Small changes can make a big difference, when minimising false alarms, writes Anthony Iobbi, pictured, security alarm management man at Chubb. Communication is vital when designing and commissioning security alarm systems and making minor changes to building practices can significantly reduce false alarms.
The saying “a small change can make a big difference” may be over-used. But these words, first coined by the youngest – yet possibly the wisest – US politician Theodore Roosevelt, certainly ring true when it comes to alarm management. Whether you have a CCTV system, intruder alarm, access control or a combination of all three, if the security alarm system you have in place is repeatedly raising false alarms, then you need to make a fundamental change.
Keep on communicating
It might sound obvious but specifying a security alarm system that’s fit for purpose starts with gathering a thorough understanding of your customer’s requirements. At the design stage, it’s crucial to understand the layout of your customer’s site and how they operate; this begins with asking pertinent questions to identify exactly how the building is used. For instance, how do people enter-exit the building? Do they have set office hours or work on shifts?
Communication should not stop at the design stage. It needs to be a continuous process – right through the installation, commissioning, servicing and monitoring, and one that involves engineers right at the coalface of the building. Effective communication across all these areas will result in a reliable, robust system that provides the customer with the confidence and reassurance that their staff, property and assets are being protected and monitored 24-7.
Another important part of the communication process is training and educating customers after the system is installed. At Chubb, we consider it our duty to provide sufficient training for all those responsible at the point of handover, but customers also have a responsibility for maintaining their system. If their detectors get covered in cobwebs, they’re going to trigger false alarms; if they leave windows open with blinds or curtains and doors ajar, these too are likely to trip an alarm.
Every business that decides to invest in a security system has a choice of supplier, and the journey starts there. Choosing a professional company such as Chubb, which holds numerous third-party accreditations and a wealth of industry knowledge and experience, will form the basis of reliability.
As an NSI-accredited provider of security solutions, it’s our responsibility to ensure our customers are kept up-to-date with best practice guidance. That includes communicating key factors affecting our industry, for instance, the upcoming digital switchover.
The digital switchover is coming
For me, the most significant change is that the systems have become far more accessible. Not only has the user the ability to access their systems remotely, but similarly for the maintenance and monitoring companies as they too can more easily access systems to perform remote diagnostics servicing. The customer can also benefit from faster response to faults or requests as many activities conducted remotely now (such as isolating a fault, changing a code) would have been done previously by an engineer physically attending a site.
At Chubb, we are expanding our remote access capabilities to dial into an alarm system and perform activities at the press of a button. Remote preventative maintenance, for example, alleviates the need for an engineer to physically go to site and means we can carry out any work required a lot quicker. We can also put temporary fixes in place in scenarios that need it – for instance, a customer might be ready to leave at 5.30pm. Still, the alarm says, “I’ve got a problem you can’t leave” rather than waiting around for an engineer to arrive, we can remotely put a temporary fix in place, avoiding disruption and offering reassurance that the building is secure.
Remote monitoring plays a vital role
Our ARC (Alarm Receiving Centre) plays a critical function – they are the eyes and ears of everything that goes on. They see all the signals that a system sends, which over time, ‘paints a picture’ into the health of a system. For example, just because a system is not calling out key holders or the emergency services doesn’t mean there are no problems.
The ARC can see if systems are being mis-operated daily. For example, every morning by cleaners, or whether various repetitive system faults are transmitted, the ARC reports inform the maintainer/client to investigate the root cause.
There might be an issue with staff. How they come in, shift patterns ie. they might have four shifts, but only three have been considered – meaning the fourth shift has been causing false alarms. It’s only inevitable that a false alarm will turn into a police callout. So, if we can catch these problems early, we can stop these alarms from being extended to the emergency services. Why is this critical? Because you only get a number of chances with the emergency response services before they withdraw their response. If you report more than three in a rolling 12-month period, the emergency services will cut you off. During the period of cut off you need to prove that you’ve put corrective actions in place with your maintenance company.
The ACR sends out frequent reports to our teams, maintaining the systems highlighting the troublesome areas. This allows us to give customers a thorough insight into recurring issues and why they’re happening. For instance, it might be that somebody at 7.45 in the morning is setting the alarm off on the third Thursday of every month. More often than not, the building owner is not aware of the problem, so it comes as a surprise. But with the robust reporting system our ARC has in place, we’re able to identify issues early and notify customers before it develops into something more significant.
Our ARC receives approximately 5.1 million signals per annum, of which about 3.5 million are filtered out with restores/aborts – that’s almost 14,000 alerts every day. It’s a staggering number and highlights why it’s so important to ensure a robust alarm management system is in place. Consequently, any minor improvements made can make a significant difference!
If we can make a small change to the field – just a ten per cent reduction, that’s preventing 350,000 signals from reaching our ARC.
Visit: https://www.chubbfiresecurity.com/en/uk/products/security/.
