CCTV of the future

Since its opening in April, PAK Supermarkets’ new GB pound 7 million store, based in Washwood Heath, Birmingham, has been attracting shoppers from as far afield as Leicester and Banbury.

With a vast 80,000 sq ft of ground to cover across the store – and thousands of pounds of trade being done each day – it was imperative to have the best security system.

Dedicated Micros devised a pioneering Advanced Point Of Sale (APOS) interface system which not only offers the Washwood Heath store state-of-the-art surveillance, but also acts as “a pivotal cog” in the store’s management decisions.

When integrated with the APOS technology, the DM CCTV system allows security staff to keep an eye on any suspicious activity.

At the same time the system also provides valuable management transaction data.

Purchase information from each till is transmitted to a central control room via a hard wired TCP/IP network, which is combined with video footage from cameras at each checkout. This ensures stock levels, security and spending habits are carefully monitored.

The work was carried out by West Midlands-based Security Direct, a DM Fusion installer

Monitored and analysed

Said Terry Eaglen, Dedicated Micros Fusion accounts manager: “With the new system, every product that goes through the till can be monitored and analysed”.

“It gives store management the chance to see exactly what is being bought with both the till transaction and video footage being combined, not just overlaid on the video footage, but being read, and managed as part of our highly sophisticated metadata handling process.

“Bringing these together gives users the perfect opportunity to keep track of who is buying what and enables stores to better control and plan their own store layouts and help in developing marketing strategies.”

In addition to integrating point of sale data, the technology also provides a wide spectrum of security benefits beyond the scope of a more traditional installation. With a network of cameras covering inside and outside the store, the system – combined with store detectives – has rapidly become part of the daily routine at the supermarket.

Eaglen said the system allowed users to design a set-up to meet the individual needs of their business. It can be applied, for example, to trigger an alarm if a large number of GB pound 50 notes have been exchanged in the store in a short space of time at different tills

“Anything from investigating fraud to clearing up customer complaints if they think they have been short-changed can be dealt with at the touch of a button, which provides an extra chance for the supermarket to deliver excellent customer service.”

A super-sized project

Managing Director of Security Direct, Surj Dhami said: “The biggest hurdle to overcome was the sheer amount of equipment required. It is a large supermarket with a correspondingly large and complex installation so it made sense to select Dedicated Micros systems which could be readily integrated together.”

In total 20 2040 Dennard indoor dome cameras, a 2060 Dennard precision outdoor dome and six DM Digital Sprite 2 (DS2) DVRs provide the basis of the installation, including a total of 9Tb of hard disk storage capacity, as part of a sophisticated network system. In addition, 12 APOS interfaces were installed with 30 LCD monitors as part of the four-month project.

At the design stage of the project, Security Direct specified NetVu Connected products, which allow images to be viewed via a TCP/IP network on any authorised PC, across the installation.

2060 Dennard domes were chosen to cover the exterior of the supermarket partly because of their resistance to vandalism, but also their ability to operate in low light conditions. The more compact 2040 domes cover the inside of the store at tills and along the aisles.

The network of CCTV cameras capture images and transmit them back to a 24/7 manned control room. Images are viewed on dedicated monitors, with traditional joystick control of the system. At locations around the store, management has access to the CCTV system via NetVu ObserVer software installed on PCs.

Shop floor action

Khalid Hussain, managing director of PAK Supermarkets, said: “This is a fantastic system that has given us exactly what we required. We wanted a solution which not only delivers a high-spec surveillance operation, but can also be incorporated into the ongoing commercial development of our stores.”

The APOS system has proven so successful in helping to manage and plan stock requirements that the supermarket is now considering the introduction of loyalty cards which link directly in with the APOS interface.

PAK Supermarkets has commissioned Security Direct to redevelop its surveillance, using the DM system, across its seven existing stores and a further four under development.

Khalid said: “The idea is to ultimately have all of our supermarket CCTV systems linked up to the control room here. It will help to keep our operation centralised and much easier to maintain”.

* For Dedicated Micros go to www.dedicatedmicros.com and www.dmfusion.net

* For Security Direct email info@securitydirectgb.co.uk or visit www.buythis.co.uk