Initiated: 2023
Committee Co-Chairs:

• Anita Ostrowksi, Vector Security
• David Holl, Lower Allen Township (PA)

Overview:

Monitoring Centers are increasingly the recipient of what may be classified as non-traditional alerts, shot detection as an example.  These events require immediate notification to Public Safety.  The alert, as well as situational information, may be received in the monitoring center from a human source, technology initiated, or a combination of both.  Monitoring centers are increasingly monitoring shot detection, weapons detection, manual lockdown notification, as well as other innovative threat technologies.  Human interaction initiated as part of the alert may indicate an active shooter situation.  These detection technologies and subsequent alerts are typically from facilities with high human presence.

Project Need:

When a monitoring center receives electronic notification that one of these systems has been activated, a standardized workflow within monitoring centers is needed to assure timely and accurate notification to identified entities, such as first responders, employees, students etc.

The standard will develop an efficient means for the monitoring center to provide responding authorities with information that assists with an efficient and safe response.

The standard may also facilitate means to initiate other actions, such as “shelter in place”, “wait for further instructions”, and notifications via multiple methods.

Stakeholders:

Public Safety, Monitoring Centers, systems manufacturers, emergency notification manufacturers and service providers, School Districts, or other types of large public/private management

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. The proper balance of committee members 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, the proposed interest categories are Alarm Monitoring, Public Safety, Installer/Maintainer, Special Expert, Service Provider, and Manufacturer/Software Provider.

Call-for-Participation:

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.

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.

Questions?

Please direct any questions you may have to Standards@tma.us, or contact Bryan Ginn, TMA Staff Liaison for standards at bginn@tma.us Phone # 703-660-4919 or Glenn Schroeder, TMA Standards Chair at gschroeder@netoneintl.com Phone # 919-469-0937.