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Articles by Morgan Hertel
Artificial Intelligence-Assisted Alarm Monitoring Development, Part 1
So far, every conversation about artificial intelligence in alarm monitoring has been about the alarms themselves — including video verification, false-alarm suppression, operator triage, agentic AI and how it’s going to replace people in monitoring centers. Almost none of it has been about the software underneath: the platforms that route signals, manage accounts and keep central stations running at more than 99.999% uptime.
Monitoring Matters: The Ethical Use of AI in Security, Part 2
In the first half of this column on ethical artificial intelligence usage, we looked at a couple of different models: The EU AI Act (Regulatory/Mandatory) and ISO/IEC 42001 (International Standard). Let’s spend this column looking in-depth at a third model: the NIST AI Risk Management Framework (Voluntary/U.S. Standard) This is put together by NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), is 48 pages and can be found at NIST AI Framework.
Monitoring Matters: The Ethical Use of AI in Security, Part 1
With ISC West 2026 set to take place this month at The Venetian Expo in Las Vegas, artificial intelligence (AI) will most certainly be a very large part of virtually all the conversations going on at the show. Just about every vendor will no doubt either have an AI solution or be working on one. I believe we are at the outside edge of where AI can take us, both good and bad.
How We Can Do a Better Job Explaining Our Value to the World
In the past 15 years, it seems that there has been a steep increase in violence toward places including schools, places of worship and other public spaces. These tragic incidents are now becoming an almost-weekly occurrence with no foreseeable reduction in sight. I could go on and on about the “why,” but that’s not what this article is about.
Where Does It All Begin?
Have you ever pondered where a product or service starts? I realize that this might be a chicken-or-egg conversation. But consider a company or a monitoring center at its roots and how it arrived at a point at which it succeeded or perhaps failed, and you wondered why it failed. The companies that get to say that they’re part of the “Best of the Best” usually didn’t get there by accident; it was the result of a disciplined approach to how the organization grows and is run.
What is Matter and Why Does it Matter in Monitoring?
Let’s start with the premise that electronic devices of all kinds within buildings and homes can help monitoring centers better gain situational awareness. Combining these devices with artificial intelligence can provide an illustration of what behavior is typical versus what is an anomaly.
Monitoring Matters: Winter Means an Upswing in Carbon Monoxide Issues
It’s that time of the year: the weather is getting colder, snow is here in parts of the country and people are busy firing up furnaces, fireplaces and wall heaters. It’s also the time of year when carbon monoxide alarms will be occurring. There are a lot of reasons that CO events start to occur, and it really shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone why. But it is important to understand so that service companies can effectively service accounts that are generating alarm events.
Monitoring Matters: Why It’s Crucial for PSAP Implementation to Continue
ASAP to PSAP is the alarm industry’s electronic platform on which a monitoring center can create an electronic message to law enforcement, the fire department or emergency medical services to request a call for service or dispatch. It is a national service intended to increase the efficiency and reliability of emergency services. The goal of this article is to get SSI readers up to speed and help them understand why this is important to the industry and to them.
Monitoring Matters: Cash May Be King, but Data is Golden in the Security World
We hear a lot about data these days — and, actually, it can be overwhelming with what’s available to us. But that is in the aggregate. On the ground level, data is extremely valuable in our everyday lives as business owners. When I moved to Tennessee four-plus years ago, the local electrical co-op had the ability to transmit a variety of account-specific text messages.
Monitoring Matters: Alarm Industry Innovation Needed Now More Than Ever
When I started in the industry in the late ’70s, most new systems were digital dialers with keylocks or some other mechanical devices like a simplex lock. By the mid-’80s, various types of keypads started to emerge and become the norm. Some of these new keypads just triggered a relay that was connected to a keylock input, and some were just starting to get integrated into the control panel. Many of you might remember the 12-wire keypads back then.
