CCTV – Capital expenditure or profit contribution –

Printed in the 'South East Business' – August 2003

In 1990, when I entered this industry, CCTV was mainly utilised by large corporations such as Powergen and Thames Water. Buying and maintaining such hi-tech equipment was considerably higher compared with the current situation 13 years on and was not considered cost effective for the majority of business and organisations.

Now even domestic users can afford a small system and indeed all types of business across the country have seen the benefits of using such technology.

It is estimated that more than £900m was spent on CCTV during 2002. This dramatic growth has been supported by government: the latest round of home Office funding making £108m available to local authorities for CCTV surveillance schemes. Growth of the CCTV market has led to an increase in suppliers and installers of such equipment. A greater selection of manufactures and distributors has enabled installers to offer systems at competitive rates to reach a wider audience.

In 1990, there were only a handful of distributors of CCTV and now there are at least 50. More opportunities exist to buy direct from manufacturers.

As a finance director, I look for running costs to be kept to a minimum to maximize the business's profitability. You may ask what that has to do with CCTV? A common belief is that CCTV is purely for security applications – theft & vandalism. Indeed, this is still the case for the majority of applications. However, can bring added value to a business in other less obvious ways.

I had the same opinion of CCTV – it was primarily to aid crime prevention.

Reviewing customers educated me to different ways of thinking. Customers were using CCTV to monitor machinery in paper mills, cement works, sewage treatment works and power stations. Continuous operation of machinery avoids downtime when plant is not operational. Caught quickly, the stoppage will be minimal and output is unaffected. Reductions in personnel required to oversee machinery is another consideration.

Remote monitoring stations provide sites in a distant location with an alternative to costly manned guarding. This has particularly become more sophisticated and cheaper to use with the introduction of 'bona fide' remote monitoring centres offering a quality service. The system will be fitted with alarms triggered by infra red detectors that alter the remote company, who can then operate the CCTV system, detect possible intruders and deal appropriately with the situation.

Councils employ their CCTV to monitor traffic flow on road systems in towns and motorways. Efficiency of traffic light systems enables employees to reach their place of work promptly and hauliers deliver goods without delay – all benefiting the business economy.

Preventing or detecting vandalism by use of CCTV is always likely to be cost effective. If the vandalism continues unchecked, the cost involved in replacing and repairing damaged property or assets will inevitably exceed the cost of installing. Most insurance companies will consider your security cover when calculating the premium.

CCTV is used to assist in dealing with health and safety. Monitoring dangerous machinery prevents accidents cutting costly claims by employees especially if there is a contributory negligence. Sports centres could avoid claims from customers claiming injury when using equipment. CCTV is routinely used for crowd control at sports events and concerts to assist the police and security personnel.

A recent application off CCTV being used as an effective management tool was a garage and MOT centre – one of the largest in the UK – whose personnel had to physically look for a customer's car to assess whether the job was completed. Using a camera and intercom system eliminated the problem. The company is more efficient as a result and their customer image improved.

The following points will assist you in selecting a supplier:
Choose a specialist in CCTV.
Obtain satisfactory references from an existing customer
Insist on having a survey
Always obtain three quotations
Insist on a two-year guarantee in the price of the quotation
Maintenance contract – request a copy of a typical maintenance checklist and details of cost
Budget for the lifetime upkeep of the system in your cash flow forecast

Never assume that large nationwide installers will provide the best service. In fact, as with many larger outfits the reverse is often the case. Small and medium-sized CCTV installers could offer a more personal service.

Please note the above text is a direct copy of the original article including grammar and spelling.

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