Get a sneak peek at TMA’s new Level 3 Video Operator Training Program at the Mid-Year Meeting

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Don’t miss a special, comprehensive session that is designed to unveil TMA’s new Level 3 Video Operator Training Program. Speakers Wes Usie, Guardian Alarm Systems, and Bryan Broadhead, Radius Security, have tailored a presentation for professionals seeking to excel in the evolving landscape of video monitoring.

Through an engaging curriculum that spans from the basics of video monitoring systems to the intricate nuances of operational best practices, participants will be immersed in a learning experience that covers industry overview, camera systems, contemporary issues, and much more. This training not only addresses the technical skills required for effective video monitoring but also delves into the critical aspects of decision-making, communication, confidentiality, cybersecurity, and the impact of artificial intelligence on video monitoring centers. Whether you’re new to the field or looking to update your skills, this session will equip you with the knowledge and competencies needed to navigate the complexities of modern video surveillance with confidence and expertise.

Session Objective: Provide participants with a detailed overview of TMA’s latest online training program which offers practical knowledge of video monitoring, focusing on the development of skills essential for operational excellence, situational awareness, and the ethical handling of sensitive information. You will learn how Level 3 will leverage the nuances of video monitoring, teach best practices in camera operation, and the significance of cybersecurity and AI in the context of video surveillance.

Top Three Take-Aways:

  1.  Foundational to Advanced Knowledge of Video Monitoring: See how Level 3 will help operators gain a holistic understanding of video monitoring systems, including types of monitoring, camera systems, the monitoring process, and best practices for surveillance operations, ensuring a solid foundation for excellence in video surveillance roles.
  2.  Critical Operational Skills: See how the Level 3 course will focus on key operational competencies, such as situational awareness, observational skills, threat assessment, effective communication, and decision-making, vital for enhancing operational efficiency and reducing errors in the monitoring process.
  3.   Ethical, Legal, and Technological Considerations: Understand the importance of confidentiality, privacy considerations, cybersecurity threats, and the role of AI in enhancing video monitoring operations, equipping participants with the knowledge to navigate the legal and ethical responsibilities of a video monitoring operator.

Register to attend the 2024 TMA Mid-Year meeting at https://my.tma.us/ap/Events/Register/ZrnOREop. Early-bird rates end March 31st.

Now Hiring? Post Your Job Opportunities on TMA’s Job Board

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As a member of TMA, you can post your company’s job opportunities for FREE in TMA’s online Job Board. It takes just a minute to upload the position description, your logo, and contact information. Reach experienced monitoring center talent with just a couple of clicks!

Your listing will be posted on TMA’s website for a period of time that you choose. TMA staff will promote your listing in various member communications, which may include the weekly TMA Signals, and the quarterly TMA Dispatch as well as through email and social media.

Let TMA boost exposure for your open positions!

To upload your company’s open positions:

STEP 1: Login to TMA’s InfoHub.

STEP 2: Select “Job Board” from the lower lefthand navigation.

STEP 3: Once on the Job Board page, select the “Add” button in the upper righthand corner of the page.

STEP 4: Fill-in the online form. Note – you may include your logo.

STEP 5: Click the Submit button.

Your posting will automatically display in the TMA Job Board online at https://my.tma.us/jobboard

If you have any questions, please contact membership@tma.us.

New CA 738 Area Code Coming 11/1/24

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The new 738 area code will overlay the existing 213 and 323 area codes in the Los Angeles area so that all three area codes serve the same geographic region. The new 738 area code that becomes effective on November 1, 2024.

Mandatory 1+10-digit dialing is already required in the 213 and 323 area codes and will be required in the new 738 area code as well.

For additional information, contact:

CA 213/323/738 overlay implementation committee co-chairs
Dana Crandall (Verizon), dana.crandall@verizonwireless.com, 682-831-3662
Javier Rodriguez (AT&T), jr1515@att.com, 512-457-2260

 

DMP’s Bush Joins Louisiana Life Safety & Security Association Board

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The Louisiana Life Safety & Security Association announced that Cory Bush has accepted the position of Associate Board Member. Cory will represent the non-voting membership and act as a liaison between them and the Board of Directors. Cory started in the industry in 1994 working for a dealer in Metairie, La. 10 years later he went to work for LRG as a manufacturers rep and in 2019 he went to work for Digital Monitoring Products. 

