Key to the future

All areas of the security industry need to be ready for the withdrawal of BS4737 and the introduction of the EN50131 suite of standards. No time should be wasted in preparing for this.

Installers already following good practices and installing quality products will be more than half way towards meeting the requirements … but some are going to have to raise their game or their businesses will undoubtedly suffer.

Installers, manufacturers, inspectorates, insurance companies, emergency services and ARCs are all affected.

And, importantly, in the UK installations will be shown as compliant not to EN50131-1 but to PD6662. So this published document is all- important to installers.

The overall plan

To start: EN50131-1 is the pan-European standard for Intruder and Hold-up Systems, with Part 1 being the general System Requirements. The EN part stands for European Norm. This is roughly equivalent to BS4737 Part 1.

As of the October 1 2005, BS4737 will be withdrawn and all intruder security installations in the UK will be inspected to the new EN50131-1:2004 standard or rather PD6662:2004, which is the UK scheme for introduction of the new European standards (See a panel opposite "How will PD6662 affect you?"for a more detailed explanation).

Expert guidance will be required to ensure all areas of our industry are in harmony. Leading manufacturers like Honeywell will ensure that support is offered to installers and accurate information is readily available concerning any queries related to EN50131-1:2004 and PD6662:2004.

At Honeywell we are developing specific tools to provide this information, and over the coming months we will offer seminars, fully trained sales teams, specific EN50131 web sites and comprehensive literature packages.

Panel still does same job

The truth of the matter is that whilst PD6662:2004 and EN50131-1:2004 will significantly impact on our industry; there will not be a major philosophy change towards the function of security alarms. An intruder alarm panel still detects and signals – that's its job. The fundamental difference between the old and new standards is that installations will now have to meet performance criteria depending on the "security grading" of protected premises.

EN50131-1 specifies that intruder alarm systems must meet one of four security grades. The security grades are based on the risk assessment of the premises to be secured:

Grade 1 - Low Risk

Grade 2 - Low to Medium Risk

Grade 3 - Medium to High Risk

Grade 4 - High Risk

Installation companies will have the responsibility of determining the level or risk for the secured premises, the relevant security grading and an appropriate level of detection whilst continuing to remain competitive.

After much discussion between the responsible bodies in the UK industry it seems the security grades likely to be predominantly selected by professional installers are grades 2 and 3, with grade 1 more likely to be used by the DIY market, and grade 4 more likely to specified for bespoke high security systems.

Obviously the level of risk for each installation needs to be assessed for the appropriate security grading, however as a rough rule of thumb it has been suggested that residential premises will be grade 2 and commercial premises will be grade 3.

To determine the level of risk and subsequent correct security grade, installation companies must consider different criteria, including:

• Location
• Contents
• Building design
• Minimum supervision levels required

(A full description of risk assessment guidance is given in the document CLC/TS 50131-7:2003 (Intruder Alarm System - Application Guidelines) which roughly supersedes BS4737 Parts 4.1 and 4.2)

Once the security grade has been established the level of detection for the premises will be derived in much the same way as before and remains just as critical.

A grade 4 alarm system is all but useless if it has an insufficient level of detection. Therefore there is still a massive onus on surveyors to ensure that the correct level of detection is in place no matter what the grade of the system.

The next step will be to gain formal, possibly written confirmation from the customer that the information provided for the risk assessment is accurate. This information is critical for determining the security grade. If this is not accurate, the security grade could be wrongly selected, leaving the installation company in a vulnerable position.

It would also be prudent for an installer to confirm that the security grade is acceptable to the insurer. This will minimise the potential for any liability issues affecting the installer, in the event of a break-in and property loss.

Once the security grade has been established the appropriately graded products must be selected. Only when all of this information is available can the specification and quotation be generated. The table below outlines the relevant steps in this process.

Half way there already

Higher quality installation companies are unlikely to be far away from the requirements of EN50131. Installers already following good practices and installing quality products will be more than half way towards meeting the requirements and processes of the new European standards. Conversely, if an installer is only just meeting the minimum requirements of BS4737, the effects and changes required by new the standards will be far greater.

Such installers are going to have to raise their game or their businesses will undoubtedly suffer. Currently there is significant variance in the standard of BS4737 installations, based on the performance and features of the products used. The introduction of the new standards and security grading will bring a greater level of consistency to the specifications of the products installed for each security grade. This should provide a more level playing field for installation companies and greater consistency in services provided to the end user.

How can manufacturers help?

The quick answer is by providing products and support material which meets the new standards. The reality of achieving this is a little more involved. Whilst I previously stated that the overall impact of the new European standards is not a major philosophy change for the UK intruder security industry, the performance of intruder alarm products is significantly impacted.

As with high quality installation companies, leading manufacturers will be far better positioned to develop products that comply with the new standard, leaving other manufacturers with a lot of ground to cover. That said, all manufacturers will have invested heavily in major developments in order to bring EN50131-1 compliant products to the market place.

Large gaps in the EN standards meant a guide had to be created for the UK security industry

In addition, all manufacturers must provide clear and concise information about these products, to make it as easy as possible for designers, surveyors and installers to choose the correct products for the installation.

For example, manufactures must be very clear about the rating of power supplies; it is no longer acceptable to rate a power supply as the full capacity of the supply. Ratings should now be based on the current which is actually available for peripherals, allowing sufficient reserve for operation on battery standby and the current draw from each of the peripheral products.

There will undoubtedly be differences in product and installation costs between each of the security grades. However, it would be a false economy to compromise the security grade in order to satisfy the price requirements. It should be the risk assessment, rather than the budget that determines the security grade.

