Monitored Burglar Alarm Systems for Business Premises

What we install and connect

The detection is the easy part. The connection to the receiving centre is what makes it monitored.

For a business premises, a monitored system is made of four parts that must work together:

• The panel and detectors. Door contacts, movement detectors and, where needed, shock sensors and panic buttons, laid out for your building and its insurance needs.
• The communicator. This sends the signal out. It is built into the panel or fitted beside it, and it uses a broadband line, a mobile network or both.
• The alarm receiving centre (ARC) connection. We register your system with the ARC, set up the account and test that signals arrive and are read correctly.
• Your call list. The people the operator rings, in the order they ring them.

We do the install, the connection and the first live test together, so you do not have a handover gap between the person who fits the alarm and the company that monitors it. For the choice of tiers, read business alarm monitoring options and bells-only vs monitored. This page is about what we do and what happens in practice.

What monitored means in practice, step by step

From the moment a detector trips to the moment someone is on site.

1. 1A detector trips while the system is set. The panel records which zone and decides whether it is an alarm.
2. 2The panel sends a signal. The communicator sends it to the ARC along its signalling path.
3. 3The ARC receives and reads it. The signal comes up on an operator's screen with your premises name, the zone and the call list.
4. 4The operator works through the actions on your account. This usually means ringing the site first to check it is not staff, then calling keyholders in order.
5. 5Police are asked to attend, if you qualify. The operator passes on the police response request, citing your URN.
6. 6The keyholder goes to site. They check the building, reset the system and tell the ARC the outcome.

A monitored alarm with no valid keyholders is a loud alarm with a phone call attached. The call list is where most of the real-world value comes from.

Police response: URN and confirmed activation

Not every monitored alarm gets a police response. Two things are needed.

A URN. A Unique Reference Number is issued by the police to the system, through the certification route, and it is what the ARC quotes when asking for attendance. Without one, the operator can call your keyholders but not request police. Read more in what is a police response alarm URN.

A confirmed activation. Police generally respond only when the system has confirmed an intruder, which a single trigger does not do. That means more than one detector is set off in sequence, or the ARC can verify with sound or video. The system is configured for this when we install it.

Police response can be withdrawn if a site generates repeated false alarms. A good install, a clean call list and a quick fix of any unwanted alarm protect your URN. If your system is already misbehaving, see why a burglar alarm keeps going off.

Dual-path signalling

One path can fail. A second one should be there when it does.

A single path, such as a phone line or broadband, can be cut or can drop out. Dual-path signalling sends the signal over two routes, usually IP over your broadband plus a mobile network. If an intruder cuts the cable, the alarm still reaches the ARC over the mobile network. Both paths are polled, so a failed path is reported to the ARC as a fault.

For most business premises with stock, equipment or an insurer asking questions, we recommend dual path. We will tell you honestly if a small low-risk unit does not need it.

What we need from you

Four things to have ready before the install day.

• Keyholder list. At least two people with phone numbers, in call order, who can reach the site and are willing to be woken. Check they still work for you.
• A premises password. The word the operator and keyholder use to identify each other.
• Your insurer's wording. Policies often state the grade, the type of signalling or the certificate required. Send us the clause, or ask your broker for it.
• Access and broadband details. Where the router is, who controls it, and whether it stays powered overnight.

Tell us about changes too. New keyholders, new staff, a change of opening hours or a move of the router should reach the ARC as an update, or the call list drifts out of date.

Testing and annual service keep the monitoring valid

Monitoring is a contract for a working system, not a one-off.

Monitoring and police response rely on a maintained system. We test the signal path when we install and agree test calls with the ARC. After that, an annual service visit checks detectors, batteries, communicator, tamper, panic buttons and the signal to the ARC. Insurers and the police URN rules both expect a maintained system, so a lapsed service puts both at risk.

Test your own system at least as often as your maintenance agreement says, and tell us about faults early. See are alarm maintenance contracts worth it for the cost-benefit.

What happens at 3am

A single night, from first trigger to all clear.

That is the process we set up and test. Exact timings depend on how fast people pick up the phone, so we do not promise any.

Grade 2 or Grade 3?

The grade is set by risk and your insurer.

Grade 2 is the usual level for lower-risk commercial premises. Grade 3 applies a higher level of detection and tamper resistance and is common where stock value is high or the insurer asks for it. We specify to the insurer's wording first. The comparison is in Grade 2 vs Grade 3 intruder alarms. For premises types, see burglar alarms for business, shop alarm systems, warehouse alarm systems and office alarm systems.