The 12 Security ‪Tips‬ of ‪Christmas‬

It's Christmas Eve and you have a surprise visitor. Unfortunately, he is not dropping off presents. No, he is taking them! Somebody will be opening your presents and that somebody won't be you if you do not protect your home from the Christmas burglar! 

Luckily, The Fuzion 4 team have an early Christmas gift for you. Here are the 12 security tips of Christmas.

The First Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Keep Gifts Out Of Sight - Don't keep Christmas presents in places where they can easily be seen from outside your home.

The Second Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Ensure Your Home Looks Occupied At All Times - You can do this by leaving a radio or light on.

The Third Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Ensure All Doors And Windows Are Securely Shut And Locked - REMEMBER outside festive lights with their wires running through a door or window can make it difficult to make your home completely secure!

The Forth Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Unattended Parcels - If you have done or are doing your ‪xmas shopping online this year. Make sure someone is home to receive the deliveries and don't give permission for them to be left on the door step.

The Fifth Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Dispose Of All Packaging - Never leave packaging outside your home; you will just be advertising to a burglar what fancy, new items you have gained over the festive period.

The Sixth Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Never Keep The Receipts With The Presents – Never throw unwanted receipts in the normal rubbish shred them instead.

The Seventh Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Have Someone Keep An Eye On Your Home -  If you’re going away for longer than a day, ask a neighbour or relative to keep an eye on your property. This could just be by taking the post in and opening and shutting the curtains for you. By doing this, it can help prevent any unwanted attention from prying eyes.

The Eighth Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Cancel Deliveries -  If you are going away avoid making it obvious by cancelling milk and paper deliveries. These can easily stack up outside; making it clear no one is home.

The Ninth Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Black Out - Switch off Christmas lights and other electrics when you're not home, to eliminate the possibility of fire.

The Tenth Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Blow Candles Out - Never leave candles unattended in the home and make sure they're not positioned on flammable surfaces.

The EleventhTip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Social Media Advertising - Avoid sharing too much information about your Christmas and holiday plans on social media. If you decide to post pictures be careful, ‪‎burglars could be using these sites to identify potential targets.

The Twelfth Tip Of Christmas, Fuzion 4 Gave To You 

Consider ‪Home Security - If you don't already have one, consider having an ‪intruder alarm installed. Burglars tend to go for the easy option, so an unprotected home will stand out against those visibly alarmed.

Our final tip is to enjoy yourself and have a happy Christmas from all the team here at Fuzion 4!

They Can’t Steal What They Can’t See

100% success rate in foiling burglary – does such a system exist. The simple answer is yes it does, so how does it work? Again simple it just makes all your stock become invisible to the burglar. Watch the short video to see how it works.

The trouble with burglary is it’s not just the stock they steal (which is covered by insurance), but the time you lose sorting everything out, the money you have to find before the insurance money comes through to fix broken windows, doors and other fixtures and fittings as well as lost custom and customers who then find another source during your down time or stock shortage and customers you may let down, because you can’t now fulfill their orders.

Also, while closed, staff still have to be paid and overheads don’t stop while you get everything sorted out. Then there can be the emotional cost caused by the induced stress, which can re-triggered when the thieves are caught and you have to give evidence in court.

Click below to see this system in action when robbers attempted to steal from a jewellers Click Here

Prevention is always the best way forward

The problem with prevention is that we never get to see, first-hand, how this prevention saves us from all the above but the fact is it does. Weak security systems mat seem to be doing the job, but if you have staff, its easy for them to accidentally inform someone outside the business, who then relay’s this weakness and before you know it the wrong person knows and you find yourself wishing you’d taken the prevention route after all.

Invisible stock Can’t be Stolen

The smoke system uses totally safe materials to ensure no harm comes to living organisms and any stock that is being protected. Once activated the room or area can be filled with this safe fog, which makes it impossible for the burglar to see what they’re doing, leaving them with only one option – leave quickly before police or security arrive.

If you want to see the system in action foiling robbers who try to steal from Jewellers, click here

Click below to see this system in action when robbers attempted to steal from a jewellers Click Here

Robbery Being Foiled

Fog Bandit foiling a Real Robbery

As you can see the Fog Bandit is very successful in foiling the robbers as it only takes seconds to make the whole area impossible to see through. As soon as it starts and they realise what’s happening they only have one choice which is to leave empty handed or stay and get caught trying to find their way out.

Is the Fog Harmful?

