A manufacturing facility is a tough testing ground for any access control solution. By their nature, premises usually require multiple types of locks, including a range of cylinder types and sizes, as well as padlocks.  They often need locks that work both inside and outdoors. For this reason, many manufacturing plants retain outdated mechanical locking solutions, sacrificing the added control of an electronic solution. Programmable key solution criteria The right programmable key solution offers a flexible, powerful alternative. Key-based access control retains many advantages of mechanical security, notably the range of cylinders that manufacturing facilities need. It supplements this with added convenience for users: Instead of wasting time looking for the right key, or carrying large bunches, a user’s electronic key is programmed to unlock every opening for which they have authorisation, doors, and cabinets, indoors or outside. RheinfelsQuellen H. Hövelmann This beverage group has been run by the Hövelmann family since 1905 and is in its fourth generation Headquartered in Duisburg, RheinfelsQuellen H. Hövelmann is a family-owned company with a long history. This beverage group has been run by the Hövelmann family since 1905 and is currently in its fourth generation. Its product range includes nationally distributed brands Sinalco, Aquintéll, and Staatl. Fachingen, as well as others distributed within North Rhine-Westphalia such as Rheinfels Quelle, Römerwall, Burgwall­bronn, Ardey Quelle, Urquell, and Rheinperle. Challenge A company like RheinfelsQuellen is always on the move: New divisions are established, employees relocate or processes change. Suppliers, contractors, and the company’s own 650 personnel come and go. This means that access authorisations must change regularly. At the same time, areas and locations to be protected require different security levels, and access control devices need reliable weather resistance in outdoor areas. All-in-one solution For its Duisburg HQ and other locations around North Rhine–Westphalia, RheinfelsQuellen opted for an eCLIQ key-operated electronic access control system. In addition to administrative buildings, production facilities, and outdoor areas are also secured with around 530 eCLIQ devices. eCLIQ Cylinders offer a high level of protection against tampering and intelligent attacks ASSA ABLOY’s eCLIQ is a fully electronic version of the CLIQ® programmable key access control solution. Cylinders offer a high level of protection against tampering and intelligent attacks. All eCLIQ keys are extremely robust, with a waterproof casing and thus meet the high demands placed on outdoor access control by challenging environmental conditions.  CLIQ Web Manager This key-based access control system is managed independently by the CLIQ Web Manager (CWM), a flexible, easily scalable, cloud-based platform. System data may be accessed at any time, and from any location, via the CWM interface. The software's flexibility makes it especially suited to large access systems and/or for administering multiple locations which are geographically dispersed. “We are very satisfied with eCLIQ and would choose this secure and flexible locking solution time and time again,” says Marcus Schlötels, Project Manager at RheinfelsQuellen H. Hövelmann.

Patient falls in nursing homes are a serious problem. In the United States, for example, around 1,800 elderly people living in nursing facilities die each year from injuries related to falls, according to the Nursing Home Abuse Center. Those who survive their injuries often have a reduced quality of life and suffer some form of permanent disability. Challenge Figures show that between 50% and 75% of nursing home residents suffer falls each year, twice the chances of falling compared to seniors who live in a regular residential community. It has been a prevalent challenge to detect falls quickly and effectively, especially when these occur in residents’ bedrooms. In the UK, the Care Quality Commission has recognised that the use of CCTV may be one of the best ways to ensure safety and quality of care. However, using video surveillance also brings into question issues such as privacy and data protection. This is where Dahua’s WizMind technologies come into play. Human-based AI Specific to health