The NetCo body camera is a “made in Germany” product and is manufactured at our headquarters in Blankenburg (Harz). Our production manager Torsten answers the most frequently asked questions for you.
How long does it take to produce a body cam? The time required for body cam production depends on whether it is an assembly of prefabricated body cam parts or an assembly of individual body cam components. A standard body cam consists of 47 individual parts. If you were to assemble a single body cam, it would take approximately 2.5 hours. Fortunately, however, we mostly work with prefabricated assembly kits consisting of 7 parts. In addition, there are 5 screws that connect the two halves of the body cam. This means that a single body cam can be manufactured in less than 30 minutes. In general, however, at least 10 body cams are always assembled at the same time in order to further reduce production time through routine workflows.
Where are the components for a body cam sourced from? The answer is simple – from Germany, of course! The main components of the NetCo body cam come from suppliers located within a radius of less than 100 km. Only the battery is supplied by a partner on the North Sea coast. As far as the small parts are concerned – i.e. the electronics – we have to rely on materials from Asia, as Germany hardly has any production lines for electronic components of its own anymore. However, we remain optimistic that this will change again in the future. ### What can be customised on the body cam?
We have already implemented a large number of body cam projects and manufactured customised body cams for our customers. One customer, for example, requested a version without a touch display. This is precisely where our strength lies – we provide customers with what they want/need for their body cam application. To do this, we keep our ear to the market and regularly exchange ideas with our customers, i.e. those who use body cams on a daily basis.
Our customers can now choose from a range of batteries and carrying systems. The battery allows customers to limit the usage time and thus influence the weight of the camera. We offer two carrying system variants, each of which gives customers access to a repertoire of over 20 different mounting options for the body cam. So we don’t do classic mass production!
How is quality assurance carried out? We have a strict internal quality process that every colleague who assembles body cameras must adhere to. Nevertheless, we test every body camera again before delivery, because errors can occur in any manual production process, even though experience has shown that assembly errors are rare due to the relatively simple structure of body cameras.
What happens to sensitive customer videos if a body cam needs to be repaired? When repairing a body cam, we do not come into contact with customer videos, as these are encrypted and can only be decrypted via the body cam user account. Only the customer has access to this account, ensuring that no third parties can access the body cam recordings.
How are sustainability and resource conservation addressed in body camera manufacturing? The NetCo body camera was developed so that we can replace every single part. This means that the components of a body camera can be reused until they reach their wear limit or become electronically obsolete.
As with any other technical device, the battery in a body camera normally needs to be replaced after a certain period of time.