First Look at Fort Worth for ESX 2016

ESX_Logo_RegisteredThe ESX planning team met in Fort Worth, TX August 23-25 to start finalizing the details of the 2016 show, which will be held at the Fort Worth Convention Center June 8-10. Be sure to save the dates so you can attend the security industry’s premiere education, networking, and tradeshow event! ESX is co-presented by CSAA and the Electronic Security Association.

The downtown Fort Worth area is bustling with restaurants, shops, historic buildings and a spectacular water garden. CSAA staff snapped these photos on the walk between the headquarters hotel and the convention center. (Click on any photo for a full view.)

Mark your calendar for June 8-10, 2016 — and see you in Fort Worth!

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Photos by Julie Webber except water garden
by Elizabeth Lasko

ADT is Live with ASAP®

Automated Secure Alarm Protocol Now Available to PSAPs around the Country

VIENNA, VA (August 27, 2015) — ADT Security Services, ranked as the largest central station in the nation,  went live with ASAP® in the city of Richmond, VA on August 25. The news was met with cheers from security industry leaders who noted that it will cause a surge in the availability of the ASAP program to Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPs) around the country.

ASAP-Concept1D“Having ADT go live is a milestone for the ASAP program,” said CSAA President Pamela J. Petrow, CEO of Vector Security. “With the size of their account base, ADT’s utilization of ASAP brings instant benefits to most PSAPs.  This is critical because it allows the PSAP to better position the deployment of ASAP among their many initiatives.”

ASAP was launched in 2011 as a public-private partnership, designed to increase the efficiency and reliability of emergency electronic signals from central station alarm companies to PSAPs. ASAP utilizes ANSI standard protocols developed cooperatively by the Association of Public Communications Officials (APCO) and the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA).

With ASAP, critical life safety signals and accurate information is processed in seconds, not minutes, through the Nlets system of state-to-state PSAP communication, insuring that complete and accurate information is transmitted to the PSAP every time. The ASAP program has the potential to save PSAPs and emergency services millions of dollars.

“ADT’s implementation of ASAP is a win-win for ADT, the ASAP project, and the City of Richmond,” said Bill Hobgood, Project Manager, Public Safety Team Department of Information Technology City of Richmond, Virginia. “ADT will experience first-hand the benefits of using the ASAP program that so many other alarm central stations have experienced. This is the ASAP project’s biggest achievement yet. The city of Richmond’s Emergency Communications staff are thrilled about ADT joining the program and anxious for more alarm companies to follow.”

“ADT has supported ASAP thoroughly since its inception, and now that they are connecting, PSAPs throughout the country will take notice,” said Jay Hauhn, CSAA Executive Director. “With Protection One on line and other nationals at the doorstep, 2016 will be a great year for ASAP.”

In the August 2015 issue of APCO’s Public Safety Magazine (PSC), David Cutler, director of the Houston Emergency Center (HEC), reported savings of nearly $400,000 annually from reduced call volume following ASAP implementation. “These dollars were re-purposed within the department to expand training, supervisory and administrative positions,” Cutler said. He estimated that Houston will eventually achieve a 30% reduction in call volume as more alarm companies come on board with ASAP, for a savings of $1 million.

Also in PSC, Hobgood stated that “… all PSAPs currently using ASAP should experience a significant reduction in 10-digit call volume once ADT goes live with each agency. Those PSAPs will experience the luxury of having ADT’s alarm notifications delivered efficiently and accurately via the ASAP program. ADT monitors more than 6 million alarm systems, so the announcement is likely to [prompt] other alarm companies to step up and participate in the ASAP program as well.“

For more information on ASAP or to access ASAP resources (videos, webinars, training and outreach materials), contact CSAA at asap@csaaintl.org or 703-242-4670, or visit csaaintl.org/asap.