and social care are deep-learning algorithms to protect the privacy of the face and body WizMind embraces human-based AI for a whole host of applications across verticals such as retail, energy, finance, transportation, and, of course, health and social care. Specific to the health and social care sector are deep-learning algorithms to protect the privacy of the face and body in real-time, and stereo analysis, which combines dual-lens cameras with three-dimensional scene analysis to detect sudden physical movement, such as falls. Stereo Video Analysis The growth of AI applications has enabled the greater availability of 3D scene analysis solutions, enabling objects and people to be analysed in three dimensions. Dahua’s stereo analysis uses two lenses to capture separate images of the same scene. It then computes the “optical parallax” of spatial points in the two images, providing 3D information about the scene. Stereo vision mimics the depth of view that comes from humans having two eyes, known as binocular vision. Deep-learning algorithm Combined with a deep-learning algorithm, stereo analysis can recognise event patterns such as falls, and other movement-based behaviours such as people approaching, the detection of an abnormal number of people in an area, and violent behavior. In nursing homes, stereo analysis cameras can help staff monitor residents in case of emergency and respond to residents’ problems, such as tripping and falls. The cameras can view all three dimensions of subjects, and together with its deep-learning algorithm can immediately alert staff to any unusual or sudden movement, such as would be evident in a fall. Intelligent fall detection technology The staff can respond quickly to incidents, which may otherwise stay undiscovered for hours With cameras situated both in communal areas and in bedrooms, the staff can respond quickly to incidents, which may otherwise stay undiscovered for hours. An example of such a scenario is a nursing home in Singapore, which has a capacity of around 400 beds and is divided into 14 separate living environments, each designed to be a home-like living area. Dahua cameras like IPC-HDW8341X-BV-3D with intelligent fall detection technology were installed, including the provision of 167 stereo analysis cameras inside each bedroom. These trigger an alarm in the case of incidents such as a fall, allowing immediate response by staff. Other applications Not only does this enhance the well-being and safety of residents, but it also can reduce the nursing home’s labour costs. In addition, Stereo Analysis can also be applied in other application scenarios. An underground unmanned bicycle parking garage in Amsterdam, for instance, has installed Dahua behavior analysis cameras to detect abnormal events and prevent accidents, such as people tripping and falling or suspicious individuals wandering around the area. Privacy protection While monitoring their situation inside the nursing home, Dahua also adopts Privacy Protection 2.0 technology that features the masking of human faces and bodies to protect the residents’ privacy. It involves the restriction of what can be seen in video images and applies equally to live and recorded images. Digital masking takes place on the front-end device (e.g. network camera). Dahua’s Privacy Protection 2.0 provides real-time occlusion of the body and face and enables users to access recorded videos, without having to overlay faces with mosaic masks. Occlusion options The technology also allows for face and human attributes analysis, without breaching people’s privacy It also offers additional occlusion options, such as irregular polygons, mosaics, and coloured blocks, and allows code exporting based on specified targets, ensuring the privacy of subjects. Benefits include non-pixelated human targets, allowing for privacy and security in evidence collection. The technology also allows for face and human attributes analysis, without breaching people’s privacy, making it ideal for nursing homes. Conclusion Stereo video analysis and privacy protection come into their own in nursing homes and healthcare facilities. It allows the close monitoring of residents or patients to help ensure their well-being and safety, while at the same time protecting the privacy of often vulnerable individuals.

