Utility of Body Worn Cameras by Industries
Body-worn cameras have been seen as one approach to address difficulties and improve law implementation practice generally. The innovation, which can be mounted on an official’s eyeglasses or chest territory, offers continuous data when utilized by officials on the watch or different assignments that carry them into contact with individuals from the network. Body worn video (BWV), otherwise called body cameras or wearable cameras is a wearable sound, video, or photographic recording framework.
Although traditionally used by law enforcement and crisis administrations, body-worn cameras have a large number of uses and may prove beneficial within a wide range of industries, for example:
- Agriculture
- Mining
- Construction
- Manufacturing
- Transportation
- Communications
- Electric, Gas and Sanitary service
- Wholesale Trade
- Retail Trade
- Finance, Insurance and Real Estate
- Law Enforcement
You may have thought that the scope of body-worn cameras is restricted to police and security guard’s usage but it’s not utterly true. This article covers a detailed analysis and note on how, and which industries use the body-worn cameras to their benefit. What would be the pros and cons of them using this tech? Can this tech be considered as the backbone in maximizing profits from these industries?
Body-worn cameras – A rising piece of Tech:
Not only the body-worn cameras provide assistant to law enforcement agencies but it has its other uses too which we might’ve been ignorant to. Body-worn cameras are considered as a rising piece of technology which is going to be an essential part of almost every industry sooner or later. We need to understand the importance of body-worn cams in each industry to fully embrace this new tech. Embracing new technology is always difficult. Almost a third of business leaders in the UK admit their organizations are laggards when it comes to adopting new technologies, according to TomTom Telematics’ Senior Managers Study, conducted in June 2017 – Telegraph.
In order to lead a successful life, a mind wide open to new suggestions and ideas is always climbing up the ladder. The same is the case with business and industries, it is evident to note that the businesses who embraced new technologies have flourished well in the past. Hence, in my point of view, every industry and every businessman should consider embracing the new tech in their respective professions. Body-worn cameras are a rising technology and they can prove to be helpful in modern and classic industries.
Body-worn cameras and agriculture:
Body-worn cameras can be used in every field of life that includes human interaction. Agriculture is also one of them. Agriculture assumes an essential job in the life of an economy. It is the foundation of our financial framework. Agribusiness gives nourishment and crude material as well as business chances to an exceptionally enormous extent of the population.
Now, the question is how can body-worn cameras aid our farmers? It is seen that a large number of farmers get ill or injured while working farm. These injuries can be a result of allergies or infections from corps or it can be due to an attack of some wild animal.
According to a report from Centers for disease control and prevention (CDC), in 2014, an estimated 12,000 youth were injured on farms; 4,000 of these injuries were due to farm work. Now, these injuries or even deaths of young farmers could’ve been prevented if the proper tech was used in those days. Mounted a body-worn camera on the chest of farmers would give them a sense of safety, that their loved ones at home are watching them. If any uncertain or unfortunate event happens, they can come to rescue them in time. It’ll surely reduce the causalities.
Some crops are required to be watered at night, the farmers don’t feel safe going all alone at night into the farms, as a threat of a wild animal coming in is always looming large on their head. But if they know, they are being monitored and any mishappening will be reported immediately, they won’t hesitate to go alone at night.
Body-worn cameras can also help the employers of farmers to keep an eye on how they are working and keep track of their progress as well as crop performance and growth.
Body-worn cameras and mining:
The metals and minerals we depend on in our regular daily existence are amazing. On the off chance that you truly pause for a minute to consider it, glance around to watch the items you are encompassed by which are not made by plant-based assets. From the cement you stroll on to the screen you are reading right now, our reality and our lifestyle rely upon the results of present-day mining practices.
Mining slaughters and harms a greater number of individuals than any other work on the planet. In excess of 15,000 miners are killed each year – and this is only the official number of deaths. In all likelihood, it’s more than that. There are many ways to avoid these kinds of events. The use of body-worn cameras is one of them, it can help oversee the people up the ground to know if there is going to be any catastrophic event in the near future.
These special body cams that can give a high definition stream in the extreme dark places below the earth can play a vital role to avoid such kinds of events. If any haphazard is predicted, miners can inform the lads behind the monitors to send in a rescue team. It is also seen that miners also die due to suffocation, these special body cams also come with smoke detectors which will alert the rescue team, thus saving the miners in time.
