With over 1000 sites, McDonalds is one of the leading quick service restaurant chains in the United Kingdom. As with many other restaurant and hotel chains in the UK, McDonalds branches have had their fair share of unruly patrons, gangs of youths and homeless vagrants who harass or assault staff and disturb restaurant guests. McDonalds wanted to prevent its restaurants from being favoured by these groups. The group wanted to proactively protect the safety of its staff and patrons.
With this in mind, McDonalds sought a CCTV solution that could handle remote monitoring of multiple retail sites from one central location. The requirements also included audio-integration to be able to communicate directly with offenders whilst visually monitoring their actions simultaneously over a data network. The system also had to be compliant to the new BS8418 security standard. This standard is the first British standard to cover the installation and remote monitoring of detector-activated CCTV systems. It specifies best practice installation and monitoring, and has recently been adopted by the UK police as a mandatory requirement for rapid response. It is also rapidly gaining momentum in the British insurance industry.
McDonalds selected the Adpro remote video monitoring solution from Vision Systems. The Adpro solution was initially installed at 20 restaurants in known trouble areas. The system uses multiple cameras at each site to film the interior and selected exterior areas. The cameras are connected to the Adpro FastTrace unit that records and transmits the video to a centralised control room. Each restaurant is also fitted with speakers and microphones to ensure high quality audio reproduction.
Staff at the central control room can now keep a watchful eye on each restaurant. If they see public disorder in a restaurant, or a staff member notifies them of a problem customer by pressing a duress button, staff at the central monitoring station can directly connect to the video system and view live images of the incident. They can then use an audio connection to address the offenders with a message such as: "You in the blue baseball cap. You are causing disruption. Please leave the premises immediately or the police will be called". The offenders quickly leave. Word has circulated through the gang scene that McDonalds restaurants are to be avoided as a gathering place for these groups.
Peter Bolton, regional security manager with McDonalds comments, "Within seconds of receiving an alarm notification our security staff can now intervene by a live voice response. This has reduced the time that an offender has to cause trouble to seconds, and in most cases they leave the restaurant immediately."
Since the BS8418-compliant Adpro security system has been installed, security-related incidents at McDonalds' restaurants have decreased and this has, in turn, dramatically increased customer numbers, particularly young families. Peter Bolton comments, "The Adpro security solution has contributed to increased repeat business from young families who want to enjoy a safe and positive McDonalds dining experience, free from disruption and intimidating behaviour from youth gangs."
Not only has the Adpro solution contributed to increased revenue for McDonalds, but employees can feel safe knowing that they are supported by the video and audio security system 24/7. Peter Bolton comments, "By implementing the Adpro solution we have increased the safety and wellbeing of our employees. In turn this means higher staff retention, which again means that we are better able to serve our customers' needs. Adpro FastTrace has been a win-win solution for us."
For more information contact Tania Rodrigues, Vision Fire & Security, 096 13 9211 7229, [email protected]
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