24 Jul 2018
“ Being able to view the footage on our phones in real time and flick between the different cameras in the café is great. We can zoom in on different areas and slow down or speed up the playback.” Jaya Da Costa, Owner of the Pause Cat Café.
Mission
Pause Cat Café, a small independent not-for-profit enterprise
employing fifteen people and over thirty volunteers
located in Bournemouth, England, recently opened its
doors to customers with a single unique aim: increasing
happiness by providing a haven for humans and cats to
enjoy each other’s company. Customers can enjoy a
coffee or meal time among the relaxed company of
twelve rescue cats while also learning more about animal
welfare, ethical eating and community involvement.
With such a unique business model, the café owner
needed to not only closely monitor the cats 24/7 to
ensure their welfare, particularly when the café was
closed, but also to satisfy stringent compliance regulations
set by the local council. Being able to demonstrate
cleanliness and ensure the health and safety of patrons at
all times was paramount. Pause Cat Café required a high
quality, easy to use and, of course, affordable solution to
meet their security and compliance needs and deliver
peace of mind.
Solution
AXIS Companion Line was the natural choice. A network
of five AXIS Companion IP cameras covering the inside
of the café environment as well as external front and
back doors was installed allowing live footage to be
viewed through mobile devices. At any time, the owner
and nominated staff can check on the wellbeing and
whereabouts of the cats through high-definition technology.
They are also able to monitor the traditional
aspects of a retail café establishment such as health
and safety compliance in food preparation and takeaway
areas, cash transactions and property security.
The technology ensures compliance with animal welfare
regulations, assists with public liability adherence, and
helps ensure secure business operations.
Result
TThe selection of Axis Companion small business surveillance
technology installed by The IT Department, a
local IT company, has helped provide complete peace of
mind to the Pause Cat Café owner. The unique concept
of the cat café means that animal welfare needs to be
followed closely, with the health and safety of all being
paramount to the continued success of the business.
Being able to view the cats at any time helps to keep
them safe around the clock. In addition, high definition
monitoring during business hours can assist with public
liability; playback of imagery can determine the exact
circumstances surrounding any incident. Surveillance of
key entry points to deter or provide evidence of breakins
is also provided in addition to health and safety
compliance, showing that cats are separated from food
preparation areas.
24/7 monitoring; ensuring business security
and cat welfare
Cat cafés started in Taiwan in the late 1990s and have
become popular around the world. There are currently a
handful in the UK, promoting health benefits to their
visitors such as reducing blood pressure, anxiety and
stress while improving mood and in some cases helping
people with autism.
The Bournemouth-based Pause Cat Café faces similar
issues to other small businesses in the retail and food
sectors. The cameras have been installed for traditional
business reasons such as financial and personal security
that other small business owners can empathise with.
Security of premises; crime prevention; monitoring
health and safety; staff education and training; and
management of public liability compliance are some of
the key issues to be addressed. The protection of
customer-facing staff serving food or handling money is
essential.
Jaya Da Costa, Owner of the Pause Cat Café states, “We
have full CCTV on all of the property to make sure the
cats are OK and that they don’t come to any harm. We
can watch them 24/7 on our mobile phones. It also
helps support the necessary regulations that form part
of our trading license from the local council – a café
with cats isn’t your usual high street establishment.
“AXIS Companion Line has already saved the cafe
around £1,000 when a member of the public caused
criminal damage to the property by cracking the front
window. Upon hearing the noise, I was able to quickly
check the camera footage, identify the person responsible
and inform the police, who caught the suspect
further up the road.”
The IT Department, a local IT installer and Axis partner,
was involved very early in the café’s inception. Its team
assessed the technology and video surveillance needs of
the café and suggested the IP surveillance solution,
AXIS Companion Line, to meet business and budget
objectives.
Matthew Newnham, Key Account Manager at The IT
Department, states, “The café owner liked what we had
to say about AXIS Companion Line. It is well priced and
advanced equipment ideally suited to the small
business. It is also very simple to install.”
A high-definition tool for protecting small
business assets, customers and staff
The quirky aspect of the cat café meant that the
business owner also needed to safeguard its feline
‘staff’. Monitoring the site at all times is important for
animal welfare purposes and is a regulatory requirement.
Playback and zoom functionality helps enhance
the effective monitoring of the animals.
In the future, the café is looking into livestreaming
footage of cats interacting with customers for promotional
purposes to help boost its visitor numbers and
highlight the positive health benefits that come from
interacting with the cats.
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Axis Communications (UK Ltd)
Website
T: 01582 283760
1 Capability Green
LU1 3LU
Luton, Bedfordshire
United Kingdom
Axis offers intelligent security solutions that enable a smarter, safer world. As the market leaderin network video, Axis is driving the industry by continually launching innovative networkproducts based on an open platform - delivering high value to customers through a globalpartner network. Axis has long-term relationships with partners and provides them withknowledge and ground-breaking network products in existing and new markets.
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