With hundreds of thousands of pounds worth of vehicles on display on a typical forecourt, security is a priority for motor dealerships.
The cost of vandalism and theft can be substantial, when taking into account damaged stock, lost revenue and increased insurance premiums.
Preventing such incidents can be difficult however, with forecourts often on the outskirts of towns or on remote business parks. With a site of seven acres to protect, the Greenhous dealership in Telford, part of the Shropshire and Staffordshire based Greenhous Group, wanted to ensure that its premises were secured.
Greenhous was no stranger to remote video surveillance, but after a number of poor experiences with previous providers, especially in relation to service, it decided to approach Chubb Electronic Security as Greenhous’ Dave Sullivan says:
“We had a number of different providers in only a very short period of time,” he says, “but were not satisfied with the services provided. When the incumbent stopped proving a monitoring service, we looked at in-house monitoring before deciding again to look for a more permanent solution. We asked a number of companies to tender, and finally chose Chubb Electronic Security, due to its excellent reputation and high levels of service on offer.”
The site has four dome cameras and 13 static cameras placed around the forecourt to cover the area. Camera images are transmitted to Chubb’s Remote Video Response (RVR) Centre in Gloucester where they are reviewed by operators.
“Chubb Electronic Security also installed a combination of detectors and beams, so when an individual enters the premises they trigger an alarm, alerting those in the RVR control room specially trained to analyse the situation,” Dave continues. “The operators can then speak directly to the person – ascertain whether they are a genuine customer or perhaps have more sinister intentions – and decide the appropriate action to take, alerting the police as necessary.”
Dave goes on to say: “The world of IT and security is rapidly converging but Chubb and its technicians are well versed with these ever improving technologies. We are pleased with the system, and highly impressed by the superb workmanship of the first class engineers and technicians at Chubb – they were very thorough and we now feel confident that the premises is secure and protected.” In addition to the Telford forecourt, the RVR service has been installed on two further Greenhous premises, with other sites also looking to implement the system.
