Plus City near Linz is currently Austria's most modern and advanced shopping centre with a sales area of 70,000 square metres. Since its establishment in 1989 it has been continuously expanded and modernised. Its excellent location and its superb combination of shopping and leisure facilities have made it the most successful and most innovative shopping centre in Austria to date. It attracts a total of over 8 million customers a year to its shops and associated leisure facilities.
To ensure his customers have the best possible shopping experience, the visionary Plus City manager Ernst Kirchmeyer places great emphasis on quality and functionality. It is obvious to him that he has to consider security to achieve a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere for his customers. The analogue monitoring system installed in 1992 provided live picture transmission but was very complicated to operate. Only in recent years the move over into digital CCTV has been dared and has not been regretted.
Their visit to Dallmeier electronic in Regensburg, Bavaria was decisive for the security system contractors Karl and Michael Pechmann. They were impressed not only by the functionality and quality of the products but also by their design.
Ernst Kirchmayer, Plus City manager reported, "The Dallmeier electronic CCTV solutions we've installed are exactly what we imagined."
Currently 90 cameras are used in Plus City. Dallmeier electronic's quality systems are used predominantly in escalator zones. Alarms are set up so that whenever the escalator stops a contact triggers the sending of a message to PGuard, the alarm management software, and the cause of the problem can be seen from the control room and appropriate action taken. Since the escalators are remotely controlled they can also be started up again from the control room when the situation allows. Video pictures of the escalators can be monitored and recorded from every CCTV console in the control room, and shopping centre visitors can be addressed directly via a loudspeaker system. All camera pictures record continuously and the recordings are overwritten after a specific period determined by the customer. Pictures relating to alarms are transferred to a special recording sector where they have to be deleted manually.
The introduction of digital CCTV monitoring achieved instant acceptance by the shop tenants as well as their customers. One reason for this was doubtless the open-minded attitude of the management in relation to the subject of surveillance, which translated into an appropriate system configuration. The development of an information desk, providing customer information and aiding surveillance has proved its worth. This system has even been partly taken over by the retail tenants who are now partly responsible for it.
The obvious presence of the system not only helps prevent problems but also generates a considerable feeling of security for customers and retail tenants. The security staff and police are happy with the quality of the pictures. The ProcessViewer contributes by exporting picture data for reviewing and analysis. It assists the security staff and police to identify suspects by providing enlargements of particular areas of the picture. This considerably eases and speeds up the process of solving crimes. The value of the pictures is such that both the security staff and police want to co-operate in the proposed expansion of the system.
This is an example where Dallmeier electronic provided an appropriate solution using innovative and high quality technology to produce a modern, innovative shopping situation.
Thanks to the thoroughly positive working relationship between the customer and the installer, System Objekt Schutz Ges.m.b.H. who has already brought specialist experience to the retail field, a new system expansion is planned for 2006. This will take the number of cameras up to 150. The customer is very satisfied with the German manufacturer's products and therefore the entrance areas and the revolving doors have been included in the monitored areas. This should reduce accidents and also raids. In addition, the CCTV surveillance is to be integrated with the multimedia system. It will then be possible to monitor larger areas using dome cameras mounted on the ceiling and have pictures transmitted to LCD monitors throughout the centre. The system may also be expanded to include the car park.
Radio controlled cameras via a wireless LAN are also under consideration for the future. The ideas are limitless - rather like the local saying, "There will be a time when you think you have done everything. That will be the start."
It is also likely that this large project will generate more new business. It is conceivable that both present retail tenants and customers who are now familiar with this outstanding technology may become new customers.
