(Editor Joss Joselyn tried to find his way through the maze ...)
"A recurring theme of the telephone calls we get from readers is that of trade associations. 'We would like to join one – which do you suggest?' they say. It is not an easy question to answer and the goalposts keep being moved. Some associations sink into oblivion, new ones start, existing ones merge – all those events have happened in the past year or so.
The IAAI was folded and became the FSC instead. This too called it a day and disappeared from the scene.
The big merger happened a year ago when the inspectorate arm of the BSIA (the SSI) merged with the NSCIA to form NACOSS. Another organisation has been keeping a relatively low profile – the National Association of Security Services (NASS).
The main organisations to start up in recent times has been the Security Services Association, under the experienced guidance of chief executive David Hinge. And even more recently, the Allied Independent Security Consultants and the Association of Security Consultants."
A plea for quality detectors
(The pressure for ever cheaper detectors was taking its toll in the form of 'the high level of false alarms currently prevalent', wrote David Newton while describing the elements of a PIR ...)
"The design of any motion detector involves a basic compromise between the detector's sensitivity to human motion and its false alarms immunity. Unfortunately there appears to be a tendency among manufacturers to take this compromise further than is necessary by considering the reduction of false alarms to be more important than the ability of a detector actually to detect an intruder satisfactorily.
"There exists an ever-increasing range of PIRs in the marketplace, although the fundamental principle behind the operation of most of them is basically the same. It is unfortunate that so many manufacturers are forced to sacrifice quality and reliability in order to make the price look attractive to the installer.
"Although detector reliability is constantly improving, the total number of false alarms is still increasing due to the growth in the number of installed systems. It is hoped that the recent efforts and initiatives by the various bodies representing the security industry enable everyone involved to concentrate more on quality."
All about locks
(A conversation between 'a locksmith who knows and an installer who doubts' was recounted by consultant Peter Hall. Here are some of the points raised ...)
"Locksmiths have noticed that some people (and the courts) seem willing to excuse the employee of a big shed, a manufacturer or an insurance company for giving poor advice. 'Lack of training', they say, but they never excuse a locksmith.
"A locksmith should be better at his job; after all, he spends half his life 'breaking in' to premises for customers who have lost their keys.
"Only locksmiths pick locks. Only locksmiths drill locks, so 1.5mm drill resistant plates on a lock which won't even stop a masonry drill are purely academic – and locks without them are a lot cheaper.
"I suppose I could wrap barbed wire around drainpipes? Don't. You'll do more damage to your hands putting it up than you will ever do to a burglar. Just paint it with PC 99, which never dries. You put it on thickly like car grease and only the surface dries.
"Put your hand on it when you are climbing up the pipe and a nasty gooey mess is all over your hand. It is a dead give-away if you are caught."
Source
Security Installer
