In the early morning hours of March 3, 2020, powerful storms ripped through Middle Tennessee spawning tornadoes, killing at least 25 people, and knocking out power and communications to an estimated 45,000 Nashville business and residents. COPS Monitoring shared that monitoring services continued without interruption despite the loss of both power and communications at its Tennessee monitoring center as a result of the Nashville tornado.

“The hearts and prayers of all COPS employees go out to the families impacted by the Nashville tornado,” said COPS President Jim McMullen.” This tragedy is a painful reminder that a catastrophe can strike anywhere, at any time, and without warning.”

Barely a mile outside the path of destruction carved by the tornado, COPS Monitoring’s UL Listed monitoring center in Nashville was spared any physical damage. The site lost electricity and continued to operate on its own Generator power, but it also lost all three carrier-diverse redundant communication paths and the ability to respond to alarms for approximately 9 hours.

However, because COPS operates a network of six monitoring locations consisting of multiple layers of redundant technology and diversified staffing, its ability to provide monitoring services to alarms continued without interruption. “During the unexpected temporary loss of our Tennessee site, alarms and calls continued to be handled by our other five sites,” explained McMullen. “Furthermore, our overall active staff was impacted by less than 16%. We were able to absorb the staffing reduction and increased alarm traffic resulting from the violent weather in the short-term by altering break schedules of people already on shift at our other monitoring centers. In the longer term, we compensated by overstaffing our other sites with additional team members.”

COPS Monitoring began its preparation for redundant monitoring nearly two decades ago in the wake of 9/11. Not just for possibilities like the Tennessee tornado, but also for the countless types of localized conditions that can compromise a central station’s ability to monitor alarms such as earthquakes, flooding, fires, blizzards, hurricanes, a fiber cut, civil unrest, and even outbreaks such as the current coronavirus COVID-19.

“Opening a redundant site was a very small initial step in the right direction,” continued McMullen. “It certainly solved some technological challenges by giving us more than a single place to deliver calls and alarms in the event of a site failure. Unfortunately, operating just two sites did not solve the staffing redundancy needed to maintain quality during a site outage. It’s simple math, really; 50% of your staff can’t handle 100% of your alarm traffic, let alone the additional traffic usually created by extreme circumstances. The fact is, no matter how advanced your technology is, there isn’t any place on the planet to build a monitoring station that isn’t vulnerable to some sort of natural or man-made influences, which is precisely why we mitigate potential outages with redundant technology and by diversifying our staffing across all six of our locations.”

How you can help:

Though the storm is over, the work helping those affected has just begun. If you would like to donate through the Red Cross, you can text Red Cross to 90999 and make a $10 donation. You can also donate online at: https://www.redcross.org/local/tennessee/ways-to-donate.html

COPS Monitoring announced the promotions of Michele Beckett to Vice President of Accounting, and Nicole Black to Vice President of Finance to strengthen its accounting and finance teams.

Michele Beckett is a graduate of Rutgers State University, Certified Public Accountant (CPA), and recently celebrated 10 years at COPS Monitoring. In her role as VP of Accounting, Beckett is responsible for budgeting, forecasting, billing, cash management, accounts payable, and financial reporting. A lifelong South Jersey resident, Beckett is a hands-on leader and considers herself to be fortunate and says finding COPS in her “backyard†has made her feel at home.

Nicole Black graduated from Shippensburg University and began her career in public accounting at KPMG, LLP, a Big Four accounting firm. Her experience also includes Susquehanna International Group (SIG), a privately held global investment trading firm, and Comcast Corporation, where she held management roles in both accounting and finance departments. Nicole is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and has also earned the Certified Management Accountant (CMA) certification. As VP of Finance, Black will primarily be focused on financial compliance and Human Resource functions, while expanding in the areas of analytical tax and reporting compliance.

“The contributions Michele, Nicole, and their respective departments make are instrumental to successfully executing the complex financial matters associated with our strength and continued growth,†said Jim McMullen, President of COPS Monitoring. “As we approach a thousand employees across six locations and 4 million monitored accounts, their roles managing our financial affairs will be vital so we can continue to reinvest in our infrastructure and deliver the exceptional service for which COPS has become widely known.â€

For more information about COPS Monitoring, visit copsmonitoring.com.

ISC West 2020 is just weeks away (March 18-20). As you make your plans to meet with potential service and product partners there, be sure to take a look at the TMA members who will be exhibiting on the show floor or attending and open to meetings. 

Members of TMA’s staff, including Executive Director Celia T. Besore, will be attending the exhibits, as well. 

Be sure to check back often, as the list is growing each day.

See the current list.