Maintenance & Monitoring

 BAC can Maintain and Monitor nearly any type of system

Why is it important to have your systems Maintained?

Unfortunately, many people see system maintenance as just another bill to pay. This is not the case and should be seen as an investment that will pay dividends in a worst-case scenario.

Imagine the potential cost of a break-in or fire within your business? If you’ve gone to the expense of installing a system for the purpose of protecting your livelihood and staff, why would you not take steps to ensure its working perfectly and operational 24/7?

What are the REAL benefits of having a Maintenance Contract?

  • Regular maintenance is proven to help increase the service life of your systems.
  • Maintenance logs and engineer reports evidence your compliance through SSAIB and BAFE Standards.
  • Degradation reports allow you to budget for future upgrades or repairs.
  • Gives you peace of mind that your business and staff are protected.
SSAIB Certified
BAFE Registered - BAFE Fire Safety Register

What is included in a BAC Maintenance contract?

  • Your Planned Annual Maintenance visit(s) included
  • Access to Emergency Engineer response 24/7/365*
  • Guaranteed response time of 4 hours maximum
  • Reduced Calls out and Labour charges in the event of a system fault*
  • Free and Unlimited Phone based technical support 24/7/365
  • Engineer reports following each visit with updating of system log books
  • Responsive Helpdesk during office hours

What System types can BAC maintain?

BAC is accredited and approved to Repair and Maintain the following system types.

  • Conventional Fire Alarms
  • Addressable Fire Alarms
  • Intruder Alarms 
  • CCTV Systems 
  • Access Control & Door Entry Systems 
  • Telecare Systems 
  • Car Park Barriers 

*Charges vary depending on level of Cover

What if I have a System that wasn’t originally Installed by BAC?

BAC is more than happy to take over or repair systems installed by someone else. In order to be completely accurate and pre-empty any possible problems, a surveyor will be sent to assess the system prior to generating a quotation for the necessary work. This survey is free and without obligation.

Emergency callouts to non-BAC systems can also be provided. These call outs are dependent on the system being ‘Unlocked’ and may incur additional costs should our engineers have to unlock your panel(s) or require additional labour to reprogram the system(s).

Monitoring and Keyholding Services

When your property is empty, unless its alarms are monitored you are reliant on the kindness of strangers to call the relevant emergency services and report any activation. How many times have you walked or driven past a building whose alarm is going off? Did you stop and report it, or ignore it and assume it was a false alarm? Be honest.

BAC has a wide range of monitoring services which means that signals sent to the ARC from your system will be dealt with in the appropriate manner, whether it’s a Fire, Break-in, Activation of a Panic button or just reporting the system being set and unset.

Monitored customers can relax knowing that their alarms will not be ignored when you aren’t there and if necessary, the emergency services will be contacted on their behalf.

Find out more about our Keyholding service here >

The following monitoring services are available, the level of security varying depending on the level of risk and of course budget.

Entry Level Self-Monitoring: Push Notifications to your Smart Device

 Depending on your type of panel, BAC can set up Self-monitoring of your commercial alarm allowing push notifications to your smart phone or nominated device. If the alarm is triggered, it will send a message to alert you. If you the decide that this is due to a genuine threat, you can then alert your keyholders or the police immediately. As this format of monitoring is not linked to our ARC, it relies on your phone having service to receive the notification and you being available to action it. Due to the restrictions of Self-monitoring you should always consider a contingent plan should you be on holidays, in a different time-zone, or in an area with limited phone signal.

Single Path Monitoring via GPRS

This solution offers connection to the ARC through use of an inbuilt WorldSIM® card. This allows it to communicate with the ARC via the UK’s mobile networks. The unit searches for the strongest signal available and connects in seconds. The main benefits of the single path GPRS is the fact that it does not require a dedicated phone line and subsequently saves the user this additional cost each year.

Dual Path Signalling

As the name suggests Dual path signalling involves connection to 2 routes of communication. The first is via a WorldSIM® which works in the same way as the Single path option. The second path can be either a landline, an IP connection using your businesses Internet, or even another WorldSIM® connecting to a different set of networks. The two routes provide an inbuilt contingent should one of the paths fail or be tampered with. In this circumstance the ARC will be alerted and take the appropriate actions.

