Tag Archive for: Alarm monitoring

What is a UL Listed Monitoring Center?

If our Officers and alarm systems are the heart of First Response Security, then iWatch, our in-house UL listed central  monitoring station, is the brain. Our highly trained operators are constantly in contact with our professionals in the field, monitoring alarms and surveillance, dispatching officers, keeping accounts updated and answering a truly impressive amount of calls each day.

And while we’re very proud of our operators and our in-house monitoring center’s UL listing, we understand that not everyone knows exactly what a UL listed monitoring center is. Here is a brief breakdown of UL and how our UL listing is just another part of our Mission towards providing a Higher Standard of security solutions.

What is UL?

UL stands for Underwriters Laboratories, a global safety science company based out of Illinois. OSHA has approved the agency for administering safety testing in the U.S. Basically, UL creates a series of “Standards” that companies must meet to become UL listed or certified.

UL works with government agencies as well as companies in the alarm and fire safety industries (plus many others). They hold companies to high standards of safety and security by testing, inspecting and evaluating alarm systems and monitoring centers for reliability. In addition to this, they also perform a surprise evaluation each year to ensure that the UL listed company remains operating at the highest standard.

What does it mean to be a UL listed central station?

In short, being a UL listed central station means that our monitoring center is held to the highest possible safety standards. The tests are scrupulous and detailed, evaluating everything from the building to alarm monitoring processes. Becoming a UL listed central station requires utilizing two backup generators that can keep the building’s power supply steady for hours on end in case of a power outage, installing emergency lighting in and around the building, building a man trap before entering the premises, ensuring server and internet redundancy, having two operators on duty at all times…the list goes on.

What does a UL listed monitoring center do?

This will vary by company. Our monitoring center, iWatch, monitors residential and commercial intrusion alarms and fire systems, dispatches officers to answer alarm notifications, acts as a virtual guard for video surveillance and provides answering services for security companies all over the country.

What does working with a UL listed monitoring center do for you?

You can bask in the additional peace of mind that comes from knowing that a UL listed central station like ours has been through some of the most rigorous safety and security testing in the United States — and UL will continue to evaluated us on upholding these standards for years to come.