We’re a firm believer in never taking on more than you can manage. Make a simple change, see what the results are, then determine what’s next. For some companies that means take it one step at a time. For security companies with more layers of management/oversight, and that work on multiple projects, it may mean determine your limits and make sure you can handle what is on your plate before you move to the next issue
This concept applies to how you run your business AND improving your alarm management practices. We have a host of these on our web site, www.siacinc.org, but SIAC does not encourage companies to take on many new procedures all at once. Instead, pick the ones where you can demonstrate sustained success, then build on them.
For example, two-call verification (Enhanced Call Verification – ECV) takes knowledge (regarding how to implement the procedure), requires training for your employees, and mandates that you follow up to determine how successful it has been, and where you may need to troubleshoot to improve implementation. It’s a lot to take on. If you were changing your equipment standards and giving your employees new instructions to share with customers during installations, that’s a lot for you to undertake at once.
Easily, you could over-burden yourself or find that alarm management improvements you seek aren’t actually occurring. In fact, quite possibly things could go in the wrong direction.
So step back when you look at how you want to help customers reduce unnecessary alarm activations. Pick the areas where you know you can improve with a sustained effort. Execute on them. See where it takes you. Then look for the next opportunity. You’ll find yourself more on top of the issues, and able to clearly see results. That’s important to help improve performance.