Installing conventional CCTV equipment to monitor activity inside a building roughly the size of ten football pitches, is always expensive. At Sainsbury’s 700,000 sq ft Hams Hall Distribution Centre a Sentry Technology SmartTrack™ mobile robotic surveillance system is proving more cost-effective, the retailer reports.
Two Sentry™ SmartTracks, each 114m in length, have been installed by Intrepid Security at the Sainsbury’s Hams Hall facility in Coleshill, Birmingham. The SmartTrack systems are equipped with concealed pan, tilt and zoom cameras which glide along tracks at speeds of up to 13 feet per second, enabling an operator to swiftly position the camera over any activity or incident.
Anthony Hooper, Regional Loss Prevention Manager for Sainsbury’s Supply Chain Security, said: "The main reason for installing the SmartTrack systems is for health & safety compliance. We are determined that all 750 of our staff who work at Hams Hall can do so in a safe environment. The SmartTrack systems have certainly helped us to be effective in this respect and at the same time they have offered us the additional bonus of being able to closely monitor operations in our loading bays."
On-site security personnel are using the SmartTrack systems to ensure compliance with the company’s health and safety rules and according to Anthony there have already been a number of incidents where SmartTrack has assisted in identifying individuals who have broken the safety rules. "It may be a disciplinary matter or just a case or retraining, the important factor is to ensure that the individuals concerned are adhering to best practice."
The two SmartTrack’s have been suspended from the building’s twenty-two metre high ceiling structure to an operating height of six metres, allowing operators clear views into the rear of all loading and unloading vehicles throughout all loading bays as well as views of activity along each of the distribution centre’s many storage and picking aisles.
SmartTrack acts as a deterrent as the cameras are hidden behind mirrored enclosures and are virtually silent running. As well as being operator controlled, the systems can be pre-programmed for up to six automatic tours, each of which can have up to 60 preset positions.
Iain Hay, National Loss Prevention Manager for Sainsbury’s Supply Chain Security stated: "To achieve the same benefit with more traditional dome and static cameras the quantities of cameras and associated equipment necessary would have been cost prohibitive. As a result of the coverage and cost savings achieved at Hams Hall, mobile robotic camera systems have been included in the specification for all new distribution centres and for sites requiring refurbishment."
