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Don't lose your job over the World Cup – instead work with your employer for a solution if there is a big game on. Thousands of workers up and down the country will be trying to watch the World Cup, either at their desks, or worse, attempting to sneak off down the pub on the big screen without permission and risking a red card from their boss. The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) is urging employees to speak to their employers rather than just take a ‘sickie’. The FSB says employers may consider one of these options: Operating flexible working hours on match days; allowing regular short breaks; or authorising shift swaps with other employees. Luckily Tensor plc has the technology to help employers in this situation. The renowned security specialists’ sister company Time and Attendance UK has clocking systems that can deal with all sorts of shift patterns that arise during World Cup month. Our smart card technology allows your employees to quickly clock in and out, with the time and attendance software accurately recording attendances. The software also compensates for the recent changes to the Working Time Directive and related issues. Time and Attendance UK's systems are fully compatible with all working hours regulations and provide an easy and cost-effective solution to your clocking issues.  

Although the exact cost is uncertain, it is estimated that the various methods of identity fraud cost the UK billions per year. According to the BBC Money Programme it is increasing at 500 per cent year on year. One of the ways criminals attempt ID fraud is to try and gain access to workplaces in order to steal money, documents or equipment. A Tensor visitor monitoring system solves the necessity of monitoring and tracking of visitors on-site, and we offer a range of options. Automatic barriers can be installed at the entrance to your site and enable you to securely control vehicle access. Tensor has developed sophisticated access control software that enables you to register visitors as soon as they enter your premises. Tensor offer a number of bundled ID card systems, where you can print your own plastic cards. A smart card entry system, which can be upgraded to biometric (fingerprint scanning) for extra security, is an almost foolproof method of denying access to fraudsters, and the cards are quicker to scan than swipe methods. CCTV cameras can also be installed to monitor all movement on your site. Whatever your needs, size of building and budget, we have an answer that is guaranteed to suit your business requirements.

Simply by using specialist and state of the art equipment from Tensor plc, local authorities can increase revenue, attract more visitors and promote growth and investment in their borough. They can do this through encouraging a facility that has been in decline but is in fact the only one that every person needs – a public toilet. The company’s range of toilet turnstiles is a way of addressing this overlooked issue. The number of public toilets has declined roughly by 15 per cent in the past decade despite the population growing. It is not the initial investment that puts off councils, but the ongoing costs of maintaining them, running into £1,000s per annum. Local authorities are allowed to charge for toilet provision under the Public Health Act 1936, and this is where the Tensor group’s toilet turnstiles come in. Steady and significant revenues can be generated from the turnstiles to maintain the toilets. Our durable graded stainless steel turnstiles offer improved security and are supplied complete with a two year warranty. If people have to pay a nominal entrance fee it also discourages casual abuse, vandalism and unwanted intrusion – more importantly all members of the public will feel more comfortable and secure about using them. The coin mechanism can be programmed for virtually any combination of coins with a secure cash box to hold the coins, while high security options are available.  

Tensor plc can aid local authorities in riding out the recession with its comprehensive portfolio of indoor and outdoor access control systems, smart card, and time and attendance technology. It is inevitable that services will suffer as the government has already said the country must prepare for cuts across the board. Using the expertise of Tensor plc, councils can rejuvenate their balance sheet by looking again at maximising assets and facilities like car parks, public toilets, staff and buildings. Public sector pay is one thing the central government will be looking at for cuts, so you can better manage your workforce’s shifts with our comprehensive time and attendance technology integrating easy to use smart cards. Morale and productivity of staff will further improve if there is a comfortable and regulated temperature in the office, which is attainable via our energy management system, which also delivers 25 per cent cuts in bills for local authorities. Introducing a small entry or parking fee (or reviewing existing charges) for parks, buildings or public toilets can be done via our range of car park barriers or glass and half height turnstiles. It is better to keep revenue streams going to pay for essential maintenance and upkeep – the public would prefer that rather than shutting down the service completely.

