Building a Central Station

Greets,

Y'all have been a big help in the past so I hope that you'll come through again.

My boss has handed me the R&D project of spec-ing/pricing out what it would take to build our own monitoring station. I've found out a few basics such as UL approved building and phone systems.... but I haven't a clue as to where to go from here. Is there a guide to planning these things?

Here are some basics.

  1. From looking at some of the national monitoring center's websites I want to provide the same services they do. Alarm monitoring, video monitoring, etc. etc. What equipment will handle this?

  1. # of phone lines vs. # of recievers for 10,000 customers...?

  2. What kind of central station software would be recommended? Not only would it need to provide the basics, but I'd like to integrate call recording too. I've seen too many horrible setups of recording, some as bad as using VHS tape...

Any guidance y'all can offer would be wonderful. Thanks.

Reply to
S. Smith
Loading thread data ...

I don't mean to be rude or anything.. but I am wondering what went through your bosses head to look at you and say, Mr. Smith.. with your keen ability to use that computer of yours, I choose you ole wise one to spear head this project"...

If you are trying to replicate a CMS that the big boys build.. you need to build 5.. they have them all networked.. When one goes down or is overloaded with calls.. they route to another.. they field 42 MILIION calls a year.. their server room is better protected than the pentagons..

Reply to
camman

First decide who your customers will be...

What equipment will they have?

Will it be existing equipment and they will be switching to your monitoring service or will this be just for new installs?

If just new installs, what equipment?

What services will you provide?

How many customers?

What type of phone lines will be required?

Will you need a private radio tower for company business? Local private guard service too?

Then I would suggest meeting with the phone company (a knowledgeable engineering type), and inform them of your needs. Ask WHERE you could locate such a business. Across the street from a phone company exchange might be a good idea! Maybe it would be better to locate near one particular phone company exchange. Note: Some areas do not have *any* spare phone lines. Or may have an old cable which is prone to having problems say when it rains. I would not want to locate a monitoring center in such an area. If you have your choice of cities and not one particular city, then cost of living/cost of labor might be a consideration. Also if a national 1-800 type center, a particular city might be better than others. Note that some downtown high rise areas of various cities have all sorts of phone/fiber optic capacity run under certain streets.

Then is there a building in such an area you could rent or buy *and* which you could modify to your specs.? Is there free parking for employees, etc.? Can employees easily get to this location or it it a traffic mess at certain times?

Then some monitoring centers look like a computer center with a raised floor to run wiring under and have similar security and fire systems. Are you required to have a fire suppression system? Check with the local fire department for what is required/allowed. Insurance? U.L.? One may say one thing, but the fire department or local regulations may say something else!

Next is air conditioning. If you have a lot of electronic equipment in one room, it generates heat. Might want to add up the BTU's (heat generated) of all the electronic equipment you will have to see if the existing air conditioning will handle the load. And if not, can additional air conditioning be added? Some rooms in buildings can't handle the heat generated by two employees (600 to 700 BTU's per person) let alone a lot of electronic equipment.

Then physical security. Can you modify the building for what you will need? Probably don't want doors with key locks (key could be duplicated). So card access to center might be best. Can the doors be modified for your entry/exit requitements? Man trap needed?

Wiring... Is it easy to add lots of wiring as needed? Add additional wiring easily in the future?

Then next is equipment/software to purchase. Find out what is available. You can go to groups.google.com and find this group, then search just this group for specific brand names. See what people have said in the past about these things.

With this link, you can use the lower search box to search just this group...

formatting link
Then here I searched in the lower search box for monitoring software and came up with all this...
formatting link

Reply to
Bill

FYI - A large international cruise line just built a 1-800 customer call center in Eugene, Oregon. This location is nowhere near any ocean or their ships. But it is right next to a whole bunch of main fiber optic lines which run up and down the west coast. Also low cost of living (lower cost for employees), no traffic problems, desirable location, good weather, etc.

So you would think they would locate a cruise line call center near their main office or on the coast. No, they went where it was best for the requirements and needs of the call center.

Reply to
Bill

WoW!!!! the guy ask one simple question and he get a V-E-R-Y-- L-O-N-G and detailed answer. What more can you ever ask for.

Excellent job on the response.

Bill needs to be the guy at the top of the list for new hires when the decision is made to move forward on this project. Name your price Bill.

formatting link

Reply to
ABLE_1

Here is a story about that cruise line locating in Eugene, Oregon (Springfield)...

formatting link

Reply to
Bill

Thanks but no thanks! I'm not looking for a job and am quite happy living without the stress of these things. :-)

Reply to
Bill

I was not offering Bill, I was just making a suggestion. No stress is good. Have a good holiday weekend.

