Introduction
In today's economy, security has just as much to do with the bottom line as it does with protecting facilities. A critical factor in that observation is that many businesses have some type of security infrastructure in place and would like to leverage that investment. With the growth of digital video, that challenge can now be met. Video solutions today allow companies to help streamline operations, improve customer service, manage product placement and replenishment, hire and train more efficiently, investigate fraud, monitor inventory procedures and much, much more. ADT continually evaluates new video technologies so that it can bring the most beneficial products to its customers to leverage their security investments across their organizations. We also work with other experts in the industry so that we provide an offering of products and services that meet diverse needs within a variety of industries. This paper aims to provide a concise overview of how innovative video solutions, based on a digital video platform and utilizing current video surveillance and other loss prevention equipment, can not only be utilized in traditional security applications but can be turned into operational and risk management tools. The combination of technology and ADT's experience in the industry results in a system that can help you achieve an increased return on your investment as well as reduce your risks. We invite you to find out more about ADT Security Services by visiting our website at www.adt.com or by contacting us at 1-800-ADT-ASAP.
Video Technology Overview
The demand for video surveillance technology has never been greater and it is this security technology that is expected to see the highest demand in the coming years. Advances in video technology have expanded its capabilities from typical closed circuit television and video recording security applications to applications that can enhance virtually every aspect of a business – from security to operations to risk management. Understanding why video technology is changing so rapidly requires a brief look at the components of a video system. There are two main components: one is the camera and the other is a recording device that records the video and then acts as a remote server for the cameras. In legacy systems, the device used to record video is a VCR, or video cassette recorder. While a good first step, VCRs have inherent challenges: difficulty in retrieving and saving specific images without time-consuming searching and tapes that need to be changed, stored and replaced. On the other hand, the latest video systems have been enhanced by new technologies such as digital video recording, software and biometrics as well as in equipment improvements such as smaller, more reliable cameras with higher picture resolution and color capabilities. Market demand for remote video capabilities has also pushed video technology to new heights. Of all these changes, it is digital video that is making the greatest impact.
Digital Video: The Foundation of Today's Video Surveillance Technology
At the foundation of today's video system is the digital video recorder, or DVR. DVRs are really just video processors that change the camera's analog video output into a digital file. While DVRs were introduced years ago, the price, quality, capacity and capabilities of currently available electronic components make this technology more affordable than ever. Part of its affordability is also because it is not only being used for security applications but can be leveraged by operations and risk management. While the benefits of video surveillance alone are invaluable to a business, using digital recording technology adds to those benefits by offering ease of use, immediate retrieval and remote retrieval options. DVRs offer a number of advantages: .. Instant access to recorded images by time, motion or event – an important timesaver to any business. .. Images that are easy to save, organize and review at a later date. .. Ability to hold more information and better manage multiple video files than traditional video cassette recorders. .. Increased reliability and savings because all information is electronic – there are no tapes to buy, change or store and no maintenance or cleaning associated. Importantly, use of digital video does not require replacing existing cameras and camera accessory equipment. It just takes the place of legacy recording equipment, yet offers a multitude of additional benefits as part of the foundation of a video system. Additionally, digital video can increase the value of other systems, such as cameras, Using Innovative Video Technology 5 of 12 burglar alarms and point-of-sale exception software because it can leverage each of these technologies to their maximum potential as will be explored in the next section.
Using Video Technology to Help Increase ROI and Reduce Operating Risks
In the past, a video system was provided to be utilized mostly as a practical security tool to minimize loss from burglary, theft and inventory shrinkage. With today's ability to cost effectively utilize digital video as the foundation of a video surveillance system, video technology has been turned into an operations tool that can help businesses address productivity, logistics and workplace safety. It has also migrated into a risk management tool to help mitigate such issues as premise liability, workplace violence, drug usage and harassment. By moving into these areas, video technology has become an important way for companies to help reduce costs and reap an improved return on their investment. Above all, while the return on investment for security applications was at times elusive or at the very least difficult to determine, the ROI calculation for operational aspects is much easier to calculate and is applicable to a variety of individual business cases. Having digital video as the backbone of a video system gives organizations flexibility in how they leverage their investment. Today's video technology allows companies to take on as much or as little as their resources or core business goals demand. Digital video offers the capability to "do it yourself" and monitor basic video locally. It also allows companies to activate the technology's network capability to perform remote video monitoring while still utilizing internal personnel. Then, for more advanced operations and for companies who either cannot or select not to manage their own video services, there are service partners who can step in with experienced, trained personnel. Using Innovative Video Technology 6 of 12 Regardless of how video technology services are managed, the goal is the same – leveraging your investment to obtain the most cost savings possible while meeting your needs. Although video technology cannot solve every business issue, there are certainly areas in which it excels as the most effective tool a company can put in place. These areas are discussed in the following pages.
