Milestone Husky NVRs secure Dunkin’ Donuts: making the locations cleaner and safer
“We made sure to have a best-in-class video security system from the beginning when opening our restaurants, and that has proven to be the right decision. Since we opened we have completely avoided defacement thanks to Milestone.” –Helgi Hansson, Security Manager, Dunkin’ Donuts, Iceland
The Challenge: Dunkin’ Donuts locations in Iceland are located in the city of Reykjavik where big city nuisances, such as graffiti, occur. It therefore became a priority to ensure a cleaner appeal for the chain. Dunkin’ Donuts aims to expand the number of branches in Iceland, making it important to find a solution that can easily scale up. The managers of the branches have many other tasks to focus on than security in their daily operations, and do not have advanced IT skills, making it important to find a solution that is intuitive and easy to use.
The Solution: Milestone Platinum Partner, Security Center Iceland, installed Milestone Husky M30 NVRs in each Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant in Iceland. Each Milestone Husky manages eight to ten Vivotek cameras located inside and outside the buildings. The managers can keep an overview of their entire restaurant with the XProtect Smart Client, an easy-to-use interface for the daily monitoring operations. The advanced investigation tools combined with an easy-to-manage timeline in XProtect enables managers to examine incidents quickly for accurate information. Additionally, XProtect Smart Client is available in 27 languages allowing the Icelandic restaurant staff to be easily familiar with the system in their local language.
The Advantages: With Milestone Husky NVRs installed at each branch, all Dunkin’ Donuts locations in Iceland have completely avoided defacement of the shops, allowing the company to avoid multiple, unforeseen clean-up costs. The video security system also has the advantage that it has increased the sense of safety among staff. Dunkin’ Donuts can easily scale up the solution thanks to the Milestone technology, expanding to cover more branches and facilities such as the central bakery and warehouse. Moreover, they have the option to expand the use of the software to include operational functions like quality control and training. Milestone open platform software allows Dunkin’ Donuts to integrate with third-party systems to further increase business performance.
The company: Dunkin’ Donuts
Dunkin’ Donuts is a baked goods and coffee chain, serving more than 3 million global customers daily. Dunkin’ Donuts sells 52 varieties of donuts and more than a dozen coffee beverages as well as an array of bagels, breakfast sandwiches and other baked goods. The first Dunkin’ Donuts in Iceland opened in 2015, and grew to restaurants within the year. The company expects to open another 15 branches within the next five years.
Selling big-brand donuts in small but busy cities
More than two hundred people waited in line when the first Dunkin’ Donuts branch opened in Iceland. The popular chain restaurants are located at the city center – where annoyances such as graffiti and window smashing can be a problem late at night. Dunkin’ Donuts needed a solution that would help them avoid damage to their properties and ensure the safety of employees and the high number of visitors. The restaurants represent the Dunkin’ Donuts brand and it is important that they look nice and clean. Defacements of the restaurant façades are problematic for costs incurred, security and marketing.
Milestone’s software makes video management easy-to-use for personnel who are untrained in IT skills. With Dunkin’ Donuts looking to expand in Iceland, it is also beneficial that the solution is scalable and allows central management of multiple sites in the future.
Dunkin Donuts found that Milestone’s video management software (VMS) was the best solution for meeting all of these requirements. Security Center Iceland installed in each Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant a Milestone Husky M30 NVR workstation with XProtect VMS preloaded and configured for performance and reliability. Milestone Husky M30 is a small, all-in-one appliance that takes up very little space. Each device manages eight to ten Vivotek cameras in each branch, both inside and outside the restaurants.
Zero vandalism and safety improves
The new Milestone system streamlines the process of catching wrongdoers, providing evidence as needed for the police. The system also has also deterred crime. After the branches opened with the Husky M30 NVR they have had zero incidents of damage, saving them the costs of restoring property. The presence of a video security system has also proven to create a sense of security for the staff working at the restaurants, especially in the dark hours of the north that are longer much of the year. This contributes to Dunkin’ Donuts’ goals for creating an attractive workplace.
“We made sure to have a best-in-class video security system right from the start when opening our restaurants, and that has proven to be the right decision. Since opening we have completely avoided defacement thanks to Milestone,” says Helgi Hansson, Security Manager at Dunkin’ Donuts.
The branch managers at each restaurant can keep an overview of the entire restaurant with the XProtect Smart Client while also addressing administrative work. This provides situational awareness of all operations, allowing the managers to quickly take action if necessary. The advanced investigation tools combined with an easy-to-manage timeline in the XProtect Smart Client enables store managers to view and document incidents quickly and accurately. Additionally, the interface options in the local language have been very well received:
“It’s a huge advantage that the XProtect Smart Client comes in our local language. The store managers I have spoken to says it is a big benefit because it makes the software even easier to use,” says Ómar Rafn Halldórsson, Product Manager at Security Center Iceland.
More than just a security system
The Milestone solution’s scalability, allows Dunkin’ Donuts to easily expand and add to their system with Milestone Interconnect. Dunkin’ Donuts plans to use the solution for more than security monitoring in the future, in addition to expanding the solution to their central bakery and warehouse.
At the bakery they can use the video security system for quality control by checking that official guidelines are being followed when making the donuts, to ensure high quality. They also want to manage the health and safety of their staff at these locations. Working with the hot ovens or loading large and heavy materials can lead to accidents if the safety rules are not followed. With Milestone VMS, management can check if all safety procedures are being followed. For new employees, the video system can also be used for training where the manager can give feedback to employees based on video material.
Dunkin Donuts is also considering integrating with retail transaction software. Point of Sale (POS) transaction software can directly link video with transaction data at the registers, which makes it possible to identify and track specifics activities such as the use of gift cards, credit cards or coupons – especially if the till doesn’t add up at the end of the day. This can assist Dunkin’ Donuts in managing typical loss prevention and fraud.
“There are so many options with Milestone’s software, which is an important reason why we chose it. We can expand its use to almost anything. For example, we are considering integrating it with transaction software to reduce shrinkage at the restaurants,” says Helgi Hansson.
Read more about Vivotek and Security Center Iceland.
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