Additional services – such as providing back-up support and training to installers – will be important. Leading manufacturers such as Honeywell, have a responsibility to make the introduction of PD6662 and EN50131 as easy as possible for the installer.

As an industry we need to be ready to embrace the changes. There is much to be done, industry wide, to meet the October 1st deadline, but it will be worth it in the end. In truth these changes will enable our industry to provide a consistently higher level of services and products to the end user.

Reluctance to adopt change

Unfortunately, the process of generating and gaining approval for this EN document has been lengthy, leading to fragmentation of the EN suite of documents. It has resulted in some of the standards being available and some not being available. This inconsistency in availability – and in some cases the ambiguity and vagueness of the EN standards themselves – has provoked an understandable reluctance from each of the countries to adopt the new standards.

Much like the UK, they have resisted this change and continued on with their familiar national standards. More recently, as each of the EN documents has been improved and issued, there has been increasing pressure to adopt the new EN standards. As a result each of the EU countries has had to define a date of withdrawal for their national standards and implementation of the new EN standards.

In the UK, the new EN standards were introduced with a dual-running period within which intruder alarm installations could be fitted to either BS4737 or EN50131-1. However, the original problem of the EN suite of standards not being complete still existed, leaving large gaps in the new suite of standards. In order to solve this problem, the UK security industry decided to create a guide that would determine the scheme to be used as the new EN50131 suite of standards was introduced.

This guide is known as PD6662 – Scheme for the application of European Standards for intruder and hold-up alarm systems. Therefore, in the UK, security installations will not be indicated as compliant to EN50131-1, but rather they will be shown as compliant to PD6662.

Drafting and gaining agreement for PD6662 was a significant task, resulting in the document only being published in the middle of 2004 (PD6662:2004). As a result of the delay in publishing, the dual-running period for BS and EN standards has been extended until 1st October 2005, after which time only PD6662:2004 compliant sites will be accepted in the UK. Sites installed to BS4737 will NOT be acceptable.

What does the document say?

PD6662 tells us which intruder alarm system standards and versions should be applied. The European standards included are:

• EN50131-1 – general System Requirements (replaces BS4737 Part 1)
• EN50131-6 – Power Supplies
• EN50131-7 – Intruder Alarm Application Guidelines (replaces BS4737 Parts 4.1 & 4.2)
• EN50136-x-x - Alarm Transmission Systems

Each of the standards listed above is at a different state with regards being published, under review or classified as technical specification prior to being published. But PD6662 is clear on which versions should be used for the foreseeable future. All other areas of the intruder alarm systems will still be covered by the existing parts of BS4737 Part 3.x.

PD6662:2004, includes guidelines for Warning Devices for which there is no current published European standard. These guidelines cover housing, performance, location, power supply and operation. Guidance is also provided regarding the maintenance of intruder alarm systems. This is split into four sections:

• Preventative maintenance
• Frequency of preventative maintenance
• Remote system checks
• Corrective maintenance

The maintenance check requirements are not dramatically different from those carried out by most installers today. However, it is noteworthy that an option has been provided to allow for installations which would require two maintenance site visits per year to replace each alternative site visit with a remote system check.

The frequency of preventative maintenance checks as listed in PD6662:2004 are:

• Grade 1 (Low Risk) One site visit per year
• Grade 2X* (Low to Medium Risk, non-communicating systems) One site visit per year
• Grade 2 (Low to Medium Risk) & Grade 3 (Medium to High Risk) Two site visits per year OR one site visit plus one remote system check per year
• Grade 4 (High Risk) Two site visits per year

*Grade 2X is a new grade specifically generated for the UK security industry which allows for non-communicating grade 2 systems. All other requirements of grade 2 remain.

Remote system check

The addition of the remote system check option has a significant impact on the intruder alarm system, the PC support packages and, not least, installation company's maintenance and revenue processes. Whilst the option to replace a yearly site visit with a remote check may be appealing from a labour saving perspective, it can only be achieved if the intruder alarm products and remote PC applications are designed to provide the system detail required to meet the guidelines of PD6662. This will make choosing the correct product critical.

Intruder alarm products that can support the remote checking function will need to contain the necessary intelligence to derive suitable diagnostic information. This will, in turn, make intruder alarm systems more intelligent, giving the installer an opportunity to take a proactive rather than reactive approach to intruder alarm maintenance.

Systems will flag up problems

If an intruder alarm system has the intelligence to tell you its state of 'health', then it can advise you automatically when its performance drops below a pre-determined operational threshold. This will alert users and installers to problems before they become critical and affect system performance.

Additionally, products that provide diagnostic information enable the installation service personnel to obtain details remotely about the alarm system's 'health', prior to attending a reported system failure.

This will allow them to go to site pre-armed with accurate information and the replacement equipment required to resolve the issue, avoiding a return visit and making them more efficient.

Installers will have new options regarding the levels of service they provide, which could enhance their businesses and, by providing a better level of service, enhance their reputation.

Finally, PD6662:2004 caters for those areas where requirements for the new European Standards are not yet in harmony with the UK security industry. PD6662:2004 includes modifications to the European standard in order to make them workable in the UK. Examples are: a reduction in the battery standby period and the addition of a new notification option, specifically to cater for non-communicating systems.

Watch out for seminars

In summary, PD6662:2004 is critical to the success of the withdrawal of the national BS4737 standards and the implementation of the European 50131 standards. Not having this document would be like trying to complete a jigsaw puzzle without seeing the picture.