A question we get asked and the most obvious question to ask is “Is the fog used in the system safe?”

The fog used is not harmful to humans or to any of the valuables.

The fog produced is mainly made from water & food grade glycol and converts 28 millilitres of this fluid to produce 28 Cubic meters of fog!

What type of business can use this system?

The Fog Bandit system is matched to the room or area size so that only the right amount solution is used.

This system has been used in many different fields, including sensitive electronic equipment, pharmacies (mainframe computers), high fashion, Jewellers, stores and more.

If you are interested to find out more, contact us to ask any additional questions and discuss your requirements. 

Call Us On: 01424 869123

Fuzion 4 Raises Funds for Fire Renovation

On 11^th July 2015, a fire was deliberately started in St Michael’s Hospice, which left the home unusable until renovations are made. Many businesses, organisations and people around the area have raised and donated funds as well as donate much needed supplies to help the Hospice.

Fuzion 4 also participated in raising money for St Michael’s Hospice with our first (and hopefully not the last) Fun Day.

On the 18^th July, 135 Fuzion 4 staff and their families enjoyed an entertaining day. A Bouncy Castle, Bungee Run and Bucking Bronco were the main attractions supported by disco and street dances from the Eastbourne Demo Squad (Pictured Below).

After a long workout on the attractions, a hog roast and a barbeque was laid on to maintain everyone’s energy level.

Fuzion 4 held a raffle in the afternoon with some great prizes that were kindly donated by Fuzion 4 staff. This raised the tidy sum of £350, which was added to the in-house charity fund.

Two of our directors, Russ Keen & Kevin Swaffer proudly handed a cheque to St Michael’s Hospice totalling £600!

We would like to thank everyone who attended making the day very successful and to everyone who has donated to St Michael’s Hospice.

If you would still like to donate, you can do so at this link http://www.stmichaelshospice.org/donate

CCTV - Cheap But Not So Cheerful

Everyone loves a good bargain. The cheaper it is, the happier it makes you. But when it comes to CCTV, does cheap really make you cheerful?

To answer this question, we first have to look at a couple of options available on the market. One being “cheap and cheerful” and the other a higher ticket item.

Standard Analogue CCTV

Analogue CCTV Systems have become very cheap to buy as there are a lot of providers on the market, but, their picture quality is outdated.

Now analogue CCTV can come with several useful features, including:

Night vision - You can see the burglary happen even on the darkest nights.

Weatherproof cameras - You can catch burglars in the act, even in the unpredictable British weather.

Analogue CCTV can be a good option for small buildings such as houses where the small distances involved can still enable a reasonable and useable video to be recorded. However, Analogue CCTV systems do not offer enough to businesses. When you have to record footage of a larger area, the picture starts to become blurry and grainy. The faces of the burglar cannot be clearly identified and you cannot make out the number plate of the getaway vehicle. This can be vital in catching the burglar.

HD CCTV

HD systems are more costly compared to the Analogue System, but offer a better picture quality and more features due to the high picture quality. Some of the additional features of HD CCTV include:

Number Plate Recognition - Some CCTV systems are able to read number plates and then check a database of number plates. If the number plate is on the database, the system can open an automated gate to allow access to the vehicle and deny access to those that are not in the database. This prevents unwanted visitors in and out of working hours.

Item Recognition - The system can monitor a room and if something is removed from the room the system will note the change and send an alert to security or the owner or person responsible for security.   

Smart Tracking - HD CCTV is able to pick up on movement and then track it. If a burglary takes place, the camera will track them so you do not miss a moment, preventing the burglar from being able to hide in blind spots. If they drive up in a car and then get out of the car, the system will continue to track the movement and hence still follows them.

Forensic Detail - HD systems offer a high enough resolution to be able to pick up on facial features and to read car number plates. This is ideal for evidence against the criminal. Quality systems enable you to zoom in and sustain a high image quality.  

Easy to upgrade - Some HD systems use the same cables as analogue systems. This means that new wiring would not have to be installed.

Cheaper pixels - Overall HD CCTV Systems offer more features for your money and are also cheaper per pixel (how the picture quality is measured) than analogue systems.

The question we started with:

Now let’s revisit the question that we asked at the beginning, does cheap really make you cheerful?

The cheaper Standard analogue CCTV has some excellent features, but for a business, the picture quality just doesn’t meet the requirements needed to really protect your business. HD CCTV has a bigger price tag on paper, but compared to analogue, it is far superior with many more features and much higher quality. It is an invaluable tool for securing your business. You cannot put a price tag on the safety and the security of your workforce and contents of your business.

