Security for Your Business

When referring the business or commercial security, the term "security system" is the umbrella terminology for the following: intrusion, fire, access control and cctv. Each type of system brings different features to security. Sometimes a building may just have one system, like the required fire system. However, most businesses combine several systems together to create security layers.

Intrusion Systems:

Intrusion is what most people refer to when they use the broad term, "security." Intrusion systems include door and window contacts, motion detectors, outdoor beams, glass breakage devices, and panic buttons. When a contact or device is breached (someone opens the front door) then a signal is transferred to the monitoring station and the proper people are contacted.

Fire Systems:

Building codes state that U.L. fire systems are required in most businesses and are to be inspected and tested on a regular basis. Fire systems include smoke and heat detectors and can be tied into the building's sprinkler system. Pull stations are installed in designated areas to provide manual communication to the sirens or strobes and the monitoring station.

Access Control Systems:

Access control is a term used to describe entry and exit points in a building and specifies who is allowed in certain areas. Access control can be thought of as "keyless entry" because systems utilize keyfobs or key cards instead of keys. Employee's "keys" can be removed or added easily through a computer program which ties into system.

CCTV Systems:

CCTV is short for Closed Circuit T.V., or cameras. Cameras are placed strategically in or around your building and images can be recorded on a DVR or NVR or clips can be stored and transferred through the Internet to your phone or computer.

Are Your Pets Safe?

Have you ever thought about what happens to your dog, cat, bird or fish if a fire breaks out while you are away?

Code requires that homeowners install smoke detectors in specific areas of the house. These detectors can be installed by you, your electrician or by an alarm company.

Security company smoke detectors are tied into the alarm panel and send a signal into the central monitoring station when smoke is detected. When a signal is received, the fire department is immediately dispatched. Read more on how monitored fire detectors may help save your pets.

Medical Alert Pendant

Atronic Alarms, Inc. sells a new medical alert pendant that features a 2-way voice system to allow clients to communicate directly with the people at the central monitoring station. For example, if an elderly women fell down or had a life-threatening emergency, she could push the button and talk to a "live" person who would then dispatch the proper authorities.

It is important to know that as the oldest baby boomers become senior citizens in 2011, the percentage of people 65 and older is projected to grow faster than any other age group.

The New England Journal of Medicine says that after a fall or other emergency, 90% of people who get help within one hour will continue independent living, but after 12 hours without help only 10% of people will continue to live at home.

For more information on the medical alert pendant, visit Atronic Alarms, Inc.

Update Your Call List

How long has it been since you have updated your call list with your alarm company? It is very important for the central monitoring station to have current and accurate phone numbers to key people in your home or business.

Mobile phone numbers have become very important to add to your call list. You want your security provider to be able to reach you in the event of an alarm, especially if you are out of town or away from the house. The first reason is to alert you of the security breach, the second is to determine what action to take. Is it an environmental sensor? Can you contact someone to check out the house? Was a window contact breached? Motion detector? Should you dispatch the police? Did the new housekeeper walk in who was not on the call list and could not provide a password? Can you cancel the dispatch? (The normal installation procedure or Atronic Alarms is to place each device on their own zone which helps us track to see exactly what device is setting off the system.) The correct contacts and phone numbers on your call list will keep unnecessary dispatches to a minimum, eliminating false alarm fees.

If you receive a letter from your alarm company asking to update phone numbers and contact numbers, don't ignore it. Look it over carefully and make the appropriate changes. The correct information on a call list can help speed up the decision making process, reduce false alarms and keep you updated in the event of an emergency.

New Year Resolution: No More False Alarms

Are you guilty of setting off your alarm system once or twice a year and forgetting your password? Do you have your password taped onto your keypad just in case you need it? Do you keep your security system turned off because you can't remember how to use it? If these things relate to you in any way, then read on. We're going to help you with some new year's resolutions.

Resolution Number One: I Won't Keep Passcodes or Passwords Taped to My Phone or Keypad

While this may be a wonderful way of reminding you or your family in case you need to recite it, it is also a wonderful way in allowing intruders to walk in, answer the central station monitoring call and repeat the password, thus canceling the dispatch. Not everyone has a photographic memory, and those of us who need help must come up with alternative methods. It won't be the same for everyone, but some helpful tricks are writing down a word similar, perhaps a synonym or word that rhymes. Write your password on a small piece of paper and tuck it away in a book on your shelf. They even sell storage safes that double as a book.

Resolution Number Two: No More False Alarms

Okay, so we all have occasional moments when kids burst in or out of the doors before disarming the system, or you walk in the house with your hands full, answer a phone call and realize that your alarm is going off. Don't Panic. Simply turn off your sirens and expect a call from the central monitoring station. In order to maintain your good record with the city and not dispatch the police, you MUST have your password (See Resolution Number One) and be able to give it to the central station. If this happens it is not considered a false alarm. The less false alarms the city's task force has to worry about, the better their time (and our money) will be spent in working on the important issues in the community.

Resolution Number Three: I've Invested in My System; I Will Use My System

Don't feel ashamed if you need to contact your security provider (the alarm company where you purchased your system) to ask questions. Many times they can send you a manual of your system, or "cheat sheets" can be found on the Internet to walk through the process of re-learning your security system. Maybe you have moved into a new home with a system and need to learn how to operate it, or maybe you have just turned off your system because there have been problems in the past, like a device wasn't working properly. Either way, contact your provider and they will come out and test your system, fix the problems and train you on the best way to use it.

For more information on how to reduce false alarms, visit http://www.atronicalarms.com/reducefalsealarms.html