New CCTV surveillance systems are upping the stakes to provide housebuilding sites with maximum security and control, using innovative audio intervention technology.
CCTV was first used in the 1940s by Siemens in Germany to observe rocket launches and was later installed to protect high-security locations such as banks. Now we see them everywhere and on every street corner.
With new technology and innovations, the role of CCTV has changed dramatically and its’ reach and usage has grown to ever more epic proportions.
According to research undertaken by Deputy Chief Constable of Cheshire, Graeme Gerrard, it is estimated that there were 1.85 million CCTV cameras in the UK in 2011. But are they actually making a significant difference in deterring would be thieves on house building sites, where plant and equipment are left for significant amounts of time?
The BSIA (British Security Industry Association) recommend implementing a robust crime prevention strategy on house building sites, which involves a number of security measures you can take, one of these being the installation of CCTV systems which go as far as possible to record, alert and monitor your site.
They also suggest four things to consider as part of this plan: Deterrence, Detection, Delay and Response to give would be intruders the impression that your site is heavily protected, hopefully thieves will then look elsewhere for an easier target.
Traditional CCTV has a role to play in providing a visual record of activity on site at all times of the day and night, but whilst current CCTV records vehicles and personnel leaving the site, many cameras on site today have been found to be inefficient in providing clear, high definition images from a 360 degree angle to capture every movement, and gives no audible warning to alert intruders that they are being watched – that’s about to change.
One innovative, R&D company, has developed a range of surveillance products which have been borne out of listening to the people ‘at the coal face’ on site, to find out what their issues and problems were in this area.
They found that audibly challenging intruders before they did any harm gave the operator immediate command and control over the situation, without the need for police, security or key-holder intervention – effectively nipping the problem in the bud before deployment of other methods
As solution providers, the team also researched and talked to site personnel about their issues with current security surveillance equipment. It revealed a series of problems such as instability; only one camera which didn’t give a 360 degree clear view; systems being static and hard to move from site to site quickly and wires and cables protruding down the outside of the columns, which could be easily cut and tampered with by would be thieves.
FOC Sales NW and Remvox teamed up to find new ways to solve these problems, especially for high-value house building construction sites. They came up with the Remguard System with stability prevention, video analytics, digitally enhanced imagery, audio intervention and four cameras which can detect from any angle to over 4 miles – all of these functions can be controlled remotely, off-site from a smart phone, tablet or PC, at any hour of the day or night.
The unit is also self-contained so can be easily redeployed from site to site, which was another major issue for site personnel. It works without grid mains power and runs off a bespoke internal uninterrupted power management system, meaning the unit will run for up to 12 weeks without the need for fuel replenishment.
Steve Booth, FOC Sales MD says: “We have a real desire to improve products and services on site to help personnel carry out their jobs more efficiently and safely, through new innovations and solutions – we provide that expertise, and develop and sell products which we feel are really needed in the industry.”
Round the clock security can be extremely expensive, especially when you have several house building sites to cover. With the Remguard system, you can have four units for around the price of a single security guard, reducing the cost of site security by 50-75%. The added benefit of this is that the system is always working on time, never gets distracted and never sleeps or takes breaks – you can control the whole thing from your PC or smartphone.
The team will be attending this year’s Hillhead exhibition in Buxton on 26th to 28th June 2018, so if you want to find out more information and see the full range of Remguard products, join them at the show and they’ll show you how technology can save man-hours and protect your site or premises with minimum effort.