“I have been working with the LLSSA organization for many years and I am very proud of what they do for the state of Louisiana and our industry,” stated Bush. “I am looking forward to working with all the vendors in 2024.”  

About LLSSA:  

The Louisiana Life Safety & Security Association is a 501(c) (6) trade association for Security, Fire, Locksmith, CCTV, Access Control Companies, Manufacturers, and Distributors that are doing business in the State of Louisiana.  As a trade association, they represent, promote, and support the life safety, security, and systems integration industry through education and advocacy, empowering members to grow their business. Their vision is to lead the electronic life safety, security, and systems integration industry for the benefit of our members, consumers, and public safety.

SecurityCEU.com Creates Library of Online Essential Skills Business Courses

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Recognizing that security industry business companies need more than technical training, SecurityCEU.com, a division of The CMOOR Group, now offers a library of essential skills business courses, sometimes also called “soft skills” courses.

The topics for the essential skills training include Meeting Management, Organizational Skills, Creative Problem Solving, Negotiation Skills, Crisis Management, Diversity and Inclusion, Workplace Harassment, Goal Setting & Getting Things Done, and Risk Assessment & Management.

There are 130 courses in the new library spread out into seven categories: Administrative and Office Skills, Career Development, Human Resources & Business Management, Interpersonal Development, Sales and Marketing Skills, Management Skills, and Essentials for the Workforce. Each course is between one and three hours.

This new library directly compliments the existing library on the SecurityCEU.com site, which hosts over 165 hours of technical security, fire, and life safety courses.

This new library offers the best of both worlds, as each course can be taken in the classroom, in an online format, or hybrid. Regardless of how a student takes the courses, the student receives a certificate upon completion.

In addition, all the courses may be white-labeled so a client’s branding is applied to the user interface and client-specific examples can be built into the courses.

“We have not only seen the need for business courses for security industry companies, but the library is in response to client requests,” said Connie Moorhead, CEO of The CMOOR Group. “Our goal is to provide a more robust suite of courses to help companies succeed, assist integrators and dealers with workforce development, and assist all security professionals to become more well-rounded in all areas of business.”

The essential skills courses are priced similarly to the pricing of the security and fire CEU library. Individual 1-hour courses are $25 per student, and the individual Essential Subscription rate for the entire library is $250 per student. Corporate volume rates are available for companies with as few as five (5) students.

For more information, click the link to Essential Skills Training on SecurityCEU.com or call 502-254-1590, ext. 101.

Security Industry Association Names John Mack as 2024 Chair’s Award Honoree

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The Security Industry Association (SIA) has named John E. Mack, III, as the 2024 recipient of the SIA Chair’s Award, an award presented annually and selected by SIA’s Board of Directors chair recognizing SIA members’ diligent efforts in furthering the association’s mission and commitment to its future. SIA will present Mack with the award at The Advance, SIA’s annual membership meeting, which will be held April 9 during ISC West.

John Mack is the executive vice president, co-head of investment banking and head of mergers and acquisitions at Imperial Capital. Based in the Los Angeles, California, office, Mack joined Imperial Capital in 2008 as part of the firm’s acquisition of certain assets of USBX Inc., an investment banking firm focused on mergers and acquisitions.

He was the founder and CEO of USBX, and prior to USBX he served as the CEO and a member of the board of directors of Protection One, Inc. (Nasdaq: PONE), then the nation’s second-largest provider of life safety and property monitoring services. Prior to assuming the role of CEO, he held the positions of chief financial officer, chief strategy officer and executive vice president of business development, where he was involved in over 200 acquisitions and oversaw the company’s growth from approximately 30,000 subscribers and $17 million in revenue to more than 1.6 million subscribers, $600 million in revenue and an enterprise value of over $2 billion.

Before joining Protection One, Mack was a senior executive officer with Westec Security, Inc., and prior to Westec he was a senior executive officer with MCM, Inc., dba FAFCO Solar of Northern California. He holds a B.A. from Stanford University and an MBA from the University of California at Los Angeles.

“It’s an honor to be selected as the 2024 SIA Chair’s Award honoree,” said Mack. “This award underscores the importance of collaboration, innovation and leadership in driving positive change within our industry. I am grateful for this recognition and remain committed to advancing excellence within the security industry.”

