by Jessica Barnes | Nov 6, 2023 | Uncategorized
According to Park Associates, the home security camera market is expected to grow by nearly five million households in the next five years. Video verification and video health monitoring can be an excellent source of recurring monthly revenue (RMR). For dealers looking to expand their service offerings, a monitoring center with the Universal Connector from Bold can be a solution.
A Universal Connector is a virtual monitoring center receiver that processes communications from devices in the field to create an alarm in the same way receiving a signal from a burglar or fire panel does. WH International Response Center (WHIRC) uses its universal connector to provide monitoring to a variety of security products. Some examples include HVAC systems, GPS devices, video health monitoring, and alarm verification. Texts, email, open database connectivity (ODBC), protocols including FTP, TCP, and UDP, and simple files can now be processed as an alarm.
WHIRC also uses the Universal Connector to monitor outdoor automated external defibrillator (AED) smart cabinets created by Advocates for Health. In October 2023, WHIRC was able to dispatch first responders to a local park after a good Samaritan opened the monitored cabinet to retrieve an AED to help someone having a heart attack, saving his life.
Jessica Theisen from Advocates for Heath noted, “the Universal Connector receiver allows WHIRC to work with Advocates for Health’s monitoring software to receive critical alerts from a monitored cabinet that stores an AED. When these alerts are received, WHIRC can send out important texts, emails, and most importantly, dispatch emergency services so that help can be sent to the location of the emergency.”
Two of the most common use cases for the Universal Connector are video health monitoring and remote alarm verification.
Video health monitoring can trigger alarms when a part of the system isn’t working. Some examples of alarms that can be created include when a hard drive is full, a camera is not working, hard drive failure, poor video quality, and poor network connection. The process to set up video health monitoring with your monitoring center includes reviewing how the recording devices communicate, establishing a template for alarm generation, and identifying the type of response required.
Remote alarm verification allows your monitoring center to view security camera footage to see what activated the alarm and confirm the emergency. This information is sent to emergency services for a quicker, more accurate response. Camera systems send an email with events and can include video clips. From there, the dispatch staff can determine what caused the event and how to proceed. Custom programming is required to properly parse out information to identify which account is sending the notification. Once the account is identified, dispatch staff will follow the action steps developed in the planning phase.
A Universal Connector can monitor nearly any type of camera system with minimal integration, regardless of brand. It enables security system dealers to generate RMR while providing a very valuable service to your customers.
by Jessica Barnes | May 15, 2023 | Uncategorized
Rockford, Minn. (April 27, 2023) — WH International Response Center (WHIRC) recently renewed the prestigious “TMA Five Diamond Monitoring Center” designation from The Monitoring Association (TMA) for the 20th straight year. WHIRC first earned the “Five Diamond” designation in 2004. It is granted annually to monitoring centers that satisfy all the requirements of the “five points of excellence.” These are:
- 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.
The TMA Five Diamond designation means that a monitoring company has demonstrated an exceptionally high degree of responsibility to their businesses and customers through the investment of time, money, and commitment to quality operator training.
There are approximately 2,700 monitoring centers in the United States that communicate and interact with police, fire, and emergency services agencies. Fewer than 200 have achieved the Five Diamond designation, setting these companies apart.
To learn more, visit WHIRC’s website at whirc.com or call (800) 858-7811.
WHIRC is a leading national central station monitoring partner for residential and commercial security, alarm, and personal emergency response system dealers. WHIRC’s headquarters are in Rockford, Minn.
by Jessica Barnes | Feb 28, 2023 | Uncategorized
WHIRC recently began monitoring, testing, and receiving alarms from ten Safe Haven Baby Boxes (SHBB). SHBB are a safety device that allows a mother in crisis to surrender a newborn safely, securely, and anonymously.
Each box is installed in the exterior wall of a fire station or hospital and has an exterior door that locks automatically after the placement of a newborn baby. An interior door gives medical staff access to the baby to offer care and shelter.
Each box has:
- A thermostat, heater, vents, and a fan to automatically control the temperature.
- A bassinette to keep the baby from rolling over.
- A bag of resources for the parent that surrender the baby.
A three-alarm system alerts when the door opens, after the baby is placed in the bassinette, and if the power goes out. These are routed through an alarm monitoring center like WHIRC who then alert a 911 dispatch center.
Each SHBB is tested once a week to make sure the box’s alarms are working properly and looked at twice a day to make sure the box and sensors are working properly.
To learn more about baby boxes, visit the SHBB website.
by Jessica Barnes | Nov 7, 2022 | Uncategorized
WHIRC would like to thank all our customers, dealers, manufacturers, and peers that attended our 12th annual Partner Symposium, which was held at Mystic Lake Casino Hotel in Prior Lake on Thursday, September 28th.
If you could not join us this year, here’s what you missed…
This year’s event was focused on the theme, Together We Transform. One of the highlights of the day-long event was the four-person dealer panel, which gave guests the opportunity to discuss several topics including impacts from the pandemic, labor and staffing, and upcoming technology sunsets. Our panel of industry peers shared best practices and insights into how they see the business changing and how the adapting to the changes.
Guest speakers from Resideo, OpenEye, Alula, M2M, and Avycon presented their latest products and shared insight into future developments in the Security Industry. Vendors took questions from the audience on a variety of topics including their, products, platforms, ad latest technology.
Back for the second year our keynote speaker Jeff Pankoff, owner of Sandler Training, talked about the sale process, sales tactics, and the process for navigating the sales pain funnel.
Dealer comments heard throughout the day “Great Event”, “Thank you very much! I always learn so much”, and “I enjoy and look forward to this event every year.”
WHIRC is happy to provide this free educational opportunity once again for customer and industry partners. If you missed the opportunity this year, we hope to see you in Summer of 2023!
by Jessica Barnes | Jun 6, 2022 | Uncategorized
Rockford, Minn. (May 24, 2022) — WH International Response Center (WHIRC) recently renewed the prestigious “TMA Five Diamond Monitoring Center” designation from The Monitoring Association (TMA) for the 19th straight year. WHIRC first earned the “Five Diamond” designation in 2004. It is granted annually to monitoring centers that satisfy all of the requirements of the “five points of excellence.” These are:
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.
The TMA Five Diamond designation means that a monitoring company has demonstrated an exceptionally high degree of responsibility to their businesses and customers through the investment of time, money and commitment to quality operator training.
There are approximately 2,700 monitoring centers in the United States that communicate and interact with police, fire and emergency services agencies. Fewer than 200 have achieved the Five Diamond designation, setting these companies apart.
To learn more, visit WHIRC’s website at whirc.com or call (800) 858-7811.
WHIRC is a leading national central station monitoring partner for residential and commercial security, alarm and personal emergency response system dealers. WHIRC’s headquarters are located in Rockford, Minn.
by Jessica | Feb 11, 2022 | Uncategorized, WHIRC News
Paying your WHIRC bill just got easier with EZ Pay. Choose how you pay and when you pay with automatic drafts though your business checking account or with your debit/credit card. We accept Visa, Mastercard or Discover.
You’ll have your choice of a range of payment due dates that work with your budget, making paying your bill easy every month.
You can sign up for EZ Pay with WHIRC in one of two ways
- ONLINE: Visit https://billing.whe.org to register or log into your account. Go to Draft Payment Options, click on Setup New Draft and fill in the information.
- PHONE: Call our office at (800) 858-7811.
If you are already enrolled in EZ Pay and wish to update your payment information, call us or log in to your WHIRC account.
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