For those of you with security systems and/or cameras, what are your pros and cons? Thanks.
Shop Cameras/Security
- Thread starter Shayla
- Start date
Old One
Grumbler
In my opinion: Pros: These are minor deterrents to some potential shop lifters.
Cons: They are often expensive to purchase. Cameras frequently don't capture
identifiable pictures. The tags for security systems are costly. The time it takes to tag
everything is costly; even if it's your own. If a security system "beeps" the offender
will likely just run off really quickly with the stolen goods. Are you up for the chase and/or
the confrontation if you do catch up to someone? Are you willing to take the time to prosecute
over a $50.00...or even a $200.00 item? In Canada it costs money to take someone
to small claims court even if you act as your own representative. Taking someone to court
might cause you to lose a day or even two of your otherwise valuable time. Even if someone is found guilty it can be difficult
to collect. I'm not sure of the type of business you operate...but I do know that employee theft
is a huge negative when operating restaurants, bars, night clubs, food stores, etc.
It is not uncommon for a restaurant or bar to lose upwards of $5,000.00 a month to employee theft.
Be aware of the potential for staff to manipulate discount coupons, bar tenders who keep different
coloured or different length straws behind the bar so they can keep track of how many drinks they
'sold" or double poured, for example, after receiving a $1.00 tip from a "regular".
Suggestions: Hire really honest people. Figure out ways to test their honesty early on. Be creative
with that. There are many easy ways to do that. When I was operating business I would fire someone if
they stole a dollar or even a postage stamp. On the other hand, if an employee wanted to borrow
$20.00 or use 4 or 5 stamps that wouldn't have been a problem. To deter theft consider 1.) line o
f sight
to more valuable objects 2.) Placement in locked glass cases 3.) Place costlier things further from the exits.
4.) Consider a "warning buzzer beam-breaker system that "rings or buzzes" when someone breaks the beam
as they enter the store...especially if you are working in an area that doesn't have a clear view of
someone entering. 5.) Add 2 or 3 % to your sales tickets to cover loss from theft. 6.) If you have valuable objects
there are "shallow stands" that will make a noise when an object is lifted off. 7.) Prevent known shoplifters
from entering your shop. 8.) Keep your entrance door locked and "buzz" people in and out if you are running
a high-end gallery, for example. When people have to be buzzed in they often feel that they have been
invited in to something special. It won't deter sales very much. Those who walk away probably weren't
going to buy anything anyway. Having to be "buzzed out" will deter many. Train staff to be respectful,
friendly, and vigilant.
I think there are pros and pros. We have always had them in our shop, and I'm a licensed contractor in my other life. (CCTV/Video being one of them)
We use an inexpensive Lorex (Dahua) POE (power over Ethernet) 8 camera system in our shop, which has 4k resolution and color night vision IP cameras. (and records audio) The cameras are all hardwired, with standard Ethernet cabling, which handles the power to the cameras as well as the video feed. There is a UPS (Battery backup) on the system, in case of a power failure.
It records/keeps just over 8 weeks. Some cameras I have recording 24/7(outside perimeter), some during business hours (inside), and some others just record when they detect motion or body heat. It can be viewed live by smartphone/tablet app, on any pc remotely, or on site. We have 2 25" displays in the shop to keep an eye on things, so we will see when a car pulls in, what is going on in the customer side, etc. One over the fitting table in the back room, and one in the basement (saw and storage rooms)
Most of the action happens outside when we are closed, and we have never had a major incident in the shop. (cars hitting the building twice, customer dropping their order then claiming we gave it to them that way, someone broke in to a neighboring tenant at 2am, a party in the parking lot that brought police, vandalism, etc) We monitor at home after a snow storm, to determine if the plow came or not. We keep an eye on the dumpster, because people dump their junk in front of it and leave some times. (it is locked) I think having them inside and visible deters theft and issues. We have looked back at design counter videos several times if we wrote something down wrong, or a customer says this was not what they ordered, to verify. It identified a guy down the street who was abusing our dumpster, who I had a chat with.
