Rawda & Co-op Society, the market leading supermarket chain in Kuwait contacted the Atheer United Company, an authorised distributor of Hikvision in Kuwait with a view to improving overall security. After various presentations to the top management at the Co-op Atheer United finally received the approval to implement security that would monitor cashier areas in high resolution; provide better surveillance and control for the exterior of entrance areas; and provide a better method to centralise security operations.

Eng.Ali Taleb, Business Development Manager at Atheer United Company - the Integrator / Installer of this project - noted that "a great deal of focus was put on bringing high-resolution megapixel technology to every register. The Co-op management wanted to be able to clearly see the detailed exchange of money between customers and employees."

Largely, this goal stemmed from a high incident rate of disagreements between customers and employees, as well as incidents of theft and balance issues with cashier trays at the end of employee shifts. Previously, the best - and only - resolution method was to simply deal with each problem after the fact. This was not only slow, but highly inefficient.

To reverse this trend to a proactive stance instead of a reactive stance, Atheer United Company chose Hikvision's DS-2CD7153-E 2 MP network mini dome camera, placed opposite each register, "The Co-op management is now able to see what is happening in real-time and react accordingly. Most importantly, 2 megapixel resolution provides the means needed to achieve this goal," added Mr. Taleb.

Additionally, the DS-2CD7153-E's 1/3” progressive scan CMOS and HD 720P real-time video provide additional tools to make sure these images are clearly visible. With this new technology, The Co-op management has already seen a markedly improved situation at the registers, as well as far fewer incidents of dispute regarding these related issues.

Another of their goals, also achieved with the use of Hikvision technology was a better, and more secure, environment for both the main entrance and the general areas in front of the stores. In this case, it was the DS-2DF1-512 5" network PTZ dome that secured this environment.

Based on the fact that these areas are potentially very large, the DS-2DF1-512 was placed outside the store. As such, this model's IP66 rating was a prerequisite due to the challenging weather conditions often experienced in Kuwait. In addition, due to the previously-noted issue of large coverage areas, Atheer United Company judged the 12x optical zoom, the 360° endless pan range and the -5°-185° tilt range on the DS-2DF1-512 as being equally vital.

Eng. Taleb explained, "This model not only provided tremendous value from an overall solution standpoint, but security personnel are able to completely control the DS-2DF1-512 with Hikvision's DS-1100KI network keyboard - further adding convenience to the overall solution and drastically reducing training time requirements for Co-op personnel."

Finally, the goal of streamlining all 16 individual branches' security needs into one centrally-located control room was also facilitated by Hikvision. In this case, it was not a camera model, but instead NVRs. Specifically, three Hikvision NVR models: the DS-7608NI-ST, DS-7616NI-ST, and the DS-8632NI-ST NVR Series.

While each model differs in its specific approach (for example: the DS-7608NI-ST's smaller size and smaller camera capacity with 8 channels makes it ideal for smaller Rawda & Coop Society shops, while the DS-8632NI-ST's dramatically larger memory and 32 channels camera capacity provide for larger branches), all three models provide up-to 5 megapixel resolution recording to make sure that regardless of the number of camera units, or store size, the pictures are crystal clear.

For Rawda & Coop Society, internet connectivity tied this whole solution together. Previously, individual shops were not connected to the main headquarters also in Kuwait. This obviously exacerbated all of the earlier problems. However, with internet-capable Hikvision NVRs, now each of the 16 shops are wired to corporate headquarters. Specifically, all security responsibilities are now a function of one specially-designed central control room. This sharply contrasts with the previous method of security being a responsibility of 16 smaller, and uneven, in-house procedures.

In this fashion, Coop management - with the help of both the Atheer United Company and Hikvision technology - streamlined and addressed chronic problems in a proactive, rather than inefficient, reactive manner. Most importantly, all of these issues have become greatly improved.