Monitoring Matters: The Real Cost of False Alarms
I want to pause the issue of how to prevent false alarms and, here, talk about their true costs. Although I understand there are a number of meanings for the term “false alarms,” I want to look at two scenarios: In the first, the alarm is triggered but results in no dispatch. I’ll refer to this as a false alarm. The second is when it turns into a “call for service,” which is how a public safety service would classify it. Both are important, but they mean different things.
The Monitoring Association Names Industry Executive Steve Butkovich Its 37th President
McLEAN, Va. – The Monitoring Association (TMA) has announced Steve Butkovich, chief product officer of CPI Security Systems, as its new president. Butkovich officially began his two-year term on Nov. 8 at the conclusion of TMA’s 2023 Annual Meeting in Maui, Hawaii. Butkovich recently served a two-year term as TMA vice president, serving on the TMA board leading up to his presidency. He succeeds Morgan Hertel of Rapid Response Monitoring, Inc., as the association president.
Monitoring Matters: AI, Deep Learning Could Revolutionize the Alarm Industry
When I first started in the alarm industry, the company I worked for had a small monitoring center. You could almost touch all sides of the room with both hands when sitting in the middle of the room. It was manned with two people who were so close, they could hear each other breathing. Back then, we had one protocol for all the intrusion alarms and all the information we fit on a 5×7 paper index card that was used to keep track of the various phone numbers and all the zones.
Adding Perspective on Today’s AI Abilities
In March I was at the ISC West show in Las Vegas and to say the show was a success would be an understatement. This year’s buzzword and products centered around AI, or artificial intelligence. By the end of the show, I was pretty sure that AI not only could be used in security applications but might also make you breakfast and tie your shoes.
What Goes Into Creating and Approving Industry Standards? More Than You Think
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about a number of issues facing our industry — permanent work-from-home additions to the UL 827 standard that allows central station agents to work from home; TMA AVS-01, which is a scoring standard that allows central stations the ability to “score” an alarm event; and even NFPA 72, the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code — have all had recent changes or additions made to them or have been newly created.
Why the New AVS-01 Alarm Standard Could Be a Gamechanger
I have been in this business since 1979 and have seen a lot of changes, new ideas, new products, new ways of doing things — including determining the validity of an intrusion alarm. When I first started and worked for a small full-service alarm company with its own central station, the policy was to dispatch immediately when you received an alarm; there were no calls, no two-way audio, nothing. An alarm and a dispatch, and then you notified the call lists.
Bold Converge Conference Reveals What Security Providers Want
Last month, I was able to attend the Bold Converge Conference in Florida. Normally, Bold has held two different meetings: one for accounting and the other for monitoring automation. However, this year they decided to combine the two disciplines and have one event with different tracks.
The War on POTS: Making the Move to VoIP
Moving your accounts from POTs lines to VoIP will ultimately save you time and increase the value of your company, but more importantly it will provide your subscribers solid and reliable communications into the future. When I first started in this industry in 1979, a small family-run alarm company in Southern California was just starting to monitor digital dialers — up until then, most were direct-connects of various types, along with tape dialers.
The War on POTS: Making the Move to Alternate Technologies
Moving your accounts from POTS lines to an alternate technology will ultimately save you time and increase the value of your company, but more importantly it will provide your subscribers solid and reliable communications into the future. When I first started in this industry in 1979, a small family-run alarm company in Southern California was just starting to monitor digital dialers — up until then, most were direct-connects of various types, along with tape dialers.
Monitoring Value: Do You Know Your Company’s True Worth?
Today, buyers and lenders have much different metrics when it comes to determining what a fair and equitable purchase price is for a given customer base. We all know this: there is no guarantee how long anything will last. Your health, your marriage, the roof over your head … these and more are all critical, and yet, we too often resist the foresight, with which we are all blessed, to prepare for these and other of life’s changes.
Get Ready to Change the Way You Think About Security Technology
New systems will no longer have a static set of features. Instead, they will be sold on the merits of how fast they can solve problems and how much they cost. There is one part of my job I enjoy above all the others, not just because it allows me to evaluate cutting-edge technologies but because it grants me insights into the future of our industry and, really, into the future of our way of life.
