While this image may be intentionally comical, I have seen many CCTV Systems through my career that would border on funny, if Security can ever be treated as a laughing matter. Rest assured; it is not. Security is serious business, and decisions with regards to CCTV implementation cannot be taken lightly.
For e.g.- There are various factors and parameters that are typically applicable when designing the right kind of CCTV solution for a corporate client:
The brand of cameras and the type of technology that a Company would opt for would depend upon corporate compliance policies, the objective behind the system, and budgets.
The technological choices for head-end monitoring, recording and redundancy also get influenced by a host of factors like compliance or audit formalities and industry requirements.
Once the brand and technology has been short-listed, the quantity and placement of the cameras, which are the most important factors – and the subject of this blog – come into play.
- Problem Statement: Listening to and understanding the client’s problem statement is the first step in this process. A CCTV “solution” would be anything but if the client’s needs are not met.
- Optimal Coverage: Covering key areas and reducing wastage by avoiding areas that do not contribute in any way to productivity are important design parameters.
- Placement: An experienced designer can exponentially increase ROI by placing the correct equipment at the correct locations. Some examples:
- Two fixed cameras can sometimes do a better job at covering an outdoor area than one Hi-Speed Pan-Tilt-Zoom camera. Sometimes, a rotating camera makes more sense only when an operator uses it for live monitoring.
- When placement of a camera against a light source / entrance is unavoidable, a higher spec camera with a high WDR Db value would make much more sense than a cheaper camera which may be present, but fails to do the job.
- Cameras used to cover entrances / exits may be placed more effectively to double up as a resource to cover more work areas as well, thereby reducing the number of cameras.
- Lift-based cameras could employ a much cheaper and easier localized recording option, if a retro-fit turns out to be too tedious or expensive to implement.
- Placement of cameras at 12 feet height in an indoor area with less depth will only allow a ‘top view’ of a person, and thus score very low on the efficacy scale.
- A 2.8mm lens in lieu of a 4mm lens (indoors), and a vari-focal lens in lieu of a fixed focus lens (outdoors) could exponentially raise the usefulness levels of a camera.
- Monitoring & Data Analysis: Just like for the cameras, there are dozens of parameters which will dictate the design criterion for the Head-End equipment, which includes Network Recorders, redundant storage, servers and screens, VMS (Video Management System) and its corresponding license requirements, video analytics and AI, which could be needed for higher security areas or to reduce cost of operations in some cases.
- Review & Audit: Even the best-designed CCTV solutions need periodic reviews, maintenance, and audits to ensure that ROI and business continuity are maintained. This may be done manually with BMS operators or using VMS or automated Health-Check Software.
There are scores of parameters that constitute a virtual checklist of do’s and don’ts with regards to CCTV solutioning. This checklist gets updated with each passing year of experience and fine-tuned with each emerging technology.
In case you haven’t asked yourself this question earlier, maybe it is time that you did. What is your CCTV System actually monitoring?