Most will make it through

It would only be right to start by thanking Carl Samm, David Hawkins, Alun Jenkins (with his added police experience), Jim Torrance and the others who have brought out into the open the uncomfortable ride installers are experiencing at the moment.

They make a number of valid points and we appreciate that after 35 years of the relative comfort zone of BS 4737 there is a lot of change to embrace and understand.

I will try to answer all the key points raised, using Carl's letter as the focus – fair reward for his courage in putting his head out of the trenches first!

Problematical Hardware

We are aware that there have been problems with Grade 3 movement detectors. However, the European Standards (TS 50131-2-X series) for these detectors were introduced in October 2006. They better define the requirements, including those for detecting masking, and some of the initial problems appear to have been resolved. We are happy to receive details of any residual problems with a view to seeing if these can be solved.

Modern control equipment is heavily software based and Beta testing cannot be rushed. So some software revisions have occurred. It is impossible to predict what revisions might be needed and it is only through trying things out in the real world that thorough testing can be completed. That said, some manufacturers have got it right and the grapevine should by now be letting installers make the right choices.

Risk Assessment - Grading

This too is a genuine bone of contention. Insurers generally drove the grading issue and that's not a bad thing, although it is a new concept and needs careful thought.

What installers should be doing is consulting with insurers wherever possible or taking a considered professional judgement as to what an insurer is likely to expect, based upon the available information.

Installers need to decide which is the highest grade of intruder likely to attack the particular risk they proposing to protect...

Some gradings are relatively clear-cut, whilst others are in the grey. The difficulty is that installers do not know which postal codes are high risk and at what precise stock level a Grade 2 becomes a Grade 3, unless they can obtain this information from insurers.

Maybe the message is that individual installers and insurers need to get a bit closer to each other to understand the issues. We are running seminars for insurers throughout February and March and we will try to get that message across.

Intruder Grades

This is an interesting one and certainly focuses the intruder alarm system in the right area, if fully understood. For the benefit of Carl and Alun whose local experience (thankfully) do not encompass some of the harsher national lessons, maybe these attempts at explaining the intruder 'types' will assist. After all, there are around 350,000 commercial burglaries a year nationally and many result in rich pickings for intruders. We are not criminologists, so we have picked the brains of some forensic expert witnesses who specialise in burglary analysis and investigations.

Grade One: Think in terms of opportunist youngsters who may have relatives involved in a bigger game. The youngsters target the elderly and the careless, open windows, cash lying around, the small easily portable camera etc. Maybe the drug dependent older ones also could be included here. It's a quick in and out of the premises and hundreds rather than thousands of pounds worth of thieving.

Grade Two: These people have done it before, and they understand how intruder systems work. They will generally target the larger domestic property or the smaller commercial ones, and may well use ram-raid/smash and grab techniques if the situation allows. They will be in and out in a few minutes and losses will be in the thousands or maybe tens of thousands. They will generally steal to order, and will likely have had a very good look over the premises beforehand – it's not spontaneous. They will typically attack external warning devices, using wheelie bins or carelessly left aids, and may cut telephone lines. They will have a fair idea of police response times.

Grade Three: This is the serious hardcore professional burglar. They will plan burglaries carefully and most likely survey the premises before striking. At a Leicester University seminar some years ago one burglar declared that he would spend up to four hours to gain entrance to a difficult property. SAB's will very likely be tampered with beforehand (often classed as a false alarm?) and telephone lines will be cut beforehand, and they will wait for the police/keyholder to come and go, pretty safe in the knowledge that they will have hours to work. They will work as teams, with lookouts posted, will have transport vehicles thereabout, though they will often 'borrow' any vehicles found on site. They may well attempt to defeat detectors in key areas by various means, and will disable any internal sounders quickly once inside. Hauls will be hundreds of thousands of pounds and cover a wide range of goods, some surprising. As Alun suggests, they will probably not fiddle with the control panel – but they will try to neutralise the system.

Grade Four: Probably 99 per cent of alarm companies will not get 'involved' in this type of system, just as very few BS 7042 systems were ever installed. Intruders may be terrorists or specialist jewel thieves or bank robbers, and manned guards who may often be in support will likely be made ineffective first.

Broad brush

We genuinely appreciate that after many years of relative stability the nature of this ‘all-change’ market is causing a degree of discomfort for many installers...

This is of course a very broad brush to grading – exceptions always exist! Stock type and value and premises factors are of course relevant to the type of intrusion that may occur.

Installers need to decide which is the highest grade of intruder likely to attack the particular risk they are proposing to protect and specify accordingly. This is the key point. It will, of course, be disappointing in the long run if concerns about Grade 3 equipment performance hinder this grading principle. Manufacturers able to produce the right solutions have an opportunity to benefit and we are seeing new products in the marketplace.

Site Surveys

The TS 50131-7 Appendices provide a useful memory check and help the installer do a professional job.

A straightforward check list with space for comments is ideal, and where the client declines to answer a question or to sign it (there is no requirement for the client to sign) simply include a polite explanation in the Design Proposal. Alternatively, consider supplying a copy of the survey with the Design Proposal.

This will provide added protection should the client want to challenge the installer's chosen specification if his prize valuables fly out of the premises and the installer was not informed of their existence. There is an enquiry and risk assessment report form on the NSI website which may be helpful.

New Terminology

Yes, it does not really help the installer, but it should help the manufacturers to sell across Europe. If that provides them with the means to get their Grade 3 detectors and other kit sorted out more quickly then installers will see the benefit that way. Let's hope we are not being a little too optimistic here! Maybe 'Design Proposal' isn't so bad – very often there is a change before installation and the 'As Fitted Document' helps explain that. There are two examples of design proposals on the NSI website which may be useful (see below).

The NSI

What installers should be doing is consulting with insurers wherever possible or taking a considered professional judgement as to what an insurer is likely to expect based on available information

Tony Weeks, Technical Manager, NSI

As an inspection body, we do our best to foresee problem issues in new standards and to design them out where possible. We seek high standards and at the same time we believe we are realistic about what can be achieved. In reaching consensus with the other stakeholders there must be some give and take. That's democracy.

We also do our best to help interpret or explain areas that installers, understandably, struggle with. There is always a balance to be struck in terms of how much information is provided. We are committed to trying to answer everyone's questions and if any particular guidance we give is not relevant now, then maybe it can be filed safely in case of need.

We do meet regularly with our Inspectors to discuss emerging issues and to settle on common answers. Inevitably, if an Inspector is rushed to give an opinion 'on the hoof' the answer might not be the full picture, but the Inspector concerned should come back to you with clarification as soon as it is available. And, let's be honest, some queries require a lot of research and communication with other stakeholders to arrive at the agreed response, so please bear with us if we are not always as quick as you would like. Knee jerking and the NSI are not happy bedfellows.

In conclusion

We genuinely appreciate that after many years of relative stability, the nature of this particular 'all change' market is causing a degree of discomfort for many installers and, accordingly, we are committed to doing all we can to assist. Whilst our strength has always been, and still is, the assiduous professional assessment against issued standards, we try to be realistic in our approach – the time extension for graded door contacts being an obvious example.

That said, we are proud of the very high standards achieved by NSI approved companies and witnessed on our inspections in the face of a tough regime where second best is not good enough.

Ultimately, we are confident that the vast majority of NSI approved companies will, through sheer professionalism, emerge from this period stronger, and with less competition around as others fall by the wayside. Tough, but true. NSI approved companies have never been ones not to face a challenge, and overcome it.

• Tony Weeks is Technical Manager of the National Security Inspectorate.
• Download information from the NSI's website: http:/www.nsi.org.uk - then go to Support Services