This article is sponsored by Milestone Systems.
When most people think about security cameras, they picture parking lots and building entrances. At Merit Medical Systems' South Jordan headquarters — and across its global operations — video technology is doing far more. It is driving manufacturing efficiency, enabling real-time operational oversight, and delivering measurable return on investment.
Merit Medical, a leading manufacturer of medical devices with approximately 7,000 employees worldwide, has partnered with Stone Security, a BearCom Company, to build one of the most advanced video management systems in manufacturing today, one that spans production floors, clean rooms, and access-controlled facilities across continents.
Beyond security: video as manufacturing intelligence
The collaboration began with a challenging problem: how to monitor manufacturing processes inside sterile clean rooms without disrupting carefully controlled environments. Traditional oversight required engineers to gown up in sterile attire, limiting quick visual checks and making it nearly impossible to showcase production capabilities to investors.
Stone Security helped Merit deploy AXIS F Modular Camera Series devices from Axis Communications throughout clean room manufacturing environments, integrating them with the existing Milestone XProtect video management software (VMS) platform. Merit standardized on Axis network cameras across their facilities, deploying a mix of PTZ (pan-tilt-zoom) cameras, 180-degree panoramic cameras, and fixed cameras.
The Milestone XProtect open platform video management system currently supports more than 14,000 different security devices from more than 700 of the industry’s leading manufacturers, including providers of network video cameras, cloud technologies, access control, alarm and detection systems, video analytics, and much more. But the real innovation came in how Merit uses the technology. Engineering teams now monitor production equipment remotely, identifying inefficiencies and making real-time adjustments that directly impact output.
“They can look at a camera for six hours, make a major or minor tweak on a machine, and production goes up by percentage points,” said Craig Meyer, Director of Global Security at Merit Medical. “When we can show return on investment by putting these cameras in these areas to increase production and lean manufacturing, that’s significant.”
Merit’s executive team has also transformed facility tours, highlighting manufacturing processes on large screens in hallways without requiring visitors to enter clean rooms.
Managing nine hundred cameras across a global gootprint
As Merit’s system expanded to approximately nine hundred cameras across global facilities, the challenge shifted from deployment to management. How do you train personnel to navigate hundreds of cameras spanning multiple countries?
Merit built a sophisticated mapping system using Milestone XProtect’s visualization capabilities. The system allows security teams to move seamlessly from a global overview down to individual buildings and detailed floor plans. Different camera types are distinguished by color-coded indicators.
“The speed of being able to access cameras visually based on the area of the building is hugely beneficial,” says Ryan Thurgood, Security Manager at Merit Medical. “We can’t imagine doing business without it.”
The mapping system includes health monitoring features that automatically alert operators to connectivity issues. New security personnel can be trained in a fraction of the time previously required.
Unified video and access control streamlines operations
The most recent advancement brings access control into the same unified platform. By integrating its facility access control system directly into the video management software, Merit created a single, unified interface for security operations.
Now, when someone uses a credential at any access point, the system automatically displays both the credential holder’s ID photo and live video from the nearest camera. Security staff can verify identity, unlock doors remotely, and investigate incidents from a single interface.
“We can open a door by clicking an icon on the map,” Meyer explains. “If we see a truck pull up to our tech center, it’s very easy to momentarily unlock that gate.”
The integrated system has slashed event investigation times from hours to minutes. Staff can search by personnel to see every door an employee accessed on a given day, with video verification for each entry.
Utah innovation with global impact
What sets Merit apart is its commitment to optimizing technology rather than simply deploying it. The company manages most system updates in-house, demonstrating the solution’s scalability.
“Merit stands out among our clients for their exceptional commitment to leveraging video technology beyond traditional security applications,” said Andy Schreyer, Vice President of Security Technology & Marketing at Stone Security. “While many organizations only scratch the surface of what’s possible with their VMS, Merit has invested the time to optimize their system.”
Together, Merit Medical and Stone Security demonstrate how forward-thinking collaboration can transform video technology into a strategic business tool — one that improves manufacturing efficiency, streamlines global operations, and delivers measurable business value well beyond security.
For more information: www.stonesecurity.net