Honeywell, Northford, Conn., announced its IP (Internet Protocol) and cellular fire alarm communicator has been found to be compliant with Government Services Administration (GS) security policies following an extensive evaluation by its Public Building Service (PBS) IT Security Team.
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SIA Standards announced that John Romanowich of SightLogix Inc. was appointed the chair of the newly-formed SIA Standards Perimeter Security Subcommittee.
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3M Cogent, Pasadena, Calif., a global provider of biometric identification solutions to government agencies and commercial enterprises, announced that its MiY-ID Gov biometric access control reader is the first product to be certified as an approved biometric authentication system by the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) in accordance with FIPS 201 standard.
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HID Global, announced the availability of its pivCLASS® Government Solutions portfolio, an integrated product suite that enables the U.S. federal government, government contractors and other facilities to comply with federal identity mandates without having to replace their existing physical access control system (PACS).
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ONVIF hosted its fitfth interoperability Demonstration on Thursday, March 29, during ISC West in Las Vegas. Attendees had an opportunity to network, see the newest of ONVIF’s 1,600 conformant network video products at work, and hear about the organization’s plans to future-proof the security industry.
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In 2007, the Electronic Security Association (ESA) received approval for ESA's first standard, ANSI/ESA SRSS-01-2007, the Standard for Remote Supervising Station. This standard, developed by ESA, provided a guide for the monitoring of fire alarm systems at a remote station as identified in NFPA 72.

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SDM recently reported on a new police non-response policy in San Jose, Calif. (March issue, pg. 19). With approximately 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States, 2,300 active alarm ordinances and differing alarm policies in each community, the Security Industry Alarm Coalition (SIAC) is offering the industry the use of a secure database on its website with constantly updated information on alarm ordinance/policy activity.
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ONVIF, a global standardization initiative for IP-based physical security products, announced that it held its sixth Developer’s Plug Fest earlier this month, an event that drew representatives from more than 20 different manufacturers that have implemented the ONVIF specification in their IP surveillance products.
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It’s today’s spaghetti western. But, instead of the cut-and-dry of movie stars like Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach, rules and regulations that impact today’s system integrator cut myriad ways — there is some good in the bad, there is some bad in the good, and there can be beauty in the ugly — and all are seemingly ever-changing. Regulations can be cumbersome and expensive; some generate more business or higher profits for the integrator; there are reasonable and effective ones; some are unfair.
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Two U.S. cities announced new non-response policies for unverified alarms in 2011. The Detroit Police Department enacted its policy in August and the San Jose, Calif. PD, followed by announcing a very similar plan a few days before Christmas. As law enforcement budgets are cut across the country and many look to reduce false alarm dispatches to boost efficiency, California and Michigan alarm companies are not the only ones watching these policies.
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