AUCKLAND Security Cameras installs Mobotix Solution incorporating c25, v25, i25 and D15 cameras for Bolloré Logistics near Auckland Airport. The system is managed by Mobotix MxManagementCentre software, offering full encryption and with all vehicle movements recorded and time-stamped.
A WORLD leader in logistics and warehousing, Bolloré Logistics is one of the top 10 transport and logistics companies in the world. Its warehousing and logistics facility near Auckland Airport, New Zealand, has seen significant growth in recent years and often handles more than 2000 items in a day. As a customs-bonded warehouse, monitoring of all stock movement and processing is crucial and the current CCTV operation needed to be expanded to monitor the entire site.
Within a logistics setting, the consequences of damage or loss to premises and stock can be catastrophic. A security system, which allows both the monitoring of business processes and guarantees the availability of historical footage, can help companies avoid expensive compensation claims. In logistics, CCTV is an invaluable tool for risk management, compliance enforcement and dispute resolution. It creates a verifiable audit trail that saves money by reducing insurance premiums.
With footage on the site’s existing analogue system barely useable, an upgrade was essential. Steve Smith, logistics and compliance manager at Bolloré, turned to Brian Clough of Auckland Security Cameras, an integrator specialising in security installations for large industrial and logistics companies. Clough chose MOBOTIX cameras for the installation because their hemispheric technology would give excellent visibility of the whole premises. Plus, with military-grade encryption features as standard, MOBOTIX provides a high level of network security, a significant consideration within the import and export sector.
A combination of MOBOTIX c25, v25 and i25 hemispheric cameras, along with several of MOBOTIX’ dual D15s cameras, provided complete coverage of the large 6600sqm site.
“The system now gives us full visibility of the warehouse aisles to protect both us and the customer should an incident occur. It also provides real time visibility of workloads,” Smith explains. “Recordings accurately identify every vehicle, as well as the precise time that it enters and leaves the facility, along with all loading and unloading activities. These are time-stamped to create a visual verification of every operational process. For security reasons, there is no direct access to the cameras over the internet, a time server is used instead.”
At Bolloré, existing IT infrastructure was used wherever possible, reducing the amount of new cabling needed. This was simple to implement because, according to Clough, MOBOTIX is a good network citizen. Meanwhile, the decentralised technology means the cameras process and compress the recordings themselves, requiring no central server and therefore not burdening the network.
MxManagementCentre(MxMC) management software made configuring the cameras very straightforward.
“It’s the best user interface I’ve ever seen, from the end user’s point of view – it’s very intuitive,” Clough says of MOBOTIX new VMS. “It performs perfectly and is very easy to use for the 3 main tasks that any end user will want: How to view live footage; how to see what happened at some point in the past; and how to give evidence of an incident.”
According to Clough, where previously security staff had to go the server room and arduously search through hours of footage, they can perform this from their office computer with ease. The MOBOTIX search facility (up to 60 times high speed playback), along with other excellent analysis and event monitoring functionalities incorporated into the VMS, makes event searching simple.
The system goes beyond securing assets and premises, to be an integral part of operations. Because of this, reliability is an absolute priority. According to Smith, the Auckland Security Cameras’ team could be requested to supply video footage relating to an incident or delivery which could have taken place some time ago.
“I can honestly say I’ve never had a camera failure in any of the MOBOTIX cameras we’ve installed,” Clough says, “But with storage devices that can happen, which is why we have built in plenty of redundancy into the NAS where the recordings are stored.” ♦
