Technology & Trends - Intruder detectors

ESX is designed to provide information and knowledge alarm companies can’t get at any other event For those of you who have been honky-tonking the last several years during the ESX Show, there’s a new game in town – as the annual educational, exhibits and networking event moves to Baltimore, Md., June 24 to 26, and the excitement of the Inner Harbor. Focused And Futuristic Celebrating its eighth year, ESX focuses on peer-to-peer education and strategies &n...

ASAP-to-PSAP technology automates communications between alarm monitoring companies & PSAPs and dispatches emergency service In April 2015, Cary, N.C., adopted a technology called Automated Secure Alarm Protocol to Public Safety Answering Point (ASAP-to-PSAP), but currently they are among only a handful of emergency 911 call response locales that use ASAP-to-PSAP technology in the United States. Commander Scott Edson of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, sp...

Integrators must understand that the K-12 market has a unique and urgent need for access control, but with limited budgets Systems integrators play a key role delivering effective security solutions to the kindergarten through 12th grade (K-12) education market. Schools certainly depend on an integrator’s expertise regarding which electronic products to choose. However, schools also rely the benefit of an integrator’s experience and the insight gained by putting se...

SWIFT is a wireless fire detector line offered by Honeywell Fire Systems Honeywell Fire Systems, Northford, Conn., continues to enhance its line of wireless fire detectors, announcing new updates to its Fire-Lite® Alarms Smart Wireless Integrated Fire Technology (SWIFT™) at ISC West 2015 in Las Vegas. The SWIFT line of wireless fire alarm detectors and modules – which includes smoke, heat and pull stations – integrate with new and existing Fire-Lite...

Anyone who questions the value of participation in local and national burglar and fire alarm associations need only look at the ongoing activities of the Illinois Electronic Security Association (IESA) to validate the reason for membership. Just last week IESA members and lobbyists traveled downstate to Springfield to show support and testify against two new bills, up for debate in a senate committee hearing, that would ultimately prove harmful and create a competitive disadvantage for licensed...

According to research firm IHS Technology, the residential intrusion alarm market is expected to grow by 9.4 percent in 2015 For years, the industry’s penetration rate for security alarm systems has hovered from a conservative 18 percent of households to a more liberal 22 percent or so. According to research firm IHS, the residential intrusion alarm market is expected to grow by 9.4 percent in 2015. Perhaps this increase is due in part to the rise of interactive ser...

Camera apps ensure that surveillance systems meet specific needs, provide compliance, and deliver enhanced versatility Of the many benefits offered by new and advanced IP video surveillance cameras, the ability to easily customize these devices with third party apps has the potential to change the landscape in video surveillance system design and implementation. By providing the ability to customize individual cameras with the specific functionality desired for every specific...

Airports, metro systems and other transportation centers must deploy multiple layers of access control for restricted areas Airports, metro systems and other transportation centers must deploy multiple layers of access control for restricted areas. They need solutions that can accommodate high-volume traffic. Each transportation application has unique requirements, from systems that enable the use of multiple types of credentials on one reader, to reader options designed to ma...

Unscrupulous companies reversing positive steps made by security industry to remove stigma of being known as "trunk slammers" ABC news report reaffirms need for industry action For the businesses that make up the electronic security industry, it’s an issue that undermines all the progress we have made to date. It’s deceptive door-to-door sales tactics, and it’s still having an impact on the alarm industry. It affects the entire industry – from large na...

Reinvention of go-to-market models proves integration business is place to be Suffice it to say 2014 was a pivotal year for the majority of alarm dealers and installers. Many have had to change their way of thinking and their method of doing business, while adapting to ever-changing technology. But those who continue to reinvent their go-to-market model prove that the integration business is the place to be – and there’s money to be made, albeit it not in simply...

The growing market for legal marijuana (now available in some form in 24 states) has also generated a demand for security products and service to protect the industry from illegal activities. “For the most part, companies are looking for what we call the traditional surveillance systems whereby you have visible deterrence,” says Monty Henry, president of DPL-Surveillance-Equipment.com LLC in Ventura, Calif. Many companies are seeking more sophisticated systems t...

Marshall Marinace is on a mission - to continue to infuse value into ESA If you haven’t met Marshall Marinace, you probably will soon. He’s the new President of the Electronic Security Association (ESA), and he’s instantly likeable. He’s a homespun security dealer with decades of service who knows that the new world of systems integration requires change and involvement of every member at the association level. Marinace was sworn in as the 41st Preside...

Dave Tyson has 30 years of experience in all facets of enterprise security The incoming president of ASIS has volunteered with industry groups for years. His goal: to help people get better at their jobs. With 30 years' experience in all facets of enterprise security, Dave Tyson, CPP, CISSP, looks forward to his 2015 term as President of ASIS International (ASIS). “I’ve spent a lot of years working to make a difference in the security industry,” Tyson says...

Organizations are looking to emerging technologies to enhance security and communications Verint 2014/2015 Review and Forecast: The overall economy was solid in 2014, with large regions and industries continuing to grow and emerging markets revealing even greater opportunity. We are seeing emerging signs of strength in industries like Higher Education that are expanding their security horizons, or taking note of global events. Additionally, security organizations continue to...

Over the next year end users will push to get more value out of their investments  Frontier 2014/2015 Review and Forecast: One of the big trends we see playing out over the next year is a push to get more value out of the investments that end users make in their solutions. Certainly the solutions must meet the core needs of customers, but more focus is being applied towards how those solutions can improve processes, increase efficiency and provide better visibility...

