Owners, managers and other decision-makers often invest in cameras with security, mainly around theft, being the main objective. This makes sense – they’re called “Security Cameras” for a reason! But a camera system offers many other key benefits beyond theft prevention.

When you invest in security cameras and associated smart surveillance technologies, you can also assure overall success. Cameras improve on-site safety and compliance and reduce legal risk and liability scenarios. You can also attract and demand cost savings and enjoy an excellent return on investment. Consider the following…

Enhancing Workplace Safety with Security Cameras

Business administrators can use security cameras to regularly monitor high-risk on-site areas for events that might result in severe injury or death. What are some ways security cameras promote site safety?

– The technology can alert your security personnel to an internal or external threat.

A security guard or surveillance representative might see signs that an employee, visitor or other party or parties intend to cause harm. They might witness a person causing harm. The most common examples include an angry employee threatening a boss or coworker; two or more employees experiencing a verbal or physical altercation; a delivery driver failing to check mirrors at an unloading area while backing up; and a worker or workers interacting with their environment or tools in unapproved, unsafe ways.

– The cameras can also help your security team see accidents and other emergencies rapidly in real time.

For example, they might see one of your employees choking while eating lunch or a snack, experiencing a cardiac event while handling heavy machinery, injuring a hand while using manual or electric tools, or slipping and falling in an area where janitorial staff had recently cleaned the floors. 

– If they don’t have the necessary training, they can reach out to management and emergency medical technicians, firefighters, police and other first responders and provide real-time updates without leaving their desk.

– They can give a witness statement to police and others who need as many details as possible as quickly as possible to guarantee the safety of other employees, visitors and the general public.

Your site administrators and managers can also use security camera footage to act proactively to prevent future accidents and incidents:

– They can remove bad apples from the workforce and reassess the placement of remaining employees. For example, a manager might remove an employee that promotes unsafe practices or match workers to positions that better align with their knowledge, skills and safety adherence.

– They can set up one-on-one and group coaching and training seminars. They might use these discussions to review safety infractions and safety protocol enforcement or create and distribute refined and new protocols.

OSHA Compliance and Regulatory Requirements

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) performs actions to guarantee that businesses follow federal and state laws and regulations. Its representatives do everything within their power and the law to make working conditions healthy and safe for all businesses in general and as dictated by industry standards. They also attempt to prevent illegal retaliation against workers who pursue their rights under the law.

Security cameras can help you meet compliance standards in a wide variety of ways. You or other managerial staff can use saved copies of footage of locations throughout your business to direct your compliance actions. You can also use the footage as evidence of compliance during an audit or inspection.

What types of compliance problems might your security cameras reveal both during and after your normal business hours?

– One or more employees repeatedly leave dangerous or expensive equipment or deliveries unattended for hours or days.
– Staff members fail to remove boxes or tools that can cause accidents in a timely fashion from public or customer areas.
– Employees stay at or return to the site inside or outside the building after hours without permission.

– Some workers fail to use protective gear correctly or at all, even when it’s required by you as their employer or local, state or federal laws.
– Team or other leaders or trainers inappropriately explain compliance rules or fail to post correct or enough related signage.

Modern surveillance systems often feature artificial intelligence applications to detect patterns within security camera footage as well. How can AI improve your OSHA compliance and overall ROI?

One common example involves misuse of tools. You might notice that employees consistently misuse certain common or industry-specific tools, such as basic cleaning supplies, ladders or custom-made equipment. These actions put you at high risk for non-compliance and accidents that might result in fines, expensive medical care or lawsuits.

Non-compliance by multiple employees usually indicates a communication breakdown. A pattern can reveal problems with written training materials, hands-on training or verbal guidance caused by educational gaps, managerial or trainer style or even a toxic management situation. For example:

Non-compliance by multiple employees usually indicates a communication breakdown. A pattern can reveal problems with written training materials, hands-on training or verbal guidance caused by educational gaps, managerial or trainer style or even a toxic management situation. For example:

– Your current safety and security protocols might contain confusing, contradictory or outdated information. Current written guidance might contain statements that are open to too much individual interpretation. Some employees might purposely use loopholes to ignore safety and other protocols.

