In order to prevent appliances becoming unsafe a proper maintenance schedule is essential for businesses and organisations. PAT Testing is a documented system of electrical maintenance which companies are required to undertake periodically on all their portable appliances.

What exactly are Portable Appliances?

Portable Appliances are items of electrical equipment that can be moved from area to area and are connected to the supply via a plug and socket system. Basically every item within your premises with a plug will need testing.

Why Do Portable Electrical Appliances Need Testing?

Important reasons for carrying out Portable Appliance Testing include:

• Adherence to the Health & Saftety at Work Act 1974
• Compliance with the Electricity At Work Regulations 1989
• Miminise Fire Risks due to faulty/ damaged electrical equipment
• Minimise Electric Shock Hazards due to faulty/ damaged electrical equipment
• Insurance companies cannot dispute claims for damage through fire because of insufficient electrical maintenance
• The ISO 9000 Quality Assurance Standard requires all companies to comply with the Health and Safety requirements
• Maintain the safety of employees, visitors and customers

How Often Is PAT TESTING Carried Out?

Generally we advise that PAT Testing should be carried out annually.  However it does depend on the workplace environment and the type of use received by the equipment which is to be tested. For example, car workshop tools may be more susceptible to damage than a computer monitor in an office.  If you need guidance regarding frequency of testing then contact us at SV Security Systems and we can assist you in choosing the correct periods between testing.

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Our team has been installing and maintaining TV Systems for more than 25 years, so why not give us a try if you require a new installation, have a fault or require a new TV point in your home/business.

Our engineers are CSCS certified and have been security vetted by Staffordshire Police Force.

Security cameras also provide the opportunity to record criminal activity for evidential purposes.

The effectiveness of the security camera has improved over the years with advancing technology bringing with it an increased demand for Detector Activated Remotely Monitored camera systems. These CCTV systems work particularly well for large or exposed sites and provide an alternative to the out-of-hours continuous live monitoring of images.

When set, the remotely monitored CCTV system will activate in response to a detected intrusion and send an alert signal to a Remote Video Response Centre (RVRC), where an operator will then evaluate the situation and respond accordingly.

If security camera systems are compliant with BS 8418, RVRC personnel will confirm the activation is genuine and alert the police, subject to a system meeting their requirements. Where premises need to be secured or high value items protected around-the-clock, remotely monitored CCTV can be an effective and economical solution for detecting and then identifying potential intrusion within a secure area.

You may wish to ask the crime reduction officer at your local Police station for advice before you buy-in a system.

If you want your security to be effective and meet the requirements set out by police and your insurer, it’s important to have CCTV systems installed and maintained in accordance with the required standards by a professional company such as those approved by NSI.

Choosing the Right Alarm System

‘Bells-only’ or audible alarms are rarely suitable for commercial premises and will not provide an automatic police response; the police will only act if an unlawful entry has been witnessed and reported by a 999 call.

All alarms have triggers and are typically activated when an electrical circuit has been broken or motion is detected.

Alarms connected to a monitoring service are the most effective and are usually a requirement of insurance companies providing cover.

Opting for a remotely monitored alarm, where activation signals are sent to a monitoring centre, ensures the police are contacted on your behalf in the event of a confirmed activation (subject to your system meeting the requirements of the police response to security systems policy.

Signals are filtered for false activations avoiding the risk of losing police response to your alarm.

Intruder alarm systems can be designed with the needs of your business in mind and take into account the usage of the premises whilst remaining effective and user friendly. There are many alarm systems on the market. You may wish to ask the Crime Reduction Officer at your local police station for advice before you buy a system.

Scott Howard, Senior Quantity Surveyor. Redrow

Most employee fraud is conducted in the POS area during customer checkout. Next generation CCTV solutions such as a link between POS and video surveillance provide contextual awareness of the POS area increasing the chance of fraud discovery leading to lower shrinkage.

