The Many Facets of Monitoring

It used to be that a burglar alarm was all you needed to protect your business. But a security system that only triggers a siren — even one for every location — is no longer enough. Times have changed and so have your security options.

New technology, including computer automation, has redefined the meaning of security. New systems offering more powerful features that are affordable, reliable and easy-to-use are increasingly coupled with an around-the-clock alarm monitoring service that gives your home or business added protection and maximizes your peace of mind. Whether you are at work or gone for the day, you can be confident that security professionals stand ready to respond quickly if police, fire or medical assistance is needed.

Why Monitoring?

A monitored alarm system is better for many reasons. First, alarm monitoring maximizes the value of your security system. With accurate emergency information at their fingertips, our professional dispatchers can quickly determine your needs and notify the appropriate police, fire or medical emergency response teams.

Second, RFI's monitoring service can record the times your system is activated and deactivated. It can even notify you if your system is not armed or disarmed at desired times each day.

Third, monitoring can nearly eliminate expensive and wasteful false alarms that can trigger costly fines — and pull emergency professionals away from real crises.

And finally, monitoring can significantly deter criminal activity. Studies show that a business with a monitored security system is 4.5 times less likely to be burglarized.

From single-family homes to large commercial enterprises, RFI's comprehensive range of monitoring options ensures flexible and creative solutions for all security needs, including:

UL-listed Central Station. Our systems are monitored 24/7 by a team of professionals in our UL-approved central station facility. This UL rating means that redundancy is built-in to every part of the monitoring station. When there is an alarm at your home or business, a signal is sent in to our central station and our professionally trained operators will respond according to your specific instructions.

In an emergency, the quality and accuracy of a security company’s central station monitoring services is critical. RFI’s adherence to a strict set of performance standards underscores the outstanding quality of our monitoring services. Every RFI employee understands the value of service to our customers, and it is the cornerstone of our employee training and education programs.

Video Monitoring & Surveillance. Video technology allows you to monitor your home or business at anytime and from anywhere you choose. It gives you access to high-quality video of suspicious activity any time of the day or night. It also provides our monitoring center with a more accurate picture of what is taking place when an alarm signal is received. With video monitoring, the traditional limitations of time and distance in detecting and responding to such events no longer apply.

In addition, video monitoring virtually eliminates false alarm dispatches and fines and increases police response priority in the event of an actual break in. RFI's video alarm verification service can include emailed reports of alarm events and event notification. Furthermore, any activity can be captured on date- and time-stamped images and forwarded to responding authorities automatically.

There is a video monitoring option designed specifically to address a variety of business needs. Think about video surveillance NOT as cameras, monitors and video recorders, but as another set of eyes watching over your home or business wherever you want them - looking for the things that are most important to you. For more details about video monitoring, see the Video Monitoring Applications and Benefits article in this issue of the Integrator.

Fire Alarm & Life Safety Monitoring. Fire causes devastating property losses of over $6.5 billion per year. Statistics show that most commercial and residential fires occur at night or in the early morning hours when people are away from work and/or asleep in their homes.

RFI provides diverse engineering and design services for fire protection/life safety systems including fire suppression sprinklers and sprinkler monitoring, dry/pre-action systems, advanced fire alarm/life safety notification protocols, life safety analysis and specialized protection applications. We have years of experience designing safety and security systems that adhere to strict building codes and standards for safe operation for every type of building from state-of-the-art high rises to campus configurations.

Residential Monitoring. Did you know that thieves rarely spend more than five minutes in your home? That's why you need an alarm company that responds to every alarm. In fact, RFI will not only rapidly respond to your alarm call, we'll document each call and inform you of the date, time and action taken for each incident.

Commercial & Industrial Monitoring. According to security experts, commercial establishments with security monitoring are 4.7 times less likely to be burglarized. And those who deploy environmental monitoring to protect mission-critical equipment and infrastructure facilities like computer rooms, data centers, clean rooms, network and control centers and telecommunications areas often reap the benefits of lower insurance premiums by protecting their most sensitive operations and assets. Environmental monitoring includes a variety of alarm options covering a number of emergency situations such as fire, temperature and moisture control, carbon dioxide alarms to warn of dangerous conditions, smoke alarms, sprinkler activation and water leak alarms. Through active monitoring and early detection and alerting, RFI’s environmental solutions protect critical assets from unpredictable conditions to ensure business continuity and minimal disruption or downtime.

Open/Close Monitoring. Every time a user arms or disarms the security system, a report is sent to central station and logged, ensuring that your home or business system is armed when it should be. In addition, we can even notify you or the contact person on the account when someone arms or disarms the system outside of a predefined window of time. This is a great service for retail establishments that must open and close at a specific time.  It's also a nice feature for parents who want to ensure their children arrive home safely.

Sprinkler Monitoring. When a fire breaks out, a monitored sprinkler system will retard the spread of flames until firefighters arrive. In the event of a sprinkler malfunction, however, RFI can still notify authorities before extensive damage is done. This is where sprinkler monitoring provides an extra measure of security to protect your assets. Sprinkler monitoring systems help minimize costly water damage by notifying the central station whenever water flow is initiated through a sprinkler. Prompt action from our UL-listed central station will minimize the amount of damage due to fire and water at your facility. RFI also monitors key zones of your sprinkler system to make sure critical parts are in working order and ensure that the system itself is ready when needed.

Water Leak Detection Monitoring. When it comes to minimizing business interruptions, few companies give much thought to water. In reality, water damage ranks second behind power outage as the leading cause of business outage. Water leaks can originate from many sources such as air conditioning units, cold-water chillers, water supply and return lines, clogged drains, damaged skylights or windows, construction errors or even condensation drips. RFI’s water leak monitoring and alarm notification protects your mission-critical facilities and unmanned environments against water-related problems. Early detection and flexible notification of potential water problems improves safety and reduces your financial risks.

Elevator/Emergency Monitoring. Our 24-hour elevator emergency monitoring service is a cost-effective means of meeting all ADA requirements while ensuring the kind of quick, accurate response to elevator emergencies that can reduce your liability exposure. When persons trapped in an elevator pick up the emergency phone, our dispatchers will quickly notify the designated contacts and even dispatch local authorities if necessary.

Medical Alert Monitoring. If someone in your family has a medical condition or is elderly and prone to falls, RFI's central station can be notified with the push of a button to call pre-designated medical professionals for assistance. With the addition of 2-Way Voice monitoring, an RFI operator will immediately check on your status and, in the event of an actual emergency, notify local emergency medical personnel and provide them with information about the patient’s medical condition and status. If needed, we will also contact key holders and loved ones. This ability to link patients, providers and family members is critical when an emergency arises. At RFI, we have created an infrastructure of people and technology designed to report changes in daily activities that could signal trouble and respond to our customers’ immediate health needs.

Whether you are looking to secure a home or a business, life safety and asset protection are essential parts of a successful security plan when each day brings new threats to the safety and security of your property, employees, customers and bottom line.

RFI’s full range of 24/7 monitoring technologies and state-of-the-art central station monitoring facilities offer homeowners and businesses of all sizes the peace of mind that comes from knowing that lives and property are being actively monitored and protected. As one of the leading security systems integrators in the country, RFI excels at configuring tailored integrated solutions that function as one, requiring little attention and providing enhanced communication and responsiveness.

At RFI, quality begins with our history of independence and continues through our high quality people, access to world class security products, the highest attainable industry certifications, and one of the industry’s best central station monitoring services. This means RFI is a security partner you can trust to pinpoint your needs, design the best technical solution, complete a flawless installation, offer high-quality maintenance services and provide a variety of 24/7 monitoring options.