U.K. shipper complies with "known shipper" requirements by installing Avigilon surveillance system

By August this year, 100 percent of cargo on U.S. passenger planes will have to be screened. Most of the screening — and the safe warehousing and delivery of the screened goods — will be handled not by the government, but by private shippers who, if they comply with government regulations, will be certified as “safe shipper” (or “known shippers,” as they are called in some countries). The goods delivered to airports by these safe shippers will be subjected to less rigorous — and, hence, speedier — security checks. Shippers around the world thus find it in their interest to undertake security measures recommended by their government.

Here is a case in point. Avigilon, a player in the high definition (HD) and megapixel video surveillance field, the other day announced that Airberg, the U.K.’s specialist food exporter, has deployed the Avigilon HD Surveillance System to comply with government-regulated security requirements. “By deploying Avigilon’s advanced, high definition surveillance system that captures even the smallest detail, we can confidently achieve ‘known shipper’ status, eliminating the inconvenience and expense of having our cargo checked every time we ship goods by air, a savings of more than £700,000 each year,” said Tony Coates, sales director and co-owner at Airberg. “With the Avigilon HD Surveillance System in place, we can also protect our facility from theft and vandalism, minimize the loss and damage of goods, and ensure the safety of our employees.”

Airberg manages the Avigilon HD Surveillance System using Avigilon Control Center network video management software (NVMS) with HD Stream Management and installed 17 Avigilon HD cameras at both the main building and storage facility. Two Avigilon HD cameras have been installed on the exterior of the buildings at both the North and South sides to monitor the parking lots and surrounding yard and one at each entrance for complete facial recognition. The remaining Avigilon HD cameras were installed throughout the interior of the buildings for complete coverage of the entire operational process. Airberg also installed Avigilon analog video encoders to boost the performance of its existing analog-based cameras and two Avigilon HD network video recorders (NVR) to store thirty days of continuous surveillance video. The Avigilon HD Surveillance System operates 24x7 and is monitored live by a team of three staff during business hours.

By installing the Avigilon HD Surveillance System, Airberg has successfully met the security, health, and conformance requirements to be certified as a “known shipper” and can ship goods by air more quickly and at a lower cost than before. Leveraging footage captured by the Avigilon HD Surveillance System, Airberg can also protect itself from suspicious workplace injury claims or substantiate its own insurance claims to lower operational costs. In addition, Airberg can now more quickly and successfully investigate and ultimately prevent incidents of vandalism or robbery by being able to provide police with identifiable and useable evidence.

“The Avigilon High Definition Surveillance System has enabled Airberg to secure its facility, ensure employee safety, and expedite the shipping process at a dramatically lower cost than before,” said Dave Tynan, vice president of global sales and marketing at Avigilon. “With superior image quality and advanced management tools, the Avigilon HD Surveillance System plays a critical role in Airberg’s long range business plans for greater profitability and ongoing success.”