BS 8418 compliant TeleEye transmission equipment has enabled CCTV monitoring station, iWatch UK, to prevent the theft of temporary road panels used by heavy lorries delivering effluent sludge fertiliser on to muddy, slippery fields. 350,000 tonnes of sludge, a bi-product of sewage processing, are spread on fields across the South East of England every year.
Each road panel is made from aluminium and has a scrap value of £450 or more. With upwards of 50 panels laid at each site, usually in remote locations, teams of thieves were stealing the panels overnight.
Placing a security guard on site seemed the obvious solution to prevent the theft. However, lone worker and employer liability issues, coupled with the potentially threatening behaviour of the thieves, leave a responsible employer flinching at the possible exposure to litigation cases.
As a result, Sentrybox was developed to tackle the theft problem. SentryBox comprises a "shipping"
style container of some 3m cubed, and a pneumatic CCTV mast mounted in the roof with a camera and dome attached. The SentryBox also includes a TeleEye Rx CCTV transmitter which is used to send high quality CCTV images via a wireless network to the iWatch remote monitoring station for 24/7 surveillance. Batteries and an in-built generator supply all power to the SentryBox, so no external connection is necessary. The SentryBox is literally placed in a field and works - its size preventing its own theft.
Any site movement is automatically detected, raising an alert to iWatch's trained operators for assessment. The operators then take immediate and appropriate action, from sending a verbal warning message to unwanted site visitors through to initiating a police response.
Sentryboxes are now used in many other types of remote sites such as festivals and outdoor events. They are also used in disaster sites and areas where outdoor access is highly restricted, such as crime scenes. The remote monitoring iWatch offers ensures the personal safety of legitimate site visitors in remote locations and detects and prevents theft. The visual verification of site alarms using TeleEye CCTV transmission products even ensures an immediate police response where necessary.
