The Monitoring Association Releases Revised ANSI-accredited Standard

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In its on-going effort to reduce the occurrence and impact of false dispatches, TMA has released the latest revision of its ANSI-accredited standard, TMA CS-V-01-2020 (Version August 01, 2020). This standard takes alarm verification and confirmation to its next level by defining multiple-attempt confirmation, biometric, audio and video confirmation. The standard is now available for free download.

Learn more about TMA’s standards activities at http://tma.us/standards/.

Securitas Electronic Security Captures TMA’s Monitoring Center of the Year Award

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Our 2020 Monitoring Center of the Year demonstrates excellence across all aspects of its business. Learn more in the upcoming issue of TMA Dispatch. See other top 2020 Excellence Award winners.

TMA mourns the loss of dear friend and Past President Bob Bitton

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The TMA family mourns the loss of a great man, Robert “Bob” Bitton, Supreme Security Systems. Loved and respected by many, he dedicated much of his time over four decades to the advancement of TMA’s mission, its members, and others industry-wide.

He served as president of TMA (then CSAA) from 1987-1989, and continued to serve on the TMA Board until his death. Until very recently, he’d been coordinating the radio frequencies that had been designated by the FCC exclusively for the use of UL listed central station alarm companies, a role he graciously assumed in 1989. He leaves a distinct legacy of leadership and altruism.

Our heartfelt condolences to his family and colleagues.

We are collecting remembrances about Bob to place on this Tribute page. If you would care to contribute stories, thoughts, memories about Bob, please send them to lmcguire@tma.us.

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Obituary:

Robert Bitton, 81, of Naples, Fla., died after a courageous and short battle with brain cancer, at home on July 9th, 2020. He was born January 19th, 1939 at Beth Israel Hospital in Newark, NJ, the son of Sydney and Bertha (Rabkin) Bitton.

Robert graduated from Hillside High School, Class of 1956 and Rutgers University, class of 1960. After graduation, he married Rhoda Heiber and they lived in Union, NJ and Clark NJ before moving to Livingston, NJ. They celebrated 60 years of marriage on June 11th, 2020.

Surviving, in addition to his wife, Rhoda (Heiber) Bitton, are his sister, Maxine (Bitton) Paris; son, David Bitton and his wife Meg of Tenafly, NJ; daughters Michele Bitton of San Francisco, CA, Susan Erdreich and her husband David, of Berkeley Heights, NJ; four grandchildren, Jordyn, Rachel, Zane and Hudson, and many nieces and nephews.

Robert was CEO of Supreme Security Systems, Inc., started by his father Sydney Bitton in 1929, until 2019 when he passed the operations on to his son David Bitton to establish a third generation family business. Robert was a prominent figure within the electronic security industry, serving as a leader for many different organizations. He also loved to spend his time on the water, boating.
Graveside services for family only took place on Sunday, July 12th at King Solomon Cemetery, Clifton, NJ. Those who wish to remember Bob, may make a donation to the charity of their choice.

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Remembrances:

“Bob was fiercely passionate about our industry.   He was a true believer in the power of associations and collaboration and would always have time for people , myself included. H is work for years on wireline , wireless and FCC frequency coordination was priceless. The industry has lost a wonderful soul and we are all in a better place because of his lifelong efforts.. He would often brag with pride in a positive way how long he was a member of CSAA/TMA. Bob will be missed by many; however, his positive impact will hold true for years to come.”

Ralph W. Sevinor

 

“Bob Bitton was one of the 3 “BBs” in the association along with Bob Bonifas and me, Bob Bean. He was President of CSAA when I joined and at my first conference which was on the Island of Kauai and he welcomed me and Alert Alarm with enthusiasm and warmth as did Rhoda. I liked Bob. He was great for the industry and the association. He will be missed. Aloha.

Bob Bean

 

“I did not know Bob as well as others, but seeing him often at board meetings and other events always reminded me of the commitment our founders have had to this association for so many years. Bob will certainly be remembered fondly by our TMA family and I personally look forward to learning more about him from the memories of our members in the future. Indeed, may Bob rest in peace.”