Mack has served two terms on the SIA Board of Directors and one term as treasurer on the Executive Committee. He has been a key leader on SIA’s Endowment Fund initiative, which was created in 2023 to serve as a long-term spending policy, derived from SIA investments, that helps to fund new, unbudgeted initiatives that provide value to SIA members, cover operating losses resulting from extraordinary events not anticipated in the budget and return unneeded funds back into SIA reserves to continue to build the endowment, and serves as chair of SIA’s Endowment Committee. He was recognized as SIA’s Sandy Jones Volunteer of the Year in 2016 and is a frequent speaker at SIA events, including the Securing New Ground conference.

“John Mack is a renowned security industry luminary who has made tremendous contributions to SIA and the industry through his leadership on SIA programs, committees and initiatives,” said James Rothstein, chair of the SIA Board of Directors. “John’s driving force on the Endowment Fund – including conceiving the idea of the fund, establishing governing processes and leading the committee in its first year to fund projects – has been extremely impactful, and he has been a dedicated supporter and advocate of SIA for many years, helping us to further the association’s mission and push the industry forward. We are proud to recognize him with the 2024 SIA Chair’s Award and look forward to honoring him and his accomplishments at The Advance.”

Vivint Smart Home Announces Vehicle Detection for Outdoor Camera Pro

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Vivint Smart Home today announced Vehicle Detection, a new smart home feature that leverages the AI technology on Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro to identify when a vehicle arrives, leaves, or passes through a designated detection zone.

Vehicle Detection enhances your security by enabling real-time alerts and recordings whenever a vehicle enters the designated area. This feature, integrated with Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro, ensures you’re informed about every vehicle’s presence – from delivery trucks and grocery vans to unfamiliar cars. Upon detection, Vehicle Detection will immediately send a notification to your phone, allowing you to view live activity outside your home. The event is also simultaneously recorded for later review.

For added convenience, simply press and hold the notification on your phone to watch a short clip of the vehicle’s activity and get immediate insight without opening your Vivint app. You can also opt to snooze notifications, ensuring you only receive alerts that matter to you.

“Vehicle Detection is an exciting addition to our Outdoor Camera Pro,” said Jim Nye, chief product officer at Vivint. “Similar to our popular Person Detection feature, Vehicle Detection boosts the intelligence and efficiency of our smart home solution, providing customers with valuable, real-time information and peace of mind. We’re thrilled to enhance the capabilities of the Outdoor Camera Pro and provide customers with more insight into their home surroundings.”

Vehicle Detection is now available to all Vivint customers with a Vivint Outdoor Camera Pro. To enable the feature, simply open the Outdoor Camera Pro settings on the Vivint app, tap on “notifications” and toggle the Vehicle Detection setting to “On.”

Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp Partner Appointed to White House Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations

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Mitchell Silberberg & Knupp LLP is pleased to announce that Nimish Patel, Chair of the firm’s Corporate & Business Transactions practice group, has been appointed to the White House Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations by President Joe Biden.
The Advisory Committee for Trade Policy and Negotiations provides overall policy advice to the United States Trade Representative on matters arising in connection with the development, implementation, and administration of the trade policy of the United States. The Committee includes up to 45 members recommended by the U.S. Trade Representative who are appointed by the President and have expertise in general trade, investment, and development issues, including representatives of non-federal governments, labor, industry, agriculture, small business, service industries, retailers, nongovernmental environmental and conservation organizations, and consumer interests.

“It is an honor to receive this appointment by President Biden and I look forward to working with other distinguished members of the Committee,” said Patel. “I am eager to share my perspective of over two decades in U.S. capital markets experience as we advise on the shaping of U.S. trade policy.”

Patel’s experience includes mergers and acquisitions for private and public companies, angel and venture capital financing, IPOs, and other financing and corporate restructurings. He currently advises private businesses and publicly traded exchange-listed companies on governance and regulatory filing requirements. His clients are from across a broad range of industries and sectors including artificial intelligence, life sciences, technology, e-commerce, new media, and entertainment.

Patel was elected and previously served on the School Board of Education for the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District. During his tenure, he was involved in making education policy decisions affecting the 11,000 school district students, overseeing a $100 million operating budget and a $300 million capital expenditure budget. He is the Past President and Trustee of the American India Foundation in Los Angeles and the Past President and member of the South Asian Bar Association of Southern California.

Patel previously served as a CPA and a senior auditor in the Orange County, California office of Deloitte working on private and public company audits and other attestations services. He received his J.D./M.B.A. degrees from the University of San Diego and his undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California.