Articles

RSS

Click Here To Download:
•Guest Column: Pulling Labor Out Of Focus

By Patrik Pettersson, Retail Business Development Manager, Axis Communications

Besides the technology, labor is probably the biggest cost component in your video surveillance installation. A large percentage of the labor is associated with pulling the cable for the cameras. Network video has addressed the cable installation issue by using Power over Ethernet (PoE) to reduce the number of cables needed per camera to one, which can carry video, audio, power, I/O and even control commands. Another major labor-intensive activity is the fine-tuning and adjustment of camera settings – especially the focus of the camera which can be an extremely tedious and time-consuming, hands-on operation.

When security systems were purely analog, technicians would test the clarity of each camera's image by laboriously connecting each, one at a time, to a specialized focusing monitor. With the transition to network video, installation technicians became more creative. Some used their PDAs or precariously balanced their laptops as they climbed ladders to test and retest the camera focus. Others used two-way radios to speak with someone watching a display at the central monitoring station who would give them live feedback as they adjusted each lens. Such an inefficient process inevitably required considerable time and manpower to execute, diverting a sizeable portion of your security budget that you could otherwise have been invested in additional surveillance assets.

Now there are tools that enable your installers to adjust the zoom and focus remotely – a more cost-efficient process that significantly reduces installation time and lowers the overall total cost of ownership for your surveillance system.

Click Here To Download:
•Guest Column: Pulling Labor Out Of Focus