Don Young, TMA President

 

“Dedicated, passionate, insightful, and inquisitive are amongst the many qualities I attribute to Bob. A great Industry person, always concerned and always questioning, Bob was a friend, a leader and a real mensch. His presence will be greatly missed. I am proud to work in an industry and proud to be a member of TMA which allowed me to learn from people like Bob.”

Ivan Spector, TMA Immediate Past President

 

“I always enjoyed my conversations with Bob over the years.  Being local in New Jersey made it easy to meet or speak from time to time about a variety of subjects.  His decades of experience was priceless and his ability to make the tough decision when necessary was an essential part of  his success.  I was so sad to hear of Bob’s passing but glad we had time to have a few laughs with Bob & Rhoda recently at the TMA Annual Meeting this past October.”

Peter Giacalone

 

“All the years I have spent on the the TMA BOD, Bob has always been there for me.

My wife Sue and I will always remember the great times we have spent with Bob and Rhoda. Our heart’s also  go out the the Bitton family.”

Chet & Sue Donati 

 

Look for a memorial in the summer issue of TMA Dispatch.

Call for Participation – New TMA/ANSI Standard

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The Monitoring Association (TMA), as an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) accredited Standards Development Organization (SDO), is seeking interested individuals to participate on the committee that will create a proposed new standard, currently designated as TMA-AVS-01.

From the ANSI Project Initiation Notification System:

Abstract of Project:

The increasing use of data by Public Safety has had a positive impact on the services they provide to the public.  Datasets generated by commercial sources, such as the alarm industry, can be a valuable data source to Public Safety.  Real time data from security providers will improve situational awareness as well as first responder safety.  Sensor innovation driven by technological advances has raised the quantity and quality of data collected by alarm systems. 

Alarm monitoring centers can use this data to estimate the validity of an alarm event, which enables the creation of standardized “alarm scoring” metrics.  Calls for Service to Emergency Call Centers/Public Safety Answering Points that include a standardized scoring metric can assist public safety departments that opt-in to the program, with their alarm response policies, similar to how Location Accuracy and Crash Severity scoring are used. 

Project Need:

Public Safety officials in municipalities establish alarm response policies specific to their jurisdiction.  Such an ANSI standard will be created cooperatively with Public Safety stakeholders.  Alarm scores would be calculated by an alarm monitoring center process and technology.  Alarm scores transmitted to Public Safety in a standardized manner minimizes workflows within Public Safety.  It allows Public Safety to take advantage of the data without the burden of receiving and analyzing it themselves.  Additionally, the standard can enable processes for data relative to a Call for Service, to be “pulled” by Public Safety on demand.

Identify Stakeholders:

The Monitoring Association (TMA), Security Industry Association (SIA), Association of Public Communications Officials (APCO), National Emergency Number Association (NENA), International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP), National Sheriffs Association (NSA), International Association of Fire Chiefs (IAFC), National Fire Protection Association (NFPA), Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response (PPVAR) 

ANSI guidelines require that standards development committees have proper “balance” so that no single interest category dominates the group or process to the exclusion of fair and equitable consideration of other viewpoints.  Proper balance of committee membership will be achieved through sufficient representation from three primary interest categories: User – a person or organization who directly or indirectly utilize services or products described in the standard; Producer – a person or organization that directly or indirectly produce, manufacture, or distribute products or develop services which may be described in the standard; and General Interest – a person who has expressed a general interest in the content of the standard.  Specifically, proposed interest categories are Alarm Monitoring, Public Safety, Installer/Maintainer, Special Expert, Service Provider, and Manufacturer/Software Provider.

Membership in TMA is not required to participate as a committee member.  Additionally, anyone may offer comments on the draft standard without being a committee member or a TMA member.  ANSI and TMA procedures require equal consideration of all comments.

TMA leadership will determine the number of committee members with consideration to the number of applications received, balanced with the need to assure the group can work effectively and efficiently.   Alternate member non-voting participation will be considered.

