Archive: October 2007
CEDIA cancels spring EXPO
October 29, 2007Martha Entwistle
Hey folks, sorry I haven't been posting for a few days. I took a vacation to see the in-laws in Ohio and blogging while vacationing is apparently not recommended by 9 out of 10 mental health practicioners. By the way, the in-laws live in a brand-new home in one of those brand-new developments. They have a Brink's panel installed, but they never activated it. However, they have about every home automation product you can imagine, and they use all of those, hooked up through three networked flat-panel...
UL tells CSAA, 'We're sorry'
October 25, 2007L. Samuel Pfeifle
KONA, Hawaii--Underwriters Laboratories' senior vice president and chief operations officer Charlie Abounader used his time here on day two of the CSAA annual meeting to effectively say, "We're sorry." While also announcing a number of new initiatives, Abounader went out of his way to acknowledge UL's slow response times and complete mishandling of UL 864's 9th edition roll-out.
"Our managing of the process was poor," said Abounader, who joined UL from GE less than one year ago. "We had no plan,...
Making no-response lemonade
October 25, 2007Martha Entwistle
After 24 hours getting back to the East Coast from the CSAA show in Hawaii, it's ironic that this article about the consequences of Fontana, California's verified response policy should come across my desk (that desk being in the Newark airport).
Wednesday, I sat on a panel with other journalists and was asked if I thought verified response would take hold nationally. I said it was my opinion that public relations nightmares with burglars confronting store- and homeowners in the act of verifying...
Bosch announces new executive leadership
October 25, 2007SSN Staff
FAIRPORT, N.Y.--Bosch Security Systems, a manufacturer of security solutions, announced on Oct. 22 the appointment of Christopher Gerace as president of Bosch Security Systems in North America. Gerace has served as acting president since July 2007.
Bosch also announced the appointment of Jeremy Hockham as leader of the Regional Sales Organization of the Americas. Hockham was previously the managing director of Bosch's U.K. operations.
"With our combined experience in the security market and general...
CSAA, the picture of health
October 25, 2007L. Samuel Pfeifle
KONA, Hawaii--Here at the first-class Fairmont Orchid resort, the Central Station Alarm Association declared at its annual business meeting that it has hit a number of benchmarks set for itself as a first-class industry association. Treasurer Daniel Demers, head of Reliance Protectron in Montreal, announced a fifth straight year of surpluses and a bank account holding a full year of dues in reserve. Executive director Steve Doyle said those dues now make up only one-third of the annual budget and...
Schools use Honeywell Instant Alert to contact parents
October 25, 2007SSN Staff
MINNEAPOLIS--Honeywell announced on Oct. 22 that 29 school districts in Washington and Idaho will use Honeywell Instant Alert for Schools, a Web-based notification service, to quickly contact parents and staff with emergency and routine school news.
Instant Alert replaces phone trees and gives administrators a way to send clear, consistent messages to thousands of people within minutes. The service broadcasts alerts via phone, cell phone, pager, e-mail and PDA. It can send 150,000 30-second phone...
Health central in expansion of Sonitrol Pacific's monitoring station
October 25, 2007Leischen Stelter
EVERETT, Wash.--Sonitrol Pacific, a security provider located in the Northwest, announced on Oct. 19 the expansion of its monitoring station and a new focus on the health of its operators.
"We're really focused on moving toward the future with our new facility and keeping our operators healthy and happy so they can take great care of our clients," said Pamela Singleton, director of communications for Sonitrol Pacific.
The Everett facility, which grew from 3,200 square feet to 8,700 square feet, placed...
Lesson from Brink's case: Check your state's wage laws
October 25, 2007Martha Entwistle
OLYMPIA, Wash.-- Last Thursday's Washington State Supreme Court decision that said Brink's Home Security technicians should be paid for driving company trucks to and from their homes to job sites, will have repercussions for other security companies in the state of Washington, and companies in other states as well, according to an industry attorney.
Mark Neuberger, an attorney concentrating on labor and employment law with Buchanan, Ingersoll, PC, noted that the Federal Fair Labor Standards Act regulates...
Tuesday at CSAA
October 23, 2007Martha Entwistle
Well, the party a Turtle Point last night was really boffo or groovy or some other '60s term for good. A 10-piece band entertained CSAA members and spouses while most people took the opportunity to avoid talking business for at least a few hours. Very few hijinks ensued. Sorry, no good gossip.
This morning was the real meat of the conference, with presenations that got to the heart of members' concerns. Mitchell, Silberberg & Knupp's Alan Pepper gave a sobering presentation on privacy, which, when...
Lovin' the Hawaii sun
October 22, 2007Martha Entwistle
If there's one thing the CSAA knows how to do, it's pick a spot for the annual meeting. Last year, I couldn't quite make it to Rome, but CSAA educational chair John Lombardi, who owns CIA Security in New York, invited me to speak on a panel focusing on the central station of the future, and it was mighty hard to turn down a trip to Hawaii (though I did grouse about the long plane ride quite a bit around the office).
Turns out, the plane ride was, indeed, terrible - 10 hours from Newark to Honolulu...