CCTV systems help fight retail shrinkage and protect inventory. However, traditional CCTV security systems serve more as crime reduction through intimidation rath¬er then as full investigative tools into what really goes around. Limited resolution of camera images, limited storage and lack of synchronization with onsite data sys¬tems like POS prevent managers from quick discovery of incidents and immediate reaction to it. This paper intro-duces the next generation of CCTV systems that allows for vastly improved results in lowering retail shrinkage through High Resolution images and real-time linkage of security footage with POS transaction data.

Global Retail Barometer
The cost of shrink globally was $107.3 billion in 2010
Shrink in Europe $41.030 billion (38,3%)
Shrink represents 1,36% of retail sales
Largest sources of losses came from shoplifters (47,8%) and employees (29,8%)
Average amount stolen or admitted by employee thieves in Europe is €1.858,39
Money spent globally on loss prevention/security rose by $26,8 billion
Highest shrink found in apparel/clothing and fash¬ion/accessories/grocery/health and beauty

Back in 1999 the research conducted by the Scarman Centre for the Study of Public Order at the University of Leicester showed that within six months of the installation of a CCTV system, the shrinkage level went down with 26%. A similar study was conducted with a link between POS and video surveillance and it was concluded that within the same period of 6 months shrinkage reduction reached upwards of 35%. How was this additional 9% variance achieved?

Traditional CCTV systems serve as a prevention tool attempting to keep customers and staff honest. They are less likely to commit fraud if they know their actions are recorded. CCTV enables managers to review what happened in the past. However, difficulties in identifying signs of fraud or suspicious behaviour drastically reduce the deterrent effect of CCTV. Often by just looking at images it is impossible to detect fraudulent or criminal behaviour.

A new generation of digital CCTV systems addresses these issues by increasing the chance of fraud discovery. This be¬comes possible due to the high definition image resolution, easy monitoring and retrieval of information, longer storage of synchronized video surveillance and POS transaction data.

Video for detailed evidence
POS ticket information is synchronized with the video footage from a security camera that provides clear and detailed images of the POS area. When dealing with employee theft it is crucial to have high resolution video that allows for identifying even minor fraud or overlooked items.

Direct software integration is possible with existing camera infrastructures or with soon to be released network camera infrastructures as well.

Easy monitoring and retrieval of information
Link between POS and video surveillance matches surveillance video with POS transaction data such as: receipt informa¬tion, transaction IDs, SKU / UPC numbers, register numbers, employee numbers, location or amounts. Items scanned by the cashier are displayed line-by-line in the user interface in accordance with what is shown on the customer display. It allows for detecting suspicious transactions and possible fraudulent scenarios reducing shrinkage by organ¬izing efficient monitoring of the POS area.

Link between POS and security camera is set up to send an alarm in case of a suspi¬cious transaction or behaviour. An alarm warning is sent to a specified location with both transaction and video data of the event allowing the manager to verify the incident and to take immediate actions.

These synchronized recordings and POS tickets are being recorded constantly and available for remote monitoring and playback by a manager or remote auditor.
A manager can use ticket information as search criteria for the search and retrieval of the transaction of interest together with the corresponding video. It is as easy as searching in Google and makes the discovery process much more efficient.

Longer storage for guaranteed discovery
Traditional Digital Video Recorders record video based on activity detection. Next generation Digital Video Store Recorders record video based on activity but further optimize storage by storing video footage that is linked to POS transactions longer. On average CCTV footage that is linked to POS transactions is stored six times longer than video footage of which we only know activity took place. This makes that the duration during which a crime of an employee or customer can be exposed is six times longer.

When a link between POS and security cameras is used by the management the employees are less likely to steal or cheat as they know that the manager will be easily able to retrieve the required information, even if fraudulent activity is discovered weeks later. Such a system puts constant psychologi¬cal pressure on a dishonest employee and places the loss prevention back into CCTV where it belongs.

