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An introduction to jobsite surveillance software |
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Surveillance is common in the world, and it is becoming more common at the jobsite. In 2008, according to the American Management Association, 48% of companies were using video surveillance to ward off theft, violence and sabotage, and 7% were using that technology to track worker performance.
For construction companies, jobsite surveillance using video or photo surveillance software and equipment addresses a number of challenges associated with work places that are always moving and changing.
- Simply from the perspective of risk management, video and photo surveillance can make safety programs more robust and easy to manage.
- They can also help spot assemblies and work practices that are not up to code, or are incorrect according to the plans.
- Oversight of details using this equipment and software could reduce expensive repairs and change orders.
- Surveillance can also help to keep workers secure by putting a lens on work site hazards, or activities by outsiders that affect production or safety.
- These extra sets of mechanical eyes may also help to satisfy insurance requirements, or at least inspire more confidence and transparency in a companys operations.
- Finally, since construction sites are often shut down on nights and weekends, jobsite surveillance adds some peace of mind to the tasks of securing equipment and materials, and can actually help identify thieves.
Today, any jobsite can have some form of surveillance. There are single-lens systems that watch activities at a lone outdoor location, or inside a single, open-space building. Companies can string together a series of single lens cameras to monitor increasingly larger jobs. Contractors can opt for video or still frame shots taken at regular intervals. All video and photos can then be stored on a server at the home office, a server at a vendors location or even a hard drive at the job site. Depending on the configuration, instant and continual viewing of the video feed or photos can be on monitors in the main office, computer screens at the job site, or even on smart phones from any location.
Many companies offer equipment, software, hardware and services for jobsite surveillance. By reviewing the systems profiled in this article, managers can get a deeper understanding of whats currently available for surveillance purposes. Ultimately, that understanding can make the job of defining the goals for surveillance efforts easier and can serve as a starting point for determining the kind of approach that will best meet those goals.
The next section of this article offers some hints for installing a jobsite surveillance system, which you may be able to do yourself.
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