Tag: integrated systems

Staff Watch CCTV.

Not Big Brother

Watching over staff is not all about making sure they are doing their job. Under recent regulation it has become law that employer’s ensure that their staff are safe at work.

How can this be achieved?

IP cameras can provide a simple ,cost effective solution to ensure employers can meet their legal obligations and make sure their staff are safe at work ,especially when they are in a relatively isolated situation .

Examples of dangerous situations.

Shop workers.

security guards.

cashiers.

NHS staff.

receptionists.

The list goes on . All these people are exposed at times to public anger or frustration and this can put them in danger.

So how can they be protected?

Simple measures can be put in place to ensure they are able to communicate with the outside world should they feel exposed to danger. The panic button is an easy solution and very effective. IP cameras that are able to be Integrated to analytics can generate alarms and raise a response if required. The analytics can be programmed to generate alarms when they detect unusual movement such as a violent struggle or a person in area where they should not normally be.

The employer.

The bottom line is, the employer must care enough to protect his staff . With the advent of some very clever integrated CCTV systems, linked to audible devices that work on VOIP,  IP security solutions are  now available and these can now be linked to central stations in order to raise an alarm.

Conclusion.

Staffwatch, using IP CCTV will help to prevent attacks and ensure help can be raised if things do escalate. CCTV integrated to PA buttons and mobile pda solutions will definitely make sure staff are kept safer.

 

Biometrics, things are not as bad as they seem!

Are biometric readers the future?

This is a question that has recently been raised in the security community. After all biometrics have been around for a long time now and their impact in the market has been very limited indeed in integrated systems.

To many things to too many people.

For those who have looked closely at the subject the reason for this lack of  market penetration is simple, manufacturers are trying to do too much with the biometric reader. By trying to appeal to everyone and install too much functionality into each device the units have become cumbersome , over engineered and very expensive, literally pricing themselves out of the market.

Why has this happened with biometric readers?

The main reason is speed. To open the door quickly most readers incorporate a card reader or a key- code that must be entered first before the finger is presented, this is so that when the database makes a search for the fingerprint, it already knows where it is looking because the card or code will point the database to where it has to match the fingerprint. Fingerprints are complicated, if you had no card or key-code, a search of the whole database to match the exact print would leave someone standing outside the door for several seconds, hardly ideal.

Ergonomics

So we have slow expensive readers that quite frankly are unreliable and require two elements for them to work, its no wonder that something that has such promise has fallen so far into obscurity. Add to that the fact that many readers just don’t look the part and you even have the architects refusing to specify them in new build situations.

Externally quite frankly they have failed to perform in hostile conditions such as rain or snow and are badly effected by dust and grime.

So where do we go from here to sell the biometric reader?

The answer as far as we see it is integrated access control. The biometric reader needs to provide a more secure solution than the humble fob or card. It will need to look  good, be small and easy to fit to doors in place of existing card readers, be 100% read reliable and most importantly integrate directly into an existing access control system.

Does such a product exist?

We are sure it does but have yet to track it down. The ability for 100% read reliability is pretty much there and by decoding finger prints from an image into simple 1’s and o’s means that this information can be integrated into existing access control systems in the same way that a card or fob is read.  Get the cost to around £800-£950 installed and you have an extremely competitive product with all the benefits that Biometrics have always promised.

Summary

Partnership’s between some of the big suppliers of integrated security in the form of access control and the manufacturers who produce the biometric readers are inevitable. If a producer of the biometric reader can  overcome all of the problems we have highlighted above, incorporate a sleek and ip65 rated design and secure a partnership deal with an access control manufacturer, then the future of the biometric reader is very promising indeed.


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.