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When is an alarm more than an alarm?

It is vital for home and business owners to protect their premises with effective security measures that extend beyond the traditional alarm system. The IT-100 graphic user interface software embraces simplicity, practicality and affordability and as its designer Rudi Kuhn, branch manager of Elvey Security Technologies in Bloemfontein says, it will obviate the need for tedious, after-hours office checks.

“Business owners are usually the first people into work each day and the last to leave the building or office at night,” he explains. “Employees in their mad late-afternoon dash for home seldom pause to check for open windows and other potential points of entry for criminals, so securing the premises at night invariably falls to the owner.”

With the development of his new intelligent software the irritating office walk through is a thing of the past, says Kuhn. “This system makes it possible to pinpoint unsecured windows, doors and gates from the comfort of your office. It also allows you to identify employees coming into the office after hours, what time they come in and leave and whether or not they turned the alarm on when they left. In addition, it can send an e-mail advising you when the system is activated and from which zone the activation occurred.”

The system is also ideal for parents who want to know when their children arrive home from school and when their home alarm is armed or disarmed, he points out.

How it works

According to Kuhn, the system is simplicity itself to install and operate. “It is literally a two-step operation, the first being to connect an IT-100 module to any DSC 8 to 64 zone control panel, and the second to install the IT-100 graphic user interface software on a Windows 32 bit operating system.”

Through the use of the IT-100 PowerSeries integration module, control panels are able to interface with home and building automation products to create seamless, fully integrated control solutions. The module features a bi-directional RS-232 interface that accepts commands and sends event-driven or state-change commands to third-party applications to create shared functionality. Its built-in database records events such as opening and closing and displays them by both user name and zone.

Once the software is installed the computer monitor is transformed into a virtual keypad. The click of a mouse on the screen will sound the alarm without the user having to reach for the panic button or run to the keypad, an extremely handy tool when faced with an armed intruder.

The software also enables users to access to all partitions on the panel and to view all 64 zones in real-time as well as identify alarm activity by zones. To this end, reports can be requested by time, area and event in the event of an alarm condition.

A mouse click is all that is required for the system to run the CCTV remote viewing software. So, when a zone on the user graphic interface lights up, indicating activity in the area, the user merely has to click the CCTV icon, at which point the monitoring software will open and he can see what is happening.

Another handy software feature is touch screen compatibility, used to maximum advantage in the floor sizing application. “Regardless of how big or small the building, the system will resize the floor plans to fit on to the monitor screen, thereby giving the user a total overview of open zones or alarms,” explains Kuhn.

He continues: “The DSC alarm system is so much more than an alarm. Hospital and nursing home patients can use it to call for assistance by simply pressing a button. This will light up an icon on the graphic interface in the duty station while simultaneously displaying the room and bed number of the patient so that the nurses know exactly who needs them and where to go. The IT-100 will monitor panic systems in hospitals and doctors’ consulting rooms. Making it an alarm that is so much more than just an alarm.”

The same modus operandi is applied to emergencies in other environments such as gated communities, complexes and retirement homes. The system can be programmed to react to any emergency within the community. When the graphic interface is triggered, it will notify the onsite control room in the area while showing the exact location of the crisis.

The IT-100 could also be used for process alarm management like water treatment plants. “Water measurement as well as over and under flow limits, can be entered onto the DSC panel as a zone,” he explains. “When a limit is reached, the alarm will sound and the graphical interface will alert the control staff to which tank it is and its current limits. The DSC alarm is a viable and cost-effective alternative to traditionally used PLCs (programmable logical controllers) which tend to be expensive and have to be programmed by qualified programmers.”

The software also caters for disabled and incapacitated individuals. When the system is armed and an intruder activates a zone the PC speakers will audibly announce the violated zone. 'Garage is in Alarm' So the homeowner can determine where the danger is potentially coming from and act accordingly.

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