The companies under the Tensor umbrella offer a complete range of biometric smart card, visitor monitoring, CCTV, barrier and access control technologies as ways to deter or prevent intruders gaining access to your site. It is a tough job thwarting determined thieves, as shown when a group stole three lorries from a Welsh haulage firm. The intruders broke into the office and took the keys which have the vehicle registrations on. The gang had tried to steal a fourth Mercedes lorry from the company's Flintshire yard, but after starting it and putting the lights on they could not work the elaborate gearbox and left it with the motor running.  However, it was obvious they were not proper HGV drivers as they could not control them properly. This led to the thieves eventually abandoning their heist and fleeing the scene. A member of staff pointed out that one of the gang was carrying a lump of wood in his hand so it was lucky none of the employees were on duty. Tensor’s range of high quality, durable gates offer reliable performance in the most demanding environments – ideal for controlling vehicle access to and from your site. Along with items like alarms and CCTV surveillance camera and recording systems, the whole package will provide unrivalled site security for your business.   

Police in Nottinghamshire have backed security surveillance technology. The local authorities have invested a system of CCTV cameras around the Nottingham area costing £140,000 per year to run in order to cut anti-social behaviour and reassure residents, and police were interviewed on ITV Central East. The TV news report said that increasingly CCTV cameras are a part of our everyday life, the result being that Coventry has more cameras than Paris and that each of us is likely to be caught on camera 330 times a day. The ITV report was making a point about our ‘spying society’, but figures such as ‘330’ are in fact an urban myth. These stats originated from episodes like when a member of Privacy International walked around London more than 15 years ago and counted cameras before multiplying this up. Rest assured that security products from the Tensor PLC group of companies is money well spent when you realise how easy it is to deter unwelcome guests from gaining access to your building. The kit varies from smart card and biometric Time and Attendance and Access Control technologies, to digital CCTV surveillance camera and recording systems. They can be stand-alone for a simple and easy to use smart card door-entry for a home or small business; or integrated to build a comprehensive security set-up to give you total piece of mind for large premises.

There is little further information regarding CCTV regulation brought in by the new government, other than it is set to impact on local authorities. Details are sketchy about the coalition’s proposed freedom bill which includes greater regulation of CCTV cameras, putting pressure on councils to justify its use. The government's full coalition agreement simply states that it plans on "protecting privacy by introducing new legislation to regulate the use of CCTV". The Information Commissioner's Office said that it was unable to comment on the bill until it receives further information. Because the Liberal Democrats drafted a freedom bill in opposition, and because their party leader and deputy prime minister Nick Clegg is now overseeing the passage of the freedom bill, we can expect news sooner rather than later. Tensor’s group of companies are a leading supplier of CCTV surveillance, Visitor Monitoring and Access Control technologies and because it is accredited and performs to the highest standards, the group expects any regulation to have little effect on its professional business practices. For instance, in 2009, Westminster City Council was told to turn off 100 digital cameras, mostly used for parking enforcement, after the government found that the equipment did not meet technical standards. This is not a problem for Tensor, who use only the best equipment from the leading manufacturers.  

New government guidelines are expected to follow on local authorities’ use of surveillance – and this could see the county in which Tensor plc is based held up as a shining example of best council practice. The coalition government has stated it wants to "strengthen the accountability of bodies receiving public funding" – especially over how they use CCTV. Although the Liberal Democrats have a history of mistrust over the number and use of CCTV cameras in Britain, due to their concerns over civil liberties and other factors, the party has also highlighted Cambridgeshire City Council as providing a possible blueprint for other local authorities. The council states in its CCTV scheme code of practice that it gives "primary consideration" to the public in the operation of its camera network. Tensor, based at Hail Weston in Cambridgeshire, is also a blueprint of best practice with its leading range of security and surveillance equipment and services. Combine our top of the range digital CCTV systems with smart card and biometric access control facilities, and Tensor will provide unrivalled site security for your home or business. We can customise your needs to enable the best set-up available since we are the top UK installer and maintenance service provider of surveillance systems, as well as being the manufacturers of many other security and access control products.  

A draft of the Queen's speech, which outlines what will happen in a new session of parliament, was leaked to newspapers, including plans to review the use of CCTV, among other reforms. The package is contained within a great repeals bill, also known as the freedom bill, to be introduced to Parliament before the summer recess. This bill, which will be steered by deputy prime minister and Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg, would also shut down children’s database ContactPoint, reduce the extent of the National DNA Database in England and Wales, and restrict the storage of internet records. The new session at Westminster is thought to last about 18 months, until late autumn 2011. Customers having doubts over the use of CCTV can be rest assured that Tensor is a company you can totally trust as it is accredited and committed to excellence. Not only are we the top supplier and installation contractor of digital CCTV systems in the UK, we are also unsurpassed in our commitment to offer first class user support and maintenance for all installed equipment and software. Because we install digital CCTV systems, image quality is so superior to outdated analogue footage. By providing cameras manufactured by the top suppliers you can be confident in your choices that we will deliver unrivalled service and image performance, as your surveillance set up will be made to order.

