Month: February 2010

Insurance claim against security providers. Should you pay up?

You provide the security, there has been a loss . Who is to blame?

So the scenario is as follows. You are a CCTV installer and you provide images and alarms to a central station. The security system and CCTV camera have worked very well as part of an integrated system over the last few years but then there is a massive loss on site and all of a sudden the customer is screaming at you and wanting you, the CCTV supplier to pay up for his losses. A situation that could cause a lot of friction and bad feeling, but worse of all, the loss of a major contract and a very important customer.

A familiar story

It happens frequently and the blame more than often lies somewhere in the middle between the suppliers of the CCTV monitoring, the customer and the installer.

As installers the main protection when we have integrated systems against the accusations thrown at us are; the specification, the evidence held at the monitoring station and the CCTV camera footage.

Was the CCTV system set?

This may sound obvious but it is always the first question that must be asked. So many times during a post robbery investigation it turns out that the system is left unset, if this is established then the security providers need worry no further.

Was the coverage compromised by the customer?

This may again sound obvious but so often the customer may block coverage of the sensors  or CCTV cameras and so the system cannot possibly work properly. Generally reviewing the CCTV camera footage on the DVR will soon clear the installer if the customer is at fault.

Third party issues

What happens then if everything is on site but the receiving centre has not got the pictures?. Well is it the remote connection I.E telephone or broadband that has let the system down? The logs in the DVR should be able to prove if this is the case and will tell the installer again if any blame can be placed on him.

The central station

Finally of course we have central station operator error, This to needs to be eliminated because generally remote monitoring is sub-contracted to the central station by the installers. Ultimately the installer is still responsible for the central station’s actions. Once again proof will come from the recorded images held by the Central station, any voice recording they may keep and the central station log that will record all activity received.

Insurance

But really the whole thing is an insurance issue. CCTV companies cannot possibly factor in losses to the price they are able to charge for an installation. Surely this is why insurance companies are in business. Of course if the CCTV company is proven to have been negligent then this is something for the insurance companies to sort out through the loss adjusters at a later date.

In summary

So for customers and installers alike hopefully this bit of advice will raise enough questions at the point of sale and through out the company /customer relationship to realize that all parties have a part to play in ensuring that a CCTV system works effectively, every time.

Integrated IP intruder alarm solutions

Integrated IP intruder alarm solutions

This site is all about saving money. Sometimes you do have to spend a little to save a lot;  This is defiantly the case when dealing with intruder alarms on multiple sites.

A facility Manager’s utopia?

So how can IP and integrated security help here? Facility mangers will be very familiar with the pitfalls of dealing with multiple sites looked after by several different alarm companies.

Integrate , make things simple !

The hassle of dealing with different service departments and invoices can often be confusing. |Facility managers need one one point of contact in order to control their costs.

Monitoring

Another issue is monitoring. Your sites may use dualcom, Redcare, Redcare Gsm or digicom. For those people who have limited knowledge of how all these different technologies work can be a costly minefield.

So what is the solution ?  It’s quite simple, standardize.

Standardize

How does it work? You need to consider an IP communication platform to signal alarms to the central station and a central PC within your own organisation for administration of codes and fault monitoring.

Upgrade to integrated security.

Firstly you will need to change the control panel on  all your sites. This is going to cost money but some alarm companies may do this for a very good price in order to secure your long term business.  Secondly by using an IP platform such as Emizon you will find some very good savings to be made on your annual monitoring costs. Typically £150 per site per annum.

Networked

The alarm panels will also report to your server and can be networked so that you the facility manager will know what is happening with each panel.  This takes the need away to rely on a service engineers report and invariably the charges that will accompany this call out. The software is simple to master and gives back control to the end user.

So by integrating all your sites together,  long term savings will be inevitable.

Please feel free to contact us for more detail.

10 reasons to use an integrated CCTV system

1. By integrating old analogue cameras and new IP cameras together with a digital recording solutions, you can start to progress towards a full IP security solution but still maintain existing legacy equipment on your site.

2. You can access your cameras from local PCs on your LAN

3. You can access your cameras from a remote location via the Internet.

4. You can record digital images and benefit from all the flexibility that provides.

5. You can have cameras added to the system in places that have previously been impossible using traditional analogue CCTV.

6. You do not need to provide mains power at the camera position, as you can use power over Ethernet instead.

7. IP  cameras can be adjusted through the network , such things as focus and iris settings can be changed without having to get to the camera.

8. IP cameras  often prove cheaper to install because install times are cut because we are able to use the existing network.

9. IP CCTV is future proofed so when the existing analogue cameras that have been integrated together with your new IP cameras begin to fail, they can be replaced with the IP version.

10. As time goes on IP cameras will become cheaper than analogue making on going growth and maintenance more cost efficient.

What is an integrated security system?

Integration

An integrated system is generally one that will link together two or more different types of security on your site. These will generally be:

  • CCTV
  • REMOTE MONITORING
  • ACCESS CONTROL
  • INTRUDER ALARM
  • GATES AND BARRIERS
  • INTERCOM ENTRY SYSTEMS
  • NUMBERPLATE RECOGNITION SYSTEMS ..ANPR
  • FIRE ALARMS
  • TIME AND ATTENDANCE
  • PAYROLL

Benefits

Obviously once integrated, all the above systems together can give your organisation huge benefits. The information at your finger tips can help with many issues ranging from increased security, cost savings through staff streamlining and health and safety.

Many large organisations have compatible systems in many different locations linked together on networks across the world.

The scale of these systems is highly flexible however and they are designed so no job is either too big or too small.

Staff Watch

Are your staff safe at work ?

As an employer you have a duty of care to ensure your staff are always safe. This is about to become more simple with the use of networked CCTV using  IP cameras.

Man down alarm

Important changes are happening within the work place that mean loan workers have a right to protection, up until now this involved expensive solutions that made protecting staff difficult and in some cases two people just to do one job was often the only solution.

Monitor Staff

Now however we can use modified legacy CCTV cameras or new IP cameras to to literally constantly watch your staff in lone worker situations. A simple network point in the lone worker area can now be used to connect an IP camera onto a company network to observe a working situation and with specialised intervention from companies such as Sitexorbis using mobile phone technology a solution is now available.

Staff monitoring , How does it work ?

If you have a man down , It’s a double barrelled solution.We can use the camera analytics to monitor both a fall and a motionless person and raise an alarm. We can use two way audio to speak to him if he is conscious and organise an appropriate response. If we are unable to rouse him then obviously an emergency response is required.

Allow the employee to raise the alarm

We also need to give the employee himself the ability to raise an alarm and this can be done by using his mobile phone. By using a  pre-programmed key on his mobile phone keypad he will be patched directly to a central station who can listen in and the co-ordinate a response dependent on what they can hear, ultimately someone will almost certainly be able to use the IP camera to remotely access the pictures from the scene this gives your lone worker a much better chance of survival in the case of an accident.

Summary

Health and safety is always a primary concern for all responsible employers.We can make it easy   to fulfill your responsibilities and in some cases even reduce overall costs by allowing lone working rather than having to put two men on every job.