Technology is continually evolving to help us and enrich life in more ways than we’d ever thought possible. Whether it’s voice-activated virtual assistants or self-driving cars, it’s making us more informed, and our lives easier. In the field of security, it’s no different – technology is helping us be more secure and more safe.
One area where this is certainly true is video analytics. Using state-of-the-art cameras and powerful algorithms to detect people and vehicles, video analytics can help you in countless ways to make your business premises more secure and safe.
Here are 4 ways video analytics can benefit your business.
More coverage
Not restricted by the limitations of resource, video analytics can give you more coverage and help you carefully monitor your premises for intruders for longer and in further reaches of your organisation. If you have a very large site with an extensive perimeter, it can be challenging and expensive to effectively monitor and protect this area 24/7. With video analytics, you can set rules on your large perimeter to monitor relevant people of suspicious activity, no matter the time of day, year, or location on your premises. This means you’re much more likely to be able to detect and effectively respond to any incidents.
More flexibility
Traditional alarm or motion detection systems may tend to have a bit of an “all or nothing” approach – leading to false alarms and unnecessary call-outs. Configuring your video analytics to suit you can help you work seamlessly around the comings and goings of your business. For example if you often have employees working and leaving late into the night, but still want to monitor the perimeter, you can set up the algorithm to detect the direction of motion. This means you are alerted if a vehicle or person enters or tries to enter the premises, but anyone leaving doesn’t trigger the alert or alarm system.
Intruder detection isn’t the only way video analytics can give your security system more flexibility.
Item left behind or removed
Your video analytics can be programmed to learn which items should be within the scene and where – meaning if an object is removed, or one is left behind, you are alerted. The item removed algorithm can obviously be useful to prevent theft, but it can also be useful in life safety situations too – alerting you if a critical piece of equipment such a defibrillator or fire extinguisher is not where it should be. The item left behind algorithm is useful for identifying and alerting you to suspicious items which have been left on premises which could be dangerous.
Loitering
Loitering algorithms help you detect individuals who are acting suspiciously around entrances to your business which are not easily monitored by staff. This algorithm can be configured to ignore people who are moving and people who are stationary, but alert you to those who are remaining within in the scene but moving around (perhaps looking for an opportunity to try and enter). This further helps you prevent intruders to your business in areas where you might be more vulnerable.
Health and safety
Outside of the obvious benefits of being able to help you better detect potential intruders, video analytics can help your business operate more efficiently and safely. Video analytics can be used to detect employees in areas they shouldn’t be, or loitering in areas for long periods of times. For example, in a large warehouse or plant with dedicated walkways, you can be alerted if someone strays off the path. The technology can also be used in areas such as train station platforms or roofs of large buildings to alert you if someone is close to the edge – providing a potentially life-saving measure.
Reducing human error
Many organisations, no matter their size, choose to use manned guarding to protect their business, particularly during out of hours. This can present a number of challenges, including cost, but a big factor is that no matter how experienced or knowledgeable the person is, it is easy for humans to miss things. If you’re using a contract company for your manned guarding provision, and they choose to change personnel, this could present a risk to your business if the person doesn’t know your processes and your premises as well. Your video analytics system can be programmed to protect your site 24 hours a day, 365 days a year at a fraction of the cost of employing security staff. This can enhance manned security on larger sites or even replace it on smaller sites.
Video analytics can be a really powerful addition to your security system – giving you an extra pair of eyes and ears that is always on and always protecting you and your business. If you’d like to find out more about installing video analytics in your business, get in touch to book a free on-site consultation.
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