When a business has a number of sites operating in different locations one of the challenges is to bring the security function together all in one place. Filippi Auto, the car rental company, sought out a solution from reseller Vedetec for a solution in its Corsica operation, and they used Hikvision products to do it.
The main objective of this installation was to be able to monitor the entrances and exits of vehicles of five sites from the main site in Bastia as if there was only one car park. The existing situation provided quite a headache for managers, since they couldn’t get an overview of what was happening at each site.
Lost repair claims
With customers returning cars to all five sites, it can be tricky to keep an eye on all of them without a lot of manpower. For example, one customer picked up a car from the Bastia site and returned it to another site 130km away.
Filippi Auto had to hire an extra employee on-site specifically to check the condition of returning vehicles
Unfortunately, there was no one at that site to check the vehicle's condition. Later, scratches were found on the vehicle but there was no evidence as to which customer was at fault. In the end, Filippi Auto had to hire an extra employee on-site specifically to check the condition of returning vehicles. This, of course, influenced the running of the business, not least because it added to operational costs in manpower and lost repair claims.
Video management platform
The 29 Hikvision ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) cameras (DS-2CD4A26FWD-LZS/P) and 4 Hikvision PanoVu (DS-2DP1636Z-D) products were installed in the five Filippi Auto sites in Corsica: in Calvi, Figari, Cavone (Ajaccio), Ajaccio airport and the main site in Bastia. These were part of a larger Hikvision solution, including embedded 4K NVR (DS-7732NI-I4) and a Hikvision video management platform.
They installed 4 ANPR cameras in front of each entrance gate. The ANPR reads the plate and the software consults a database where plates are stored. If the license plate is in the database, the camera is triggered to record and the barrier is opened. If the license plate is not in the database, the barrier does not open.
Providing perimeter security
The ANPR at entrances and exits makes the processing more efficient
The recordings will be stored in the NVRs with a link to the video recorder for the 4 cameras and can be viewed by inputting the plate number into the platform software. Finally, a PanoVu camera gives a great overview of the open space, and provides perimeter security with smart functions like line crossing and intrusion alerts.
The system is very important for Filippi Auto’s business because it saves manpower and makes their work more efficient. They can easily see how many free space are in the car park, making it easier to manage. The ANPR at entrances and exits makes the processing more efficient. In addition, video evidence stored can be used to track back any damages or discrepancies, and can also provide evidence if needed to support claims.
Great recognition accuracy
The servers are all centrally located at the main site, which means the Director can check the situation at all the remote sites from his office. The use of the video management platform on his smartphone also means he can see the sites wherever he is.
The Director will receive a notification through the system and can check what’s happening
This comes in handy if there’s an emergency situation – the Director will receive a notification through the system and can check what’s happening and take action quickly. The project manager in Vedetec recommended Hikvision’s ANPR camera in particular because it has great recognition accuracy, with a small error rate. In fact, it boasts a capture rate of up to 99% and a recognition rate of up to 98%.
Specific business problems
Olivier Golouboff, from Vedetec, says: “The overall solution fully meets the needs of customers, customer satisfaction is very high. We were also very impressed with Hikvision’s pre-sales and after-sales service. A technical team went to Corsica to give end-users demonstrations and training support.”
The solution was realised by ‘Spot Surveillance’ in collaboration with ‘New Tech.’ The solution neatly combined a security solution with an application which solved specific business problems on the ground. With the ability to monitor remote sites from the palm of the hand, Filippi Auto can rest assured that its employees and premises are safe – and that the cars are also well looked after.