To sum up, we can say body-worn cams are an essential part of miner’s safety precautions and they should be a part of their mining equipment. Taking these precautions will definitely help reduce the number of causalities as compared to the lot seen in the past few decades.
Body-worn cameras and construction:
The main issue we face today is that people are not satisfied with their builder’s performance. They believe that they spend more time wasting rather than doing work. Implementing body-worn cameras on the builder’s chest can give them an eye to keep on their builders. Construction sites can be seen at every two blocks of a populated city which indicates the vast opportunities for this product. A contractor or an owner can keep track of their builder’s activities and performance using this gadget.
Mounting these devices on employees will keep them busy doing work as they would know that their contractor is continuously monitoring them. They will give their best in their work, as it is basic human nature that we become civilized knowing that someone is watching us and when that someone is your employer, and you are at the risk of losing your job; 100% result will be observed.
The other major benefit that body-worn cameras can produce in the construction industry is that if an employee gets injured during some building process, proper first aid and medication can be provided to him as someone at the other end would get notified immediately on an unfortunate event. Hence, we can say that Body-worn cameras not only provides you safety measures but administrative commands too. Therefore, it is evident that body-worn cameras should be a part of the new construction business as well as the old one.
Body-worn cameras and manufacturing:
The manufacturing business isn’t surely known. However, this industry is of key significance to the advancement of both rising economies and created markets. While manufacturing isn’t the answer to all issues, it is an imaginative and innovative industry that creates many openings for work. These work opening are filled with people and these people are needed to be monitored in order to create a better workplace environment.
Let’s say you plant a unit of textile production. How come you know that the workers are doing their jobs properly, for that you should plant body-worn cameras on their chests. This will help you optimize your yield and profit.
The other benefit of using body-worn cameras in a manufacturing unit is it helps maintain a good and healthy relationship between employees. They know that they are being monitored, so they don’t fight each other on tiny things which is a common thing in people in production units (because of their hectic life routine). It is observed that fewer fights happen in those manufacturing units where body cams are installed rather than those where they are not being installed. Therefore, we can say that body-worn cameras are becoming an essential part of the manufacturing industry. That era is not so far away when every worker of every unit will be equipped with body cams.
Body-worn cameras and transportation:
The body-worn cameras or any other cams has always been a key player in safety when it comes to the transportation field. They help you stream the live events happening on roads. If you are running a transport company, you have to use this tech. Mount body-worn cameras on your employee’s chest to know how they are driving and what is their attitude on road. How are they treating your valuable customers i.e. passengers?
What benefits body-worn cams will provide if you use them in the transportation field? Well, first of all, you will keep track of the route the driver is tracking, which is also possible with GPS, no doubt, but in this way, you get a live feed. The second benefit which I can see by using these cams is that; in case any unfortunate incident happens, you can send rescue teams in time to save their lives. It will also provide footage which you can analyze later to access what went wrong which led to the horrible event.
Body-worn cameras fitted on the driver’s or conductor’s chest will benefit both parties, passengers and drivers. A passenger would know that someone at the other end is watching the feed and he is being monitored, which will make his attitude positive towards the conductor or the bus driver. Secondly, the passengers will feel safe knowing that these drivers can not misbehave as they are being observed by their employers. This will ultimately result in a better productive relationship between passengers and other transportation staff.
Body-worn cameras and communications:
Body-worn cameras are not restricted to some given number of fields, they are also a vital key to run a communication service business. If you are running such kind of business, there will be customer support agents and people will be coming in daily to buy your products. It is better to have a body-worn camera mounted on the chest of the support agent you assigned there. The ensured quality service of that agent can be nurtured in this case. Knowing that my employer is monitoring my interactions and my behavior with customers, he will, surely, give his 100 percent. This will definitely make a mark of your brand in the market and in return yielding tons of profit.
Body-worn cameras and services:
Working in any service provider business, customer support and care is the most basic step of that business. Establishing confidence between customers and your assigned support agent is your duty (if you are running a service provider business). There are many ways to ensure that your customers are actually getting what they need like feedback from the customers, but wouldn’t it be better that you see this with your own eyes that all the customers are getting proper support and care. To seek that, body-worn cameras are essentials.
- Electricity
There are two benefits of using body-worn cams if you are an electricity service provider. One, as discussed earlier, it will ensure the quality of your customer support. A survey was performed in 2012, whose results showed that 33% of Americans say they’ll consider switching companies after just a single instance of poor service. Another publishing said that U.S. companies lose more than $62 billion annually due to poor customer service. The second thing is to ensure the safety of the line’s man life (in countries where an open wired network is established).
