More Unusual Uses For CCTV

In the commercial sector we are used to seeing CCTV systems being adopted for a range of security uses. CCTV has emerged as one of the most effective security solution for deterring crime, surveying perimeter areas and providing important visibility of internal and remote locations. The high quality coverage relays live images and stores footage to be used as evidence, and can operate on a 24/7 basis, but CCTV is not just an essential tool for security reasons.

CCTV systems are now used in the commercial sector for many different purposes, on top of standard security reasons. This adds value to an investment in CCTV technology and makes them a comprehensive solution for the general operation of a commercial business. Alternative uses for CCTV include:

• Employee performance – CCTV can monitor shopfloor activities to provide statistics on movement and performance. Some CCTV systems can provide a heat map based on people movement, which helps an employer in a production setting, for example, monitor efficiencies and how employees are performing against set targets. This can help identify where important cost savings can be made by reducing wasteful or inefficient practices.
• Quality control – Also relating to manufacturing and production, employers can monitor performance to confirm whether quality control checks are being carried out. This may also apply in a warehouse setting.
• Employee behaviour – CCTV can be used as evidence in disciplinary cases, where employees have been disruptive or involved in threatening behaviour, bullying or discrimination. It is also possible for employers to link CCTV to access control systems to monitor timekeeping and breaks, i.e. for evidence of when employees are on or off the shopfloor or in the office. From a safety monitoring perspective, intelligent CCTV systems can be used to ensure that employees are adhering to safety rules such as whether they are wearing the necessary PPE equipment or if employees enter exclusion zones.
• False insurance claims – It is common for CCTV images to be used to discount false insurance claims. CCTV can be used as evidence that an incident either didn’t happen, or didn’t happen in the way described.
• Customer behaviour – CCTV cameras in retail, leisure and hospitality settings are very common for security reasons, but these can also provide an important function in monitoring customer behaviour. Again, heat maps can provide valuable information on footfall and demographic patterns, such as where customers are browsing or in what areas people spend the most time. This information can even be exported in most cases for further analysis and therefore CCTV can form part of an important marketing tool.
• Safety surveillance – It is becoming more common to adapt CCTV to be used with drones, which can relay images from dangerous or remote areas of a damaged building, such as when studying fire damage, or after an explosion. CCTV with drones can also study excavation work or construction projects where it is unsafe for a person to access a particular area.
• Timelapse videos – Staying with construction sites, it is increasingly common for stakeholders in a construction project to be supplied with a timelapse film to evaluate how a construction is progressing. Stationary CCTV cameras record footage of a construction site over an extended period, for example one week, and a timelapse video can be produced to show speeded-up images, so that stakeholders can see in 30 seconds what progress has been made on the project over seven days, or a longer period if necessary.
• Traffic flow – Surveyors and town planners can use CCTV to monitor traffic flow in key locations. This can be used to help improve community areas, by reducing bottlenecks and congestion and identifying where speed controls or traffic flow improvements are needed.

Contact First Response Group for a comprehensive range of CCTV solutions

At First Response Group we can supply permanent and temporary CCTV solutions, and can advise on all the above alternative uses for CCTV. While we have expertise in using CCTV as an effective security control, we have specialist knowledge of the technology which means we can help organisations from many different industry sectors, with the various alternative uses of CCTV, so contact our team today.