Your enterprise has long been using closed-circuit cameras for video surveillance purposes. For the most part, this technology has done a great job of keeping your organization safe from unauthorized intruders. Now, however, the time has come to look beyond closed-circuit cameras and rethink how your organization can utilize video analytic technologies.
Recent advances in the cloud computing and connected devices space have driven the creation of many new video use cases. Video analytic technologies—when used in conjunction with smart sensors—can significantly reduce operational costs and drive profits across the enterprise. What’s more, by combining video with data, it becomes possible to glean greater insight about daily operations. This can be a powerful tool identifying key trends as they arise and predicting future events.
Consider this: According to ABI Research, the global value-added services market, including streaming video, will exceed $10 billion by 2021. Data analytics and device and application platform services will demonstrate the strongest revenue growth in the non-consumer video surveillance market during this time.
Here are some ways that your organization can benefit from video analytics:
Improve traffic flows: Businesses must ensure that large amounts of people can move from point to point with minimal congestion. Intelligent video cameras can facilitate smoother traffic flows by collecting and reporting insightful data about crowd movements. Equipped with greater knowledge about daily, weekly and monthly footfall patterns, businesses can plan more strategically and maximize profits. This type of intelligence can also increase public safety, and lead to healthier and more pleasant environments.
Understand shopper habits: Retail displays aren’t just for decoration. They are meant to drive sales. Therefore, store planners must understand exactly how the displays impact the attitudes of shoppers. Videos and smart sensors take the guessing game out of shopper analysis. They track how crowds respond to small changes, and how changes ultimately either drive or reduce profits on a daily basis. Now, store managers can use hard data to better understand their customers’ shopping patterns.
Reduce manufacturing waste: Factories have three major challenges when mass-producing products: Reducing waste, controlling hazardous materials and ensuring regulatory compliance. In the past, the factories primarily relied on employees to manage and control these processes, and thus were subject to human error. Now, however, factories can speed up production while also reducing costs and risks by installing smart sensors and video cameras on assembly lines. Managers can use the data to produce comprehensive reports and streamline operations. For example, some smart sensors can detect glitches during production and strategically shut down assembly lines to avoid producing faulty products and wasting materials. This type of surveillance can reduce risk by automatically ensuring that products meet expected standards and regulatory compliance before they are shipped to market. In turn, this system ensures consumer satisfaction and also reduces product recalls.
Monitor worksites: Managers must strive to maximize productivity while also ensuring that workers are happy, healthy and safe. One way to do this is to use video analysis and smart sensors to collect and analyze both working habits and environmental conditions. This is especially vital in risky areas such as construction sites and manufacturing facilities, as well as in areas with extreme weather conditions where workers must adhere to specific guidelines to avoid injuries.
As for your security system, use video cameras and sensors to improve on-site security capabilities, such as quickly identifying employees using facial recognition technologies to ensure that only authorized personnel are on-site. This is particularly important for utility companies that must keep up a tight watch to prevent intruders from inflicting physical harm on critical infrastructure like electrical grids and power plants. Smart security solutions can provide around-the-clock surveillance that surpasses the capabilities of even the most vigilant guards.
Edited by
Ken Briodagh
