Alarm operations often operate from a set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that determine how they will respond to each type of alarm received. These SOPs are turned into the step-by-step, automated Action Patterns in Manitou.
Action Patterns not only contain who to call and in what order, but may also apply logic, review standards, and make decisions so that alarm operators only receive the events that they must manage, most specifically those events that protect property and life safety.
Here are some common SOPs for third-party monitoring stations:
Fire Alarms
If Commercial
- Dispatch the responding Authority.
- Contact the Site.
- Notify Responsible Parties.
- Hold for Resolution.
- Complete the alarm.
If Residential
- Contact the site.
- If no answer - Contact a Responsible Party.
- If unable to contact or a confirmed alarm by the party, Dispatch the Authority.
- Notify additional Responsible Parties.
- Complete the Alarm.
Medical Alarms
If PERS
- Connect with the two-way caller and assess the situation.
- If the person needs help or is unable to determine they are okay, dispatch the Authority.
- Notify Responsible Parties.
- Complete the Alarm.
If Not PERS
- Attempt to reach the Customer at the Site.
- If no answer or confirmed by the person, contact the Authorities.
- If all is clear, and the person requests further notifications, notify the Responsible parties.
- Complete the alarm.
Panic/Holdup/Duress
- Dispatch the Authority.
- Make no other calls to all for Response for prescribed number of minutes.
- Notify Responsible Parties.
- Complete the alarm.
Burglary
If Commercial & During Business Hours
- Contact the Site.
- If no, answer at the Site, attempt to contact a Responsible Party. (Called Two-Call Verification required by many Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs)).
- If unable to contact or confirmed by the contacts, dispatch the Authority.
- Notify Responsible Parties.
- Complete the alarm.
If Commercial & Outside Business Hours
- Dispatch the Authority.
- Notify Responsible Parties.
- Complete the Alarm.
If Residential
- Contact the Site.
- If unable to reach, contact a Responsible Party. (Called Two-Call Verification required by many Authorities Having Jurisdiction (AHJs)).
- If unable to reach, or confirmed actual by those contacted, Dispatch the Authority.
- Notify Responsible Parties.
- Complete the Alarm.
Burglar alarms often have the most variances, including verification of multiple zones or trips before making a first attempt to contact. Manitou Action Patterns can look at the history and count the number of events in the past X number of minutes to make that determination. This reduces the number of alarms that are erroneously dispatched. Other items that can automatically clear or notify of cancellation are Open events or Entry/Exit delays built into the accounts.
Fire Supervisory, General Supervisory, General Trouble, and Lower Priority Events.
Fire Supervisory events enter the alarm queue at a higher priority than all other trouble and supervisory events; otherwise, their actions are the same.
- Contact the Site.
- Contact the Responsible Parties.
These events can also receive logic for restoring events, canceling events, and based on the day of the week or times of the day.
See the How the Action Pattern is Assigned guide for details on where overrides to these actions may occur.
You may request your Monitoring Company update your standards from their Global Standards, or attend more advanced training sessions to learn how to accomplish them yourself.
Most Manitou installations have the following Global Action Patterns assigned to their events
- Fire = G1
- Medical = G2 (or G3, depending on the operational organization)
- Panic/Holdup/Duress = G3 (or G2 depending on the operational organization)
- Burglary = G4
- Fire Supervisory = G5
- General Trouble/Supervisory/Notifications = G6
Some sites will use G7 for their Open/Close Schedule violations or create their own.