The Monitoring Association (formerly Central Station Alarm Association)- Experts & Thought Leaders

The Monitoring Association’s (TMA) President Steve Butkovich honored four of TMA’s long-serving volunteers for their impactful contributions to TMA’s ASAP service with the 2024 Mel Mahler Award, formerly known as the President’s Award on Oct. 9th at the 2024 Annual Meeting in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Mel Mahler Award The Mel Mahler Award is presented at the discretion of the TMA president in recognition of outstanding contributions within his/her tenure. The 2024 Mel Mahler Award recipients are Bill Hobgood, CommSys Incorporated; Jennifer Holloway, CIBC Bank; Daniel Oppenheim, Affiliated Monitoring; and Pam Petrow, Vector Security. Service adoption Jennifer Holloway, managing director – market lead, Security Industry Group, CIBC Bank USA, was recognised Jennifer Holloway, managing director – market lead, Security Industry Group, CIBC Bank USA, was recognised for her expert counsel and partnership in navigating a pathway forward for ASAP to achieve its full potential. “You’ve collaborated with our leaders to develop a bold, strategic financial plan to ensure its long-term success. You’ve been a valued collaborator and ally, engaging and proactive in raising the funding required for technological enhancements and expansive service adoption,” commented Butkovich when presenting the award. Life-saving initiative “I am deeply honoured to receive the Mel Mahler award from TMA for my work on ASAP.  I’m grateful to have an opportunity to contribute to this life-saving initiative. The progress made on ASAP to PSAP over the last year is a testament to the remarkable leadership of Steve Butkovich and the invaluable contributions of ASAP co-chairs Daniel Oppenheim and Pam Petrow." "This award holds special meaning for me, as Mel was my client at CIBC Bank for many years, and I admired his unwavering commitment to the industry and TMA.” Service quality Attention to Oppenheim’s uncompromising vision, fierce determination, and passion for ASAP When awarding the Mel Mahler Award to Daniel Oppenheim, CEO of Affiliated Monitoring, President Butkovich called attention to Oppenheim’s uncompromising vision, fierce determination, and intense passion for ASAP, noting he’d been a pivotal, driving force for change and growth. “You’ve worked tirelessly in pursuit of excellence at every turn. Under your leadership, ASAP has set a course to achieve heightened levels of service quality and accelerated expansion and adoption. Through your unwavering efforts, more lives will be saved in communities nationwide. TMA is indebted to you,” stated President Butkovich. Commitment to ASAP Pam Petrow, president and CEO of Vector Security, was recognised for his uncompromising leadership and unmatched depth of commitment to ASAP since its inception almost two decades ago. “You’ve invested countless hours to ensure the successful implementation and operation of the ASAP service. You’ve established strong, positive, productive partnerships across all ASAP stakeholder communities," President Butkovich emphasised when presenting the award.  Role in the future "You not only laid the foundation upon which ASAP is built, but you’ve also played a crucial role in defining its future,” added Butkovich. “It is truly an honour to receive the Mel Mahler Award. It has been a privilege working with Daniel and Jennifer to create and implement the next generation ASAP initiative,” said Petrow. Appreciation to Bill President Butkovich expressed his sincere appreciation to Bill, who was the lead ASAP implementer since ASAP’s beginning When presenting the 2024 Mel Mahler Awards to Bill Hobgood, a consultant at CommSys Incorporated, President Butkovich expressed his sincere appreciation to Bill, who was the lead ASAP implementer since ASAP’s beginning, stating, “To many, you have been the face of ASAP." "You’ve been on the front lines, working closely with ECCs and supporting monitoring centres in securing the necessary certifications. You’ve been a champion for the service at every step in its journey.” Public-private partnership “Receiving the Mel Mahler Award from TMA is an incredible honour and truly humbling experience. This award is a testament to the collective effort and support of my colleagues and loved ones who have been instrumental in my journey with the ASAP programme since 2004,” shared Hobgood. “I am profoundly grateful to TMA and President Butkovich for this recognition. It inspires me to continue striving for innovation and excellence in our public-private partnership surrounding the ASAP programme.”

