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fli IITMEIR. MAN !=1111111
Page 46
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MAN's 23 wholly owned operations have CCTV. movement detectors and a loudspeaker system dis creetly installed inside the buildings and around the sites, all remotely monitored by a Manchester _1J based security firm.
Any unscheduled visitors in the yard or trying to enter via gateways or fences will trigger a live link and be regaled by a deep Mancunian voice warning them that are being observed, filmed and are about to be arrested.
Cameras are also installed inside the workshop and these record activities for management purposes, to monitor work in progress and so on.
Tool chests were forever being stolen, so MAN decided to give mechanics £5,000 worth of insurance cover but with a 10% excess in case the worst happened. Each workshop provides either a secure tool store or deep-set anchorage points for the fitters to chain their cabinets to the walls or floor when they leave for home. Mechanics maintain a regular inventory and pay for normal replacements but the insurers cover break-ins.
Many service workshops have 24-hour operations and it's tempting to think that a busy, well-manned site will deter lightfingered visitors. When the weather's fine it could be so, but on cold winter nights when the shutters are pulled down, your yard becomes very vulnerable.
"That's when the remote monitoring service comes into its own," says MAN's network development director. Tony Clinkard, "and it certainly beats the original system of using security guards."
A temporary MAN site in Coventry literally hacked onto the local railway line hut this didn't stop determined thieves who just drove up the permanent road and battered the back wall open.
"Fortunately we had a CCTV system in from the start." says Clinkard, "and as they stuck their heads through the hole they were duly filmed and greeted by the Manchester monitors."
On one occasion, to the staffs astonishment, a desperate set of thieves broke in while work was in progress—but this time the mechanics responded first and gave them a more physical welcome and farewell. An outcome that will he applauded by every victim of truck crime.