Oprema - Experts & Thought Leaders

Multi-brand distributor, Oprema, are proud to announce the appointment of Natasha Owens as their new HR Director. Oprema are delighted to promote Natasha and welcome her to the Board of Directors in her new role. Natasha is the first female to join the Board, providing new angles to discussions. The decision to give HR a place at board level within Oprema reflects the value the company places on its people. Commenting on her appointment. Natasha said “At Oprema we pride ourselves on our excellent customer service and technical support. In order to deliver this level of service, you need the right people in your team. As HR Director it’s my responsibility to ensure we attract and retain the right people; people who have the drive and enthusiasm to go the extra mile.” Receive regular feedback Oprema support their employees to develop themselves both professionally and personally and where possible, offer opportunities for progression and career development. It’s part of Natasha’s remit to ensure team members receive regular feedback on performance and that Oprema’s rewards and benefits package is both competitive and fair. We are very proud to have achieved both Investors in People (IIP) and Real Living Wage accreditations in 2019" Natasha said, “We are very proud to have achieved both Investors in People (IIP) and Real Living Wage accreditations in 2019, demonstrating our commitment to our people and to paying a fair wage. As HR Director it’s my responsibility to ensure employee well-being is taken seriously and that we offer the appropriate support in response to the myriad of challenges that life can throw at us." Reviewing internal procedures "As well as reviewing our own internal procedures and support structures, we work with national and local partners, in order to offer professional support to our staff where it’s needed. It’s part of my remit to keep up to date with relevant legislation and guidance in relation to employment law, and in more recent days in relation to the global pandemic that is COVID-19." "It’s been an incredibly challenging year for us all, both personally and professionally, but the team at Oprema has come together to ensure we continue to deliver an excellent service to our customers, and we are stronger for it.” Continued development Matt Epps, Managing Director commented “Natasha has been as asset to the team at Oprema since the day she joined, 7 years ago. Always forward thinking and taking steps to develop our employee relations, it’s a pleasure to see her progress. Thanks to Natasha, we were proudly awarded Investors in People accreditation in 2019 and shortlisted for IIP Awards in 2019 and 2020. We congratulate Natasha on her new appointment and look forward to the continued development she brings for the company.”

Oprema are delighted to announce a new partnership with Camect. Camect is a Silicon Valley company creating the simplest and most useful security solutions from ordinary camera installations in homes and businesses. Artificial Intelligence Camect’s state-of-the-art Artificial Intelligence (AI) understands the objects that cameras see and raises alerts for only the interesting and relevant events, thereby eliminating false alarms. Furthermore, it doesn’t eat up bandwidth, it records continuously, and works even when the internet is down. A system to monitor high value assets takes only minutes to configure and comes complete with accurate alert notifications delivered in real-time. It offers universal secure remote access and can integrate cameras of many different brands. Strategic partnership Dave Small, EMEA Sales Manager at Camect commented on the partnership, stating “Working with Oprema is a great opportunity. Oprema’s first-class service and expert knowledge complement Camect’s values. We look forward to showcasing our best-in-class product range to their customers.” Gareth Williams, Sales Director at Oprema said, “We are excited to have Camect on board with us at Oprema, bringing the latest technology in the industry to our customers. The product portfolio at Camect provides a unique end user experience. We’re excited for what the future holds, Camect, welcome to the team!”

As one starts to adapt to the ‘new normal’ it has been announced that schools in Wales will reopen from June 29th with a phased return. With this in mind, Oprema has donated an Olix OBTM-FS1, Intelligent Free Standing BTM Terminal to Greenhill School in Cardiff. Greenhill School helps young people to thrive in a caring and supportive community whilst ensuring that children are equipped with the skills required to help them achieve to the best of their abilities. Their vision and purpose means that every child has a right to educational excellence through high quality teaching. Non-contact temperature measurement As the school prepares to reopen its doors Oprema wanted to ensure that the children returning remain as safe as possible, along with the hard-working staff that work there. The Olix OBTM-FS1 takes a non-contact temperature measurement on the wrist and is accurate to +/- 0.3°C. The person’s temperature reading is displayed on an LCD screen. If the unit detects a raised temperature the alarm will sound to notify the user. The unit has been placed in the reception area of the school so that all students, staff members and visitors can be temperature checked before entering the building. High temperature is one of the key symptoms associated with the Coronavirus. Temperature monitoring system If a high temperature is identified, then government guidelines for testing and self-isolating must be followed. The Olix OBTM-FS1 helps minimise the risk of spreading the virus and the non-contact technology allows for no personal contact with potentially infected individuals. Shane Mock, Headteacher of Greenhill School has said “This temperature monitoring system will be a great help in ensuring all at the school are well and kept safe during this pandemic. It’s an impressive piece of technology which will give us further confidence in ensuring the health and safety of all members of the Greenhill community. We want to thank Oprema for their kind donation and generosity.” Oprema are delighted to have been able to assist the school in being able to open their doors once again in a safe way.

Even the most effective technologies usually require some level of human involvement. What new technologies do, generally speaking, is change the nature of a human’s role. Most jobs in today’s world are vastly different than 50 years ago, in many cases because of the changing role of technology. In the physical security world, what specific impact does technology have on the human element of systems? We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable: Have recent developments in security systems made manpower more, or less, important to the equation? Explain.

There’s a huge cloud hanging over the physical security market, but in a good way. Cloud-based systems, whether for video, access control or another category, are on the verge of taking the industry by storm. The benefits of that mythical “cloud” are well-known, or certainly well-touted, in the market. It’s almost as if the word “cloud” has become a buzzword that can mean different things, or at least whatever the customer wants it to mean (as long as they buy!). We asked this week’s Expert Panel Roundtable to define the term more specifically, and to comment on the industry’s understanding of the terminology. Specifically, we asked: Define what we mean by “the cloud.” Is the definition universally understood in the market?