The Monitoring Association (TMA) had the distinct honour to recognise the exceptional contributions of longtime volunteer and pioneer Sascha Kylau, Vice President of Sales, OneTel Security, LLC. with the presentation of the 2024 Stanley C. Lott Memorial Award. TMA President - Steve Butkovich presented the much respected and esteemed volunteer with the award, TMA’s highest honour, at the 2024 TMA Annual Meeting on Oct. 9th in St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. Greatest contributors “I was humbled when presented with this great award. I was also honoured to be standing among some of the greatest contributors in our industry, many of which are my own mentors and those I have looked to for guidance and support throughout my career,” stated Sascha Kylau. Sascha Kylau adds, “They have taught me the meaning of getting involved and giving back to the industry that I so enjoy being a part of! TMA and its members truly are one big family working together for the betterment of our industry.” Long-term TMA leadership Kylau has actively served on TMA’s Technology, Government Relations, and Standards Committees, and AICC The Stanley C. Lott Memorial Award, established in 1991 to honour its namesake, a dedicated pioneer and past President, recognises exceptional long-term TMA leadership and support. In presenting the award to Kylau, TMA President Butkovich highlighted some of the considerable contributions the awardee has made to the organisation.  Over the past two decades, Kylau has actively served on TMA’s Technology, Government Relations, and Standards Committees, as well as the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC). He was the former Co-Chair for the Technology Committee and currently serves as Co-Chair of the AICC. Contributor to TMA  “Sascha’s been a passionate, engaged, and energised contributor to TMA for many years,” observed TMA President Butkovich. He adds, “In that time, he has consistently dedicated his time, knowledge, and talents to the advancement of his professional peers and industry, asking nothing in return. I was deeply honoured to present this award to him.”

The Orange County Emergency Services, Public Safety Communications Division became the 146th Emergency Communications Center (ECC) in the United States and the 14th ECC in the State of North Carolina to implement the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Implementation of ASAP "The ASAP program provides our ECC with most accurate and timely alarm notifications possible while reducing the workload of our Public Safety Telecommunicators. The implementation of ASAP provides significant benefits to our Department, our partner public safety agencies, and the community we serve," stated Christopher H. Ward, Division Chief – Public Safety Communications for Orange County Emergency Services. Orange County went live on July 22, 2024 with the following companies: Rapid Response Monitoring, Vector Security, Alert360, Securitas, Holmes Security, Brinks Home Security, Dynamark Monitoring, United Central Control, Protection One, Guardian Protection, National Monitoring Center, Johnson Controls (Tyco), Vivint, CPI Security, Wegmans Security, Affiliated Monitoring, ADT and Security Central with Alert360 being brought online soon.

There is a growing trend towards more outsourcing of the monitoring function among security companies. Technology developments are accelerating and increasing the need for monitoring companies to invest. The barriers to entry are higher than ever. These are some of the trends covered in a discussion at Securing New Ground 2019 titled ‘Monitoring: New Models and New Monetisation Strategies’. A panel of monitoring company executives addressed topics centered on how the industry is changing and evolving. New entrants in the monitoring space New entrants in the monitoring space face barriers to entry, in particular the need for more investment"“New entrants in the monitoring space face barriers to entry, in particular the need for more investment in infrastructure and expertise,” said Spencer Moore, Vice President of Sales and Marketing, Rapid Response Monitoring. ”Because of the expense of new technologies, more full-service monitoring companies are outsourcing the monitoring function to existing wholesale monitoring companies.” “The cost of entry has gone up, and companies are trying to preserve capital,” agreed Jim McMullen, President/COO at COPS Monitoring. “Larger companies are realising wholesale monitoring does a better job from a customer service viewpoint. We are more focused on monitoring and the quality of service. It takes a lot of money to keep up with the cyber world,” added McMullen. Wholesale monitoring companies Wholesale monitoring companies are finding that they need petabytes of storage space, among other expensive requirements. “The trend is toward technology evolving quicker, and that often requires investment and training in a monitoring center,” said Daniel Oppenheim, CEO of Affiliated Monitoring. “Because trying out new technology is so important, wholesale monitoring centers often find that they serve as a ‘laboratory’ to experiment with newer technologies. Limited trials often expand later to broader outsourcing of a company’s monitoring services”, said Oppenheim. Automated Secure Alarm Protocol “What people miss out on is that monitoring is quite complex, and there are specialised services and skillsets, and barriers to entry from a regulatory perspective,” said Moore. Adding value to the monitoring function is The Monitoring Association’s ASAP-to-PSAP service Adding value to the monitoring function is The Monitoring Association’s ASAP-to-PSAP service. The national service saves time, improves accuracy and increases efficiency in communications between monitoring centers and public safety answering points (PSAPs). The service uses the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP). Public Safety Answering Points Up to 60 PSAPS have joined the programme, although the low number is misleading, given that a single PSAP could represent the ‘City