Use Synergy's mapping features more effectively
Case Study
Boosting Security and Efficiency for Retail
The surveillance tools boosting security and efficiency at one of the UK’s largest retail environments.
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Welcoming over 30 million people through its doors each year, the Trafford Centre in Manchester is one of the UK's largest shopping and entertainment venues.
While each retailer has their own surveillance and security set-up, it is the task of Lee Barlow – Operations Manager for Security and Data – and his team to secure all public areas, from management space, service areas and car parks to the food hall and miles of walk space.
“This is a huge operation. Even with an 80-strong team working in shifts around the clock, there is a vast amount to monitor and manage. We need to be smart about our approach. And that includes being smart about the technologies we adopt to make our lives easier and our visitors safer.”
Remote evidence sharing to save precious time
One of the most recent technologies Lee and his team adopted is a remote evidence-sharing solution from Synectics.
The technology allows surveillance operators based in the Trafford Centre’s control room to share evidential footage held in a dedicated locker quickly and securely via a web link to authorised external stakeholders, including Greater Manchester Police, Metropolitan Police and insurance agents.
“It’s a huge advantage for time-sensitive incident investigation, but also regarding resource and cost. Currently, we share footage linked to around three or four incidents daily. It is shared instantly, securely and encrypted with all the necessary evidence certifications included."
“Previously, we would have had to save footage to disks or USB drives and physically mail these out to the respective contacts. A much slower and weaker evidence chain. Not to mention a costly exercise when you factor in postage for fast, secure delivery.”
Mapping that makes life simpler
Using their Synergy security and surveillance platform, the Trafford Centre team monitor and manage footage from around 700 Synectics cameras spanning the building itself and surrounding parking zones – an estate well over 2 million square feet in size.
Being able to quickly pinpoint the location of an incident and access corresponding location data that may add context to response – for instance, nearby facilities, exit points and proximity of potential support teams – is invaluable to Lee and his team.
“We used to rely on standard image mapping”, says Lee, “but we wanted to take advantage of Synergy’s latest capabilities, which allow us to pair geospatial (open) mapping and locally hosted CAD maps of the site. The difference is night and day in terms of the detail available and how easy it is to zoom in to investigate each event.
“We can also add icons, features and any other details that might be useful, as well as create macros that help us take specific actions at the click of a button. It’s very intuitive and informative, which is extremely useful when you have such a vast estate to monitor.”
Prioritising data privacy
With such high visitor numbers, public privacy is a key priority for the Trafford Centre. Here, Lee and his team make use of dedicated functionality in their surveillance solution to help them manage sensitive data appropriately.
From automating footage deletion in the evidence locker after a set period in compliance with GDPR, to digital masking of people and areas, Synergy supports and simplifies privacy protocols in many ways.
“We’re very aware of our responsibilities in this area”, comments Lee. “For example, our location means we back onto an Asda superstore and other Trafford Park facilities. Cameras on our roof monitoring outdoor areas of our estate pick up these locations, so we always ensure we mask those zones on screen.
“With Synergy, we also have the reassurance of knowing every operator action is logged, a valuable resource in responding to data privacy queries.”
Peace of mind performance
While all of these specific areas of functionality have helped the Trafford Centre in its mission to protect the public and facilities across the estate, for Lee, the biggest benefit of all is knowing he can rely on Synergy to deliver.
He concluded: “With Synergy, I have no headaches. Because I know everything works. I know we’ll always have footage availability – and if anything happens, we have an incredibly robust failover server. I know that the Synectics cameras give us the crystal-clear view we need daily, and that we have a system that will easily allow us to grow and adapt. From adding new cameras to making use of edge-based analytics in the future. There’s much to be said for having this kind of reliability at your fingertips.”
Critical Collaboration Made Easy
Share evidence securely with the police, emergency services, internal teams, and third parties.
The Cloud Evidence Locker is natively supported in Synergy, enabling seamless upload and secure sharing of incident footage.
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Why is Synergy a leading video management software option for retail, leisure and hospitality venues?
Synergy, Synectics' integrated video management software, is designed for large, complex and mixed-use destinations, including shopping centres, cinemas, entertainment venues, restaurants, food halls and hospitality areas. It brings video surveillance, mapping, incident management, evidence sharing and privacy controls into a unified operational platform.
At the Trafford Centre in Manchester, Synergy supports an 80-strong security team responsible for protecting more than 30 million annual visitors. The destination combines retail with extensive leisure, entertainment and hospitality facilities, including a cinema, food hall, restaurants, bars and family attractions. Operators use Synergy to centrally monitor around 700 cameras across public areas within an estate covering more than two million square feet.
Key capabilities demonstrated at the Trafford Centre include:
- Centralised surveillance across retail, leisure and hospitality areas
- Monitoring of public spaces, walkways, the food hall, car parks and service areas
- Secure remote sharing of evidential footage with police, insurers and authorised stakeholders
- Faster incident investigations without relying on physical disks or USB drives
- Encrypted evidence transfer with the necessary evidence certifications
- Geospatial and locally hosted CAD mapping for precise incident location
- Location intelligence showing nearby facilities, exits and response teams
- Configurable macros and workflows that help operators respond quickly
- Automated evidence-retention periods to support GDPR compliance
- Privacy masking for individuals, neighbouring properties and sensitive areas
- Comprehensive audit trails recording operator activity
- Resilient failover protection and continuous footage availability
- Scalable architecture supporting additional cameras and future edge-based analytics
This makes Synergy particularly suitable for mixed-use retail, leisure and hospitality venues that must protect large numbers of visitors across varied environments. Its combination of centralised monitoring, mapping, secure evidence management, privacy controls and system resilience helps security teams improve visitor safety and operational efficiency.
How does Synergy improve security and operational efficiency at the Trafford Centre?
Synergy gives the Trafford Centre’s security team centralised control of around 700 cameras across its two-million-square-foot estate. This helps the team protect the public areas serving its shops, cinema, food hall, restaurants, leisure attractions, car parks and operational facilities.
Integrated mapping helps operators identify incident locations, access relevant cameras and understand the proximity of exits, facilities and available response teams. Secure remote evidence sharing allows footage to be sent directly to authorised police forces, insurers and other stakeholders using encrypted web links.
This reduces investigation times, strengthens the evidence chain, and removes the costs and delays associated with distributing physical media. Automated retention, privacy masking and operator audit trails also help the Trafford Centre protect personal data and meet its GDPR responsibilities. Robust failover and scalable architecture provide reliable surveillance today while supporting future expansion and analytics.