6.15 monitoring and tracking systems

Monitoring and Tracking Systems

This lesson covers wide range of technologies that are used by a variety of people and organisations for a number of different purposes - all bundled under the heading ‘ monitoring and tracking systems’.

Keeping track of where employees are and what they are doing has always been of a concern to businesses, however improvements in technology have allowed vast improvements in both the accuracy and depth of surveillance possible.

CCTV Monitoring and Tracking Systems

Most business and organisations use CCTV cameras to keep track of their employees and customers. CCTV has been around for decades, however recent improvements in technology (Micro-controllers and Internet) mean that CCTv can now be easily, cheaply and securely streamed across the internet.

Main uses

Internet Activity Monitoring and Tracking Systems

A huge problem facing businesses today is employee abuse of ICT systems, with the main problem being employees wasting their time at work browsing the internet and using social media. In order to minimise these issues most companies have some form of monitoring software the keeps track of :

Many companies go a step further by using a firewall to either block specific sites (black-listing) or only allowing specific sites through a firewall(white-listing).

Key-logging Systems

As well as recording what websites that people go to and how long they spend there, many companies and organisations go one step further by installing software of their machines that logs every single key-press that has been made.

This is commonly used by:

• Police to log criminal activity
• Criminals to steal website passwords
• Schools and parents to keep tracking children’s internet and social media use.

Automatic Number Plate Recognition Systems

ANPR recognition systems work by having a special CCTV camera placed at entrance and exit locations to businesses or areas. When a car is picked up on CCTV, the number plate is automatically logged by the computer and added to an online database.

This information can they be used for:

• Police to catch criminals and those who haven’t paid tax / mot / insurance
• Used by car parks to track who uses the car-park (to work who needs to be sent a parking ticket)
• Used to track people in congestion zones.
• Used to track speeding / parking violations.

GPS Tracking Systems

GPS tracking systems are one of the most widely available tracking systems available, largely because most smartphones now have the technology fitted as standard.

GPS is commonly used for :

Activity

You work for a consultancy firm and have been asked by a local taxi firm to give them a proposal on how they can use tracking technology to improve the performance the company.

You should put together a 2 page proposal detailing:

• What technologies you believe they could implement
• How they should implement it
• Why these technologies will benefit the business