Doncaster Security Operations Centre

About Doncaster Security Operations Centre

Doncaster Security Operations Centre (DSOC) is a CCTV Monitoring and Alarm Receiving Centre (ARC) based in Doncaster. They hold the highest possible accreditation in the industry and were the first ARC in Europe to pass the BSEN50518 standard, the National Security Inspectorate 2019 standard.

Their state-of-the-art Monitoring Centre is equipped with the latest technology and staffed 24/7 by their security team, who monitor all systems and respond promptly to any emergency. Whether it’s a break-in, fire or video security alarm, their monitoring services ensure that help is just a phone call away. Their mission statement is ‘Tailored, Trusted, Together,’ and they deliver this with a customer-focused, innovative and dynamic team.

With hundreds of customers around the UK and so many sites and cameras to monitor, false alarms are something DSOC monitors very closely. When there is a huge volume of incoming false alarms to the ARC, it can become challenging for the DSOC team.

Challenge

Inundated With False Alarms

With thousands of alarms being received by the DSOC ARC from their customers’ busy sites every day, the company understands how important it is to focus on as many true events as possible. Alerts such as wildlife walking past a camera, flags blowing in the wind and cobwebs around the camera can cause unwanted alarms.

This unnecessary work was creating problems for DSOC. First, valuable time and money were being used up addressing these false alarms, which would be better served handling genuine security alarms. Second, the sheer number of false alarms coming through to the ARC could have led to increased staff members and lowered morale. Finally, with operators fully stretched handling these alarms, DSOC may not have been able to take on more clients to grow their business.

Given these circumstances, DSOC sought a solution that would help them filter out these large volumes of false alarms so they could deliver better customer service, improve staff morale and allow them to take on more business that would help them thrive.

Solution

Calipsa Detect

In late 2020, DSOC turned to Calipsa, a Motorola Solutions company, to deploy the Calipsa Detect video analytics software in their ARC. Calipsa Detect uses Calipsa’s flagship alarm filtering technology to detect the presence of humans and vehicles in video security alarms.

Using deep learning algorithms alongside object detection and camera masking capabilities, the AI analytics within the software helps to successfully filter out false alarms, ensuring that only genuine alarms are received by the ARC operators. The software helps operators focus on what matters most and enables them to continue providing safety and security across their customers’ sites.

The Benefits

Eliminating False Alarms

After implementing Calipsa Detect software across their video security monitoring activities, DSOC saw a 97.45% reduction in false alarms coming through to the ARC operators. This reduction in false alarms was significant. The previous top 10 alarm-signaling customer sites all showed a significant drop in false alarms and a giant increase in the ratio of genuine alarms to false alarms coming through to the DSOC ARC’s operations team.

“Calipsa has revolutionized the way our ARC team operates. On average, our operators take 30 seconds to review an alarm. Last month, Calipsa Detect filtered out 1.2 million false alarms, which saved our operators over 10,000 hours that would’ve been spent reviewing false alarms,” said Robert Dovey, Operations Manager at DSOC.

Powerful Video Analytics

It’s not just Calipsa’s flagship alarm filtering feature that has brought significant benefits to DSOC. The smart object detection feature supports the detection of humans and vehicles in video security alarms. This allows DSOC’s operators to analyze genuine alarms with the suspicious individuals or vehicles highlighted for verification in the form of a green highlighted box. This box surrounds the object of interest, which helps to bring it to the attention of the operators, who can then respond accordingly.

A recent incident brought the power of object detection video analytics to the forefront for DSOC. At an All Things Fire and Security customer’s industrial estate, during adverse weather conditions, Calipsa’s powerful object detection analytics were able to pick out three suspects who were looking to commit theft some distance away from the security cameras. This alarm and the highlighted suspects were brought to the attention of the DSOC operators, who alerted the local police of the situation. The police were successfully able to apprehend the suspects, and DSOC prevented a significant amount of stock from being stolen.

Enhancing Efficiencies Across The Business

As a result of the operator time savings gained from not having to deal with false alarms, Calipsa’s software saves DSOC from having to hire additional operators and incur related HR costs. It also allows the ARC team to provide better customer service and handle more customer sites and cameras without needing extra manpower in the control room. This supports DSOC’s aims to secure the sites of their customers while growing their business by taking on more video monitoring clients, which leads to stronger revenues.

But it’s not just the financial aspect that DSOC is thrilled with. DSOC’s Calipsa usage is managed by a team led by Richard Andrew. Richard has seen a great improvement in morale amongst the ARC’s operations team as their time is not being wasted on dealing with false alarms thanks to Calipsa Detect. Richard said, “Our team can immediately detect whether a customer’s site would benefit from Calipsa Detect, and our team can maintain focus on true events rather than false activations. Without Calipsa and the work of my team, our job would be 100x more difficult”.

“Since deploying Calipsa Detect, our ARC is receiving much fewer false alarms, our operators are working more efficiently, and we’ve been able to take on new clients. We couldn’t be happier!” 

ROBERT DOVEYOPERATIONS MANAGER AT DSOC

Conclusion

With a 97.45% reduction in false alarms, DSOC has seen the benefits that Calipsa’s AI analytics software and alarm filtering technology have had on its business. A more efficient operation, a happy workforce and valuable cost savings mean that DSOC is well-positioned to continue to grow and take on new clients. In the coming months, as new clients come on board, DSOC will continue to roll out Calipsa’s software across more of their operations to provide a better service and ensure facilities remain safe and secure.