Reply to
ABLE_1

Bill is the type of guy that the company should have paid in getting his expert advise instead of asking Smittie to go surf the net and see what free advise he can get. Designing a Central Station to UL spec's takes money and expert involvement.... why companies insist on doing things in house is beyond me.. I equate it to.. hey Joe, we need to figure out a better way to do our billing.. lets plan a meeting to discuss how we should reprogram our computers and the heck with buying 1200 bucks for Peachtree or Quickbooks.. People's experience is worth money.. sometimes you need to pay for it... I am so tired of getting a call to design a 16 camera system knowing the guy is looking for my design and then he goes on the net and buys for 20% less.. I have gotten pretty good at putting my own model numbers on my own branded cameras...

Reply to
camman

I agree I have helped build 2 UL listed Central Stations 1 was UL listed for Fire only the other was Fire/Burg. Fire was much easier but it still was $25000 plus with all the rehab that had to be done. You really should hire an expert to do this.

Quickbooks..

Reply to
Ken Oberst

I love customers like that. Usually they go online and search for prices on a DVR, several cameras and whatnot. They already know the specific makes and models. Sometimes they don't even call -- just place an order online.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

Hi to you all!

Being a software automation supplier for monitoring stations, we have an unlimited amount of documentation that is present on our web-site

formatting link
Please feel free to look through them and it should give you a fair idea of how to physically setup your CMS and how to setup your business structure!

For direct shortcuts to our publications please click on the following links: Setting up the perfect monitoring station:

formatting link
your CMS for your world:
formatting link
For any other questions please contact the A-traq help desk 24/7

Thanks and good luck!!

S. Smith wrote:

Reply to
Okitoki

"Robert L Bass" a écrit dans le message de news:

2_KdnT9nDeBv6TTZnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@comcast.com...

And you are proud of this?

that's that kind of comment that will bring you a lot of love from the real professional here....

and the first thing you will say,is that you don't understand why people here don't like you...poor little bAss..

Reply to
Pierre

Robert doesn't live in the "real world". For anyone interested in a "cheap" solution with *no support*, try eBay. You can save yourself a "bundle".

And that's only the "tip" of the iceberg.

Reply to
Frank Olson

I'm certainly happy with the situation. The reality is that there will always be a certain number of prospective customers who guys like you will lose to online vendors. That's just business.

To which "professionals" are you referring? There are several here and they happen to be friends of mine. There are also a number of people who post mostly personal attacks and other rubbish. They're of no concern to me.

Do you believe that I care whether you like me?

Reply to
Robert L Bass

I'm certainly happy with the situation. The reality is that there will always be a certain number of prospective customers who guys like you will lose to online vendors. That's just business.

Yep, it's the common law of business practice... John Ruskin penned this a hundred years ago, still true today

"There is hardly anything in the world that someone cannot make a little worse and sell a little cheaper, and the people who consider price alone are that person's lawful prey. It's unwise to pay too much, but it's worse to pay too little. When you pay too much, you lose a little money - that is all. When you pay too little, you sometimes lose everything, because the thing you bought was incapable of doing the thing it was bought to do. The common law of business balance prohibits paying a little and getting a lot - it can't be done. If you deal with the lowest bidder, it is well to add something for the risk you run, and if you do that you will have enough to pay for something better."

Reply to
mikey

Those are very wise words, Mikey. However, in this case the customer is getting the same (or better) products *and* saving money. Ruskin never anticipated DIY, let alone online sales of professional security systems.

Reply to
Robert L Bass

Get MAS software made by GE.

You need at least two Surguard three receivers.

You need a professional to help you set this up.

You need a lot of phone lines coming in for 10000

Our server room itself is worth over 7 million and we only have 60,000.

To be come a UL or ULC (in Canada) requires redundancy, which requires some sort of back up. probably off site.

You must set up your station in a small town. where you can get cheaper labor from an older crowd. DO NOT fill your station with young staff.

Reply to
Dana Wiegner

MAS is not as good as SIMS... or Bold. A number of different vendors will let you try their software. Pick what works for you based on your own skill levels and then see what they offer in the way of support. I know SIMS and Bold support is excellent.

You wouldn't by any chance be workin' for them, would you?? :-)

Yes... People have been telling me that here for years. "Frank, seek Professional Help"...

More than four, six, eight?? Define "a lot".

Man, either someone seriously overcharged you guys or you've misplaced a decimal (or two). You didn't by any chance buy from bassburglaralarms, did you??

Check. But that "backup" isn't all that expensive (or extensive) to achieve.

Sure... Make certain you have a toilet facilities close by. Those of us in the "older crowd" need frequent pottie breaks. And please, no coffee machine!

Seriously! "Fill your station" with dedicated individuals that can demonstrate excellent customer service and telephone skills, and that can meet whatever local licensing requirements they might need. Discriminate by age, sex, color, religion, or nationality and you're going to miss out on a lot of good people.

Perhaps you should review what you've written before clicking on "send".

Reply to
Frank Olson

Cabling-Design.com Forums website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.