Sweethearting
Sweethearting is the practice of giving away merchandise without charge to a “sweetheart” customer (e.g.: friend, fam¬ily, fellow employee) by faking a scan or ring-up of merchandise by the cashier. It can be easily detected and proven by linking POS transaction information and video footage.

Advertisement Fraud
Marketers invest a lot of money into in-store advertisement campaigns through the distribution of free product sam¬ples, gift items or discounts. Staffs intentionally keeping these benefits for themselves destroy the intent of these cam¬paigns. A quick audit of these promotional product transactions prevents this type of fraud.

Quality Assurance
Link between POS and video surveillance allows for clarifying dubious transactions such as voids, incorrect change, double scanning, returned items, etc.

Employee theft comprises 29,8% of retail shrinkage in Europe making it one of the most highly targeted groups in the retail shrinkage fight. Since most employee fraud is conducted in the POS area during the check out of customers, next generation CCTV solutions like the link between POS and security camera provide new levels of contextual awareness, specifically to the POS area.

Compared to traditional CCTV systems, a link between POS and video surveillance generates an additional 9% shrinkage reduction, by reducing total retail shrinkage by 35% on average. Such high success rates are possible due to high definition video footage, easy monitoring and retrieval of information, as well as longer storage of synchronized video surveillance and POS transac¬tion data which leads to increased chance of fraud discovery.

Shoplifting, fraud, organised retail crime and administrative errors have cost the British high street an estimated £4.9 billion in the last year, one of the highest figures ever recorded for the UK by The Global Retail Theft Barometer. The study shows that the total amount lost by British retailers from theft, fraud and error – evaluated as a percentage of sales – has increased by 6.2% in the last 12 months.

Whilst customer theft is estimated at 43.8% of total loss, theft by UK employees was also a major factor. In addition, internal error and loss from suppliers and vendors accounted for 16.2% and 3.9% of the total figure.

Neil Matthews, Vice President, Northern, Central and Eastern Europe at Checkpoint Systems, explained: “The fact that retail loss has increased so significantly should certainly not be taken lightly. It’s extremely worrying that the actions of some people can end up affecting innocent families financially, which is a cost the majority of people can ill-afford in this tough economic climate.”

On average, thieves are estimated to have stolen £79 per shopping spree, demonstrating that the typical theft was more likely to be branded merchandise that could be resold for a profit. This is reinforced by the fact that clothing and apparel, reported the highest losses at 1.86% of sales. Within this category, accessories, outerwear and tailored clothing came in at the top, accounting for 3.72%, 2.82% and 2.40% respectively, of total retail losses. Natural and speciality foods also reported high levels of loss as did cheese (3.90%) which experienced more than double the global amount lost of 1.29%. Meanwhile in other high-risk categories – health and beauty – loss of items such as mascara, eyeliner and eye shadow increased to 2.37%.

Matthews continued: “High losses are experienced by a relatively small number of product lines, particularly those that have been recently launched, expensive, easily stolen and in great demand. Compared to the 2010 figures, loss amongst the high–risk food lines has shot up by more than the global average, evidence that they are increasingly being targeted by shoplifters.”

That said, the picture could have been a lot worse, had UK retailers not invested more than £1 billion on security and loss prevention in the last year. High-risk product lines such as meat are increasingly being tagged which reinforces the fact that security labels remain the most popular form of product protection. This is followed by hard tags and plastic security cases (keepers). Staff training has also played a vital role, with 95% of retailers already implementing programmes to ‘spot and deter’ theft and a further 90% planning on initiating additional programmes.

However, whilst retailers increased their spending on solutions to counter the problem, loss prevention equipment’s share of total loss prevention expenditures actually declined slightly, perhaps explaining why fewer thieves were apprehended globally.

