Industrial News

Pointer – one of the UK’s leading providers of hybrid integrated IP security solutions – is now one of only a quarter of all companies with the facility to monitor security systems which has achieved the BS8418 certification.

Carol MacPherson, Pointer’s Event Monitoring Centre Manager said: “This is the main reason why we made the decision to re-brand our Alarm Receiving Centre as the Event Monitoring Centre - it's all about the monitoring and interpreting of data platforms.”

BS8418 will only affect new alarm installations and is applicable only under the auspices of the Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Aimed at raising the standard of integrated systems, it covers the design, positioning, configuration, performance, commissioning, operation and maintenance of remotely monitored and detector activated CCTV systems.

“Staff have taken a great deal of pride and satisfaction at Pointer being one of the first EMCs to receive this accreditation,” said Carol MacPherson.

“By achieving this standard ahead of most other companies in our sector, we have proved once again that our expertise and customer service are second to none. This gives our customers the knowledge that we have the expertise to monitor not only intruder systems, but also CCTV.

“The BS8418 accreditation is just one of the many benefits offered by Pointer’s EMC and rubber stamps our expertise and ability to undertake CCTV monitoring.”

The main adherences to the BS8418 standard are:

- Field of view – the standard requires that camera and detector fields of view should match one another and be confined to within site boundaries and not extend into public areas.
- Light – there should be sufficient light (night and day) to illuminate the camera’s field of view.
- System integrity – each detector must be uniquely identifiable to the system. All cabling and detection devices should incorporate tamper protection.
- Event verification – to verify an event the field of view should be set so BS8418 set criteria. Fixed cameras are the advised option for vulnerable areas.
- Audio challenge – an audio challenge facility is required to guarantee level 1 police response. The audio challenge should be audible in all areas of detection.
- Business continuity and disaster recovery – the installation of a back-up uninterruptible power supply system should be considered. The system should have an alternative signalling path to indicate failure of the main signalling path to the Remote Video Receiving Centre.