People Counters and Intercoms – Adapting to this New Normal

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers

Like many businesses, Kenton Brothers is adapting to the “Stay at home” order and the “New Normal”. While we remain operational, we are changing our operations to reduce risk and exposure for our team and yours. One of the ways we’ve adapted is by looking at our systems and seeing what they can do for us.

With fewer people in the office, we’ve introduced some new challenges.

Commercial Counter - People Counter in ActionOne such challenge is when people come to our commercial counter. The commercial counter is not always staffed like it used to be. The employees staffing our commercial counter are still in the building, but they’re helping out other teams. We don’t want a customer waiting for service, so we looked to our systems to increase alerting.

In this case, we used the Axis “People counter” software to send alerts to our team members when someone gets to the commercial counter. This counter is loaded directly onto the camera and can send alerts from the camera itself or notify the Video Management System (VMS) which can apply more logic to the alert.

The intercoms installed at our main entrances have become even more vital.

Old intercom systems used to be answered by a physical device at one or two desks in an office or retail environment. Today, intercoms are assigned to an extension on your phone system and can be answered by any station.

Most intercom systems have mobile applications where you can see and talk to the person at the intercom from anywhere in the world. We have an Axis 8105-E and 2N Solo mounted at two of our main entrances. The person who usually answers the intercom is at home, but shifting the answering station to another person was as simple as changing the extension in our phone system. We could have enabled the mobile app for after-hours answering if that was necessary as well.

Although these are “strange times” we can look to technology to help fill some of the gaps. These tools and technologies can  increase our ability to do more with less. If you’re faced with some business or security problems in this new world, give us a call. We’re happy to help!

VIDEO: Commercial Video Surveillance 2020

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As a business owner, I’m concerned about my people, properties and possessions. A commercial video surveillance system might be the right answer.

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Share your commercial video surveillance system feed with your local police department.

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By Neal Bellamy, IT Director at Kenton Brothers.

Video cameras are everywhere in the world today. These cameras can help a city gain more situational awareness and help police fight crimes better than ever before.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the police could access any camera… at any time?

Unfortunately, video management systems can be complicated. Most video management systems are not compatible with each other. However, there is hope.

Share your commercial video surveillance feed with your local police departmentIt starts with a standard.
In order for video management systems to communicate, they must first speak the same language. In the security camera space, there is already a common standard called ONVIF (www.onvif.org ). The standard is pretty widespread. If the standard is followed, it allows for video to be streamed between a client (usually a camera) and a server (usually a video management system). The ONVIF standard does not guarantee that all of the camera’s features can be accessed, but it’s a good starting point for basic video streaming. And it works with a bridge.

What if instead of a camera being ONVIF compliant, we made a commercial video management system act like an ONVIF compliant camera or multiple cameras? The video management system is already receiving video streams… Could it send the camera stream it’s receiving somewhere else as well?

That’s exactly what Milestone is doing.

Milestone Systems

Milestone commercial video surveillance LogoMilestone systems (www.milestonesys.com) has released a server component called “ONVIF Bridge”. This allows your Milestone server system to rebroadcast the video that is being sent to another server. As long as the receiving server is ONVIF compliant (most are) it will be able to see, and optionally record, the video.

So how does this solve our problem?

If a company wants to loan some, or all of their cameras out to a police department, they can under the following conditions:

1) The company is using a Milestone system that’s compatible with ONVIF Bridge
2) The Police department can connect to ONVIF Cameras

With those two things in place, the police department could use your cameras to help with situational awareness and help solve crimes.

In our lab at Kenton Brothers, we were able to successfully connect the Milestone ONVIF Bridge to Avigilon and Genetec systems.

If you would like to know more about how to connect your cameras to your local police department, give us a call!

Dirty Domes Done Dirt Cheap.

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Security System Maintenance that Rocks

Dirty Domes MaintenanceNot working is not an option when protecting your people, property, and possessions. We know – deep in our souls – that a security system must be maintained properly if we expect it to work correctly. We know it intuitively. But if that’s the case, why is it that too often commercial security pros neglect their systems? It’s human nature.

We expect the planning and installation phases of a security system to take time and resources. Too often, we mistakenly think the work ends with a completed project. The critical post-installation support is what protects the original investment and keeps the system running well for years to come.

What kind of things do we see on a regular basis when we’re inspecting and protecting the commercial security systems we install and support? Dirty domes may be done dirt cheap, but some of these examples trash the hotel room like rock stars.

Here’s an all access backstage tour:

 

Dirty Domes - System Maintenance

A wasp nest isn’t just a hassle for the tech cleaning this dome. It’s also a visual impairment that can keep a camera’s focus off of trouble spots.

Dirty Domes- Maintain your Cameras

Rain or shine, maintenance is required to keep your commercial security cameras working properly.

Jeremy's Magical Hardware Bag

Sometimes, we have to defend against wasp nests… with creative solutions. Just ask Jeremy.

So why do we need to stay vigilant with preventative maintenance?

The answers are simple, but they deserve an encore.

Even the best technology can fail.

As these components become more technologically advanced, it’s critical that systems are maintained properly. The primary goal of our service agreement is to keep your system functioning while reducing or eliminating downtime. That means software and firmware updates are completed to protect against found vulnerabilities before they’re exploited, not after. Plus, when firmware is updated, new features are often added that add value to your entire corporate security system.

Preventative maintenance is critical to safety.

Many organizational stakeholders view the preventative maintenance budget line as an expense that can be reduced. Maybe even eliminated. But when maintenance, upgrades, and testing are neglected, the cost to repair and replace key components can be significantly more than the original line item – and may cost lives.

A maintenance service agreement that fits your unique circumstances can be the difference between a well-planned system that functions properly and one that lets you down when you need it most. At Kenton Brothers Systems for Security, we want to offer our clients the kind of white glove service that leaves their systems in peak condition, ready to serve at a moment’s notice and in all conditions. To make sure your maintenance agreement is right for your needs and your system is concert ready, let’s talk.

Motion Detection + Video Surveillance = Frederick the Racoon Being Caught

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By Kristen Harper, Controller and HR Manager at Kenton Brothers.

Having an intrusion system is critical to protecting your property. At Kenton Brothers, we’ve recently found the importance of making sure there’s a video feed that is compatible with your intrusion system. By having motion detection utilizing your video system, you can catch intruders much more quickly.

Fun with FrederickLate one night in August, our CEO, Gina Stuelke, got an alert that there was movement in one of our warehouses. We took a look at our cameras that are tied to our motion detection intrusion system, and sure enough we had an intruder… of the four legged variety! A cute, snuggly little raccoon, (which we later adopted and named Frederick) had started to make a home in our warehouse.

We called in the boys in blue from Blue Beetle Pest Control to set up a couple of humane traps, and sure enough we caught him overnight. As we came to work that morning, nearly the whole office staff looked in on our little furry friend. Later that day, we released him in a nearby wooded area so he could resume a happy and healthy lifestyle outside of the KB Pickle Ball Court.

It was only through our intrusion system that we were able to catch Frederick so quickly and get him to a more appropriate home and minimizing damage to our facility. But we’re going to miss his cute face!