of Houston’. (There are an estimated 6,000 total PSAPs nationwide). It has taken six to eight years to develop the program from its genesis to where it is today, when more participation is finally creating a critical mass. Technology is fundamentally changing monitoring companies. “We used to be a services company powered by a little bit of technology, but we’re now moving toward a technology services company,” said Moore. Critical ‘filtering service’ Monitoring provides a critical ‘filtering service’ between public requests for emergency service and those tasked with providing the services. In effect, monitoring centers work with manufacturers to make them more resilient to false alarms. Monitoring companies also provide a human touch in a time of need, and emotional empathy. Today, emergency information is being transmitted to PSAPs electronically, which saves time and money. The current low-taxation environment means there are fewer resources for municipal governments, so cost savings make a difference. Monitoring, a specialised skillset Increasingly, monitoring is becoming a business that requires a more specialised skillset Increasingly, monitoring is becoming a business that requires a more specialised skillset. Regulation, and the need for increasing investment, is driving consolidation. “With a decreasing number of monitoring companies, there are fewer customers for software developers and other tools. Less outside innovation makes it more likely monitoring centers will have to ‘go it alone’ and develop software and other tools internally,” said Oppenheim. Importance of monitoring systems “In effect, consolidation will serve to limit technology choices, and to increase the need to in-source a lot of expertise”, agrees Moore. Tying monitoring systems into other software systems is another continuing challenge. “People want our system tied into their system,” said McMullen. “I have two people who focus full time to tie our systems into other systems. There will be more computers talking to computers.”

Angela White was sworn in as President-elect of ESA at the ESX show in June and will take office July 1 The Electronic Security Association (ESA) wrapped up its annual ESX conference June 8-10 at a new location in Fort Worth, Texas, with keynote speakers, educational sessions, networking events, exhibitions, awards and the installation of new officers. Logging its ninth year, ESX is jointly owned and sponsored by ESA and the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA). This year’s show hosted some 2,000 security industry companies and personnel as well as central station owners, while some 200 exhibitors participated. Marshall Marinace, outgoing President and Chief Executive Officer of ESA and the President of Marshall Alarm Systems Corp., Yorktown Heights, New York, received one of the association’s highest accolades, named as the 2015 Morris F. Weinstock Person of the Year. ESA welcomes four new board members In addition, ESA installed Angela White as the 2016-2018 president. White, who is an equity partner and the Executive Vice President of Central 1 Security in Brookfield, Wisconsin, is currently Vice President, President-elect of ESA and will take office July 1. Other board members elected include: Vice President Tim Creenan, Chief Executive Officer of Amherst Alarm, Amherst, New York; Vice President Chris Mosley, President of Complete Security Systems Inc., Marlboro, New Jersey; Vice President G. Thomas Eggebrecht PhD, President and Chief Executive Officer of Bonds Alarm Co., Phoenix; and Secretary Jon Sargent, Industry Relations/Government Affairs, Tyco Integrated Security, Hayward, California. In addition, Ken Nelson, Vice President of OEM sales for Interlogix, Lincolnton, North Carolina, was re-elected to a two-year term as an associate member representative. Marinace will continue to serve on the Executive Committee for two years as immediate past president. “I look forward to focusing on the full deployment and success of the programmes and initiatives ESA has embarked upon over the last few years”, commented ESA President, Angela White Impressive industry credentials White is a 30-year veteran of the electronic security industry whose background includes positions as installer, service technician, sales, general management and company owner. She also was the founder and previous owner of Pro-Tech Systems of Vermont, where she co-authored state licensing as the president of Vermont ESA. White says no other event comes close to providing the inclusive professional experience of ESX. “ESX remains a personal event that gives dealers direct access to vendors and allows for one-on-one discovery of new products and solutions," says White. "The ESX Innovation Awards and TechVision Challenge have really gained momentum over the last couple of years, and that is evidence of the vibrant ecosystem that the show creates within the channel. I left ESX inspired and excited about where our industry is headed and what that means for my business." As president, White says she will focus on the future of the organisation and continuing its legacy. “ESA has an incredibly strong foundation that was constructed by the diligence of those who proceeded me," she adds. "In collaboration with other team members and our professional partners, I look forward to focusing on the full deployment and success of the programs and initiatives ESA has embarked upon over the last few years. Specifically, these include enhancements to the quality training and insurance solutions we provide along with the ESA mentorship programme and workforce development project for the industry. "ESA has dramatically raised the bar as it relates to the value delivered to members, and we will continue to do so. This will ensure continued success as the number one trade association in our field. In addition, the inclusion of our rising leaders for new ideas, energy and vision will position them for leadership roles within ESA and our industry and will provide current leaders comfort in knowing that the association will thrive.”