Although a more expensive and complicated option than single path signalling, dual path signalling is far more secure and the preferred format with insurance companies.

Why should I have my Intruder Alarm monitored?

There are many reasons why monitored systems are beneficial. You rely on your intruder alarm to protect your property, so it makes sense to be notified of any problems when you’re not there. Monitoring not only reports activations but can also allow BAC to remotely diagnose problems, or even give early warning that a piece of equipment is reaching the end of its life. Having the ability to diagnose and predict breakdowns before they happen can be invaluable to business owners when it comes to protecting their interests.

Why should I have my Fire Alarm monitored?  

Your business is probably one of the Tens of thousands across the UK that have a Fire alarm. Your system is designed to notify you immediately of any Fire, protecting your staff, Stock and ultimately your business. The following is a Hypothetical but sadly not uncommon Business Fire scenario.

It’s 10:15am on a Tuesday and a small fire breaks out in an electrical cupboard. The Fire Alarm goes off and your staff call 999 to summon the Fire brigade. Once the call was made, The Fire brigade arrived within minutes and promptly extinguished the fire. Shortly afterwards they confirmed it was safe to return. The building was aired, staff returned and a small clean up began whilst usual operations continued.

During normal opening hours this thankfully works well as your staff can confirm if the Fire is real or not and take the appropriate action.

Now, take the same scenario as above……but this time the system is NOT monitored and the Fire activation occurs on a Sunday afternoon. Your business has a comprehensive fire alarm and it was installed in full accordance with UK Standards. As a responsible business owner, you ensure that your staff carry out weekly tests and you have a full maintenance contract in place to ensure the fire alarm is kept in full working order. You are conscientious and your business is compliant, but……there is no fire alarm monitoring in place.

So, the Fire starts at 17:00 on a Sunday but the building is empty. The Fire Alarm has worked perfectly, detecting the smoke and activating the sounders. However, this time there is nobody on site to hear them and make the call.  The Fire most likely takes hold, spreading through the building and growing in strength by the minute. Someone passing finally notices a bright orange glow and calls 999. At this point it is generally be too late to save anything.

Sadly, the statistics speak for themselves with over 70% of businesses involved in a major fire not reopening, or if they do subsequently fail within 3 years of the fire.

Thankfully this scenario is very easy to avoid by having your Fire Alarm monitored. BAC can install a small Communication module called a DualCom Pro that takes over from your staff when the building is empty. When your Fire Alarm is monitored it will contact an ARC (Alarm Response Centre) and summon the Fire Brigade automatically in the event of a fire.

For less than a pound a day, this service makes the difference between arriving to find your business in ashes, or arriving to find a burnt-out appliance that was quickly dealt with and just leaving some minor repairs and cleaning up required.

When you weigh it up, the cost of Fire Alarm monitoring is insignificant when compared to the cost of your business.

Setting up Brigade or Police Response

BAC can arrange for your system to be automatically attended by the appropriate emergency services. This is dependent on the System meeting the current regulations and it being professionally maintained.

How does it work?

Fire Alarms: When your Fire Alarm activates during your normal opening hours, the ARC will then contact the site. If no answer can be gained, they will assume the building has been evacuated and despatch the Brigade immediately. However, if the activation occurs outside of normal opening hours the Brigade will be despatched immediately upon receipt of the signal.

Intruder Alarms: When your Intruder Alarm activates, the ARC will look at the type of activation before making a decision. If the signal is reporting a single activation (Just one detector has triggered), they will contact your nominated key holders, however is the signal is a ‘Conformed activation’ (more than one detector has picked up movement) the ARC knows that there is definitely someone on site and so will despatch the Police to site immediately.

Setting Up Keyholding Guard Response

Much like the Brigade or Police response, BAC can arrange for you to have a professional Keyholding service which provides security guard response in the event of an activation. When you take out keyholding BAC will list our Guard team as your keyholders, this means that in the event of an activation our ARC will despatch professional Security Guards to attend to your property.

As your keyholders you will need to provide them with a set of their own keys, as well as a dedicated alarm code or proximity fob. Keyholding customers will receive a full Guard report the next morning outlining any actions taken during the night.

See our Keyholding Page for more details >