WH International Response Center (WHIRC) recently received its Underwriter’s Laboratories (UL) listing as a central monitoring station for the 24th straight year, dating back to 1994. This means WHIRC has met or exceeded quality, safety and training standards set by UL. WHIRC is committed to exceeding UL's standards to ensure continuity of quality service to its customers. 

Monitoring companies and standards and certifications companies such as UL are keeping a close eye on the rapid advances in technology. New requirements are in place for UL 827, which is the standard for central station alarm services, which take effect mid-2020. This UL standard update not only improves the security of all data and information, but also increases the dependability and redundancies to protect that data. 

WHIRC continues to stay up to date with technology and embraces the changes to the new UL standards. The effective date for the requirements was pushed back earlier this year as some monitoring centers were unable to meet the new requirements in the original time frame. However, WHIRC completed the necessary updates and is already compliant with all the new 2020 standards. 

WHIRC also recently renewed the TMA Five Diamond Monitoring Center designation from The Monitoring Association (TMA). This designation is granted annually to monitoring centers that satisfy all of the requirements of the “five points of excellence.” 

The TMA Five Diamond designation means that a monitoring company has demonstrated an exceptionally high degree of responsibility to their businesses and their customers through the investment of time, money and commitment to quality operator training. 

There are approximately 2,700 monitoring centers in the United States. Fewer than 200 have achieved the Five Diamond designation.