Tough demands are placed on the digital video recorders in McDonalds restaurants.
One of the Dallmeier units recently survived being attacked by a burglar and dumped in a sink of water. But there are also challenges everyday, and the machines must be robust enough to operate in a catering environment and flexible to allow upgrading if needs change. They need to be easy to operate and, above all, must provide evidence-quality recordings, with no risk of anyone changing the settings or jeopardising network security.
The choice of recorder for the UK’s southern region systems has followed extensive – and continuing – testing of the DLS6 S1 units against other makes. "One of the key things we always investigate is whether a product is as secure as Dallmeier’s," says Southern Region Security Manager Andy Lane.
"It’s by far and away the best product for the money that we have found," says fellow Southern Region Security Manager Robbie Hawes. Although the organisation has a long-standing relationship with Dallmeier, "if we thought we could find a similar quality product at a cheaper price we would do so – we are a business. However we haven’t found one."
Recorded locally
Images are recorded locally whenever a camera detects movement. Some of the recorders are also linked into the company network, which allows any incidents to be reviewed. "We are running alarm monitoring through a number of the systems as well," adds Mr Lane. "The monitoring station can view the cameras. It’s very good for reducing false activations."
Remote monitoring requires the CCTV unit to be linked to the company network. It is essential that the integrity of this network is maintained and the DVR is the only digital CCTV solution that the company’s IS department will allow to sit on the network. Vulnerable digital video recorders could provide an easy entry point into the company network and introduce exposure to viruses or trojans.
Also important to McDonalds are reliability, ease of use and flexibility. With the Dallmeier product, Mr Hawes points out, McDonalds can put in a standard specification machine and then have it upgraded later with extra hard disc or channel capacity, or extra features such as remote monitoring. Attention is also on the cameras. "If you invest in a decent product to record the images, you need to feed that product with decent images," says Mr Hawes.
The cameras include Dallmeier models, particularly Cam_in Pix domes, which are designed for backlit situations such as looking out to a brightly-lit exterior. These have been adopted as the standard solution for front doors in McDonalds’ Southern Region.
Primary focus
Staff safety was a prime reason for CCTV. "We are open to anyone who walks through the front doors," points out Mr Lane. Cameras, and sometimes monitors, are positioned overtly so that everyone knows that they are being recorded. "There is a deterrent message and we want to encourage that," says Mr Hawes. "We want people to know we’ve got CCTV; we want people to know we use it – and we want them to know it works so that they will behave better as a result."
The CCTV images can be supplied to the police in the event of an assault or break in at the store. "We’ve had considerable success recently where the Dallmeier product has been linked to the alarm and monitored remotely and that has enabled the police to make a number of arrests for very serious crimes," he adds.
Keeping it simple
A guiding principle of McDonalds’ security products is that they should be standardised across as many stores as possible. "That cuts down on the training – managers do move areas and between stores," says Mr Lane.
Many people have access to each recorder and so it is essential to ensure that none can erase recordings or change the mode of operation. "One of the good things with the Dallmeier product is that you can set access levels," says Mr Lane. "The stores are on the very minimum level needed to operate the recorders." Managers simply need to know how to review images and how to burn them to disc if necessary. "It is so easy with the software that Dallmeier has developed," says Mr Hawes.
