April 10, 2024
This paid work is sponsored by Direct Companies.
The same Sioux Falls companies that provide automation solutions and managed IT services to businesses can also help keep your physical workplace safe.
Direct Technologies, part of the Direct Companies, has expanded in recent years to provide increasingly state-of-the-art security cameras and access control systems.
“Customers appreciate being able to integrate so many services, and this is a rapidly growing part of our business,” said Thom DeWald, industrial sales representative. “We have seen many outdated systems realize the benefits of upgrading to new technology.”
Direct Technologies offers integrated “smart” systems of cameras that monitor workplaces and equipment and software that determines who is allowed access.
“These are self-learning cameras, so they can learn their environment and quickly filter out any false positives that the system may detect,” Dewald said. “They are continually learning and the systems are advanced enough to provide things like license plate and facial recognition.”
Using facial recognition, he added, “we can search for people and scan historical footage much faster and easier than before.”
Why would you want to do that as an employer? Many reasons.
“A lot of things happen in the course of business,” Dewald said. “There are obvious concerns about theft and unwanted people, but falls and other incidents on the premises can also occur due to personnel reasons of wanting to proactively gain insight into the customer experience.”
The system allows workplaces to control who has access to the door, automatically lock the door, receive an alert if a designated individual uses a door card, and respond as needed in an emergency. You can also activate a panic button.
“You can lock the entire building with the push of a button,” Dewald said.
Direct Technologies typically serves Sioux Falls and surrounding multi-state areas.
“But some of our business is national, so if we have a factory that we support with automation services, for example, we can certainly support it with surveillance cameras and access control as well,” Dewald said.
Other clients include public buildings such as courthouses and schools.
“Our ability to integrate systems is key,” Dewald said. “So, for example, if a back door to a school were accidentally thrown open, the system would activate to alert school staff so they could quickly gain access.”
Enhanced facial recognition also benefits facilities that are not intended for access by specific individuals. For example, consider adults who are not expected to attend school.
“By adding an image of a face to the software, we can find that face and tell the software if it was somewhere on the property,” Dewald said. “This is very accurate and can be done using anything from existing photos of a person to footage from another camera.”
Even more cutting-edge, Direct Technologies offers gun detection software enabled by artificial intelligence.
“Basically, we put sensors in the facility, and if a gun fires, it picks up the noise and notifies the person monitoring the camera,” Dewald said. “It will display a map showing the exact location where the gun was fired, notify law enforcement of that map, and send text and email messages to key parties.”
Not only that, the technology has advanced so much that it can now recognize images of guns in certain situations.
While it's clearly suited for schools, this technology is also suitable for everything from airports to arenas.
“If you're going into an area where weapons aren't allowed, consider installing gun detection software,” Dewald says. “The biggest win is that by working with one provider, all of these systems can now work together. From the outside of your facility, to the inside, all the way to your IT, we have access to the latest technology. We're ready to help keep your business safe and secure.”
Click here to connect with Direct Technologies.
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