Garden centre CCTV

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Integrated CCTV in garden centres.

Garden centres are notoriously difficult to protect. They are generally sited out of town and as a rule tend to back onto country side. As a result lighting is pretty much non existent and boundaries are easily accessible. Add to this the nature of the stock, easily moved, easily sold and generally quite expensive.

Lots of work  going to waste.

Some of the stock can take many months or years to reach a maturity where it can be sold so is very difficult to replace. A major break in at a garden centre especially externally can be a substantial setback to the business. So historically what type of security measures has the industry taken? Well in truth probably less than most businesses that store the majority of their value externally.

CCTV security in garden centres.

CCTV Cameras have always had a duel purpose within garden centres, they act as a deterrent for shoplifters during the day and give added security at night when being used for monitored CCTV. But what about lighting and how do false alarms affect the system on those hot summer evenings after the site is closes? You have plants and trees blowing about in front of the sensors sending an untenable amount of activations through to the central station. To be honest none of these issues have ever really been solved properly. Now however there is a product that will work in all situations and it is starting to become an affordable solution.

FLIR thermal CCTV cameras.

FLIR thermal CCTV cameras can now solve the problems of lighting and false alarms when combined with intelligent analytic technology. Now its not cheap but when you consider the on going cost of lighting, increasing light pollution issues and the reliability which means false alarms are essentially eliminated then it does become an attractive prospect. FLIR are confident that within 3-5 years prices will compete easily with high end spec analogue cameras and also the prices of HD and mega pixel IP camera solutions.

Conclusion.

So in conclusion security will always be required at garden centres and now after many years of false dawns a real security solution is on the horizon that  could be both affordable, reliable and stable.

New Euro 46 from Castle Care-Tec

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New intruder panel.

Castle Care-tec are upgrading the base euro 1 panel currently known as the Euro 1024 and renaming all there current panel range in the process. This change will come into place on April 1st 2010 and they will also update the in-sight remote connection software to enhance connection speed and functionality.

Flexible.

Expandability is not a feature of the new euro 46, but the extra benefits the new panel has should prevent the need for upgrading most systems. The Euro 1 Plus will now be re-badged as the Euro76. The Euro 76 is the same as the original Euro One Plus this does allow flexibility to add additional zones and can be expanded as before.

New features.

Below we list some features and understand that the dual-com will now fit inside the redesigned panel layout.

Euro 46 (Grade 2 and 3) v Euro 1024 (Grade 2)

The Euro 1024 can only be used as a Grade 2 security solution where as the new Euro 46 has the flexibility to commissioned as grade 2 or 3.

The Euro 1024 has 28 inputs the end of line resistors are restricted to 4k7 / 2k2 , DEOL or SEOL.

The Euro 46 has 46 inputs (thus the name)  True Double Pole wiring can be configured or DEOL wiring, however both can be integrated together should there be the requirement euro 46 also supports SEOL resistors. 4k7 / 2k2, 1k /1k and 6k8 / 4k7. are the selective resistor values that can be used•

The Euro 1024 only has 4 part set modes this can be limiting at times.

The Euro 46 actually has 6 separate areas that can be individually configured.•

The Euro 1024is limited to 20 codes whether they be manager or user.

The Euro 46 has the added value of 75 codes that can be programmed as manager or user.

The Euro 1024 is limited to the use of 4 keypads across the whole system.

The Euro 46 now has the ability to support up to six separate keypads on the system.

The Euro 1024 has one size box and this is a large enclosure.

The Euro 46 has two different size enclosures so you can choose depending on needs and space available to fit the panel.

An additional feature of the  Euro 46 is that it has a Switch Mode PSU this a is cool running process that ensures battery life is prolonged.

Integrated Door Entry Control and integrated Access Control are part of the standard set up and the panel supports remote maintenance better known as ARM.

Integrated with CCTV solutions the logging features complies with a policed monitored CCTV system and is easily tested and commissioned using the on board forced walk test facility.

Conclusion

Castle have thought long and hard about this panel panel and the new features allow it to fit into a market place dominated by small to medium size installations. The flexibility of this panel means that with the right marketing and trouble free from any un-found bugs we predict a that this panel will be a winner.

Pet watch using the Cisco wireless-g PTZ internet video camera

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An IP camera that is easy to install.

The Cisco WVC210 PTZ camera is the ideal tool to watch your pets at home while you are working or away from the house . Because the camera has both two way audio and the ability to be controlled remotely it makes the task of viewing and listening a very easy one. This IP camera is affordable and easy to use. Simple installation means that people with just a moderate amount of IT knowledge can install this IP solution.

IP CCTV. Who is to blame when it fails?

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Who takes the wrap when the network goes down?

It seems a fairly simple question. A break -in has occurred, there is a very large loss and someone needs to pay up. Well of course it must be the installer who is to blame? Perhaps in the old days of analogue CCTV systems it generally was and often quite easy to prove that this was the case.

Integrated IP solutions means things are different now.

IP security solutions mean that by the very nature of the product there are lots of different technologies integrated into one holistic solution. We now have an installers cameras going onto to a customers network , linked to a router (sometimes wireless) connected to an unmonitored broadband connection. Then we send the data through countless different routes in the Internet cloud, to be finally viewed by a third party monitoring station. Lots to go awry i would suggest and no real way of finding out who is to blame when things go wrong.

Emizon IP monitoring.

The very first thing that installers should insist upon is that the broadband line is properly monitored and Emizon offers that solution. It gives the peace of mind to the installer and the customer that should the broadband line fail for any reason the key holders will be called . In addition it gives the installer the ability following an incident to check that the line was intact at the time.

Third party remote connection.

It is also crucial that the installer has the ability to remotely connect to the customers site at all times. Most DVR’s and VMS software gives a comprehensive log of how the customers network is responding and will also record if any cameras have failed and for what reason .

Logs at the central station.

Finally a central station should be used that offers both the customer and the installer complete transparency when it comes to viewing events stored at the monitoring centre. The best RVRC’s offer this service through a web browser and this can never be underestimated as a service when a dispute arises.

In summary.

With analytics becoming more popular in generating alarms and cameras becoming more powerful in the images they can provide, remote monitoring of  IP camera systems will be increasing. Failure however in picking up incidents will never go away but the best installers will ensure that with extensive testing during the commissioning process and service engineers who always fully test systems during routine maintenance will suffer far fewer incidents and far fewer cases of litigation against them.

Advice on choosing a CCTV installer

My advice to end users is choose your installer with care IT integrators may seem an attractive solution but there is no substitute for a professional CCTV installer.


integrated security system

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Integrated security solution

 In the future, high risk buildings and important events will require a radical security solution to ensure any threat and  unauthorised entry is reduced to an absolute minimum. Access control integrated to CCTV and then  linked to biometrics is something we should all be expecting to confront in the future.Registration and submission of personnel data including finger prints prior to attendance will be common place.

It can only be you!

 The whole integrated security solution gives an almost infallible confirmation that the person trying to gain access is indeed exactly who he /she says they are. This will become more and more important to be able to confirm as risks rise. Also however, as the technology gets more advanced and the speed of the system gets faster, this fairly restrictive access control solution actually becomes more palatable to the general public . Especially when at the end of the day it is the general public we are all trying to protect.

Terrorist threat

 It may sound like our liberties are being infringed upon and our patience very severely tested but with terrorists and criminals becoming more and more sophisticated pre -registration to gain access to many buildings and events will inevitably become  pre -requisite in the future. We have to learn to live with this and embrace the integrated security solutions that will hopefully  make all our lives safer.