With all of the emergency response systems on the market today, it is sometimes difficult for the installer to figure out how to wire the phone lines to ensure the correct order of signaling, especially if he is an alarm technician who has just been launched into a new market.
Case in point: John (not his real name) has been working on security systems for several years and has just received an installation of a Personal Emergency Response System (or PERS), and has been told to “follow the instructions, it’s easy. ” (How many times have I heard that over the years?)
So John goes to the site and discovers that they have a security system, a separate fire alarm system, and one of the new health monitoring systems that calls every two hours to a server that analyzes customer activity.
Install the PERS system which, as a result, is an easy setup, for once. Now, you are faced with the problem of how to connect the phone line to the new system.
Where does this part fit in the whole of the customer’s systems? Well here is your answer. It all comes down to priorities, and one word that is bigger than most other words in the English language: RESPONSIBILITY.
This word appears more when talking about fire alarm systems, but there is a certain responsibility in each type of system that a company can install and that deals with a form of protection for the customer.
So, here is the correct order of priority:
- Fire alarm system. This system (by fire code) should always be the first, before any other type of system and telephones in the house. It is usually necessary to run a phone line to the Demarc (phone lock at the point where the phone line enters the home or business) to make sure you can connect the line and cut whatever else is using that line, when need to scream.
- Security alarm system. This system ranks second because it refers to both safety and security.
- PERS system. This is the next one, and you should be able to seize the line from any system that uses programmed signaling and telephones.
- Health monitoring system. This type of system uses motion detectors to track customer movements and can warn of a possible fall or medical problem, and generally calls at a predetermined time (usually every two hours).
- House phones. These always connect last in line. A fire, safety issue, or health issue is always more important than Aunt Betty’s wedding dress.
The fire alarm and security systems should always be wired for a proper line outlet, and the PERS system when possible, while the health monitoring system can be wired in parallel with the house phones, since that every signal it sends out is not a critical problem. It is better if it can be connected for seizures, but it is not required. (Usually both the PERS and the health monitoring system have phone jacks on the back to connect the phone line in series, like an answering machine.)
If a customer doesn’t have all of the systems listed above, just leave the ones they don’t have off the list, but keep the same order, and you will always have your systems marking the correct priority and maintaining accountability. where it belongs: anywhere but on your shoulders.