The committee will be asked to complete their initial draft of the standard within 120 days of the first committee meeting.  Following completion of the draft document, committee participation for an additional three to a six-month period will be required during the public review and comment phase, and for completion of the final draft.

Please complete the online short form if you are interested in being considered for membership on the TMA-AVS-01 committee.  Questions may be directed to Bryan Ginn at bginn@tma.us or at 703-660-4919.

The Monitoring Association’s 2020 Fall Events Pivot to Virtual Format

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The Board of Directors of The Monitoring Association (TMA) today announced their decision to transition the organization’s 2020 Annual Meeting and Ops-Tech (formerly known as Fall Operations Management Seminar and Technology Summit) from face-to-face to virtual meetings. The dramatic increase in the spread of COVID-19 in recent weeks raised great concern for the wellbeing of our members and other prospective attendees. Our meetings will be presented as follows:

2020 Annual Meeting Education Sessions: Tuesday, Oct. 27th – Thursday, Oct., 29th

2020 Ops-Tech Education Sessions:

  • Focus on Operations: Monday, Nov. 9th – Thursday, Nov. 12th
    • Includes a bonus one-day Video Security Monitoring track (Nov. 12th)
  • Focus on Technology: Tuesday, Nov. 17th – Wednesday, Nov. 18th

“My colleagues on the Board of Directors and TMA staff are very excited about the shift to virtual programming, as it opens up some outstanding new opportunities for both attendees and speakers,” stated TMA President Don Young. “We anticipate a heightened comfort level with registering for each event and hope everyone can enjoy the savings and convenience from avoiding travel but still have access to programs and networking opportunities using the latest collaboration technologies that all of us have been forced to adopt in recent months.”

Attendees can expect the same quality and scope of content in educational programming that has long been a distinguishing attribute of TMA meetings. “The educational portion of our fall events reflects the current, unprecedented business landscape for monitoring and installation companies of all sizes,” remarked John Brady, TMA Education Committee Chair. “From emerging insurance and legal issues to remote workforce management training issues amid the pandemic, the meeting will dedicate time to the latest technology offerings and explore new business opportunities that have arisen in recent months.”

TMA will preview the format, education sessions, and virtual networking opportunities for each of its fall events at TMA’s next Town Hall on Monday, July 20th at 11:00am ET. If you are not registered yet, TMA members can do so at https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/8353008935081638928.

More information about the meetings will be posted at www.tma.us beginning Monday, July 20th.

Stream previous TMA webinars and VPRs — FREE

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Did you know that you can access all of TMA’s past educational webinars and Virtual Product Reviews (VPRs) for FREE 24/7? It’s a great time to browse our archives for some valuable content. (Member login required for webinar download.) Webinars | VPRs

TMA’s Operator Online Courses Extend Valuable New Training Opportunities

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Take a closer look at TMA’s Level 1 and Level 2 (NEW!) training programs – known as the gold standard in operator training. Make them a part of your center’s employee training plan.

VA’s Harrisonburg-Rockingham ECC is 71st PSAP to implement ASAP

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The Harrisonburg-Rockingham Emergency Communications Center (HRECC) went live with Vector Security and Rapid Response, on Monday, June 29th followed by Security Central, Affiliated Monitoring, Tyco (Johnson Controls), Guardian Protection, Vivint, the National Monitoring Center, Brinks Home Security, Protection One, Richmond Alarm, and ADT.

FCC’s Chairman Pai Asks Congress to Repeal T-Band Mandate

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FCC Chairman Ajit Pai reiterated his call for congressional repeal of the T-band auction mandate while also circulating a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) that would take the next statutorily required step to implement this mandate to his fellow commissioners.

“An FCC auction of the T-band is a bad idea,” Pai said. “But as of today, the law mandates that we do it. It’s unfortunate that commission resources must be dedicated to laying the groundwork for an auction that will likely fail. This is especially true at a time when we are making every effort to keep Americans safe and connected, including allowing expanded temporary use of this very spectrum to help first responders save lives.

