CCTV and Video Surveillance Systems. Essential!

There’s Nothing More Important Than Protecting the Safety of Your Employees, Customers, Public Spaces and Assets.

Why Use a CCTV Consultant?

There is a broad range of factors that need to be considered before deploying a video surveillance system. Many questions arise about technical issues and compliance with privacy laws that need to be addressed and the design criteria needs to be based on sound engineering principles. Correct selection of equipment, cameras, lenses, monitors, and network infrastructure is vital to the success of an effective

digital surveillance system

When we say digital video surveillance, we are still referring to the old term "CCTV" which means closed circuit tele-vision. This was when there literally was a closed circuit all the way from the camera to the monitor inside the control room. Technology has moved on considerably and the term digital video surveillance is really the correct term to use. This is because the digital signals from cameras are now chopped up into packets of data and stream their way through switches and networks to a local recording device or onto a server on the other side of the world.

Furthermore, multiple streams of the same pictures can now be sent to different places at varying levels of quality and speed. Therefore, Digital Video Surveillance is technically vastly different to the old analogue CCTV but for simplicity, the terms are still used interchangeably.

Role of CCTV and Surveillance

Many countries now employ

CCTV as a primary tool to monitor population movements and to prevent crime and terrorism, both in the private and public sectors and is deployed for a variety of purposes.

For instance, the traffic cameras on the Harbour Bridge provide valuable situational awareness of bridge traffic and operators can make operational decisions based on what they see happening. Yet, the images are not recorded and are only for live observation.

Whereas, a warehouse may use CCTV to deter thieves and if there is a break-in, they can review the captured video and determine what happened and hence, provide police with evidence for prosecution. Retailers also rely heavily on CCTV for verifying "point of sale" transactions or for counting the number of persons in their premises at any given time. The applications are almost endless.

For medium to large size businesses or organisations that have specific needs and requirements it is important to use a

CCTV consultant

who will use a "risk-based" approach in developing the design and functionality of the system in harmony with your requirements and not something that a vendor promotes as the best product on the market. The

CCTV consultant

will also take into account such things as corporate compliance standards, privacy laws, and design the system for maximum reliability and scalability.

Cornerstone are specialists in designing and planning CCTV systems for a wide range of clients and we take into consideration many factors that contribute to an effective and reliable system.

The following questions form a part of the overall design process.

CCTV Preliminaries

1. Will the CCTV system conform to Australian Standard

   AS/NZS 62676.1.1:2020?

2. Will the scheme comply with Australian privacy laws and the EU-GDPR?
3. Are there corporate standards or governance issues unique to your organisation?
4. How long can you keep recorded video for?
5. Are your operating risks such that a dual redundant system is required?
6. Will the system be monitored from a local security control room or remote centre?
7. Which camera features are most important?
8. Will the system function as “stand alone” or be integrated into a larger enterprise system?

Technical Considerations

1. Can the system operate on the corporate network or require a private network?
2. Will the video recording be done on site, at a data center, or in the cloud?
3. Do the cameras need to be vandal proof and to what level
4. Do you need an appliance-based system, or will it operate on a purpose-built server?
5. How much image resolution do you need on each camera?
6. How will the cameras be powered? (i.e., 240VAC, 24VAC or over an Ethernet cable)
7. What are the lighting conditions and fluctuations like at each camera location?
8. What type of lens will be required at each camera?
9. What other devices or software does the system need to integrate with?
10. How much network bandwidth will the system require?
11. Where will the captured video be stored, i.e., on the server, SAN or NAS?
12. How much expansion will the system likely require over the coming years?
13. Who will manage the regular software updates and license renewal fees?

Specialised Applications

1. Will the cameras need to recognise vehicle number plates?
2. Will the cameras be used for facial recognition?
3. Will the cameras be used to provide video analytics for special conditions or events?
4. Will parts of the system be in hazardous locations or intrinsically safe areas?

The above questions show that it would be wise to use the services of an independent

CCTV consultant

with experience and technical expertise to help develop a solution and specify the most cost-effective system that considers the above questions, and any other special requirements.

Cornerstone's

Security Consultants

have extensive experience in the design, specification and testing of all types of CCTV and digital video surveillance systems for high risk facilities. If you would like an independent and unbiased assessment, please call us on 1300 952 785.