Businesses planning a commercial alarm system usually spend considerable time deciding what needs to be protected and what conditions should generate an alarm. Once the system sends a signal, that information needs to reach the monitoring center, where the response information established for the account helps determine what happens next.
Park Security Systems provides professional monitoring for businesses throughout Altoona, State College, Johnstown, and the surrounding Central Pennsylvania region. We work with commercial customers to consider monitoring alongside their intrusion systems, including the contacts and response information associated with handling an alarm when employees or managers may not be available at the property.
Detection and Response Have Different Jobs
An intrusion system detects the conditions it was designed to recognize and generates an alarm signal. Professional monitoring receives that signal so the event can be handled according to the response information established for the business.
This part of the security plan can be especially important after hours, when the people who normally manage the property may be somewhere else. The alarm system can still detect activity, but the business needs a plan for who should be contacted and how the event should move forward. Those decisions belong in the monitoring conversation from the beginning.
What Happens When the Signal Reaches Monitoring?
When a monitored commercial alarm system generates an event, the signal is sent to the monitoring center. Trained operators receive the alert and use the established account information and response procedures to determine the appropriate next steps.
Depending on the event and the procedures in place, that may involve notifying designated contacts or contacting emergency responders as appropriate. Having that information established beforehand gives operators the direction they need when an alarm comes in.
The process also depends on information from the business. The people responsible for the property, operating hours, designated contacts, and other response details help define how an alarm should be handled. Those are practical parts of professional monitoring, even though they aren’t pieces of equipment installed at the property.
When Video Is Part of the Security Solution
Some businesses may also use video as part of their security and monitoring strategy. Where video verification or Park’s VideoGuard service is part of the solution, visual information can provide additional context around activity occurring at the property.
Park offers VideoGuard as a separate remote guarding solution, so the role of video depends on the security services selected for the property. During system planning, we can discuss whether traditional alarm monitoring, video capabilities, or another approach is appropriate based on the areas being protected and the type of oversight the business requires.
Planning or Updating a Commercial Alarm System?
Park Security Systems can help you think through what happens after an alarm signal is sent, including professional monitoring and the response information associated with your system.
Call (866) 695-6695 or contact us to discuss your commercial security needs.
What Should Be Considered Before the First Alarm?
The equipment installed at a business may remain in place for years, while the people and operating conditions around it can change much sooner. Employees leave, responsibilities shift, and business hours change. Those changes can affect the information used when an alarm needs a response.
A monitoring discussion should account for details such as:
- who should be contacted when an alarm occurs
- who has responsibility for the property
- the business’s occupied and unoccupied hours
- when contact or response information needs to be updated
- whether additional information is available through other security services
Know What Happens After the Alarm
If you’re planning a commercial alarm system, the monitoring conversation should include the people responsible for the property, the response information associated with the account, and how alarms should be handled when someone at the business isn’t available to respond directly.
Park Security Systems can discuss those details alongside your intrusion and monitoring needs so you understand how an alarm will be handled once your system is operating. For businesses planning a new commercial alarm system or reviewing security at an existing property in Altoona, State College, Johnstown, or the surrounding Central Pennsylvania region, talk with our team about professional monitoring.
Call (866) 695-6695 or contact our team to start the conversation.
Connect with Us