGRATED:” combining or coordinating separate elements so as to provide a harmonious, interrelated whole”.

When you read it like this it is obvious it means joining together the three main security sectors, Intruder alarms, CCTV, and Access control.

Up until recently all these 3 disciplines were kept very separate even to the point where there were CCTV companies that would not touch intruders or access control, and access companies who had never thought to install a camera above the door they were securing and so on. This has all changed now of course and now as an industry we are kind of at the half way stage.

What do we mean by this ?

Well we have billions of pounds worth of old technology out there that could best be described as analogue equipment. Separate control panels and recorders doing separate jobs. Some of this equipment has been integrated in sometimes crude ways to get systems to talk to each other but cost generally dictates that legacy equipment must be used wherever possible during an upgrade. This means as systems get partially upgraded they are never truly integrated by original design. That’s what we mean by half way there.

The time however, is fast approaching were IP security equipment is now becoming cheap enough to consider the removal of legacy equipment and installing a fully integrated IP solution that can be designed and future proofed, giving the end user a perfect security solution, that although has been possible for years, has now become affordable.

Who would want a fully integrated system ?

Well any facility manager will tell you the nightmares that are involved when you have multiple installers of different security disciplines across many different sites. Sometimes just knowing who to call out when a bleeping sound is coming from somewhere in the building can create no end of problems and most major blue chips and many larger companies crave to bring all their security under the control of one supplier.

Single supplier solutions

One point of contact and one point of invoice to deal with. This creates enormous savings, however you still have the issue with multiple sites and who administers them all.

By integrating all UK or even Worldwide sites together under one IP security solution, you get one installer with one administrator and one servicing cost and this really is utopia for any hard pressed facility manager. Further more it is infinitely cheaper, AS LONG AS YOU CHOOSE THE RIGHT COMPANY AND THE RIGHT PRODUCT FIRST TIME of course.

This is where larger companies need proper advice and tried and tested security solutions that have already established themselves as rock solid in the market place.

Is IP for everyone ?

But is an integrated security system just for the blue chips? Fortunately not. There are lots of IP solutions for the one man band and small to medium sizes organizations. Quite simply put, once your old system has reached the end of its natural life, IP is the only way forward. Eventually analogue security solutions will become a thing of the past and probably in the not to distant future.