Food factories are producing more than ever before and while this is true, customers are becoming more sceptical around the operations that go on behind closed doors. In this article, we take a look at why your food factory needs CCTV and the benefits it can bring to your business.
What are the advantages?
If you want to streamline your operations and create a more secure workplace, installing a new — or upgrading a current — CCTV is essential. You’ll be able to protect your building from unauthorised activity as well as monitor the production line.
Ensuring customer confidence
If customers know that you have CCTV in your food factory, they’ll become more trusting in your brand which big supermarkets will take note of. Through the use of CCTV, you can ensure consumer happiness and reassurance because it shows that you’re not trying to hide anything, as all of your operations are recorded and footage can be provided if any accusations come to light.
Maintaining the standard of produce
If you enable more tailored permissions across your security system, such as video analytics, you’ll be able to properly control the quality of your produce. This can save you both time and money, as it is quicker than any quality check that would be carried out by a physical worker where human error could occur after working lengthy hours.
A greater overview of employee safety
CCTV systems can be strategically placed in dangerous operational areas to monitor staff safety. Placing CCTV in these areas can help monitor your employees and make sure that they’re using the equipment in the safest way possible to protect them from any harm which could cost your business money in the long run.
Crime across UK food factories
It’s no secret that CCTV can reduce crime. Having this featured around your factory would lower the risks that your business could face. The addition of CCTV on your premises would help police capture the culprits and then prosecute them in the event of an incident — modern CCTV has made this easier to gain justice with facial recognition features.
In 2015 alone, 88% of manufacturers experienced fraud. However, Kroll stated that in 2017 the manufacturing industry saw a rise of 7% on this result. When it came to the most common types of fraud in this industry, information theft stood at 30%, compliance breach at 30% and intellectual property theft at 26% (of the respondents who were asked).
But who committed these crimes? New starters accounte for 39%. Temporary manufacturing workers came in at second place with 37%. Those in senior or middle management positions were at 33% — this result was the same as ex-staff members. However, vendors/suppliers who do not have as much access to your business accounted for 33%, too. This clarifies that anyone has the potential to commit a crime within a factory.
What your food factory can do with CCTV
As with any piece of equipment you install, you will only see results once the system has been implemented. Understanding where you place cameras is essential if you plan to reduce any criminal activity.
Position your CCTV cameras at all entry points to allow you to have a full scope of who comes in and who goes out of the premises at all times. Advancements in technology have allowed CCTV cameras to detect certain people and track their movements. But what are the advantages of video analytics systems?
Smart surveillance can allow food factories to offer more secure production across the board. They can be used to highlight any unauthorised entry/exits which is an advantage from a managerial position to detect actions of staff within the business. They include a “no-motion” option which helps monitor things that should be moving in the factory such as the conveyor belt.
Through the implementation of virtual tripwires, your video analytics will be able to detect entry. If an intrusion does occur, an alarm will be generated the moment the tripwire has been crossed — it will also detect which direction the intruder is going in to make the individual easier to find. Not only does this tripwire detect intrusions, it can also count the amount of people who go in and out of the building — and even the car park of your operational premises.
Most food factory managers feel as though their premises is safe — but you can’t ignore the crime statistics. If thieving was to occur, using video analytics and CCTV from 2020 Vision can help you by detecting when an object is moved from a static position and even use facial recognition systems to detect who moved it. When it comes to facial recognition, you can use different settings to detect individuals — whether this is making them a VIP, black listing known offenders and more.
If you’re not looking to upgrade your CCTV systems, have you considered access control systems?