Presence detection is the ability to identify or locate the existence of people in a specific area or physical space.

Wholesale monitoring executives discuss trends, technologies and services that dominant today’s monitoring ecosystem and where independent security dealers can find success. 

SIAC’s efforts in building relationships with law enforcement agencies nationwide has included conducting more than 1,000 seminars. 

Q&A with TMA Central Station Manager of the Year Runners-Up

The new TMA ANSI standard is approaching publication and implementation.

For security dealers, partnering with a wholesale central station means they do not have to operate their business in isolation. 

Installing security contractors share guidance and wisdom — hard earned and battle proven — to help pave the way for other industry brethren excel in the exciting realm of remote video monitoring.

Subject matter experts from the central station and automation software marketplace address some of the best approaches that security dealers and integrators can follow to up their remote video monitoring game.

Remote video monitoring is not a new concept. And while its application has remained for the most part limited and narrow in scope for years, its trajectory is on the cusp of spiking.

Too many central stations consider video to be a particularly complex operation, which in turn bogs them down with execution delays while others take market share. Follow these five approaches to seize the moment.

Artificial intelligence, analytics and other sensing technologies are expected to play a key role in responding to intrusion and other life safety alarm events.

Technology advances, staffing shortages and other influences, are reshaping the traditional guarding and monitoring industries concurrently.

Mark McCall, Chair of the TMA AVS-01 Committee, explains the collaborative effort between the alarm industry and public safety professionals and how the new standard aims to refine alarm notifications and the quality of alarm information.

David Holl speaks to executives from monitoring centers and emergency communication centers about their involvement in the initial pilot programs for the AVS-01 standard.

David Margulies examines how SIAC’s mission is to be the go-to resource for public safety leadership when it comes to the issue of electronic security.

Monitoring center executives and managers have a lot to express about the endless work that goes into keeping their call centers staffed with the best talent possible.

Top central station executives illuminate the art of recruiting, onboarding and retaining exceptional talent. Plus, they share their views on remote work policies.

Lou Fiore discusses how utilizing a mesh network for wireless alarm transmission provides alarm dealers complete control with virtually no reliance on third-party public infrastructure.

SDM spoke with the 2023 TMA Monitoring Center Manager of the Year. Ayala is the director of operations at Rapid Response Monitoring Services.

The Monitoring Association aims to establish standardized guidelines essential for enhancing reliability, reducing false alarms and optimizing response times in the rapidly evolving field of video monitoring.

Industry insiders convened at ISC West to discuss AVS-01, a new ANSI-accredited standard aimed at improving alarm validation and enhancing communication between the security sector and public safety agencies.

Remote video monitoring is advocated as a critical solution for addressing labor shortages and enhancing operational efficiency within the security industry, highlighting its evolution and economic advantages over traditional security guarding methods.

Boulder, CO – Researchers are calling on Colorado to require reporting of all fires and explosions in the state’s oil and gas industry, after an analysis showed an incident rate significantly lower than that of neighboring Utah, where reporting is mandatory.

Sacramento, CA – The California Department of Industrial Relations and the California Environmental Protection Agency have approved final regulations intended to improve hazard prevention and management at the state’s 15 oil refineries.

Washington – Responding to ongoing damage in the Gulf Coast region caused by Hurricane Harvey, the Chemical Safety Board has issued a safety alert warning oil and chemical facility workers to follow special precautions when restarting in the wake of the storm.

Washington – NIOSH and the California Department of Public Health have collaborated on a video intended to protect oil and gas extraction workers from deadly hazards linked to manual gauging and fluid sampling on production tanks.

Washington – OSHA has published a guide intended to help oil refineries comply with the agency’s Process Safety Management Standard (1910.119).

Washington – The Chemical Safety Board released a set of recommendations Sept. 18 after its investigation into last year’s ExxonMobil refinery fire, which severely burned four workers in Baton Rouge, LA.

Washington – The Chemical Safety Board has released a video on last year’s ExxonMobil refinery fire, which severely burned four workers in Baton Rouge, LA.

Washington – Contending that it lacks proper regulatory authority, the Chemical Safety Board on Nov. 14 voted to withdraw its recommendations issued to the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement after its investigation into the April 2010 explosion and fire that killed 11 workers on the Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has issued a proposed rule intended to “reduce certain unnecessary regulatory burdens” that exist under the Production Systems Safety Rule “while correcting errors and clarifying current requirements,” according to a notice published in the Dec. 29 Federal Register.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has issued a stop-work order for a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine study reviewing BSEE’s offshore oil and gas operations inspection program, the National Academies announced Dec. 21.

New Orleans — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has introduced a risk-based inspection program intended to improve safety for offshore oil and gas workers.

New Orleans — A new approach that allows Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement inspectors to access electronic records onshore will increase their physical inspection time at more than 2,200 offshore oil and gas facilities in the Gulf of Mexico, the agency recently announced.

Washington — Officials from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement met June 21 to discuss a BSEE-sponsored report that outlines strategies for enhancing bolting technology in offshore oil and gas operations, a press release from the agency states.

Washington — Effective process safety management can help prevent hazards and incidents related to process unit startups and shutdowns, according to a new “Safety Digest” from the Chemical Safety Board.

Washington — Offshore drilling rig operators in the Gulf of Mexico reported 1,129 blowout preventer equipment component failures in 2017, according to the latest annual report from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s SafeOCS reporting system.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement has found “noticeable gaps” in safety regarding fired vessels on a few offshore oil and gas platforms in the Gulf of Mexico that “warrant attention to prevent or mitigate uncontrolled releases of hydrocarbons, toxic substances or other materials,” according to an agency safety alert issued Oct. 2.

Port Fourchon, LA — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement’s rollback of certain provisions of a rule intended to prevent a repeat of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon offshore oil rig disaster will maintain safety and environmental protections, the agency claims, as advocacy groups announce their intention to fight the move.

Baton Rouge, LA — The OSHA Region 6 Training Institute Education Centers recently released a video on recognizing and controlling common hazards in oil and gas exploration.

Washington — The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement recently unveiled a free text message alert system that delivers the agency’s safety alerts and bulletins to offshore oil and gas workers on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Washington — Via its Gulf Research Program, the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine has awarded eight grants totaling nearly $7.3 million to projects aimed at enhancing safety culture in the offshore oil and gas industry.

Washington — One year after the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement launched its free BSEE!Safe text message alert system, the agency says more than 6,200 subscribers have received links to BSEE safety alerts and bulletins covering offshore oil and gas work on the Outer Continental Shelf.

Washington — OSHA has published COVID-19-related guidance intended to help employers in the oil and gas industry reduce exposure among workers, including personnel in the subindustries and those whose tasks “make up the broader oil and gas industrial sector.”

Washington — In the more than 18 months since the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement unveiled its free BSEE!Safe text message alert system, the agency reports it has supplied links to BSEE safety alerts and bulletins covering offshore oil and gas work on the Outer Continental Shelf to over 7,000 subscribers.

Washington — Approximately 18,000 miles of decommissioned oil and gas pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico pose safety and environmental risks, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

New Orleans — A recent string of Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement performance-based risk inspections uncovered various hazards related to dropped objects on production and well operations, according to a Sept. 14 safety alert outlining the findings.

Edmonton, Alberta — Contract workers who fly in and out of oil sands may experience higher levels of work-related stress and more mental health issues, according to a recent report led by researchers from the University of Alberta.

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration is reminding miners working near oil and gas wells to remain aware that “an inadvertent intersection with one of these wells” could be hazardous.

Washington — An online dashboard recently introduced by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement is intended to improve the safety of offshore oil and gas operations by easing access to safety data.