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About three years ago, the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA), Vienna, Va. took on the ambitious task of creating a training program to reduce false alarms and make training to prevent them more readily available to alarm company operators and chronic false alarm offenders. Rather than tweak the educational offerings packaged and delivered in a classroom setting, with information contained in books, the CSAA developed the false alarm program online to address a segment of the market which needed improvement.
Users access the online courses through a password system making the time and place to take the course at the convenience of the user. "Our courses are very successful," stated Steve Doyle, executive vice president of CSAA. While the courses are nearly three years old, they have already been updated and will continue with periodic improvements to address best business practices and new innovation. "We have also discovered through our users that there are better ways to address issues in the interactive program, so if a suggestion is a good one we'll make it."
One of the reasons the association embarked on a universal online program was to assist its members with a comprehensive training program to address the intricacies of false alarms. Another goal was for members not have to bear the burden of creating it. "Prior to this online program companies were creating their own forms of training and it was expensive for them to keep up with," explained Doyle. To use the current system it costs members nothing but students must pay $39.95.
Companies, such as Vector Security, a national company based out of Pittsburgh, have not only been instrumental in assisting the CSAA in developing the program, but use the program to enhance its in-house program for training operators. "Our training program is fully integrated with each of our business offices. It is our goal to reduce false alarms," explained Pat Killian, false alarm project manager for Vector. Killian also noted Vector uses the program to explain to operators what they will face on the front lines.
Nationally false alarms are a growing issue for the industry. While often originating with the subscriber of the system, it is seen as the number one problem for central stations and police. "This is such a costly issue not only for the alarm company but for the law enforcement community too. Our goal is to one day eliminate them altogether," stated Vector's Killian.
Working with users and the industry
The CSAA said the program is unique and interactive; "Not just text" but loaded with graphics and is a real simulation of what takes place during an alarm situation. "Users of the program get to see what is happening at the premises and understand what could trigger an alarm situation and through this learn what their response should be," said Doyle.
The program works to repetitively reinforce, through simulation scenarios, what some of the many triggers are. "In one of the frames, users are asked to look at the picture and identify five items that could set off an alarm. For instance, an open window blowing a curtain into the path of the motion detector, a cat or dog's behavior also getting into the path of the detector—there are so many possible triggers and we want to educate users on them all." The better informed, according to Doyle, the better the operator will be, "Operators will understand what their responses should be and the best path of communication to take."
The program has been so successful, that according to Doyle the CSAA has received endorsements for its use here in the U.S. and internationally. Many U.S. organizations are endorsing its use from the International Association of Chiefs of Police, the National Sheriff's Association as well as many in the insurance industry. "False alarms affect so many aspects of our lives there are many industries hungry for information to assist them in the fallout that false alarms create across the board," he said. Chronic offenders of false alarms run the risk of not only fines but also paying the price of not being responded to. When this happens, many police jurisdictions often take it upon themselves to create a program to instruct chronic offenders. CSAA has taken that burden from them. "What happens is the police are sending some of their worst cases to us for online training. The students do the training, pass and receive a certificate of completion to get taken off the no-response list," said Celia Besore, CSAA's director of Marketing and Communications.
The association estimates it has trained and re-educated hundreds of students. Word of its success has spread and the association is now working on versions of the online training program to meet the needs of alarm associations in Australia, Brazil and China. "Basically it is the same program. We just change the graphics around and language; instead of a police car from 'anytown' USA, it is a patrol car indicative of those countries," said Doyle. According to Doyle, the list of interested parties keeps growing, making his goal of having a world free of false alarms hopefully closer to reality.
Karen Duane Johnson is a contributing editor to SD&I Magazine.
author: By Karen Duane Johnson