Exception Reporting
Virtually anyone in loss prevention is familiar with the term "exception reporting." It fundamentally means that incidents associated with increased chances of loss are filtered out from all of the other business activities or transactions. At its most basic level, the goal of exception reporting is to reduce the time it takes to identify where losses may be occurring so that they can be fixed in an efficient manner. Whether burglar alarm, access control or video surveillance, most security technologies have evolved to offer some level of exception reporting.
The real benefit, however, lies in exception reporting through integrated systems. Imagine a retailer whose point-of-sale reporting software is combined with video images of a fraudulent transaction. Or, a burglar alarm system that supplies data that a backdoor was opened at an unauthorized time combined with video showing who opened the door and what activity occurred.
Through a video technology called video auditing, exception reporting utilizing integrated systems can be made even more valuable. Video auditing allows a business to identify its own criteria, or risk areas, and either utilize self-monitoring or a monitoring service to periodically monitor exception events and provide valuable feedback on exception activity. Video auditing can be applied to a number of industries – retail, fast food, grocery, manufacturing, marketing and even transportation facilities. Return is based on the specific needs of the business, and even by location. For instance, a business may be interested in looking at certain criteria across all of its facilities plus it may be interested in why a certain facility is experiencing higher than usual losses or compliance issues in a particular area. Video auditing allows for this type of exception reporting.
In one example of ADT's remote video auditing service in a retail facility, the customer was interested in verifying compliance with employee purchase policies, refunds, voids, smaller dollar amount sales and backdoor openings. With that criteria identified, audit service professionals periodically monitored exception events and provided the district manager and loss prevention with valuable feedback on exception activity. Within a few months, shrink at the pilot store was reduced by more than 60 percent.
And it isn't just retailers who benefit from this type of auditing service. In another example, a company running a number of laundry facilities has implemented the service. They are utilizing the audit service to identify and report on doors left open, personnel compliance with company procedures and maintenance needs at its facilities. It is anticipated that this technology will reduce headcount costs while increasing the number of facilities that can be operated. The efficiencies gained will truly have an impact to the bottom line.
Video auditing technology is an especially innovative use of video for exception reporting because it provides a dashboard to show management at authorized levels what exactly is happening in their facilities or overall business. Based on criteria set by the business, video auditing allows a look initially at still pictures, then video, associated with either something having to do with a procedure or some type of alarm event. As a key result, it helps facilitate decision making on how to improve on inefficiencies.
Compliance to Safety and Security Policies/Procedures
In the section above on exception reporting, both examples of facilities utilizing video auditing are using it in some way to address compliance issues. This is an important function of video technology whereby video clips can be linked to exception reports to provide visual documentation. Critical company policies or procedures can encompass any activity that is important to a specific business' core success.
For instance, in a point-of-sale environment it may be looking at cash refunds, excessive void activity, manually entered credit card transactions, unusual activity in departments with significant shortages, discount and markdown abuse, transactions that occur before store openings and after closings, and training issues that result in poor productivity or customer service. To look at these events, video auditing can be linked together with a store's video surveillance cameras, digital video recorders, point-of-sale exception software, electronic article surveillance system and its burglar alarm system.
In a food industry application, it may be important to look at something as simple as whether the facility was clean, if food safety regulations were followed in the food preparation area, if only authorized personnel were in the facility or that certain events occurred after a rise or fall of temperature in a food storage area. Video auditing, in this case, may be applied at certain times of the day when a facility was supposed to be cleaned, when food preparation was taking place or when a temperature alarm was triggered.