Why Integrators Who Prioritize Convenience Are Poised for Success
There is one thing that is certain about how we perceive a customer experience, and that is we remember it for a very long time. We all have different expectations, requirements and manner of getting things done, but customers do too, and once we part there is either a lasting smile on our faces or a sour taste in our mouths that just won’t go away.
Why Providing Convenience to Customers Is Key
A good many monitoring center customers have strong preferences on how they would like to interact with an associate. There is one thing that is certain about how we perceive a customer experience, and that is we remember it for a very long time. We all have different expectations, requirements and manner of getting things done, but customers do too, and once we part there is either a lasting smile on our faces or a sour taste in our mouths that just won’t go away.
Finding the Right ‘Stuff’ - Examining New Technologies in Security
New systems will no longer have a static set of features. Instead, they will be sold on the merits of how fast they can solve our unique problems and how much will it cost. There is one part of my job I enjoy above all the others, not just because it allows me to evaluate cutting-edge technologies but because it grants me insights into the future of our industry and, really, into the future of our way of life.
Evolving Monitoring Center Standards in the Age of COVID
Due to success with working from home, some organizations want to modify UL 827 to allow for a permanent change that would, in essence, allow remote monitoring during normal nonemergent times. COVID-19 seemed to come out of nowhere, but by March of 2020 its global prevalence and fast-growing threat nationwide had completely changed how monitoring centers operated day-to-day.
Pandemic Highlights Central Station Dependability and Value
While Internet providers and even 911 centers experience occasional outages, central stations have become virtually indestructible thanks to their strong foundations. Editor’s Note: This article originally was featured in our sister publication, Security Sales & Integration. We are running it because third-party central stations are an excellent option for schools, institutions of higher education and healthcare facilities that need reliable communications/dispatch centers.
How Central Stations Repeatedly Demonstrate Dependability
While Internet providers and even 911 centers experience occasional outages, central stations have become virtually indestructible thanks to strong foundations. This year has brought about many societal changing events including COVID-19, civil unrest, work from home initiatives and the shutdown of parts of America. I think we can all agree that our industry and the country as a whole has seen an immense amount of challenges and change this year.
Working From Home: Temporary or Forever?
In short, from a technical standpoint, monitoring center operators working from home is not a huge challenge to implement and maintain; it’s all the other rules that make it a challenge. When COVID-19 was recognized as a pandemic in January, and the immediate reaction for most businesses was to move people home to work, the monitoring industry realized it faced a host of problems that stood in the way. Technical problems not withstanding – for the most part, they were manageable.
How to Operate a Central Station During a Pandemic
Without question, the short-term effects of COVID-19 will be difficult to overcome, and the long-term effects will be difficult to foresee. Here are tips for maintaining the status quo. We are now about two months since the outbreak of the COVID-19 coronavirus was deemed a pandemic. Who would have thought on New Year’s Day, a day traditionally reserved for optimism, that in just a few weeks our lives would be forever changed?
Evolving Technology & Costs: The New Paradigms in Monitoring
There will be several new “paradigms” emerging all of which will impact the costs of monitoring. As an industry, we need to consider them very carefully. It isn’t surprising that many mass marketing organizations in our industry have shifted down and changed the way they do business. Nor is the reason obscure: giving away hundreds of dollars of alarm equipment as an incentive for new customers no longer makes sense in the face of the rapidly growing costs of subscriber acquisition.
There’s More to PERS Than You Probably Think
The market for personal emergency response monitoring is growing and so are the possibilities. Here’s a handful of use cases you may not have thought of. It's an exciting time to engage in mobile personal emergency response systems services. PERS Monitoring as just “medical monitoring,” but it’s actually much more. Break down the term and here’s what you have: Personal; adjective of, affecting, or belonging to a particular person rather than to anyone else.
