We live in a world where everyone wants to hit the easy button, and generally, the cheap button. During COVID-19, pictures of home improvement stores being overrun were normal. Online retailers marked record months. Today, the world has moved to ordering everything online and has embraced the Do-It-Yourself (DIY) mentality. Even commercial and industrial companies are doing more in-house work and cutting traditional trades in an effort to control quality and save money.
Spend any time on Facebook or LinkedIn in a security integrator group and you can find pictures tagged with #cctvfail. While some are funny, and others cause you to scratch your head, the real truth is that someone was paid to install that camera. Their work is a reflection on the installer, which makes these installers look bad. The work also reflects on the integrator’s brand. Poorly installed equipment becomes an eyesore with the Integrator’s name attached. Poorly installed systems also tend to create service nightmares. For recurring revenue, security installation companies should be selling maintenance contracts, but these contracts should be more of an insurance policy. If a poorly installed system results in a large number of service visits, the customer will eventually get fed up and find another installer. Repeated truck rolls also cut any recurring revenue and can lead to a loss of revenue.
In today’s world video evidence is king. Alarm systems are no longer the only measure to prevent crime. While cameras have been around for many years, most small businesses spend the least amount of money for something that barely works. Video evidence is critical not only for the identification and apprehension of criminals, but it now has the technology to provide business intelligence as well.
By Mark Landis While JADE Learning offers continuing education classes on the intricacies of alarm systems, there is often opportunity to improve upon these existing systems. These improvements could be by covering some previously missed access points to the home or by adding life safety features to improve not only […]
Fire Alarm Systems By David Herres Fire alarm systems are at least an order of magnitude more challenging to understand than homeowner-type smoke alarms, even if individual smoke alarms within the home are wired together to work in concert. Fire alarm work must not be taken for granted because if […]
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