Dallmeier upgrades video security systems at IKEA furnishing stores in Prague and Brno

In just six decades, the IKEA furnishing store has grown from a small Swedish company into a global retail business

The IKEA sites in the Czech cities of Prague and Brno recently modernised their video security systems and are now equipped with state-of-the-art technology by German manufacturer Dallmeier.

Within merely six decades, the IKEA furnishing store has grown from a small company in the south Swedish town of Smaland into a global retail business around the world. The company's concept for success is straightforward: offering furnishings at prices low enough so that as many people as possible are able to afford them. IKEA is thereby going by the vision of enhancing the everyday lives of the many people who buy its products.

A "more pleasant daily routine" is now also ahead of the security personnel at the IKEA sites in the Czech cities of Prague and Brno, as they can now rely on state-of-the-art technology from Dallmeier.

Both sites have already been using digital recording devices from Dallmeier for many years. When the buildings were recently modernised and reconstructed, the CCTV system was to be complemented with the latest technology, too. Besides the DLS-24 Wavelet recorders, the H.264 recorders of the DMS series "In Memory of Leonardo" are now also in use. Andrea Tomasekova, Administration Manager with IKEA and responsible for the Czech, Hungarian and Slovakian market, explains the decision to use Dallmeier: "The devices have been working reliably for all those years. That's why we also chose Dallmeier for the expansion of our video system. The best thing about it is that we were able to use the old and new recorders in mixed operation. So we didn't have to replace the entire existing system but could simply add to it. Obviously this is a huge financial benefit!"

The decisive reason for choosing the new devices was, above all else, the possibility of real-time recording in highest quality. Andrea Tomasekova explains: "We are impressed by the performance capability and recording quality of the latest generation of devices. All channels can be recorded in real-time and the image quality is truly outstanding. These were very important points for us!"

The planning and installation of the system was carried out in collaboration between Dallmeier and local system integrator Security Technologies. Robert Hlozanka, market manager with Security Technologies, has been working with Dallmeier products for quite some time: "We recommend them frequently because of their reliability and ease of operation."

Integration

The security system has an additional controlling tool to monitor the proceedings at the cash counter

The Dallmeier recorders are integrated into the overriding management system C4 by Gamanet. C4 is a comprehensive security system that unifies all areas of building security in one solution, ranging from access control and fire protection right up to video surveillance. The digital Dallmeier video recorders are compatible with the C4 system and can be controlled and fully displayed by it. Both live images as well as recorded sequences can be displayed. Karlheinz Biersack, Sales Manager with Dallmeier, explains: "We rely on an open system architecture and interfaces, which allow for the easy integration of and into third-party systems. However, we thoroughly tested the cooperation of our recorders with the C4 management system before the installation at the customer's premises. All parties involved were fully satisfied, because the range of functions of the recorders can be used in its entirety."

Another important point for IKEA was the integration of the data from the cash registers into the video images. Thereby, a special development is used, which was customised to meet the requirements made by IKEA. "The integration of cash register data is a customised application for IKEA," Karlheinz Biersack explains. "Next to the video images of the cameras monitoring the cash till area, the respective associated bill is displayed. It is shown exactly as it appears on the sales check." This data integration offers IKEA a huge added benefit. Especially in the cash till area where lots of goods are scanned and cashed up, the search for specific video sequences can now be carried out even more efficiently. The search can be carried out simply by article number, date or the cash register used.

The management is thus provided with an additional controlling tool by which the proceedings at the cash register can be conclusively reconstructed. The connection of the point-of-sale system to the video system can help to clarify events. If, for example, any irregularities should occur, it can be quickly resolved whether they can be traced back to usual input errors, misunderstandings or similar reasons. It would also be possible to check if negative bookings have been carried out correctly.

"The cash register integration was realised exactly according to our wishes and requirements. Therefore, all the important data are immediately available to us at a glance," Andrea Tomasekova points out.

Future plans

The new system also remains flexible and scalable. "The Dallmeier technology has already proven itself with a previous larger expansion. It's good to know that the video system can be adapted in the course of another modernisation or expansion," Tomasekova says.