Finland’s Osuuskauppa PeeÄssä retail co-operative, a nationwide S-Group co-operative federation member, has deployed March Networks video surveillance systems across its footprint of 73 retail and service establishments. The co-op boasts 121,000 customer-owners in Finland’s Northern Savonia region, whose capital and largest city, Kuopio, is 384 kilometres north of Helsinki. The 73 retail and service locations include three Prisma Hypermarkets, 29 S-Market grocery stores, 15 convenience stores, 15 restaurants, six ABC gas stations, three hotels, a SOKOS department store, and a Kodin Terra hardware store. March Networks video surveillance systems The rollout began in September 2019 and currently includes 85 March Networks recorders, a mix of 8000 Series Hybrid NVRs and 9000 Series IP Recorders, and more than 1,500 March Networks cameras. A new hotel and supermarket currently under construction will bring the camera count close to 2,000. “We used to have several different video surveillance systems and 10 different camera models from six manufacturers,” said Kimmo Keränen, IT Manager for PeeÄssä retail co-operative. “Maintenance was almost impossible and the picture quality in some cases was very poor.” Time management challenge Central management was a key feature for PeeÄssä retail while looking for in its new surveillance system “On top of that, there was no synchronised timekeeping, so one system could be five minutes off and another one could be an hour off. That was a real problem because correct timekeeping is everything when you’re looking for evidence.” For this reason, central management was a key feature PeeÄssä retail co-operative was looking for in its new surveillance system. “A majority of the 19 S-Group regional co-ops were already using March Networks systems, so the decision was easy to make,” said Jan Österlund, ICT Manager with SafeIT, a systems integrator and March Networks Certified Solution Provider serving the S-Group and PeeÄssä accounts. Central monitoring and management With more than 1,000 NVRs and tens of thousands of cameras across the larger S-Group co-ops, central management is a huge timesaver. Österlund can push out firmware upgrades and device settings with a few simple mouse clicks using March Networks Command Enterprise Software. The advanced system management software is ideal for managing large distributed video surveillance architecture. Its health monitoring and mass management capabilities make it easy to look after thousands of recorders and cameras from one central location. “We can schedule upgrades by location type and opening hours to minimise any interference with recording during business hours,” explained Osterlund. Recorders and cameras in use The 8000 and 9000 Series recorders are 32-channel or 64-channel devices with either 20 TB or 40 TB of onboard storage, sufficient to capture 30 days of archived video. The majority of the 1,500 cameras are March Networks SE2 Indoor and Outdoor IR Domes, but SE2 IR MicroBullets, SE2 Pendant PTZ Domes, and legacy analogue cameras are also used for specific applications. Searchlight software integration  Searchlight helps organisations gather business intelligence, which can help retailers with customer service S-Group is transitioning to a new point-of-sale system and has plans to integrate it with March Networks’ Searchlight for Retail software, which will allow the co-ops, including PeeÄssä, to identify suspicious transactions and instantly link to the associated video. Searchlight also helps organisations gather business intelligence, which can help retailers with operations, marketing, and customer service. “We are looking forward to acquiring the Brickstream 3D Gen2 sensors for queue management and people counting, and March Networks ME6 IR Domes for AI-powered analytics,” said Keränen. GDPR Compliance The March Networks system in place at PeeÄssä complies with the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which came into effect in 2018 and aims to protect the personal data and privacy of EU citizens. System features like privacy masks, which allow users to block out specific parts of a camera’s field of view, are important for meeting the regulation. “GDPR compliance is one of the reasons why we recommended March Networks,” said Österlund. Video access, training, and monitoring Video is currently monitored by guards in three control rooms, but managers also have access to live and recorded video from their locations. Altogether, approximately 100 PeeÄssä staff have access to the video. “Training everyone to use the system was very easy,” remarked Österlund. “The March Networks system is very user-friendly, so we supplied step-by-step instructions on how to log in, pick a camera, play the video, and export it.” Crime management Video is regularly used to supply evidence for shoplifting and internal fraud investigations Video is regularly used to supply evidence for shoplifting and internal fraud investigations, but the much-improved video quality from the March Networks system was also welcomed by local law enforcement. The Eastern Finland Police Department has mapped the location of PeeÄssä’s publicly facing cameras in the National Police Board’s database of surveillance cameras to help access video for criminal investigation purposes. “Almost every week, we are asked for video from the police department,” said Keränen. Installation, time, and cost savings SafeIT’s experience with the March Networks deployments at other S-Group co-ops helped to streamline the installation at PeeÄssä. “We supplied local integrators with clear guidance on how to set up the cameras and NVRs,” said Österlund. Standardising on March Networks allows the PeeÄssä co-op to save time and reduce costs for system maintenance. The state-of-the-art video surveillance system is also much easier to use. “We are very satisfied with March Networks,” said Keränen. “It was a big project, but well worth doing.”

