Security is an indisputable parameter for Loomis, an international company that manages the transport of money and other valuables for customers in Europe and the U.S. Loomis Denmark fulfills customer requirements for transparency and documentation in cash handling with the help of IP video surveillance technology from Milestone Systems.

In the autumn of 2009 there was a very special ‘guest’ at the National Museum in Copenhagen. Security was naturally a top priority for the museum – but especially for the world’s largest gold coin, weighing 100 kilos with a worth of 16-18 million DKr. The responsibility was entrusted to Loomis, who held the valuable gold coin under observation during its entire exhibition, and ensured its secure transport and safe-keeping. This was an unusual job for Loomis in Denmark, which is a subsidiary of the Swedish-owned parent company Loomis AB.

Traditionally they manage cash handling and transport all kinds of assets such as money, checks, securities and similar documentation,
and data tapes or CDs. This is a business that demands a critical focus on security and safety – both in relation to customers
and employees. “For us security has the highest priority, for obvious reasons. Our customers’ livelihoods are literally in our hands when we carry out our work, so it is therefore vital that there is a strong relationship of trust. And this relates not only to our customers but also just as importantly to our employees, who handle all the assets on a daily basis,” explains Risk Manager Tom Andersen at Loomis.

‘The suveillance technology is based on Milestone Systems open platform IP video management software, XProtect Corporate, with network cameras from Axis and IQinVision.’

Loomis utilises a number of security measures, where video surveillance plays a big role. Every day over 100 cameras in the
Glostrup location and a similar number in the city of Brabrand help to ensure that all procedures and security processes are being upheld. Thereby Loomis makes sure that every instance of cash handling is documented so that any eventual irregularity can quickly be resolved.

The surveillance technology is based on Milestone Systems open platform IP video management software, XProtect Corporate, with network cameras from Axis and IQinVision. With just a few clicks, operators can control different cameras at the same time and view the live or archived video from any location. Loomis monitors all the entrances and exits, cash handling areas, receiving and deliveries, in addition to the outer perimeters of their premises.

Analog outdated; IP open platform future-proof

The 1st of April 2008 is a day that Loomis will never forget. That night at 3:32 a.m. the police received a robbery alarm from Loomis: a group of men had busted into the cash handling company’s building by breaking a hole through the wall with a telescope laser, and managed to get away with DK 62 million.The biggest robbery in the history of Denmark thereby became a reality, despite all of the security measures they had in place at that time. Loomis immediately went to work reviewing all their procedures and systems to improve their security even more.

“Of course the robbery sharpened our focus on security! Our business always has to live with the risk of robberies but we can always make it more and more difficult for any attempts by dividing our security elements and defenses into different levels that hinder and delay any criminal efforts so much that the police can manage to arrive and deal with it. One of our important components is the video surveillance, which is also a fantastic tool for the police to use as evidence in their work,” says Tom Andersen, who emphasises that Loomis makes
ongoing changes to their security procedures all the time. When the robbery occurred, Loomis had operations at night for cash counting among other things, so there were employees present at the time of the incident. Today, Loomis only operatesduring the day, and another part of the increased defense of the building includes new alarms that have been installed to warn when anyone is even getting near the building from the outside.

Loomis previously had an analog system that became outdated, so after a thorough review of their security needs in collaboration with SmartGuard, a Certified Milestone Partner, it became clear that the open platform IP video solution from Milestone Systems provided all of the right options. “Milestone IP video software first and foremost secures all of the valuables that Loomis handles daily, and it also protects the personnel in their jobs since each count is documented with the surveillance at every moment. And the fact that XProtect Corporate is designed as an open platform means it can integrate with other systems, even as new innovations come along. This makes the solution very flexible,” says partner Casper Wilken at SmartGuard,
who installed the video surveillance at Loomis.

Transparency and documentation for top integrity Of the 96 employees in Loomis Denmark about 60 of them work in the Glostrup location west of Copenhagen, including administrative personnel, drivers and the staff who daily handle the cash and other assets that are delivered. When  an employee is hired, he or she must go through a series of security procedures such as credit and police arrest record
checks. Yet even though Loomis takes all these precautions to follow these rules, it is still necessary to have an extra guarantee of accountability, which the video surveillance

‘Should anything questionable come up regarding our staff, we can immediately go back in the recorded video and see that the employee handled the task correctly.’

ensures. Today there are many cameras in the work stations, and the zoom functions in the system combined with the megapixel cameras from IQinVision deliver the sharpest images of money bags being opened by a person, and the money counting is monitored from different angles.

All the video information can be compared with the customers’ records so any eventual differences can be revealed and resolved. This saves time and provides thorough documentation and integrity for the asset management process. Should there be any differences between what the customers claim and the amounts Loomis counts, it is very easy and fast with Milestone to find the relevant video of the bags being opened and the actual counting – thus documenting that everything has been carried out properly.

“With the video surveillance we can document that we do our work properly and this strengthens our objective role in relation to our customers. And the video also helps us ensure things for our employees. Should anything questionable come up regarding our staff, we can immediately go back in the recorded video and see that the employee handled the task correctly,” says Andersen.

Naturally, there are procedures for the setup of all the cameras, to make sure they are located where they should be and are not damaged or moved around. Loomis is furthermore automatically warned with an alarm if a server goes down or if there are other errors in the system.

“The reason that we chose Milestone was precisely because the solution includes a series of very useful functions, such as an intelligent searching that makes it possible to scan a particular money bag, click on the exact date and time for the scanning and quickly search the surveillance video to view it. In addition, with the Milestone SmartSearch function we can look for an object that’s disappeared simply by marking it in the images,” explains Andersen, and concludes:

“The video monitoring makes it possible for us to live up to our promise of transparency and documentation for our customers. And the Milestone open IP platform also allows us to integrate the system with other innovative solutions over time. This creates a high level of flexibility, and is just one of the ways in which we have future-proofed our business.” www.milestonesys.com

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