Integration of wireless and edge technology will continue to change the economics of installation As a security systems integrator, we are seeing some improvement in the industrial sector. It appears that projects that were deferred during the recession are now getting funded. Healthcare continues to have complex needs with continuing consolidation, which then creates opportunity. One question that remains is military spending and whether it will return to previous levels...

Two reports recently resurfaced – one online and the other on national television – that cited potential vulnerabilities of wireless intrusion door contacts and window sensors, devices commonly used to secure the perimeter of protected premises. These reports came after two independent researchers who work in the industry, but announced their findings independent of their positions, cited that alarm signals from sensors and detectors to the control panel could be subve...

Think of crisis management and emergency planning as a  customer service Do you have a written emergency management plan? Where is it? When was the last time you updated it? Developing and writing a corporate or organizational emergency management plan can take a long time. Once completed, however, the plan is there for you to access when you need it. In fact, that’s wrong. According to crisis management authority Michael J. Fagel, emergency planning is suppos...

Newer concepts and modern security solutions help achieve operational efficiencies in the retail sector Asset protection across retail organizations is a necessary evil. When shrinkage is on the rise, margins are low, competition is fierce and the economic climate is still somewhat uncertain, retailers need to maximize any investment in technology and consider how it can positively impact their bottom line. Steve Bocking, Sales Engineering Manager at Genetec, explains that...

More efficient event-driven video surveillance can be achieved by replacing VCA with physical detection Event-driven video for surveillance and recording involves using a video recorder or video management software system that is triggered by movement in the areas where cameras are located. Event-driven video can be achieved by using intelligent motion detection or video contents analytics (VCA) on the camera, recorder or PC server. Recently, performance of VCA has improv...

Helping utility companies meet the new CIP-14 standard is an urgent new challenge On April 16, 2013, snipers fired for 19 minutes on PG&E Corp.'s Metcalf electric power transmission station near San Diego, California, knocking out 17 giant transformers that supply electricity to Silicon Valley. At least 100 rounds were fired from at least one high-powered rifle. The power grid was rerouted to avoid a blackout, but it took 27 days to make repairs and get the substation bac...

Endless possibilities for security deployment have been made possible with technological advancements Significant technological advancements have created endless possibilities in how security is not only deployed, but also leveraged by the end user – the customer. For example, customers can now view surveillance at eight different offices in eight different states from a single, central location. A security director can manage an enterprise-wide access control system, in...

The best standards are often baseline, common-denominator standards that leave room for innovation The collaboration between ONVIF and SIA to develop new access control standards is just the latest standards-related news from the Security Industry Association (SIA), the American trade association headquartered in Silver Spring, Md., near Washington, D.C.  In fact, SIA has a long history and tradition of standards development, dating back to the 1980s. SIA has produced 1...

Well-designed intrusion detection devices are capable of ignoring non-intruder events, thereby reducing false alarms Intrusion detection devices must maintain a delicate balance. Highly sensitive devices can cause too many false alarms while devices with insufficient sensitivity are easily defeated by sophisticated intruders. Innovations in intrusion detection technology have enabled significant advancements in performance, resulting in excellent catch performance while virtua...

IP surveillance cameras used in conjunction with VMS systems offer the best level of security for schools Campus security is a top priority in schools throughout the country and the capabilities of IP video surveillance systems make them one of the most popular and effective security tools available. In this article, Gadi Piran, President, OnSSI defines scope and structure of IP video and its advantages in a number of ways including: superior image quality, ease of manipulatio...

PPVAR is working with police and sheriff's departments throughout the United States to drive new standards of video verified alarms In practice, 90 percent or more of burglar alarms are false, and studies have estimated the related arrest rate at about 0.02 percent. No wonder law enforcement responds as a low priority, if at all. In contrast, a video-verified security alarm provides the virtual equivalent of an eye-witness to a crime in progress, and responding to video alarms...

 Dealing with rising airport security threats  demand more innovative solutions   With the rise in large security threats since the commencement of this century, security of airports has become paramount. Looking into this issue Ashley Smith, BSIA (British Security industry Association) Civil Aviation Security Section Chairman, explains how a mix of properly interfaced security systems working in conjunction with monitoring and response staff offers a cost...

Video analytics enables security teams to take action as soon as incidents occur  Video analytics can boost security efforts by automatically alerting personnel to take action when a security event occurs. Intelligent sensors never tire, can cover large distances and “see” what the eye would miss, even in absolute darkness. Based on such intelligent analytics, people can make smart decisions when actual violations happen. John Romanowich, CEO of SightLogix believes...

More attention needs to be given to wireless security technology Despite major developments in radio technology and increased demand in the market for new solutions, wireless systems are still not fully embraced by the security industry. Tony Makosinski of Honeywell Security Group asks why, and explores what the future holds for wireless technology. Although wireless technology -specifically radio - has been used in the security industry since the 1980s, penetration rates in...

  False security alarms can be reduced with simple business practices In today's security conscious environment, repeated false alarms can be costly to a business, and not just in financial terms. A false alarm is simply the activation of one's security alarm system for no apparent reason. With the introduction of European standards and the UK implementation of PD6662 (scheme for the application of European Standards for intruder and hold-up alarm systems) and DD243 (code...