As the largest sporting goods company in China, Anta Group has more than 12,000 offline stores in 294 cities across the country, with more than 100,000 employees. Despite its massive scope, Anta can still keep orderly management of its stores, present neat and cohesive displays, and provide excellent shopping experiences to its customers. How do they do it? Let’s check it out. Overview Just like its corporate mission to integrate the sports spirit of "Going beyond oneself" into everyone's daily life, Anta Group also incorporates the sports spirit into its management, operation, and other business aspects. Anta constantly innovates and embraces new technologies, devoting itself to digital intelligence transformation to achieve the intelligent management of its stores and provide customers with a comfortable shopping environment and superb service experience. Digital intelligence operation concept Dahua set up intelligent and hierarchical store management that helps physical shops operate efficiently Dahua developed the new "SERVICE PLUS" digital intelligence operation concept for Anta. With its powerful digital intelligence capability, it significantly helped standardise Anta’s intelligent retail marketing system nationwide, breaking the gap between tens of thousands of physical stores. It set up intelligent and hierarchical store management that helps physical shops operate efficiently and develop rapidly while creating a high-quality shopping experience. Intelligent Transformation: The "Hub" connecting 12,000+ stores Previously, store inspections are done in person. With several stores across the country, this method is undoubtedly costly and time-consuming. With the establishment of a visual store operation management network, all videos of each store are gathered at the headquarters. Multiple management tasks can be completed through remote store inspection and evaluation, providing traceable data results and allowing the headquarters to play a central role in store management. Remote inspection The remote shop inspection enables the headquarters management personnel to quickly grasp the operation status of several stores. When they find problems in the store's sanitation and product placement, they can record the scene in real-time and quickly follow up and deal with the situation in time. This helps ensure a comfortable shopping environment and timely service for customers. Easy store management The Dahua solution enables store managers to check the past on-site operation of the store Moreover, it also allows managers to quickly manage each store without having to travel to the site. The Dahua solution enables store managers to check the past on-site operation of the store, especially in case of an event. The details can be easily traced through video recordings to help customers solve issues promptly. As a result, the Dahua solution has significantly helped Anta Group reduce the management cost of the headquarters by more than 50%. Accurate customer flow statistics  Furthermore, collecting accurate customer flow statistics used to be a challenge for their store management. Through the professional customer flow statistics camera, accurate customer flow data are collected. The management personnel can intuitively view the number of incoming customers in each store at each period, which can help them to reasonably arrange staff schedules and ensure that customers get excellent service even during peak hours. Store promotions can also be strategised by comparing customer flow statistics on regular days with relevant store activities. Establish a smart network of 20+ regions To better manage the Anta stores, management is carried out by divisions and hierarchies. In addition to the unified management of the headquarters, different regions need their management authorisation. A region may also have a management structure based on superiors and subordinates, which is often troublesome and complicated. Remote store management Different management roles can easily check the situation of the stores, making business management more targeted The Dahua solution reorganises and integrates the remote store management authority based on the internal organisational structure of the company to build a remote management "network". While ensuring the parallel supervision of multiple stores, it realises clear authority distribution of more than ten management roles. Different management roles can easily check the situation of the stores under their jurisdiction, making business management more targeted and more efficient. In addition, when managers find any problems through remote shop inspection, they can directly call the corresponding store staff through the front-end device, and immediately correct the fault found to ensure a high-quality shopping environment at all times. Promote and accelerate business expansion For newly opened stores all over the country, Dahua provided a one-stop scenario-based network and standardised services, which were rapidly replicated by the construction of urban model sites. It offers standardised services for single-scenario, multi-scenario, and even cross-domain businesses. Thousands of upgraded stores can fully utilise the existing network of the store and quickly organise various intelligent devices online through wireless access, providing strong technical support for the rapid expansion of the store. Standardised management  By implementing digital and intelligent management of the headquarters, regional offices, and stores, Dahua helps Anta Group achieve standardised management and operation of their physical stores, providing customers with an excellent shopping experience. Moving forward, Dahua will continue to implement scenario-based solutions, delve deeper into business chain scenarios, and help enterprises develop through digital intelligence transformation.