“Fortunately, there is bipartisan legislation in Congress to repeal this mandate, including bills that couple repeal with 9-1-1 fee diversion reform as reported out by the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation of the U.S. Senate and the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology of the Committee on Energy and Commerce of the U.S. House of Representatives. I hope legislation passes soon, so first responders who rely on this spectrum no longer need to worry about a potential loss of or significant disruption to their mission-critical radio systems. I remain committed to helping Congress in any way I can to ensure that such harms to public safety operations do not come to pass.”

In 2012, Congress passed the Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act requiring the FCC to reallocate T-band spectrum used by public-safety and private wireless licensees and “begin a system of competitive bidding” for reallocated spectrum by 2021. The FCC has compiled a record on the T-band that demonstrates that an auction is unlikely to yield sufficient revenue to cover the costs to move public safety users out of the band.

Pai first asked Congress to repeal the mandate late last year.

Industry Associations’ Joint Survey Results Reveal COVID’s Impact

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In the last few weeks, TMA joined with ESA and SIA to conduct a nationwide survey of members in order to better gauge the impact COVID-19 has had on electronic security and life safety businesses. This survey confirms the electronic security and life safety is being negatively impacted despite its role as an essential service in our economy.

Quick Figures:

  • 21-30% loss of revenue is the median reported for all respondents
  • Less than 4% of respondents were denied the “essential service” label in their jurisdictions
  • 31-40% denial of access to job sites for service/testing/inspections/maintenance was the median for residential integrators, compared to 21-30% for commercial integrators

A cross-section of the industry represented itself in the responses as follows:

Market Segments Responses
Residential Integration 27%
Commercial Integration 49%
Monitoring Center 11%
Manufacturer 41%
Distributor 11%
Manufacturer Representative 5.7%
Individual/Specifier/Consultant 19%
Other Security Solution Provider 19%

Impact on the Industry Overall

Across the country and in every vertical, our industry is experiencing negative effects on revenues from state and local executive orders for residents to practice social distancing. Survey respondents reported a median loss of revenue between 21 and 30% due to the executive orders. More than 60% of respondents reported losing this much or more of their revenue.

While most companies are experiencing declining revenues, some are impacted more than others; about one in five respondents reported a loss of more than half their company’s revenue.

Although revenues have dropped, most companies are not hindered from doing business due to “shelter-in-place” and business closure orders. Less than 4% of survey respondents reported that their businesses were denied access as an “essential service” in their jurisdictions.

More than 56% of respondents reported having to reduce hours or layoff less than 10% of their employees. On the other end of the scale, 13% of all respondents were forced to reduce hours, furlough or layoff more than 90% of their employees. Less than 4% of survey respondents reported that their businesses were denied access as an “essential service” in their jurisdictions.

Impact on Residential and Commercial Integrators

The median reported revenue loss due to COVID for residential and commercial integrators was 21-30%. The majority of integrators – more than 70% – lost less than half of their revenue.

The denial of access seems to contribute to income loss for most integrators, as more than 80% report some level of interrupted access.

Some business owners might wonder which verticals are faring better than others, as many companies have already pivoted into the commercial space. According to the survey results, the differences are significant but not as drastic as you might expect. The median loss of revenue reported by residential integrators was 31-40%, while the median loss of revenue reported by commercial integrators was 21-30%.

The reported levels for denial of access to job sites for service/testing/inspections/maintenance in each segment correlate with these figures, with residential integrators reporting a median denial rate of 31-40% while the median denial rate for commercial integrators was 21-30%.

Survey responses confirm the observation many have already made: gaining access to residential customers’ homes has been more difficult during this time than access to commercial properties, many of which are unoccupied due to social distancing measures. This could contribute to lower demand for residential services during the pandemic.

When asked how industry associations could continue to help businesses weather this storm, respondents most frequently expressed their desire for opportunities to connect and continued updates on the latest information related to winning business strategies, economic assistance and industry trends.

Visit TMA’s COVID-19 Resource Center. We encourage regular review of the resources we offer, and we will continue to keep members informed on all the latest developments that impact your business.