CENTRO MART TO UPGRADE DIGITAL CCTV TO REAL TIME

DEENA AMATO-McCOY

STOCKTON, Calif. -- Centro Mart here, an independent retailer that is a member of Certified Grocers of California, Los Angeles, plans to upgrade its current digital closed circuit television system to a real-time environment by year's end.

Centro Mart's system allows loss-prevention professionals to monitor stores from a remote location, although the system operates with a two- to three-second delay. A software application provides views of various areas within individual stores, depending on activity there.

"The seven stores in our chain are linked to a telephone line that allows us to monitor each store from a remote location," said David McIntyre, director of health, safety and security at Centro Mart. "The remote link provides the ability to look at activity in different store areas and make evaluations of different situations.

"I could be using my laptop and dial into a store to monitor who is in the store and what is happening," he added. The Windows/NT application allows the retailer "to control what is being observed on screen. We can zoom in on specific customer features, or watch cashiers closely."

The retailer uses CCTV not only to combat internal shrink and customer theft, but also to reduce the number of false slip-and-fall claims filed by shoppers. Loss-prevention efforts have gained increasing interest from retailers as a means to ensure safer operations and maximize profit margins.

CCTV cameras at Centro Mart's stores are linked to a multiplexer device that enables several cameras to be connected to a single video recorder. According to a source familiar with the situation, the recorder, which is also connected to standard telephone lines, transmits color digital video images to modems linked to the designated lines.

Centro Mart plans to test an upgrade of the system, which will move it from the current two- to three-second delay to a real-time environment, by the end of 1998.

"Within the year we should definitely be at the next level and viewing activity in real time through our computer," McIntyre said. "By not waiting those additional seconds, it may be possible to make better decisions about what is occurring in the stores."

Though Centro Mart installed the computerized CCTV system just over a year ago, the retailer has been using this type of loss-prevention technology for close to six years.

"The computerized system helps us control theft and reduces our liabilities. While the system is a deterrent for theft, it also provides security for potential lawsuits," he explained. "We believe the value of the system is greater than its cost, especially in the area of potential negligence."

McIntyre described an incident when the system worked in Centro Mart's favor. A child reportedly left a spill in a store aisle. Within a minute of the reported spill, a customer allegedly slipped on the spill, fell, and later filed a lawsuit.

"We had recorded that someone was already cleaning up the mess at the same time she supposedly fell," said McIntyre. "The system helped us record the incident and clear up a potentially big lawsuit."

"As the images are transmitted, retailers using computers can save specific images as evidence," said a source familiar with the situation. "The images can be printed out and faxed to proper personnel to make evaluations and take action on the suspicious activity."

The retailer's current digital CCTV system and the anticipated upgraded technology are from Sensormatic, Boca Raton, Fla.