There are over 2,700 monitoring centers in the United States. Of that 2,700, less than 200 of them can say that they have earned The Monitoring Association Five Diamond designation. And to no surprise, AvantGuard has not only earned that designation, but continued to maintain and renew it.
What an Alarm Monitoring Center Must Do to Receive The Designation
Earning the Five Diamond designation, let alone keeping it year after year is no easy feat. First there are “five commitments to excellence” that an alarm monitoring center must adhere to in order to receive the accolade. These five commitments include:
- Commitment to ongoing job-related education and testing by having 100% of its monitoring center operators certified using the TMA online training series on industry best practices
- Commitment to random inspections and quality criteria standards by a nationally recognized testing laboratory such as FM Approvals, Intertek/ETL and UL
- Commitment to raising the industry standards through TMA membership and participation in its activities
- Commitment to reducing false dispatches
- Commitment to the highest levels of customer service
Even though that may seem like an extensive amount of requirements to meet, that’s not all. Operators must also meet a certain standard of excellence, and for good reason — operators are the ones who deal with customers on a day-to-day basis. Without the service of the operators, monitoring centers would cease to exist.
The requirements that operators must adhere to are:
- Proficiency in alarm confirmation process, which helps reduce false alarms
- Proficiency in communications with Public Service Answering Points, such as the Emergency 911 centers
- Knowledge of electronic communications equipment, including, cellular, radio and internet communication systems
- An understanding of the codes and standards of such organizations as Underwriters Laboratories, Factory Mutual, the National Fire Protection Association and others
- Proficiency in the area of emergency preparedness under a wide scenario of possibilities
AvantGuard takes great pride in hiring and training operators. In fact, their in-depth training and vetting of operators for specific personality and characteristic traits is what makes AvantGuard Monitoring Center operators different.
If you want to partner with a Five Diamond alarm monitoring center that not only provides full service monitoring, but hybrid options as well, reach out to AvantGuard today.
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