– A primary support manager or team leader, trainer, onboarding or orientation representative, or other staff member might have a lax or negative management style. They might purposely allow some infractions they personally don’t consider important or misinform new or existing employees to exert their dominance or control, create drama or for other unknown adverse reasons.

Use of incorrect information, negative language or an accusatory or other harsh tone of voice can create an environment of confusion or fear that destroys motivation and focus enough to cause negligence. These actions can also distract some workers from self-tracking their actions and performance. Workers might become more hesitant to trust coworkers and less willing to approach their jobs and colleagues from a team perspective.

Reducing Workplace Liability and Legal Risks

Business owners and their employees are legally responsible for their actions. Yet, you can’t physically watch everyone 24 hours a day or every day in a week.

Security cameras serve as impartial witnesses to events that take place at your business. They provide workplace liability reduction and other related benefits:

– Cameras serve as a visible reminder that you’re watching, which can make everyone overall less inclined to commit crimes or negligent acts. The cameras can also prompt your employees to behave more diligently with greater care and responsibility.

– When considering legal risks, it’s impossible to not talk about theft, even when discussing other benefits. Staff members and visitors always think twice about committing theft when they see working cameras monitoring their every move. Shrink reduction occurs when employees see cameras in break, locker and stock rooms. Theft overall decreases with camera placement in high-traffic and product areas. Thieves among administrators and managers have a harder time stealing via an accounting ledger or a computer or from a safe or petty cash box with cameras in an office.

– Camera footage can reassure your insurer that you’re following all rules and regulations for your business and industry. It can even give you leverage when negotiating future policy discounts and requesting lower premiums.

– Footage can protect you from false claims and associated lawsuits by providing evidence that counters falsehoods. It’s far more difficult for anyone to take advantage when clear proof of lying exists about a situation.

– Conversely, on-site surveillance can play a role in employee and customer dispute resolution. You can prevent wasting precious time and money fighting by checking security footage first to see whether a claimant has a valid case.

– Worker monitoring can also reveal serious errors that open you up to legal woes. For example, you might notice stock clerks mislabeling products or using the wrong price tags. A cashier might fail to use fraud-detection pens on high-amount cash bills.

– You can defend against brand and reputational damage. Visual evidence can prove that you and your workers aren’t involved in any misdeeds, such as discrimination against or harassment of protected classes, nonpayment of required wages or overtime, or unfair labor practices.

Within all of these areas and many more, you receive opportunities to improve your business procedures and employee behaviors during general training, coaching and at other times. You might discover customer service and point of contact issues and department or team interaction and performance issues that can cause escalations and conflicts. You might even see building problems in real time, such as the breakdown of structural materials and water leaks that can cause accidents.

Cost Savings and ROI: Security Camera Investments

Lastly, surveillance with cameras is a solid investment that provides a lasting return on investment. The long-term savings and other benefits from using security cameras always outweigh the cost of the initial investment. They even outweigh the future costs of regular maintenance and upgrades required to keep up as technologies change.

By using footage to reduce incidents that can harm your brand and reputation, you guarantee successful outcomes. You improve customer service, employee education, motivation, productivity, and many other areas. You show clients and partners that they made the right decision when they chose you and your business.

After all, when you succeed and your business enjoys a stellar reputation for fair practices and safety, you can expect more positive online reviews and word-of-mouth referrals. You can also expect higher ranking on search engine results pages, elevated online and offline interest and associated foot traffic, and increased product and service purchases.

When you use security cameras in all these ways, consumers, industry partners and others will desire stronger ties with you and your business. The resulting higher revenues and business growth can help you maintain your competitive position in your local market and pursue expansion or other dreams you have for your business.