The alarm panel also sounds a beep when any door is opened, with a different pattern for front vs side or basement doors. I also put a smoke/thermal sensor on it which alerts us if it detects a problem. It saved us one time a few years ago, when a hose leaked and compressor overheated and smoked the place out. (now it has a timer on it to be off when we are closed)
Sometimes we lock the front door, like if alone and using saw/vnailer/sander/hoffmann in basement or if dogs are visiting for the day. (from the outside only, fire code probably wouldn't want us us to lock folks in) There is a wireless doorbell at the front door, for when we do this (and a sign). We have a second one on the side door, so we will know when a framing delivery truck arrives. (if we don't see it on the camera, and get there first)
If calling Andy remotely, I'll usually check the cameras briefly from my phone; to make sure he isn't active with a customer or using a saw.
We have the same system at home, but with only 4 cameras. Home also has 4 Ring products with remote monitoring. (3 ring floodlight cams and a ring doorbell cam) Those are pretty cool, too, and can tell the difference between a car, a person, or a package. They announce things on the Alexas at the shop and home, as well as the smartphones.
I think cameras are a fantastic thing for any shop or business to have!
We use an inexpensive Lorex (Dahua) POE (power over Ethernet) 8 camera system in our shop, which has 4k resolution and color night vision IP cameras. (and records audio) The cameras are all hardwired, with standard Ethernet cabling, which handles the power to the cameras as well as the video feed. There is a UPS (Battery backup) on the system, in case of a power failure.
It records/keeps just over 8 weeks. Some cameras I have recording 24/7(outside perimeter), some during business hours (inside), and some others just record when they detect motion or body heat. It can be viewed live by smartphone/tablet app, on any pc remotely, or on site. We have 2 25" displays in the shop to keep an eye on things, so we will see when a car pulls in, what is going on in the customer side, etc. One over the fitting table in the back room, and one in the basement (saw and storage rooms)
Most of the action happens outside when we are closed, and we have never had a major incident in the shop. (cars hitting the building twice, customer dropping their order then claiming we gave it to them that way, someone broke in to a neighboring tenant at 2am, a party in the parking lot that brought police, vandalism, etc) We monitor at home after a snow storm, to determine if the plow came or not. We keep an eye on the dumpster, because people dump their junk in front of it and leave some times. (it is locked) I think having them inside and visible deters theft and issues. We have looked back at design counter videos several times if we wrote something down wrong, or a customer says this was not what they ordered, to verify. It identified a guy down the street who was abusing our dumpster, who I had a chat with.
The alarm panel also sounds a beep when any door is opened, with a different pattern for front vs side or basement doors. I also put a smoke/thermal sensor on it which alerts us if it detects a problem. It saved us one time a few years ago, when a hose leaked and compressor overheated and smoked the place out. (now it has a timer on it to be off when we are closed)
Sometimes we lock the front door, like if alone and using saw/vnailer/sander/hoffmann in basement or if dogs are visiting for the day. (from the outside only, fire code probably wouldn't want us us to lock folks in) There is a wireless doorbell at the front door, for when we do this (and a sign). We have a second one on the side door, so we will know when a framing delivery truck arrives. (if we don't see it on the camera, and get there first)
If calling Andy remotely, I'll usually check the cameras briefly from my phone; to make sure he isn't active with a customer or using a saw.
We have the same system at home, but with only 4 cameras. Home also has 4 Ring products with remote monitoring. (3 ring floodlight cams and a ring doorbell cam) Those are pretty cool, too, and can tell the difference between a car, a person, or a package. They announce things on the Alexas at the shop and home, as well as the smartphones.
I think cameras are a fantastic thing for any shop or business to have!
