Tag: health and safety

Car dealer is spending 70K on security guards

Cost savings. Are they realistic?

We have talked about integrating various systems together without actually giving any real examples so below is one that integrated CCTV came across late last year and the solutions we provided.

The scenario

A large car dealer is currently spending nearly £70k per annum on a manned security guard to look after their site 365 days a year. Although the guarding company is doing a fairly good job, a risk assessment has proved that in the case of a break- in the chance of him being in the right place at the right time is slim. Therefore the company in question has concluded that it needs to source a far more cost effective method to secure the site.

Where can the cables go?

The site is 30,000 square meters and has no real secure fencing, anyone can enter the site at will and they have millions of pounds worth of stock on show. Due to the lack of fencing there are no real cable routes and also no fixing points for sensors on the perimeter and the whole site is block paved and this leaves no opportunity to trench or put up many poles.

The solution… Integrated security!

We concluded that a radical solution was required. One that used cutting edge technology together with an effective visual and audible deterrent, We also need to effect a manned response to a genuine alarm situation but not scare off any genuine customers viewing cars up to a certain time in the evening.

To add to our problems as mentioned before there was very limited scope to fix poles and run cables so sensors and fixed beams had to be ruled out. There was only one realistic answer left and this was to use analytics to generate alarms.

Light levels

The light levels were good and we decided to recommend a mixture of IP, wireless and traditional analogue cameras together with analytics to get the ultimate system and bring it in within budget.

The cameras on the building are wired in a traditional way, coax back to a standard codec to produce the analytics, then onto a hybrid DVR that was connected via broadband to a remote monitoring station. The IP cameras on the perimeter are to be  fixed  onto just two poles and linked via a wireless IP transmitter back to the hybrid dvr.

Controlling alarms

Sitting in between this was a control panel used to process alarms, generate on site verbal deterrent and sounders designed to remove unauthorised intruders. If this failed then the system was designed to call out the manned response but only as a final measure again helping to keep on going costs to a minimum.

Analytics

The use of analytics to generate the alarms however was the key to this working. Only in very recent times have we been able to use them effectively outside and in limited lighting conditions. This type of alarm generation will soon supersede traditional sensor technology and can only get better and better as large cooperation’s begin to invest heavily in analytics.

Conclusion

In conclusion the recommendations mean the car dealer now has the opportunity to lower security costs and will start to see savings filter through after 18 months or so. He has a system that is future proofed for at least the next 5 years and beyond. He has eyes all over the site 24/7/365 and as well as better security he has also got a sales tool and a health and safety watchdog as well as a deterrent system. Quite a few benefits for a great deal less money.

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.