Safety first
"For the very few full-up and run incidents that occur here in rural Bavaria, we don't really need camera surveillance," says Franz Schreyer. "However, it does greatly increase the safety of our personnel, which for me was the decisive factor."
While searching for the ideal camera system, Franz Schreyer talked to a number of well-known video technology providers and discovered something surprising: "All of the manufacturers offered me analogue technology. Usually a sales representative would show up first and promise me the sun and the moon. Then a technician would arrive and tell me about all the problems involved. I also found out that analogue technology is much too complicated. For one thing, you have to search for quite a long time before you find the images you need." Franz Schreyer also had a hard time understanding why he was told that he needed eight cameras for only four gas pumps.
No more fear of high system costs
"The major providers advised against using network cameras because according to them, they were still too expensive. But this technology is exactly what interested me in the first place," recalls Schreyer. After that, he paid a visit to the MOBOTIX booth at Systems in Munich in the fall of 2005, where the helpful staff explained exactly how network cameras work. "The MOBOTIX staff took away my fear of getting into costs that were too high. In addition they were able to directly refer me to a Secure Partner." Willi Fischer, electrician and owner of Netzwerkservice-Fischer, won a new customer with Schreyer.
As a technician, Willi Fischer soon realised that four MOBOTIX cameras would be adequate to monitor the gas pumps. Another camera was also added to monitor the entrance to Schreyer Haustechnik GmbH.
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| One MOBOTIX camera for 4 gas station lanes can be used for long-term recording without additional devices |
Perfect insight and overview
Of course, the relatively large gas station store had to be monitored as well. For the store Willi Fischer recommended five MOBOTIX DualDome cameras. Each camera can be equipped with any two lenses needed. The advantage: The five DualDomes installed generate 10 meaningful images. One camera with two standard lenses, for example, watches over the two cash register areas.
"Outstanding image quality"
With its high megapixel resolution, the MOBOTIX camera delivers the sharpest images with lots of easy-to-see details. "The image quality is simply outstanding, and an important reason why I decided to go with MOBOTIX," commented Schreyer. The combination of a network camera system with an attractive price and outstanding image quality convinced Franz Schreyer to also equip the truck wash and the do-it-yourself washing stalls with MOBOTIX cameras in the near future. As another advantage he notes: "I'm on the road a lot, so it's great to be able to take a look at the company from time to time when I'm not there." No problem for MOBOTIX technology. All the owner needs on the road is a laptop with Internet access and a standard web browser.
Network Video: security has priority
Once quite common, the combination of a gas station with a car dealership is something you don't see very often anymore. Gas Station/Car Dealership Reference For Heinrich Krawietz, co-owner and CEO of Auto-Schöttle in Stuttgart, however, the gas station presents an opportunity to win new customers for the dealership repair shop. And thus he continues the over 50-year tradition of the car dealership. Running a gas station, however, does involve certain security risks. After all, as the gas prices have kept climbing, gas theft has also been on the rise over the past few years. To try to stop these so-called "fill-up and run" customers, two small analogue surveillance cameras with miniature screens were installed in 1993. "However these cameras did not have a recording function, which meant we would have had to watch them all the time," reported Heinrich Krawietz.
Senseless break-ins
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| MOBOTIX's elegantly designed dome camera series is highly suitable for indoor and outdoor use |
Apparently, this type of surveillance just didn't do the job. " Another problem we kept on having was that old tires or used oil canisters were secretly ‘disposed of' on the gas station property in the middle of the night," said the manager. "And we wanted to know who was using our gas station as a dumpsite." Then when the cashbox at the vacuum station was broken open for just 35 euro in the summer of 2003, the decision was finally made to purchase a new and more powerful camera surveillance system.
Ideal conditions
After receiving an advertising letter, Heinrich Krawietz contacted MOBOTIX. The Kaiserslautern-based company then asked its partner, IBC, to present potential solutions on site. It became evident that network cameras offered ideal conditions for the day-to-day operations at the gas station: "I had a very definite idea about the functions I wanted a camera system to perform in my business," explained Heinrich Krawietz. "And the MOBOTIX solution fulfilled all my expectations. " The company CEO was particularly impressed by the extensive recording functions, the precise event control and the convenient display of the camera images on the computer screen. The advantage of using event control is that sequences are not recorded unless there is movement in previously defined camera image areas, that is, when something is actually happening in the camera's view.
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| MOBOTIX network cameras offered a cost-effective solution for the petrol station security needs |
Highly recommended
There have not been any unpleasant events since the cameras were installed; a clear indication that the solution also has a preventative effect. And there has already been some thought given to installing a fourth camera in the dealership. Heinrich Krawietz: "Lots of customer cars are parked behind the building in front of the repair shop and it would be good to give them some added protection against theft and vandalism. The most effective and economical way to do that would be to add another camera."
