The most effective security system is only half of the equation; adding remote monitoring completes the package. The selection of the proper monitoring company is a critical decision worthy of complete investigation. Your monitoring company should have the ability to provide pro-active monitoring services, rather than reactive only. This concept provides the retailer with an effective tool to combat false alarms and the associated fines. When selecting a monitoring company, it helps if you have a basic understanding of the technology and proper operating procedures. The automation system normally does not come into play when evaluating a monitoring company, as most automation systems are professionally designed and maintained.

Receiver technology does come into play to some degree, as there has been a quantum leap in that technology within the past few years.

With virtual receiver technology, the need for the old individual hunt group scenarios that limited the number of calls to be processed by the receiver is eliminated. The big benefit of virtual receiver technology is that it dramatically increases bandwidth efficiency to receive and process alarm transmitter messages through its smart memory capabilities. The virtual receiver greatly reduces the time it takes to process the alarm transmission, thereby allowing many more signals to be processed.

The monitoring company should also carry a UL and CSAA Five Diamond rating and have the ability to monitor over the Internet using TCP/IP protocols, as most panel manufacturers are now offering TCP/IP panels.

It is recommended that retailers have 100 percent fiber-optic phone lines for all incoming/outgoing local calls and outgoing long distance, with fiber routes coming into two points in the building. These fiber-optic routes are simultaneously connected to a self-healing Fiber Sonet ring tied to the phone service provider. If fiber to the “hot” phone company central office were cut, all calls would instantaneously be re-routed to the central office through the redundant back-up fiber connection.

Automated phone switch
The monitoring company should utilize an acceptable automated phone switch for incoming voice and receiver call distribution, as well as for all outbound voice and data traffic. The switch provides for redundancy and automatic fail-over to the back-up server processor in the event of a primary failure.

In addition, it should have a Voice Print digital phone recorder that integrates directly with the phone switch; this device digitally records all the phone lines in the central station and customer service departments. All conversations are saved to DVD for archiving, and recorded conversations can be e-mailed to you for investigative and documentation purposes.

The monitoring company should have at least one diesel-driven generator to provide power to the central station in the event of a power loss from the primary commercial energy source. In addition, there should be a UPS system installed to protect all critical equipment and operations in the event of power spikes or loss.

The UPS unit is connected to a bank of batteries that power the central station while power is being switched to the generators. The UPS systems should support monitoring operations for up to four hours in the event of generator failure. The monitoring company also should operate a fully redundant central back-up station equipped to allow operators to remotely receive and process alarm signals should the need arise.

Essential web-based system
The most important added value to a retailer is a web-based system providing real-time access to all of its alarm information, allowing it to create detailed, custom reports that provide everything needed to make the right decisions.

A web-based tool capable of accumulating and filtering detailed data regarding all alarm activity, with access to store, district, region and company-wide alarm information, must have the ability to set flags that notify the customer of potential problems and automatically generate service tickets when incidents fall within the parameters of pre-defined limits. (Example: If an alarm initiating device such as a motion detector trips four times within a month, a service ticket is automatically issued to service or replace the faulty device.)

Converting alarm accounts or implementing a new monitoring plan can greatly improve efficiency while greatly reducing cost, but only if the right choices are made.