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SAIDSA promotes three critical ­bylaws

The South African Intruder Detection Services Association (SAIDSA) breakfast, which was held on 29 July at the Riverclub venue in Observatory, outlined the importance of Bylaws 1, 3 and 5 to the security industry.

SAIDSA’s Craig van Rensburg explains that the security industry currently does not have any legislated standards or bylaws governing the installation of alarm systems or for the operation of an armed response company. SAIDSA is thereby the only governing body that is currently providing minimum standards for the installation of security systems.

The three relevant bylaws were drafted on a voluntary basis by members of the security industry in collaboration with SAIDSA’s technical team. The association undertakes annual inspections of all members to ensure that they comply with these bylaws, thus providing consumers with the assurance that certified systems are of the highest standards. Van Rensburg says that one inspector is stationed in Johannesburg while the second one covers the areas from the Eastern through to the Western Cape.

Control stations

Bylaw 1 outlines the requirements for the set up and operation of a SAIDSA approved central control and monitoring station. According to Van Rensburg, the biggest hurdle here is the physical construction of the room, with a requirement for a brick and mortar construction and a concrete ceiling being the minimum. An alarm system and surveillance system is required to protect the control room and a man trap entrance and exit is a prerequisite.

Backup equipment is stipulated to ensure that the control room remains operational on a round-the-clock basis. This includes sufficient monitors, PCs, telephone lines, an alternative power supply such as an inverter or UPS, and sufficient operators. Effective preventative maintenance needs to be implemented to ensure that all systems are operating effectively and according to spec.

Emphasis is placed on the operational administrative procedures which should be followed in case of an event. In addition, accurate record keeping is necessary and includes written reports, hard copy printouts of reports, disk storage and backup records that are as recent as the past 24 hours. Reports should be kept for up to 36 months.

Armed reaction

Bylaw 3 relates to the requirements for the setting up and operation of an armed reaction service and focuses on the vehicles and the reaction officers themselves. Each company should have a minimum of two well-maintained and reliable response vehicles as well as a backup vehicle that is situated at the company’s offices and can be mobilised in the event of any one of the primary vehicles being incapacitated.

The bylaw states that any reaction vehicle should be available to respond within 15 minutes of a triggered alarm and in the event that in 10% or more of the cases it cannot do so, the number of vehicles required by the company needs to be reassessed with the aim of adding further wheels on the ground.

Reaction officers must be PSiRA registered, have no criminal record, be qualified to Grade C with the armed response module, be compliant with the Arms & Ammunition Act 60 of 2001 Section 8, hold a valid identity card and wear a bulletproof vest. They are required to carry a

9 mm or 38 Special firearm for which they are certified as competent in its use. Ancillary equipment, such as a watch, handcuffs and a torch should also be supplied and available for use.

Intruder alarms

Bylaw 5 covers the standard installation specification for intruder alarm systems with stipulations made for installation of the control panel below the ceiling and protected by volumetric devices. The control panel should be microprocessor controlled and with a keypad operation. A tamper-proof alert must form part of the system to ensure its integrity and magnetic contacts should be screwed rather than glued onto walls. Ideally the systems should have two forms of communication – a radio and telephone link.

Van Rensburg says that since the bylaws are considered a living document, they are reviewed annually as crime patterns change. After installing a system, SAIDSA members will be issued with a certificate that ensures the system complies with the necessary bylaws. Because this requirement is often stipulated by both third party system users as well as their insurers, being a member of SAIDSA is highly advantageous to installers.

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