Intrusion and security systems

An intrusion alarm system tells you, or a monitoring centre, when someone enters a protected area who should not. We design intrusion systems for commercial, institutional and industrial buildings so that they detect real intrusions, avoid the false alarms that wear out everyone's patience, and work with the access control and video systems you already have.

Many buildings have an alarm system that was installed years ago, extended a few times and is now armed by habit. Some zones are always bypassed, the call list is out of date, and nobody is sure what the monitoring centre actually does when a signal comes in. A good design starts with what you need to protect and who will respond, and works back to the sensors.

What we design and build

• Perimeter protection: door and window contacts, overhead door contacts, glass-break detectors and roof hatch contacts.
• Interior protection: motion detectors, beam detectors and protection for high-value rooms such as server rooms, pharmacies, cash offices and stores.
• Hold-up and panic devices at reception desks, cash points and other locations where staff may need to call for help.
• Zoning and partitions: how the building is divided so areas can be armed separately and alarms point responders to the right place.
• Control panels, keypads and communicators, including primary and backup signalling paths to the monitoring centre.
• Integration with access control, so arming and disarming follow who is in the building, and with video, so operators can see what triggered an alarm.
• Exterior and perimeter detection for yards, compounds and fence lines, where the risk calls for it.

Every intrusion system has the same basic shape. Sensors are wired or wirelessly linked to a control panel and grouped into zones. Keypads, card readers or an app arm and disarm the system. When an armed zone trips, the panel sounds local signals and sends the alarm to a monitoring centre over one or more communication paths.

How it works

1. We start with why. What are you protecting: people, stock, equipment, records, controlled substances? What has happened before, what does your insurer require, and who responds to an alarm today?
2. Site survey. We walk the building and site, note every entry point, the areas that are occupied at different times, existing equipment and wiring, lighting, and where access control and cameras are already installed.
3. Design. We lay out sensors, zones and partitions, select the type of each detector for its location, define the arming scheme and the monitoring arrangements, and set out integration with other systems. Where electrical drawings are needed for permit, they are sealed by a licensed professional engineer where required.
4. Response planning. We write down what happens for each type of alarm: who is called, in what order, when police are requested and how alarms are verified.
5. Build and verify. Installation is done by qualified security installers, licensed where the province requires it, with electrical work by licensed electrical contractors under permit. We test every zone end to end, including the signal arriving at the monitoring centre, and record the results.
6. Handover. Users are trained on arming, disarming and what to do after an alarm, and you receive the zone list, drawings and response plan.

What to have ready

• Floor plans and a site plan, marked with areas that are occupied at different hours.
• Details of the existing system: panel make and model, zone list, monitoring contract and call list.
• Alarm history for the past year or two, including false alarms and their causes if known.
• Your insurer's security requirements and any notices from police about false alarms.
• A list of who should be able to arm and disarm which areas.

What you get

A design your installer can price and build from: device layout drawings, a zone and partition schedule, equipment specifications, a riser or block diagram showing panels and communicators, integration details and a written alarm response plan. After installation, you receive the test record for every zone, the as-built drawings and the user training materials.

If your concern is an existing system, we can review it instead: walk the site, compare what is installed with what you need, look at the alarm history for patterns, and recommend changes, from moving a few detectors to replacing the panel.

What we commonly find in existing systems

Who it's for

• Property and facility managers responsible for commercial, industrial and institutional buildings.
• Owners of sites with high-value stock, equipment or controlled materials.
• Organizations with recurring false alarms or alarm response fees.
• Owners renovating or changing tenants, where the existing system no longer fits the layout.
• Security managers planning an integrated approach with access control and video.

For background, read intrusion alarm systems explained, security alarm monitoring and response and layered security design. Related services include access control systems and video surveillance design.

Common questions