- Gas
Similar to the electricity providers, gas providing business can also use body-worn cams to their good.
- Sanitary
Persons who went down the ground to make sure the smooth flow of sewage facilities are often caught up in serious conditions. Suffocation is the main cause of death in such cases. If these employees are equipped with body cams such mishappenings can be prevented. The person on the other end monitoring the situation can send in rescue teams in time to save many lives.
A survey conducted by the Safai Karmachari Andolan (SKA), besides being an inhuman relic of the past, has taken over 1327 lives in the past couple of years. According to data from the survey, Tamil Nadu has recorded around 250 manual scavenging deaths during the last two decades, out of which close to one-third or 84 deaths were in and around Chennai.
Body-worn cameras and wholesale trade:
Wholesale is a type of exchange in which merchandise is acquired and put away in enormous amounts and sold, in bunches of an assigned amount, to affiliates, proficient clients or gatherings, however not to conclusive customers. These kinds of transactions should be monitored in order to keep a healthy work environment and a sense of confidence among traders.
Hence, the use of body-worn cameras in this industry also provides a basis for a new future where all transactions and meetings are being recorded.
Body-worn cameras and retail trade:
The retail trade business means the selling of goods to conclusive customers who are the daily users of products. Body-worn cameras are also needed in this industry to ensure quality service and smooth flow of business.
Let’s assume you run a grocery store, you would need to know that your employees are working with full devotion and their attitude towards customers is professional. We can say that this cutting-edge technology is the key to make your business successful.
Body-worn cameras and finance, insurance and real estate:
The body-worn cameras also contribute a great deal to businesses like finance, insurance and real estate businesses. All these businesses require a record of all written and verbal agreements. These cams provide great assistance to keep track of such records.
If you are an insurance company agent, there should be a camera mounted on you which will give an edge to your business. The customers will know that this company keeps track of everything which will result in making a positive and authentic image of the company in a customer’s mind.
Having a real estate business going on, body-worn cameras will keep track of your dealings which can help you if any party of the trade tries to back off from a deal.
Body-worn cameras and law enforcement:
It is seen that natives have been progressively manageable to official’s directions during encounters. Residents frequently change their conduct when they realize that they are being recorded. It helps law requirements so that low-level experiences are settled effectively instead of raising to a thoughtful where the utilization of power winds up vital.
After all, we know that other cameras do change behavior. Public closed-circuit TV cameras seem to lead to a moderate decrease in crime, particularly in parking garages. Traffic cameras significantly decrease speeding and fatal accidents.
Body-worn cameras may bring about better straightforwardness and responsibility and, in this manner, helps and improve law implementation. It is seen that in numerous networks there is an absence of trust among local people and law authorization organizations. This absence of trust is disturbed when there are questions in regards to the utilization of dangerous or less-deadly power. Video film caught during these official network associations may give better documentation to help affirm the idea of occasions and bolster records explained by officials and network inhabitants.
The use of body-worn cameras also offers potential opportunities to advance policing through training. Law enforcement trainers and executives can use the footage to give an experience close to real-world encounters. They can analyze officer activities and behaviors captured by body-worn cams. It helps advance professionalism among officers and recruits. They would know what possible things can go wrong in public and how to avoid it.
As all of the above features highlight many of the positive effects of using body-worn cameras for policing and law enforcement applications, the cameras themselves should not be considered a ‘magic bullet’. Body-worn cameras are one of many tools that can be employed with a modern policing framework to improve effectiveness and safety.
Conclusion:
To conclude every aspect discussed above, we can say that body-worn cameras are an essential element to the modern-day businesses. The use of body-worn cameras in various industries is vital for the growth and development of one’s country. Nowadays, the main use of body-worn cameras is seen in police and military departments but this article has cleared all the concepts that it is a key role in every business.
It is also important to keep in the record the aspect of privacy while emphasizing its use in every industry. It is obvious that the emergence of new technologies and social networks have changed the way people consider their privacy, but the recordings made by the body-worn cameras might allow for the potential use of facial recognition technology.
The usage of body-worn cameras gives officers an opportunity to record sensitive situations, but also to record inside private homes when arresting or doing research. In regard to that, some law enforcement agencies have taken the position that officers have the right to record inside private houses as long as they have a legal right to be there. This, as a result, disturbs the privacy of many people that is not good for the police. No compromise should be made on one’s privacy.