How To Prevent Employee Triggered False Alarms
You’ve just returned home from a long day at the office only to receive a phone call from your security company alerting you that your alarm system has been activated. A thousand questions go through your mind – is a burglar attempting to steal or vandalize your property? Are your employees safe? Will the police respond quickly? Maybe you’re wondering if this was simply another false alarm.
Unfortunately, false alarms are common occurrences for business owners and operators who do not use a verified security solution. And one of the most common false alarm triggers is human error, including employee-triggered false alarms.
Employees may trigger your alarm simply by forgetting to de-activate your alarm system or by entering an incorrect code. Or at the end of a shift, an employee may not lock or close the door properly, triggering sensors and detectors that activate your alarm system. User triggered false alarms account for more than 80% of false alarms.
FACT: According to the RCMP, police departments across Canada respond daily to burglar intrusion alarms. However, more than 98% of the alarms the Police attend are false.
False alarms can be prevented by implementing some simple preventative measures including managed access control and verified audio/video.
One of the simplest and most cost-effective ways to eliminate employee-triggered false alarms is implementing a managed access control system.
A managed access system allows you to track and control who goes where and when. This limits risk of internal theft and external threats. Controlled access gives you more oversight of your facility’s activity while saving you money and time.
FACT: Sonitrol has the fewest alarm industry dispatches for false alarms (Sonitrol has less than a 3% false alarm rate vs. a 98% average false alarm rate from the rest of the alarm industry).
It’s also virtually the end of user-triggered false alarms.
Access cards give users access to authorized areas – there are no codes to remember, and multiple levels of access cards give you flexibility in authorizing access to sensitive areas within your building. Removing the need for codes reduces the risk of employees entering an incorrect code, or forgetting to enter their code, when arming or disarming your alarm system. With an access control system, employees can simply swipe their custom card, photo ID badge or key fob.
When an individual uses his or her access card to enter a door, the system automatically disarms the alarm. Similarly, the system can re-arm after a cardholder exits.
FACT: Sonitrol has the best criminal apprehension rate in the industry (with over 171,000 apprehensions to date!)
Why Are Sonitrol Leaders In Business Security Alarms?
Sonitrol is a fully integrated security system so access doors can be programmed to be open on certain shifts. If our intrusion system is armed the doors will not unlock. This means if employees do not show up for work the doors will not unlock until the security system is disarmed. If employees leave early and arm the security system the doors will lock.
With a conventional alarm company – they provide an security access system that is not integrated and so the doors will unlock as programmed.
Sonitrol’s Managed Access System can be easily integrated with Audio Intrusion and Verified Video technology. Unlike conventional alarms, Sonitrol’s unique verified audio and video security solutions enable our operators to hear and see what is happening in your business before the criminals gain entry – we verify the actual source of the alarm, and we get the police to attend the scene immediately and relay real-time information to the responding officers. If it’s a false alarm, we simply reset the system without bothering you or the police.
For more information, contact Joe Allen, Sonitrol Security of Delaware Valley at jallen@sonitrolde.com or (302) 652-3060.