Why Central Stations Must Adapt to These Changing Consumer Communications
Central stations and call centers need to be able to meet the demands of different standards to be able to serve their clients and end users universally and effectively. The concept of unified messaging has certainly been a buzz phrase of late but it can mean many different things to one and all.
Why Combining A/V & AI Might Finally Lower the False Alarm Rate
Video and audio verification are helping to reduce calls for service, but more is needed to combat the human error of false alarms. The alarm industry has been contending with false alarms for well over a hundred years. We have made great strides in improving detection equipment such that most newer installations, installed properly, rarely have a false alarm problem caused by the components.
How to Regain Lost Time, Potential Profit by Analyzing Monitoring Center Processes
Rapid Response Vice President Morgan Hertel shares why it’s necessity to measure, automate and maximize everything monitoring centers do. The next five years in the rapidly changing monitoring business are going to be fascinating. As an industry, we are facing many significant challenges that must be overcome individually in order for companies to maintain competitive monitoring operations — this includes full-service, proprietary and wholesale centers.
How Do Location Services Work?
What exactly are location services and how do they work? Here’s how GPS, WiFi, cell towers and beacons work to pinpoint a location. Location technology seems to be one of the most confusing aspects in the alarm monitoring and mobile PERS (mPERS) spaces. Let’s review the relevant technologies, but try to keep up to date because as you know technology changes quickly.
When is a Human Better Than Artificial Intelligence?
I was recently asked, “Do you ever think the day will come where critical events call centers will be automated to the point where specialists are not required anymore?” Actually, I had to stop and think about this for a while. I began an internal debate by listing all of the things that central stations do every day (that list got big pretty quickly).
Is Artificial Intelligence the Future of Critical Events Call Centers?
aI was recently asked, “Do you ever think the day will come where critical events call centers will be automated to the point where specialists are not required anymore?” Actually, I had to stop and think about this for a while. I began an internal debate by listing all of the things that central stations do every day (that list got big pretty quickly).
Is Artificial Intelligence the Future of Critical Events Call Centers?
Here’s why critical events call centers still need human involvement, despite the accomplishments of artificial intelligence. Even with the growing presence of artificial intelligence, the human element remains critical in managing emergencies.
AI Is Great, but the Human Element Remains Essential
Rapid Response’s Morgan Hertel explains why, although AI can accomplish great things, some scenarios still need a human touch. I was recently asked, “Do you ever think the day will come where critical events call centers will be automated to the point where specialists are not required anymore?” Actually, I had to stop and think about this for a while. I began an internal debate by listing all of the things that central stations do every day (that list got big pretty quickly).
Security Integrators: It's Time to Learn About Security Robots and Surveillance Drones - Commercial Integrator
Automotive manufacturers were among the first to embrace a societal shift by assigning many production line tasks to machines. This allowed them to complete projects quicker, cheaper, and with greater accuracy. Make no mistake: in security integration, we’re in the age of security robots and surveillance drones. With unemployment rates at unprecedented low levels, it is becoming more challenging to add human resources.
Why Robotics for Security Is Here to Stay
From more informed alarm response to greater detection possibilities, make no mistake — security robotics is not a passing fad. As a society we are changing almost daily. Political perspectives, advances in healthcare and changes in education structure are just a few of the rapidly changing areas.
3 Ways Security Pros Can Address DIY Disruption
Security dealers need to keep doing what they’ve always done — provide unbelievable service, personal relationships and face-to-face expertise. But now they must also provide the features and services that DIY companies are going to be providing. Get out there and understand what all this “new stuff ” does and how you can meet the needs of the consumers. This year was ushered in with a huge announcement that ADT would be offering an IPO with an estimated valuation of a whopping $15 billion.
Why the Alarm Industry and Central Stations Need to Embrace Togetherness
There are lots of cute sayings like “two degrees of separation” or concepts like “the domino effect” that can describe certain relationships, but traditionally the alarm industry and the central station community have run in very distinct and separate silos.
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