Interested to know more about HD CCTV? Click to watch thisvideo or call us for more information.

Analogue CCTV VS HD CCTV

In this technological age, CCTV is a highly regarded form of security for a business. According to securitynewsdesk.com, in the UK, there is estimated to be 4 million to 5.9 million CCTV Cameras. The advantages of CCTV are obvious. They are a visual deterrent and provide around the clock surveillance.

Your employees can be made to feel safer with CCTV in place, which makes for a happier workforce. You can also monitor the staff, so if a problem ever does occur (for example, a dispute between two colleagues) you can review the footage and get a complete picture of what went on.

Disadvantage of the analogue systems:

However, a lot of CCTV systems have a common disadvantage, they have poor video quality. This is down to the type of systems that are used. These systems are called Analogue CCTV systems. These systems have been around for a long time and we have seen an influx of very cheap systems recently. Like most things these days, you unfortunately get what you pay for.  

Because analogue systems are very cheap, they can be better suited to basic home security than they are for businesses use. With many businesses, there is a wider area to monitor than in a home environment, so you would need a lot more cameras, just to make sure one of the cameras is close enough to see the criminal’s face or record that all important registration number. Another issue is that these systems have limited wireless options and you can usually only connect a maximum of 4 cameras to the system.

So what are the alternatives?

An alternative is High Definition (HD) CCTV.  The biggest advantage that HD CCTV has over Analogue is superior picture quality. Features of the criminals face can be made out and number plates can be read even if you zoom in.  This means the system has a larger line of sight than their analogue counterparts, meaning fewer cameras are required.

Another advantage is that certain HD CCTV Systems (HD over Coax) use the same wiring as Analogue Systems, so upgrading your current system is a lot easier than you might think.

Due to the superior picture quality, a lot more features can be added to HD CCTV systems. One of these features being the ability to read number plates. The system can recognise car number plates and then check them against a database, before opening the gate to the parking area. This can be used to deny access to unauthorized parties in or out of working hours.

As mentioned before, you get what you pay for, but if the system deters, prevents or catches a perpetrator and thereby prevents loss of production, stress of having to spend time with the police, having worried employees, time lost explaining to everyone what’s happened and having to sort out insurance, the extra cost of the HD CCTV over analogue will become insignificant. Also consider they can do so much more than just record what it sees – they can be programmed, they can notice when something is missing, help in process controls by monitoring production and much more.

If you want to find out more about HD CCTV and how it can help your business, watch this video or give us a call to discuss your requirements.

Is Your Business's CCTV System Currently Meeting Legal Requirements?

Who is in charge of changing the time on your CCTV? Does anybody in your company know how to change the time on your CCTV system?

Did you know? It is a legal requirement to make sure that your CCTV displays the correct time and date. If the CCTV footage displays an incorrect time, it could result in the whole case being thrown out of court.

An alarming amount of companies do not change the time on their CCTV systems making them what is essentially an expensive deterrent only.

So why is it such a big deal that the CCTV displays the right time or not?

If the CCTV’s time is out by an hour, a suspect can claim that he was somewhere else when the incident happened. You would have supplied false evidence, thus falsely proving their innocence. The criminal will walk free to commit more crimes.

Imagine that your business had been broken into and thousands of pounds worth of equipment were stolen. Imagine that you have spent all this money on a CCTV system, which has captured the whole incident in full colour. It shows the burglar's face and his getaway vehicle. You would be pretty annoyed at being targeted, but relieved that you have evidence needed to gain a prosecution. Now imagine the agony of being told that the CCTV footage cannot be used as evidence because the time on the CCTV is incorrect. All that time and money you have invested, all gone to waste over a simple thing and what will your insurance company say? They may use it as a reason to not pay up because your system was not properly maintained!

Before you leave this blog, answer these questions

• Has the clock on the CCTV system ever been changed?
• Do you even know if it is currently correct?
• Who is responsible for checking that it has been updated?
• If someone is responsible for this, what reminders are in place to ensure the update is done?
• How long would it normally take to realize that the clock has not been changed?
• Does anyone know HOW to change the clock?
• Even if you pay for an automated clock, have you checked that it is accurate?

It is also a great idea to set a calendar reminder for the start and the end of the British Summer, time to change the CCTV time for the respective times.

And finally, go and check your CCTV system now to make sure that it has the correct time.