Improved alarm verification standards will help reduce the number of false dispatches of law enforcement officers The verification of alarms continues to progress with more affordable technology as well as an updated industry standard set for release as soon as the end of February 2016. The definition of alarm verification is getting a makeover in the standard, guided by a range of stakeholders including the security industry, law enforcement, associations and other interested groups whose overall mission is to quell false dispatches and make sure residential and commercial alarms are responded to quickly and effectively. The draft Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA)/American National Standards Institute (ANSI) Standard is prepared under direction of the Security Industry Standards Council: CSAA CS-V-01-20XX Alarm Confirmation, Verification and Notification Procedures (DRAFT, Version October 12, 2015). The standard has undergone the comment period and will be sent to ANSI, with its release coming as soon as the end of February, says Lou Fiore, Principal of LT Fiore Inc., Sparta, NewJersey. Fiore chairs the CSAA Standards Committee and also chairs the Alarm Industry Communications Committee (AICC). Fiore says alarm verification as defined in the standard involves video and audio. Confirmation is what the industry commonly refers as two-call verification, in which the central monitoring station contacts two responsible parties on the alarm user’s list before referring to authorities. “Now we have a much stronger standard and a better way to know there is a crime in progress,” Fiore says. “It’s critical to have a standard for alarm companies, and it helps reduce false alarms and increase captures.” (Hold up and panic alarms are generally excluded from verification requirements.) Adding video to the verification mix The topic of verification and especially video has become increasingly important as cities, towns and municipalities burdened with false alarm dispatches require some form of verification or threaten non-response. According to the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC), Frisco, Texas, fewer than 30 police agencies out of 18,000 have some form of verified response, and that’s because of proactive industry involvement. Ron Walters, Director of SIAC in West Hills, California., says the standard has been an important part of elevating the stature of the technology in the eyes of the industry, law enforcement and users. “It’s important to continue to tweak the definitions and educate people. I think video has found its niche. It’s not part of every alarm system yet, but it has a huge place in commercial specifications,” he says. Video is becoming increasingly integrated with alarm verification, as well as ‘two-call verification,’ in which the central monitoring station contacts two responsible parties on the alarm user’s list before referring to authorities  Improved indoor/outdoor video verification According to Keith Jentoft, President of Videofied-RSI Video Technologies Inc., Vadnais Heights, Minnesota, cameras have become much less expensive for both indoor and outdoor video verification applications. “There are two possibilities for video verification. Internet Protocol (IP) cameras, which are becoming cheaper and in which on-board analytics are becoming more common. The other option is Videofied. We are unique in that we don’t need a power cord. The monitoring is also becoming less expensive and with more options. For about $4 per month you can have outdoor monitoring,” he says. Jentoft, who is also the partnership liaison for Partnership for Priority Verified Alarm Response (PPVAR), Henderson, Nevada, adds that consumers are becoming more educated and alarm contractors more aggressive, leading their sales and marketing efforts with video verification. “They see it as a point of differentiation for their services,” Jentoft says. Complying with law enforcement standards The CSAA/ANSI draft standard has adopted the language of law enforcement, through the PPVAR and originally the Texas Police Chiefs Association, agreed upon: “Verified Alarm shall be defined as an electronic security system event in which a trained central station operator using a standardised protocol has determined the presence of humans and the high probability that a criminal offense is in progress.” In addition, it states: “A law enforcement agency having jurisdiction to respond to Verified Alarms has the autonomy and authority to increase the priority of Verified Alarm calls to increase the arrest of offenders and reduce property loss.” Jentoft says the most important thing about the standard is that it reflects the definition law enforcement embraces, instead of one created by the alarm industry.