About CSAA International

The Central Station Alarm Association International (CSAA) is an internationally-recognized non-profit trade association that represents professional monitoring companies that are listed by a CSAA-approved Nationally Recognized Testing Laboratory, such as FM Approvals, Intertek/ETL or UL. CSAA is legally entitled to represent its members before Congress and regulatory agencies on the local, state and federal levels, and other authorities having jurisdiction (AHJs) over the industry. Since its incorporation in 1950, CSAA has served its members’ interests through education, online training, meetings and conventions, certification, insurance, and industry standards. www.csaaintl.org. For more information, contact Elizabeth Lasko at CSAA, 703-242-4670 x 16.

Issue of Dropped Alarm Signals Crucial to Future Telecomms Legislation and Regulation

Louis Fiore, chair of the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC), is asking for your participation in its survey on the Issue of Dropped Signals.

AICC has launched an industry-wide survey on the issue of dropped signals involving Digital Alarm Communications Transmitters (DACT). The survey aims to collect information on how the telecom network’s move towards Internet Protocol (IP) affects these signals.

Fiore reiterates, “With the FCC promoting the IP Transition and with a rewrite of the Telecommunications Act looming in the not too distant future, this information is critical for us to convince the FCC and Congress of our continued reliance on this technology.”

Fiore adds, “While we all realize that DACT technology is basically past its prime, in a recent survey 64% of installed systems use this technology as a sole method or in combination with another method. It will be many years before it is totally replaced. With a mix a fire alarm and PERS systems out there, missed signals could have serious consequences.” 

The survey is open to all central stations in the industry. Results of this research initiative will be reported on at each AICC meeting and to the industry at large. For more information, visit CSAA DACT Survey.

Mark McCall to Co-Chair CSAA Contract Monitoring Council

CSAA is pleased to announce that Mark McCall, IT Director at Lake Norman Security Patrol, Security Central/AlarmSouth, is the new co-chair of the CSAA Contract Monitoring Council. He joins current co-chair Morgan Hertel, Vice President of Operations at Rapid Response Monitoring.

Mark McCall. Photo courtesy of Mark McCall

Mark McCall. Photo courtesy of Mark McCall

This important council examines and helps to address the evolving needs of CSAA contract monitoring members by providing coordinated representation with industry-related associations, manufacturers, regulatory agencies and other organizations, in order to consistently improve and enhance the services provided to the customers of contract monitoring centers.

“The Contract Monitoring Council committee offers an important platform for contract centers to come together and work on issues unique to our segment of the security industry,” said McCall, “and I look forward to assisting Morgan as Co-Chair and working with all of the Contract Monitoring Council committee members.”

Recent and current initiatives of the council include the CSAA 2013 Wage and Salary Survey, the Contract Monitoring Account Demographics Survey, and a white paper defining “DIY and MIY” in the alarm industry.

–Elizabeth Lasko, CSAA, August 13, 2015

Important Annual Meeting Update: October 10 Committee Meetings

There has been a schedule change at the upcoming CSAA Annual Meeting.  CSAA leaders would like to hold several important committee meetings on Saturday, October 10, in addition to our next Voice of the Customer (VoC) meeting.

The meetings will take place on Saturday, October 10, from 9:00 a.m.-12 noon, the first morning of our meeting.

  • 9:00-10:00 a.m.:  Combined VoC sector meeting for all interested participants. This will be a “deep dive” into how to enact the top recommendations from the ESX meetings and comments over the summer.
  • 10:15-11:00 Committee meetings:
    1. Membership/Five Diamond/ASAP
    2. PSLC
  • 11:15-12:00 Committee meetings
    1. Associates
    2. Education
  • Noon: Executive Committee Meeting

Note: This schedule change has been posted online at http://csaaintl.org/am15-preliminary-program/. You may still receive a printed brochure with an earlier version of the schedule.

If you plan to attend all or part of the CSAA Annual Meeting but haven’t registered yet, please visit http://csaaintl.org/2015am/ as soon as possible as hotel rooms are going very quickly, with our room block being sold out on some nights.