An inept gang who left sooty fingerprints in a house were caught on CCTV. A suspected teenage burglar had to be rescued by firemen from the roof of the house he had targeted, after two men believed to be his accomplices had jumped and escaped. The teenager was found clinging to the ridge of the home in Newcastle-upon-Tyne. A 14-year-old boy has been charged with burglary and will appear before magistrates next month. The property’s owner, Damiano Rea (who watched proceedings after catching the gang on CCTV), said that sooty handprints left on his walls after they tried to wrench out lead fittings should help lead to more arrests. Rea said: "I heard this strange noise. It was like there was something running across the roof – and it was no pigeon." There are many ways to deter or prevent intruders gaining access to your building. Smart card and biometric Time and Attendance, Visitor Monitoring and Access Control technologies from Tensor provide unrivalled site security for your residence or business. CCTV surveillance camera and recording systems are available, enabling you to further enhance security, from the No.1 UK installer and maintenance service provider of digital CCTV camera and recording surveillance systems, CCTV Surveillance Ltd. Being a member of the Tensor PLC group of security companies gives you piece of mind when you know you are dealing with an accredited, trustworthy and reliable company.  

Biometric systems prevent a clocking-in procedure being abused by employees or unauthorised people trying to gain access – remember, crime costs businesses £19billion annually according to the British Chambers of Commerce. Biometrics is the technique of studying the unique physical characteristics of a person such as your fingerprint, hand geometry, eye structure or voice pattern, as a way to provide irrefutable proof of identity. Tensor time and attendance or access control systems provide an effective "two-factor" security authorisation of an individual when fingerprint recognition is used in conjunction with a smart card. Because Tensor Biometric units read under the skin (sub-dermal) and not just under the surface of the finger, this form of I.D. is very difficult to defraud. The Tensor T32xx Biometric Clocking Unit is simply the best of its kind there is, being an all-in-one, affordable, IP enabled, Smart Card/Biometric Time & Attendance recording and security Access Control workstation; incorporating Job Booking, Job Costing, Labour Hours Analysis and Security Management including quality CCTV playback. Equipped with biometric fingerprint technology, GPS auto location, speech output, video and mobile phone support you can eliminate fraudulent clocking, and improve security at your business. The user friendly, multilingual GUI (Graphical User Interface) makes using the T32xx simple and effortless for all employees likely to use – a smart card can be read in under ¼ second even if it is covered in oil and grease – as well as keep out those not permitted to enter.  

The 2010 general election followed by the likely period of hard decision making for the next government means tough decisions on spending cuts in order to tackle the massive national debt caused by excessive government spending and the bank bale-outs. All parties say they will not reduce police numbers but many police forces are already taking measures for the cuts to come. Like other public sector services the of members of the constabulary and their business managers are looking at ways of still providing public protection whilst cutting costs. West Midlands Police for example have streamlined and reorganised their back office systems to be more efficient and cut costs. Part of this includes installing a new Time & Attendance and Access Control system so that they know where officers and other resources are and where they can be deployed. Unlike almost all public sector IT systems, this one appears to have gone in on time and on budget! Business also need to form a greater partnership with the police and take their own proven measures to prevent themselves from being victims of crime. An integrated security system that combines the functions of CCTV, Access Control and Attendance Monitoring is a good start. Here, video clips digital CCTV cameras are tagged against attendance and access control time & date stamped transactions to provide an instant integrated security system that enables businesses to simply manage the 1st level of security themselves. Tensor plc designs, manufactures, installs and an perennially maintains CCTV and integrated security systems for industrial, commercial, and public sector sites across the UK. Our systems produce cost effective evidence quality CCTV and activity monitoring that is tailor-made to meet your requirements. Where we do not manufacture particular pieces of equipment, we used products manufactured by Panasonic, Samsung, Genie, Pelco, Dedicated Micros, Wavestore and many more. The BSIA (British Security Industry Association) has investigated the use of CCTV and access control systems within the public sector and says that the spending on CCTV and other security measures is worthwhile. They noted that CCTV images are frequently called upon in the criminal justice system to help secure prosecutions. Tensor PLC is a member of the BSIA so you can trust the reliability of our products and services. Security and surveillance CCTV and integrated security systems are available for indoor and outdoor environments – day and night.