Axis cameras drive down losses at Tractamotors

20 Nov 2014

Automotive servicing business, Tractamotors, has realised a 60% reduction in losses for the retail arm of its business following the installation of nearly 50 Axis network cameras to its site in Cavan, Ireland.

Axis Communications and partner, Encom, developed a feature-rich, state-of–the-art solution that combined Axis network cameras and a Milestone XProtect video surveillance system, to replace its legacy analogue system and increase coverage to protect staff, monitor health and safety and reduce shrinkage across the 2½ acre site.

Atul Rajput, Axis’ regional director, northern Europe said: “Tractamotors was suffering from patchy coverage from an antiquated analogue CCTV system. The site consisted of an administrative area, garage, retail hardware store, trade yard and a small agricultural machinery division. Its location on a busy main road toward Dublin meant that it received a lot of customer traffic as well as frequent supplier deliveries, which all required close surveillance monitoring to reduce incidents of theft and vandalism and to protect staff and customers.”

Tractamotors initially investigated an upgrade to its current analogue CCTV system but after testing a hybrid digital video recording package, it decided to make the switch from analogue to digital. Ciaran Murray, IT manager at Tractamotors, explained: “We looked at other solutions but, in the end, decided that we wanted something truly digital. Encom’s proposal, using Axis network cameras and Milestone XProtect was the perfect solution.”

Over 40 AXIS M32 Series fixed dome network cameras were installed in the hardware and retail areas of the business in order to minimise stock loss and reduce incidents of theft. Encom was able to integrate elements of the existing analogue system into the new IP solution with the use of Axis video encoders.

Tractamotor’s shop floor had lots of aisles, obscured by shelving, with no clear field of view. To overcome this, Axis’ Corridor Format was used in conjunction with the AXIS M3204 Network camera to rotate the video’s aspect ratio to a portrait view.  

Coverage in the store was increased from 25% to 80% with the new Axis cameras and incidents have been reduced by an average of 60% overall. Ciaran continued: “The main priority was to reduce pilfering in the store area and increase camera coverage, as our previous system only protected limited high-risk zones. As we were still fairly satisfied with some of the co-axial cameras, we were pleased that they were able to be incorporated into the overall solution.”

Camera count was also increased in other parts of the site to address the health and safety concerns in the tyre and refitting areas of the business. Atul explained: “In total, 48 Axis network cameras were installed across the site. All entrances and exits are now closely monitored so that managers can keep an eye on stock deliveries and any unauthorised out-of-hours access – live footage can even be monitored remotely via an iPad.”  

Ciaran concluded: “We are happy with the system. Stock control is much more robust and the overall security of the site has been tightened up considerably. Axis and Encom will be our first port of call for any future solutions.”