All businesses have policies and procedures for ensuring safety, quality, productivity and cost efficiencies. Video technology can help verify that those specific compliance interests are being met.
Reduction of Physical Guard Services
For certain businesses, guard services are often seen as a necessary business expense as previously there have been few other options. Video technology now offers an alternative. Utilizing remote video monitoring, a company like ADT can periodically observe stores on a live basis – referred to as remote guard tour service. For instance, instead of having a guard present at all times during the day, an employee at ADT's central station can utilize special software to look into a location to help determine the current situation. ADT can also add two-way voice capability. ADT customers can specify what ADT looks at, when and how often they look at it and, if two-way voice is enabled, what ADT says to employees, customers, or even loiterers.
If a company employs guards in several locations, remote guard tour service can help deliver returns and efficiencies. If a guard typically costs about $60,000 a year, a company might be able to reduce that expenditure by $30,000 to $50,000 depending on what kind of frequency they require ADT to remotely view a location.
Protection of Assets and Inventory
The issues that video technology can help address certainly aren't mutually exclusive. The protection of assets and inventory closely relates to the issue of compliance which was discussed earlier. A company has procedures and policies in place to protect assets and inventory. That may take the form of how a retailer conducts cash register transactions, how a food processing or water filtering plant protects its products from contamination, or how a manufacturing facility receives goods.
Regardless of industry, one of the goals of all businesses is to control shrinkage, or loss – and video technology can help each of them address their specific critical control points. Utilizing the example of video auditing services, a facility that has high theft losses may have merchandise disappearing out the back door. Each time that back door opens, the customer may wish to have a manager present since it would less likely be a theft. The opening of the back door can trigger an alarm event which can signal to the video recorder to begin recording so that the business can perform the appropriate verifications.
Employee Productivity
Video technology can have significant impact on employee productivity – not only from the aspect of those being observed but also those doing the observing. For employees, knowing they are being watched can significantly impact behavior and improve compliance to company policies and procedures. Video auditing can help to identify where breakdowns occur and give managers at all levels the evidence they need to coach their staff. Studies have shown that monitoring combined with coaching significantly improves employee performance and retention. It can not only result in operational efficiencies but improved employee safety. Employees who understand the purpose for the monitoring and where management uses it correctly as a coaching tool often welcome it as a benefit to their job.
Take for example a fast food operation. It is critical that a drive-thru lane not have too many cars waiting or a long line of people waiting for food at the counter – customers might just turnaround and leave. When one popular fast food chain introduced video auditing at a franchise, it resulted in a 30 percent improvement on time in line because employee training issues and staffing inefficiencies were identified and corrected.
At the management level, it offers the opportunity to identify training issues and resolve them before they become unmanageable. It also offers a way for management to identify and reward employees for doing their job correctly. Importantly, video auditing services can help reduce turnover at the management level because managers know they have someone helping them periodically monitor the exception activity.
Compliance with Quality Assurance Procedures
In no industry is quality assurance procedures more important than in the food industry where the health of the public is at stake. Video technology in the form of video auditing can help improve compliance with quality assurance procedures throughout the food supply chain. From how raw food is handled to how final products are packaged, remote video auditing can incorporate food industry regulations, sanitation and food safety criteria through the integration of a plant's security and food monitoring systems.
In other industries, quality assurance control points can include standards on how employees interact with customers, how goods are manufactured, or if enough services or products are available to meet customer demand and much more. Video technology can be applied to help companies cost effectively identify exceptions to their procedures and then direct their resources to correcting the issues.
Conclusion
Digital video is certainly making its impact on video technology. Its capabilities and technology will continue to provide improvements in business solutions for security, operational and risk management applications. With additional integration efforts, video promises to become an even larger part of facility and operations management. Through video auditing, remote monitoring and remote video guard tours, ADT's video experience can help leverage current investments in video surveillance equipment while making them work double time. This repurposing of video surveillance equipment investments can help improve safety, security and compliance – helping to reduce operating risks and increase return on investment.
