Allstone Quarries (ASQ)
98%
faster investigations with Helix
Up to IP67
dust and waterproof rating
Up to IK10
impact and tamperproof rating
Allstone Quarries (ASQ) began as a quarrying company in 1970, and has since expanded to six retail and manufacturing sites in Victoria, Australia across three divisions: ASQ Allstone Quarries, Garden & Landscape and Premix Concrete. Its unique, ever-evolving business model provides a range of offerings: quarry products, mobile crushing services, ready-mix concrete and garden and landscape, construction and demolition waste recycling.
As the Information Technology (IT) Systems Manager, Jai Munday oversees ASQ’s entire technology stack, from the industrial machinery to its API integrations. With a background in software development and over 10 years of experience scaling IT systems, he is always finding ways to enhance quality control and workplace safety, while improving daily operations with more efficient workflows.
The Evaluation
In designing ASQ’s technology framework, Jai factors the company’s scale along with its wide range of use cases across retail, manufacturing, construction and transportation. His key considerations and challenges included the following:
Scalability: Disparate systems across multiple locations with no remote access.
Durability: High-impact, heavy-industry environments where rocks are crushed.
Flexibility: Tight spaces with limited networking and cabling.
Reliability: Gaps in coverage and no insight into offline devices.
Longevity: Hardware devices are always amortizing.
According to Jai, “We process what we blast out of the ground, crush it up and then send it to one of our three retail sites. We began with new cameras in the quarry for safety and quality assurance, then looked at using the Helix integration to gain operational benefits across manufacturing and retail sites.”
Why Verkada?
Jai has a scalable security system that gets smarter with time, and provides him with a constant stream of innovation. Beyond the core use case of protecting people and assets, Jai uses Verkada’s security solutions and API integrations to improve existing processes. His product fleet met his requirements for:
Scalability: A single pane of glass to manage devices and users across all sites.
Durability: IP67 and IK10 weather and impact-resistance rating with a 10-year hardware warranty.
Flexibility: Simple to plug-and-play from one PoE cable.
Reliability: Hybrid cloud infrastructure with up to 365 days of on-device storage, unlimited cloud archiving and system health alerts.
Longevity: Automatic software and firmware updates with new features and capabilities such as Helix.
Through Helix, Verkada’s search and integration engine, Jai pairs third-party event data with the Command software platform to efficiently surface footage. Team members can easily assess and mitigate risks on the production side, while accelerating investigations and ensuring high quality control.
API for website marketing and Point of Sale integration
Jai’s API journey began with adding a video to ASQ’s website. Captured by an outdoor Dome camera, the timelapse showcased a crisp view of construction at the Castlemaine retail site from start to finish.
“Helix was easy to set up with Verkada’s public API endpoint, We had it up and running within a week.”
Store managers now use the Helix integration to match point of sale (POS) transactions with the corresponding video. They can quickly retrieve footage of any transaction by entering details (such as the ID or the amount spent) into a simple search bar on Command. By providing staff with an intuitive and centralized search engine, Jai has accelerated POS investigations by over 98%.
“We use Helix to index transactions and quickly pull footage for investigations. A picture tells a thousand words. Helix allows us to find the issue within a few seconds, versus having to playback hours of footage.”
Ensure compliance with LPR and Helix
On the manufacturing side, License Plate Recognition (LPR) cameras overlook a weighbridge that all trucks use upon exiting the Quarry. Helix adds another level to its LPR capabilities by integrating with ASQ’s weighbridge software.
“The dual cameras allow us to capture the license plate and the content in the back of the truck. We can match everything up to our Helix data, run reports off number plates and validate their load with the job they’re heading off to.”
Upon creation, dockets are matched to LPR camera data. From the license plate, staff can ensure that trucks are loaded correctly every time. “Otherwise, if the truck is stopped on the road, there can be up to a $11,490 fine.” It takes seconds to find all the trucks that serviced a particular contract, speeding up compliance investigations.
Fuel and fleet management with the Multisensor and Helix
Jai faced a challenging deployment at the Eaglehawk warehouse, which had a space for only one cable but required more coverage. “It was impossible to get more infrastructure to the area we wanted to secure.”
“Multisensor was the perfect solution for complete visibility over key areas. We have four cameras operating off a single cable and AI capabilities such as Vehicle Analytics.”
Jai has eliminated blind spots while maximizing coverage with the Multisensor’s four-way view at 20MP. From just one PoE cable, he can simultaneously monitor incoming vehicles, the parking lot, crushing plant, processing area and fuel bowser.
To enable asset tracking on the fuel bowser, he also plans to integrate Helix with ASQ’s fleet management system. Once pumps are on the network, data will be pushed into the system to track fuel consumption and ensure proper use of Key Fobs. “We can use the data from Helix to improve the accuracy of quotes for contract jobs.”
Flexible package monitoring with the CM42
To protect packages in ASQ’s delivery bay, Jai needed a camera that could fit in a tight space at the corner of the facility. “If the camera faced one way, the door wouldn’t be visible. If it faced another way, there was nowhere to mount the device.”
His solution was the CM42 Mini Dome camera, which he installed on an existing light rail. Small but mighty, the CM42 was designed for flexible deployments in compact spaces. With its minimal footprint and computer vision capabilities – including People Analytics – it was the perfect fit for remote monitoring and loss prevention in that environment.
“The CM42 was the perfect size and weight to install in a narrow space, and still cover the entire delivery bay. We have all the analytics and image quality, without the bulk of a larger camera.” Like the Multisensor, it took minutes to bring the CM42 online with a single PoE cable.
Looking Ahead: Guest, Intercom and continuous innovation
Built on an intuitive software platform, Verkada’s video search engine and integrations make it easier to detect, deter and resolve incidents. “It's been great seeing the products get smarter through automatic updates over the last three years. The API has really continued to evolve with integrations like Helix, and save us a lot of time on manual tasks.”
Jai plans to expand the capabilities of his Verkada fleet with Workplace and Intercom. Leveraging Verkada’s visitor management software, he’ll automate guest check-in and eliminate pen-and-paper logbooks. So no call goes unanswered, he’ll set up smart call routing with Intercom and provide designated staff with real-time visibility into who’s at the door.
“Verkada has proven its value, especially with Helix and protecting our sites from a single pane of glass. We can ensure that if there’s any safety issue, we're on top of it right away. We have greater peace of mind, knowing all our data is secure and easily accessible whenever we need it.”
Learn more about Verkada API integrations and software updates.