Firm retools central before meeting

Broomall, Pa.--With Universal Atlantic Systems set to host the second day of the annual Security Network of America shareholder and sales managers conference in mid-April, the company engaged a pre-existing plan to upgrade its central station before the meeting was to begin. Started in the fall, UAS invested approximately $200,000 in the renovations that included expansion of the central station, technology enhancements at the operators' workstations and new Winsted Prestige consoles. "We have for two years been talking about re-engineering our central station so it would be more efficient, particularly for video monitoring," according to Scott Elkins, president of Universal Atlantic Systems, who sits on SNA's board of directors. SNA is a security industry group comprised of more than 35 companies that meet several times a year to share best practices procedures. The group met last month in Philadelphia at the Four Seasons Hotel and at UAS' corporate headquarters. The purpose of visiting a company is "to learn what they do and how they do it in an open environment," Elkins said. Brian Walker, director of IT at the company, oversaw much of the improvements with an eye on future expansion. "Now, we've got a lot more room for growth," he commented. In the past, central station operators had to share workstations when operating newer applications, such as video monitoring. Operators are not the only ones to benefit from the improvements. The company installed two 56-inch flat screen monitors in the central station. Now, supervisors can view incoming alarm signals, weather updates and internal security feeds anywhere on the floor.