A software package available for the monitoring of alarm signalling systems is now being used by alarm receiving centres to supervise lone workers equipped with the Identicom lone worker protection device.
Made by Monitor Computer Systems, the Sentinel Plus alarm monitoring system can manage multiple Identicom devices. When an Identicom wearer reaches their location, they use the device to log their whereabouts. This audio is transmitted via GSM to the operating equipment, which uses Sentinel Plus to upload the information onto a database. If the red alert from Identicom is triggered, the operator is guided to the logged history of that unit. It’s displayed on a screen with the most recent message first. The operator then selects record to play the last message from the Identicom wearer. The operator can listen in and ascertain whether the wearer is showing signs of distress or if the alarm was triggered accidentally. If the wearer is being physically or verbally threatened, or has had an accident, the operator can despatch the information to the appropriate authorities, including the police if appropriate.
An archive history of data, downloaded from the Identicom and stored in the Sentinel Plus software, can be replayed to any external organisation via a web interface. In this way employers can quickly and easily access a situation and respond accordingly.
In April, ACPO (Association of Chief Police Officers) modified its guidelines on the type of lone worker devices that should be used and its required response to an active incident. Now, police will only respond to a maximum of two false calls from personal alarms in a 12-month period before response is withdrawn. Reinstatement can only then be obtained once the police are satisfied the system has a means of verifying that the alarm is genuine and that person monitoring the alarm can provide them with a location.
Sentinel Plus and Identicom meet ACPO guidelines, the firms say, by not only enabling call centre operators to verify there is an emergency but also by providing the location of the wearer. The open audio channel is an advance in panic alarm systems and will help eliminate the majority of false alarms, it is claimed.
What they say
Craig Swallow, Managing Director of Connexion2, manufacturer of Identicom said: "Increasingly it is expected that the police will only respond to credible alarms that are managed through recognised and approved alarm receiving centres using sophisticated software packages like Sentinel Plus. Identicom’s open voice channel assists the monitoring company understand whether an incident is real or false and if real, the severity of the situation. No other lone worker device does this in such a simple, effective package."
