Smart system for security

Founded in 1984 and headquartered in Lund, Sweden, Axis has offices in 20 countries with global partnerships through distributors, resellers and system integrators in over 70 countries. The company launched the world’s first network camera for connection to an IP network in 1996. It offers around 1 million professional network video products and more than 3 million networking product installations globally.

In India, Axis Communications is known as Axis Video Systems India Private Limited. Started in 2007 in Bangalore, Axis’s distributors include Micro and Anixter in India. Its key strategic partners include G4S, Honeywell, Tyco and Siemens.

CASE STUDY

Albert Heijn is the Netherlands’ oldest supermarket chain. The store in Zaltbommel was established in 1989 and started out as a smaller store in the city center. In 2007, it was moved to a store sized approximately 2400 sq mt. Albert Heijn Zaltbommel wished to deploy cameras as a tool to manage their various activities better and to control their processes, such as checkout flow, more effectively. The system needed to be affordable, easy to use and flexible in its application to changes in the store. The Albert Heijn branch also has its own paid parking lot, access to which is safeguarded by a barrier arm. The cameras are needed to monitor both the shop floor and the parking lot and to limit theft and vandalism. Axis partners, Bovli Solutions and Videotronic Infosystems, were hired to realise not only a smart camera surveillance solution, but also process improvements through monitoring.

 Albert Heijn Zaltbommel chose Axis network cameras because they are affordable, reliable and provide high quality images. Ernst van der Vlist of Bovli Solutions says, “In retail, it’s all about the Euros. A camera -application simply has to work, be practical and provide an added advantage at an affordable cost. The current solution with IP-based Axis cameras and CamIQ software by Videotronic Infosystems facilitates this. In fact, the branch manager’s father has a local grocery store and he chose the same application based on our experiences.”

The solution

The solution uses a total of 21 Axis network cameras. This makes it possible to monitor the entire shop floor, the parking lot, office spaces and rear entrances. CamIQ software enables intelligent video content analysis, such as situation recognition and fast searches through stored images. Albert Heijn chose various camera types, including two outdoor AXIS 211 Network Cameras with DC-iris, an AXIS 216MFD megapixel Network Camera at the information desk, three wide viewing angle AXIS M1054 megapixel Network Cameras for overview images, an AXIS M1114 for face recognition at the entrance and two AXIS M3014 for direction detection.

Result

The camera installation provides store management with a handy monitoring solution to run the shop floor better. When numbers at the checkouts increase, managers can proactively respond to the situation by opening extra checkouts before the lines become too long. The combination of Axis cameras and CamIQ software results in an intelligent monitoring solution. Images are retrieved quickly and easily. Moreover, the cameras count each visitor at the entrance and take a photo of everyone who walks outside via the entrance. This has declined pilferage and offenders in check. With the combination of digital images and intelligent software, retrieving a specific incident takes a matter of seconds. This is the huge advantage of a digital camera in comparison to analogue solutions. By mounting cameras at strategic locations, the management can monitor nine checkouts with just three cameras.

With pro-active surveillance and monitoring, there can be greater loss prevention, improved merchandising and many more functions that will make sound business sense in every retail operation, whether you run a single shop or a whole chain of malls. We will thus see more end-users adopting IP surveillance as part of their security surveillance.

Oh Tee Lee, Regional Director, South Asia Pacific Region, Axis Communications   

In retail, it’s all about the Euros. A camera application simply has to work, be practical and provide an added advantage at an affordable cost.

Ernst van der Vlist, Bovli Solutions