what's new

ECS Ltd & SSAIB IP training seminars

BT redcare is proud to be sponsoring a new series of IP training seminars brought to you by ECS Ltd and supported by the SSAIB, being held at locations across the UK.

The seminar, designed for those with little or no prior knowledge, is an introduction to IP and offers practical help and assistance at a basic level for those involved with:

• Surveying for security systems
• System design
• Specification preparation (System Design Proposals)
• Installation practices
• Maintenance practices

Seminar dates and locations:
13 Sept 2006 - Coventry
26 Sept 2006 - Manchester
28 Sept 2006 - London
24 Oct 2006 - Coventry
31 Oct 2006 - Manchester
21 Nov 2006 - London
05 Dec 2006 - Coventry
07 Dec 2006 - Manchester
09 Jan 2007 - London
30 Jan 2007 - Coventry
06 Feb 2007 - Manchester
27 Feb 2007 - London
06 Mar 2007 - Coventry
27 Mar 2007 - Manchester

These half-day events include lunch and hard copies of the instructional materials used on the day – all for an inclusive price of £95 per delegate.

For more information or to secure a place at one of the seminars please contact Martin Kane via email at kaneecs@aol.com or by phone on 077 141 40276.

Standards procedure
redcare gears up for EN 50131

The introduction of the European Standard requirements require ARCs to direct exacting attention to the monitoring requirements of alarm signalling systems and, in particular, digital communicators.

From 1 October 2005, any alarm installer fitting a new digital communicator must ensure that it is compliant to Tables 10 and 11 in PD6662:2004. Digital communicators must meet all the appropriate ATS performance criteria and be capable of reporting faults – including signalling path losses and line cuts – to the ARC in line with the grade of risk for which they are utilised.

This means that digital communicators used for a grade 2 risk (domestic or low commercial) must be checked every 25 hours, while those used for a grade 3 risk (high net worth domestic or normal commercial) must report back a fault to the ARC within 5 hours. Furthermore, if no audible warning devices are employed at premises protected by a grade 3 digital communicator, the device would need to report a fault to the ARC within 3 minutes!

Contrary to popular opinion, the opening and closing procedures of a digital communicator will not meet the new fault-reporting requirements. This is owing to the fact that the new requirements will still apply when premises are shut over a weekend or long bank holiday weekend period, and regular monitoring or checks are the only way to ensure they are met.

Two options exist: either the digital communicator can make a ‘set up’ call to the ARC within the grade requirements (every 25 hours, 5 hours or 3 minutes, as the case may be), or the ARC can make checks down the line to the digital communicator. Both options are likely to incur extra costs, if not to the end customer, then to the installer or the ARC. As a result, ARCs may end up charging higher administration costs to cover extra time spent monitoring the digital communicators and talking to installers to resolve faults that may not have been raised in the past.

Failure to employ technology that meets the requirements will result in that system’s non-compliance with the EN Standards. Indubitably, such a transgression will be detected during a site visit by the installer’s inspectorate. Police response and issue of URNs are also dependent on the installation of the intruder alarm system and signalling being compliant to the current standards.

BT redcare already has a suite of products that fully meet all the requirements – including fault reporting – of the new EN Standards.

For the lower-end grade 2 risks, BT redcare home monitoring provides not just one, but two signalling paths – a digital communicator backed up by GSM radio, both of which fully meet the 25-hour fault-reporting requirements.

For the higher-end grade 3 and 4 risks, both redcare and redcare gsm provide fault reporting that actually exceeds the requirements of the EN Standards; the former providing a continuously monitored landline and the latter providing GSM and a secondary back-up GSM radio signalling path that is able to report a fault within the required time.

redcare gsm ev, the PD6662/F175-compliant unit, is available from mid-September to meet the requirement of the EN-compliant panels only.

To view our Statements of Compliance please click here

New automated line test service

BT redcare have introduced a new automated line test service. The purpose of this service is to provide you with a fast-track option to have a line tested rather than queue for the BT redcare technical helpdesk.

The platform is based on BT’s main fault management system, which has been developed to recognise the existence of redcare on a telephone line and carry out an appropriate test.

To use the new automated line test service, simply dial the normal redcare technical helpdesk number and choose option 4.

To make using this system easier for you and your colleagues, please see attached an outline of the call routing here. One of the key aims of this system is to save you time, and although the instructions may seem fairly lengthy, the process can be completed in approximately 200 seconds.

Key points to remember:

• Make sure you know the correct telephone number for the redcare line
  
  
• Make sure that you know the access times for the premises
  
  
• Know in advance if you wish to be the point of contact or if this will be someone else – for example the end-user or the office
  
  
• The test is only for the telephone line. If the line tests okay, always choose not to close the fault and choose the option that refers to redcare. This will transfer you to the BT redcare technical helpdesk and not the normal BT repair service

If at anytime you are unhappy with the automated service, please call the BT redcare technical helpdesk direct and speak to one of our fully trained engineers who will be happy to help you.

redcare is broadband compatible

Broadband technology is currently revolutionising the way we live and work – there are over 20,000 new connections to a broadband service each week and as the customer becomes more technologically aware, they demand greater flexibility from their home and office-based networks.

BT redcare has responded to this by developing an ADSL-compatible (high-speed connections only) range of services, which allow users to utilise their broadband connection for redcare systems.

This converged approach means you can now supply exactly what the customer demands, so you won’t find yourself missing out on potential sales.

Installing an ADSL filter on each socket of an existing line ensures the line can be used to transmit both a redcare frequency and an ADSL signal. As redcare and ADSL operate on different frequencies you can use a single line for both, without compromising the connection.

Please click here for more information.

EN50131-1 Compliance Statement

BT redcare and BT redcare gsm have been independently tested by the BRE Labs (Building Research Establishment) to verify compliance with the requirements of EN50131-1 to Grade 3 and 4 for both products. In addition BT redcare is the only secure signalling network accredited by ACPO CPI (Secured by Design - SbD) and has held a UKAS accredited 3rd party 'listing' by the LPCB ( BRE Certification) for more than 10 years.

BT redcare can confirm it meets and exceeds the requirements of EN50131-1. As an IS09000 registered firm and to meet the requirements of telecommunication regulatory compliance BT redcare must also ensure it can substantiate any claims of compliance with a 3rd party.

The BT redcare home monitoring product has been internally verified to comply with the requirements of the current EN standard to Grade 2.

Visit www.redbooklive.com or www.securedbydesign.com/companies/ for more information on 3rd party approvals.

For more information regarding BT redcare compliance please contact James Winter, Standards and Industry Liaison Manager, at james.winter@bt.com

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