We also have a hardwired Lorex system. We've never needed to use it for any kind of legal or verbal/physical action. That's not why we have it. It's mostly so we can see traffic and production activity. I have a 60" TV in my office which is actually a 3rd monitor on my computer where I am logged into the system. In addition to the cameras themselves, which honestly pretty well fade into the background, the large monitor in my office reminds the employees that I can see what they are or are not doing. I do also occasionally use the phone app to see, as Mike remarked, whether the lot has been plowed, or is the cleaning staff there right now, etc.
For us, the biggest expense was the labor to install, even though that was our own. We only have 8 cameras but we have a 25,000 SF building, so there was a lot of wire to run, and the cameras are mostly installed at 12-15 with a couple of the outside ones at over 20', so a lot of ladders and scissor lift work.
I would definitely do it again.
For us, the biggest expense was the labor to install, even though that was our own. We only have 8 cameras but we have a 25,000 SF building, so there was a lot of wire to run, and the cameras are mostly installed at 12-15 with a couple of the outside ones at over 20', so a lot of ladders and scissor lift work.
I would definitely do it again.
cvm
SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
We switched over to a bunch of different types of Eufy cameras with a 2TB hard drive and it's been working out well. We have USB.
cvm
SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Lol, that should have read "We have UPS" 
I was wondering what you meant...Lol, that should have read "We have UPS"
We also have a UPS on our camera system. Our burglary system is entirely separate (with battery backup) and monitored. We have never once, in the 20 years at this location, had a single break-in. The most "theft" we've had is that one time a vacationer dumped some stuff in our dumpster. Our neighbor scared them off and it didn't actually cost us anything because we pay a flat fee per pickup. Our dumpster is too far away and our camera resolution too low (1080P) to get a license place number, not that it would have come to anything anyway.
We have a pair of cameras and a pair of motion sensors that we pay a monthly fee for monitoring to a third party.
Have been considering for awhile dropping the service, and upping the amount of cameras.
If that is easy and cost effective enough, we'll likely do that at home, to monitor all the reptiles.
Have been considering for awhile dropping the service, and upping the amount of cameras.
If that is easy and cost effective enough, we'll likely do that at home, to monitor all the reptiles.
It's inexpensive to do it youself. You can set certain zones/areas of the view to detect motion, and to only record when it does, if desired. This extends how long it will keep footage, before overwriting the oldest.
Some systems can also count packages, people, cars, body heat, etc. Mine does all that but we only use the MOTION portion of it, if someone drives/walks on our lot or on the walkays. Cars going by do not trigger an "event". We record 24/7 outside, but I still like to have the event/motion system so I don't have to WATCH the whole thing to get to the action.
Some systems can also count packages, people, cars, body heat, etc. Mine does all that but we only use the MOTION portion of it, if someone drives/walks on our lot or on the walkays. Cars going by do not trigger an "event". We record 24/7 outside, but I still like to have the event/motion system so I don't have to WATCH the whole thing to get to the action.
real world example of how you can map out what gets watched for motion, and what does not. This is our shop's camera #1, watching one of the parking lots/front of store. It ignores cars going by, but not people on walk or cars pulling in.
That is a very clever feature. Is there any time lag between when it detects motion in the chosen zone and when the recording starts, or is it instantaneous?
Rick
Rick
I actually have it set to go back 3 seconds from when it detects motion, to record just before someone comes into view. All systems do this sort of thing.That is a very clever feature. Is there any time lag between when it detects motion in the chosen zone and when the recording starts, or is it instantaneous?
So it lets you go back in time. That seems kinda StarTrek-y.
Rick
Rick
Just like a car dashcam, it keeps a "buffer" going all the time, even if not recording, so it can go back several seconds 
Yeah, it seems a bit other-worldly, but pretty simple in today's electronic world. And that's even without the so called AI.Just like a car dashcam, it keeps a "buffer" going all the time, even if not recording, so it can go back several seconds
cvm
SPFG, Supreme Picture Framing God
Our cameras have a cool AI feature that identifies individuals captured on camera in each video. When the same person appears across multiple cameras within a specified timeframe, the system automatically locates and merges these footage into a single video. When multiple people appear at the same time, a separate video event is created for each person.