Panasonic’s acclaimed end-to-end i-Pro security system is showcased at CarpetRight

Trading from over 500 stores and concessions in the UK and Republic of Ireland, as well as over 100 stores across Holland, Belgium and Poland, CarpetRight plc is Europe's leading specialist carpet and floor covering retailer.

Combining economical pricing with comprehensive stock availability for its retail outlet customers requires a strategic infrastructure, the heart of which is a vast new warehouse and head office facility located in Purfleet, just outside of London. Here in a building large enough to house five football pitches, thousands of roles of stock carpet are stored, and dispatched from the bespoke warehouse via Europe's largest carpet cutting and sizing department to stores across the UK, using the company's own fleet of dedicated vehicles. Protecting the newly built facility is the latest i-Pro CCTV technology from Panasonic, installed by Panasonic Premier Integrator (PPI), A.I.S Total Security.

System specification

Together with the massive warehouse and dispatch resource at the purpose-built site, is a combined head office comprising open-plan office areas, meeting rooms, break facilities and a staff restaurant. With such a vast amount of valuable stock on-site, combined with significant and complicated daily goods movements, plus a considerable number of personnel on-site at any one time, CarpetRight's management placed a specific security plan in-place right from the planning stage of the new building, as Ian Rainsley, Head of Security at CarpetRight explains: "Working off-plan prior to the build, it was clear that securing this vast site was no easy proposition and would require a multi-faceted solution that included access control and a comprehensive electronic surveillance solution, backed by a dedicated manned-guarding team."

"The fulfilment of this security plan was released to tender with several companies applying. From this process, A.I.S Total Security was selected on the basis of economical pricing and a quality equipment specification that included a total Panasonic end-to-end solution. We already had positive experience of the level of customer care AIS offered, as they had been responsible for the provision of local alarms for many of our retail premises over the years. However, we were even more certain of their ability to deliver a total solution for us when they based their bid on a totally IP system from the well known and industry-leading brand, Panasonic."

Using their qualified status as a Panasonic Premier Installer, AIS were able to provide factory-backed customer support to Carpetright's management, even before the equipment had been installed, via invaluable on-site demonstrations of the latest Panasonic technology. "Manufacturers can make any number of claims regarding the performance of their equipment and its implications for the site they are providing for," says Ian; "however, there really is no comparison to seeing the actual products you will be investing in demonstrated on-site, to the people who will be using them everyday."

"This real-life test-drive of the Panasonic equipment allowed our team to evaluate the equipment's capabilities across a number of varying conditions we experience on the site. In each demonstration, the Panasonic kit provided crystal clear images, even over the extended distances we required to cover this vast site. First hand experience meant we had the utmost confidence in AIS delivering a quality surveillance solution to the specification we required."

Thousands of roles of carpet are stored at the warehouse which are protected with Panasonic's surveillance solutions

Installation experience

Installing the system as the building was being constructed presented a number of advantages and challenges to A.I.S, as Rob Dean, Engineering Supervisor for A.I.S explains: "As a PPI we have access to comprehensive training on all Panasonic surveillance products, and so are able to specify the latest technology for each installation. At CarpetRight, we were able to save cabling infrastructure and costs to the customer by specifying a total IP-based CCTV system. The quality product training received from Panasonic gave us the confidence in specifying the latest version of Panasonic's i-Pro technology. By using an IP solution, we could use the Cat6 structured cabling already designated to be included in the buildings infrastructure, as part of a comprehensive IT communications network, to distribute and record the CCTV images. Each Panasonic camera could then be easily connected to the network at virtually any point in the building, quickly and easily, minimising valuable on-site installation time and maximising possible scene coverage, to create the most economical installation for the customer. Additionally, the internal WV-NW484 and WV-NP240 series cameras could be powered over the network using PoE (Power over Ethernet), again saving money by negating the need for individually fused spurs at each camera."

Ian adds: "Utilising a totally IP-based Panasonic solution, we estimate to have saved around twelve thousand pounds on the total installation costs, versus a ‘traditional' analogue system. So the specifying and installation skills of A.I.S, combined with the latest technology from Panasonic has benefited us with real cost saving results."

Real performance results

Cameras were positioned to cover each area of the vast site, including the factory floor, expansive carpet-cutting area, open plan office space, employee break areas, site perimeter, main building perimeter, goods yard, and employee car park. This comprehensive coverage can be viewed via the network, on any Panasonic WV-AS65 Management Software equipped PC. This allows key managers such as Ian to access camera footage directly from their office, affording strategic managerial decisions to be made without the need to physically visit areas around the site.

"We use the high-definition camera images for a variety of reasons, primarily for security, but also for site management and more increasingly, health and safety reasons. Pictures from around the site allow us to perform a wide variety of tasks and assists our security team's daily function. From a security perspective, the cameras afford instant ‘virtual' patrols of the grounds via automatic and fully programmable PTZ tours, giving our manned-guarding team an unparalleled overview of any situation. Detailed information can then be obtained using the powerful zoom functionality of the Panasonic cameras."

PC-based control room connects to a WJ-ND300 Network Disk Recorder, the heart of the IP surveillance system

"As we noted during the demonstration trials of the proposed equipment, any solution needed to perform within the adverse weather conditions we often experience here, in addition to the night time periods when the cameras need to perform in the very low light available. Often the areas the cameras need to be surveying are the dark corners of our site. All working areas and loading bays are illuminated, so the transition from one area to another can be quite drastic in terms of light content, however the Panasonic WV-NW960 cameras work beautifully, allowing our security staff to identify individuals in any area, at any time of the day."

Additional functionality

"We have also seen a great added benefit of the CCTV system in a health and safety role. Primarily specified as a security device, it has increasingly proved its worth as a key tool in our health and safety programme, to the point that we are now installing five additional internal cameras, just for this purpose. When the site first opened, we had experienced some persistent damage to storage racking, caused by forklift trucks clipping them. To remedy this, we identified each forklift with a number on the side of its bodywork, and that is visible by the Panasonic cameras. Now, if any damage is reported, we can view the high-quality recorded footage and via a crosscheck with the vehicle log at that time, determine who was responsible. Since the cameras have been employed in this way, this type of incident has been reduced to zero!"

All footage is recorded via a Panasonic WJ-ND300A Network Disk Recorder that forms the heart of the system. Located in the specially built communications room, the expandable unit, currently stores up to 175GB of recorded video from all internal and external cameras.

Summarising the benefits of the end-to-end Panasonic i-Pro system, Ian enthuses: "The specified system works extremely well, and is testament to the constant communication between myself and AIS, that camera positions specified ‘off plan' work so well in practice. The quality of imagery from the system is a revelation and has proved to be an essential tool not only for security but also in the daily running of our operations here at CarpetRight. Going forward, the intrinsic expandability of the system (simply by adding the relevant camera position), is a real benefit to us, and will ensure that our initial investment in the system continues to benefit the company and staff for many years to come."