Irvin and Johnson (I&J) does far more with its security surveillance systems than monitor and control stock movements. The company uses the systems provided by Intervid Africa to ensure its production protocols are followed to the letter.

Now Intervid Africa, the local operations of Intervid Ltd, is currently upgrading the CCTV security surveillance systems and control rooms to include access control.

The ongoing rental and maintenance contract between I&J and Intervid Africa, covers I&J's factory in Woodstock, Cape Town as well as the I&J value added plant, Blockbusters and the Auckland Cold Storage in Paarden Island.

"More than 1 200 employees are based at the Woodstock factory which produces around 460 tons of frozen fish products per week," says Dawid Welman, I&J's Risk Manager for Fish Processing.

"The size of the factory and its production capacity required a surveillance system that was able to observe the factory's sensitive areas including its production line, cold rooms and high risk areas on a continuous, real-time basis and alert security to breaches."

The video surveillance system at the Woodstock plant, which was implemented in August 2002 and which consists of 32 fixed cameras, is used by I&J for loss control, theft and crime prevention, management, operational control, as well as stock and safety control.

At I&J's Blockbusters factory, the 32 cameras and control room system has been so successful in patrolling the factory that I&J has identified and handled various incidents which include breaches of protocol as well as criminal activities. "In fact, the efficiency of our security personnel has been boosted to such an extent that we have been able to deploy our personnel far more efficiently and productively," says Welman.

Praising the 32-camera system at I&J's Cold Storage, Ian McPherson, I&J Cold Storage Manager, believes that Intervid, through a vigilant assessment, has taken cognisance of all the cold storage facility's risks and productivity issues, providing a comprehensive solution that monitors all inbound and outbound stock. "We have cameras placed at all strategic locations - along our perimeter, in our cold rooms, on our dispatch floor as well as along our packaging and sorting line - ensuring that we succeed in delivering a secure warehousing and distribution service," he concludes.