By Rebecca Skilton
Used to enable visual surveillance and monitor a variety of environments and activities either from the site or a remote location, CCTV (Closed Circuit Television) is often directly associated with the prevention and detection of crime.
However, as Hallam’s Eclipse Security Systems director and founder Greg Flood and technical operations manager Matt Sklepic explained, having CCTV security cameras can not only detect misconduct, but also substantially improve functionality of both small and large scale businesses, leading to success.
Specialists in CCTV, access control and intrusion alarm systems, Eclipse Security Systems have been providing home and business owners throughout Melbourne with security solutions since 2000.
The company’s technicians and installers assist clients in identifying the vulnerable areas of their business, and provide security solutions that work towards their ongoing business success.
“Everybody thinks that CCTV is about catching burglars or catching people shoplifting, but quite often it’s about managing a process,” Greg said.
“In a production line, the business can use CCTV as a management tool to be able to see how efficiently that production line is operating. And that saves them some real dollars.”
In order to increase business profits, Eclipse Security Systems suggest a simple three-step process to combine with the use of CCTV: monitor, analyse and implement.
By using this strategy, Greg explained that businesses are able to take a bird’s eye view of their business and examine how they are currently functioning.
“Let’s say in a retail environment, a customer walks through the front entry doors. The business owner might want to know the most common path customers take in store, what they go to, what they look at and how long do they spend looking.
“They might want to know what displays and areas that draw people in, they might want to take a count to find out how many people actually came into the store in a day or what their busy periods were … their CCTV can help with that.”
“And if there’s someone who has injured themselves, CCTV can limit occupational health and safety claims as well.”
Having evolved dramatically since its inception, Greg explained that modern CCTV systems allow users to easily sort through footage and content: the simple, easy and efficient method to analyse people, assets and processes.
And while some business owners may be hesitant in implementing CCTV, the Eclipse Security Team is positive that once they experience the benefits of using the system – such as greater productivity, better customer service and increased profits – it can become one of their biggest business strengths.
“People are usually at first reluctant to use it, but once something happens around the business and they manage to resolve the issue with CCTV they see the benefits,” Matt said.
“And it will add value to the whole business because it’s going to potentially give business owners insight that they’ve never actually seen before.”