“Of the top 50 global retailers who responded to the survey, the ones which reported a decline in shrink from the previous year did not construe loss prevention merely as a matter of theft, but worked across their operations to systematically combat shoplifting, employee theft, vendor loss and administrative errors. Ninety-six percent of these retailers’ stores used audit programmes to monitor the use of loss prevention policies and above all, the retailers increased their loss prevention spending almost twice as much as the global average,“added Professor Bamfield.

Matthews concluded: “Global economic growth stalling in the past year has meant that not all retailers increased the rate of capital equipment expenditure at the same pace as the rest of their loss prevention expenditure. Whilst the majority of store operators have definitely been making strides in the fight against retail loss, the results from those who do not see it as such a serious issue may be seen in the slightly higher figures.”

The study underwritten by an independent grant from Checkpoint Systems, Inc. monitored the cost of shrink (loss from shoplifting, employee theft and administrative errors) in the global retail industry between July 2010 and June 2011. It found that shrink increased in all regions surveyed. Customer theft, including shoplifting and organized retail crime, up 13.4%, was the primary cause in most countries costing retailers $51.5 billion or 43.2% of shrink.

Dishonest employees were responsible for $41.65 billion or 35% of shrink. Unlike in Europe and Asia, employee theft in North America and Latin America surpassed shoplifting, and was responsible for 44.1% of shrink in North America and 42.6% in Latin America. In addition, the average amount admitted stolen by employees was more than eight times the average stolen by shoplifters.

“Although there are commentators who view retail crime as a harmless or intriguing social phenomenon or simply as a cost of doing business, this ignores the impact of criminal gangs, growing levels of violence against employees and customers, and the links between retail crime and drugs, fraud and extortion,” said Professor Joshua Bamfield, Director of the Centre for Retail Research and author of the study. “Moreover, retail crime on average cost families in the 43 countries surveyed an extra $200 on their shopping bill, up from $186 last year. In the U.S., that figure was $435.”

Correlation Between Security Spending and Theft
The 2011 study also found that while retailers increased their spending on loss prevention and security by 5.6% over 2010 to $28.3 billion globally, loss prevention equipment’s share of total loss prevention expenditures actually declined slightly. This may be why fewer thieves were apprehended globally. The region with the sharpest decline in loss prevention equipment’s share of expenditures was Europe, down 6.25%. Notably, shrink in Europe increased 7.8%, topping the global average.

“Of the top 50 global retailers who responded to the survey, the ones which reported a decline in shrink from the previous year did not construe loss prevention merely as a matter of theft, but worked across their operations to systematically combat shoplifting, employee theft, vendor loss and administrative errors. Ninety-six percent of these retailers’ stores used audit programmes to monitor the use of loss prevention policies and above all, the retailers increased their loss prevention spending almost twice as much as the global average,” added Professor Bamfield.

Global Retail Shrink Rates
The countries suffering the highest rate of shrink included India (2.38% of retail sales), Russia (1.74%) and Morocco (1.72%). The lowest rates of shrink were found in Taiwan (0.91%), Hong Kong SAR (0.95%), and Japan and Austria (both 1.04%). The US rate was 1.59%.

Shrink by Vertical Markets
Shrink varies according to business type, vertical market and country. In 2011, some of the highest average shrink rates were found in apparel/clothing and fashion/accessories (1.87%) followed by cosmetics/perfume/health & beauty/pharmacy (1.79%). Among the highest shrink items was cheese (3.09%). Shrink for health and beauty items such as mascara, eye liner and eye shadow increased globally by 30% to 2.14% and outerwear shrink increased by 15.3% to 2.94%. Meanwhile, footwear shrink increased by 1% to 0.99%.

“As global economic growth stalled in the past year, retailers did not increase capital equipment expenditures at the same rate as the rest of their loss prevention expenditures,” said Farrokh Abadi, President Shrink Management Solutions, Checkpoint Systems. “The result, unfortunately, may be seen in higher shrink numbers. As illustrated by Professor Bamfield, the retailers who most successfully combated shrink last year invested judiciously in comprehensive loss prevention solutions.”