Ian Barker of Dedicated Micros' technical support team gives advice to installers with clients in the leisure, pub and restaurant sector
Q: I have recently been contacted by a major pub chain suffering from internal security problems. They suspect staff of failing to charge or under-charging customers they know. They already have a few cameras installed, which will be upgraded. Have you any suggestions on the best way forward?
A: A system is required that will provide them with some solid evidence. This kind of staff theft is more common than you think, and is not only an issue in pubs and restaurants, but many other service industries including the retail sector. One thing you may wish to consider looking at is implementing a point of sale (POS) solution.

A typical POS security system consists of:

  • DVR(s)
  • camera(s)
  • till/cash register(s)
  • interface module

A typical POS solution would link together the DVR, the cameras and the tills or cash registers. The DVR records the video as usual and the till or cash register records the actual transactions.

With a POS solution in place, you can capture both the till transaction and the associated CCTV footage so that any suspicious incidents can be replayed almost instantly. For example, when a member of bar staff serves a pint of lager, but only charges for a packet of crisps, the output from the till and the matching CCTV images associated with the till data will provide all the evidence that is required.

Interrogate the text
Some POS systems also store the video separately from the actual text of the transaction so that the text can be interrogated. For example, you can search for particular sale transactions using keywords such as lager or coke, etc. More advanced searches are also possible using keywords such as "Void" or "Refund". This will then display a list of all the till transactions plus associated video of any re-occurrences of the same member of staff committing the same transaction, providing evidence to allow investigation of any possibly fraudulent activity.

On some DVRs, the text can also be disabled when playing back, so that the full screen can display the incident without the text obscuring any potentially key images.

The transaction data from the till can also be used to track trends. For example, you can search for a keyword such as a particular brand of lager or bitter, and the POS system will list each individual transaction that includes that particular brand in the description. This is particularly helpful for the landlord when forecasting stock.

Dependant upon which POS solution you select, some DVRs have the option to select varied record rates: once the POS system picks up a key-word (such as void or refund), the DVR can increase the associated camera's record rate, so that more frequent pictures are obtained from the scenarios you are particularly interested in. You may also be able to create an alarm that alerts nominated staff, the bar manager for example, each time the key words are triggered for instant investigation.

Not only will a POS solution help protect against theft, but it can also act as a deterrent to abusive and threatening customers, all too common in a pub environment. Some POS systems have the ability to record audio, as well as capture video and text, giving you the option to identify and ban abusive customers from a whole chain of pubs if required. You may also wish to position a monitor somewhere along, or even above the bar, so that the customers are aware that they, as well as the transactions, are being monitored.

Teach new bar staff
Another benefit of constant recording is that it may be used for staff training purposes. New bar staff can learn customer service techniques and watch how certain procedures are followed, for example credit card transactions.

Cameras that are linked to the POS system don't necessarily have to be used simply to monitor the bar and tills. They can also be positioned at certain high risk areas, such as the fruit machines, the WC or the manager's office. Covert cameras can be connected, again, in areas of high sensitivity, where staff and customers do not need to know they are being recorded.

With the more serious cases, images may be required to pass onto the police. If the DVR employs a method of image authentication, this can help to increase the weight of evidence in court. However the owner must be aware of the importance of proper procedure, for the export of images from the DVR.

All of the above can also be monitored off site, for example by the brewery or the landlord. They can not only remotely access the POS and view all the connected cameras and images but also perform the same tasks as if they were on the premises, including review images, keyword searches and export the required footage onto their PC. If there are any covert cameras, they can also be viewed without any indication in the pub that anything is being investigated.

No matter how small or large the pub is, from a small local pub to a night-club, staff turnover is frequently high and casual labour is often used – which makes it a high risk environment. A POS solution can make a real difference as to whose pocket the money goes into.

There are serious health and safety implications in supplying an end user with installation instructions

  • If any readers have any CCTV questions they'd like to put to me, please email them to gtrott@cmpinformation.com who will pass your queries on. I'll endeavour to answer all your questions as soon as possible. The best questions will be printed and the reader will receive a DM goody bag, so keep them coming in!

    Now … can you help
    In our March edition we printed some of the questions that came into our web site and asked if readers had any answers. Our thanks to Brian Harrington, Customer Service Manager at Castle Care-Tech Ltd (01344 886446) who took the bull by the horns and answered a number of them …

    Q: My house security alarm doesn't appear to be active when the electricity has gone off. I've checked the 12v battery and it appears to be at 7volts. Is it faulty or is it not being charged?
    Andy Richards

    A: If the battery measures no more than 7v it is probably dead and in need of replacement. At the very least, it will be too flat for a normal control PSU to be able to charge it. A check would need to be made on the charging voltage emanating from the system to ensure that it is capable of correctly charging the replacement.

       Q: On some control panels I service the voltage is as low as 12.5 instead of the recommended voltage of 13.5 and 13.8 and the battery is only 12 months old. What would you suggest is the best way to rectify this problem?
    Leigh Marshall

    A: Without a doubt, contact the manufacturer! Most PSUs have some kind of calibration provision on them, and the world and his wife know that the battery charging voltage should always be between 13.6 and 13.8 volts – or should it?

    There are panels on the market that use a "two-stage constant-current/constant-voltage" charging algorithm. With such techniques, voltages anywhere between 12 and 14.7 can be correct, depending upon the state of charge (not the age) of the battery.

    Hence, ALWAYS check with the manufacturer before attempting to tweak calibration or whatever.

       Q: Years ago I purchased a DSC PC 1565 alarm system. It was programmed by the installer to call by phone to the monitoring centre in my town. I cancelled my monitoring contract so my system only sounds the siren. Can I , by myself, reprogramme my panel to change the destination monitoring phone number to my own cellular phone to catch any intrusion?
    Andres Carvallo

    A: Most manufacturers make it as difficult as possible for end users to get hold of installation/ programming manuals for products designed for professional installation.

    This is for two reasons:
    a) It doesn't go down well with professional installing companies if manufacturers let end users have access to the system where they can gum up the programming.

    b) There are serious health & safety implications of supplying an end user with instructions that describe what to do inside a unit which is wired to the mains.

    Even if your enquirer should manage to get hold of a suitable manual, there are two things standing in his way:

    1. He will need the engineer code to access the programming options – which the original installation company would have to supply (or he may be able to revert to factory programming in some way and start again from scratch!).

    2. Contacts to the monitoring centre are by very specific protocols. Whilst a few systems do have the option of generating a special SMS text mess-age format, the standard monitoring centre formats are all totally unintelligible to a mobile phone.

    I would recommend that he contacts the original installation company for advice.

       Q: How does an sab and scb bell work?
    James Killeen

    A: An sab is a self-activating bell; an scb is a self-contained bell. The difference is that under normal circumstances, the sab is driven by (ie draws power from) the control. The exception is when the wiring to the unit is disturbed, when it "self-activates" using its own (battery) power.

    On the other hand the scb ALWAYS functions in "self-activating" mode – ie even with all wiring correctly connected, it would sound by the control removing a monitoring voltage from it rather than by the control applying power.