NCJ Number
59493
Journal
SIGNAL, SECOND QUARTER (1979) Pages: 8-10,12
Date Published
1979
Length
4 pages
Annotation
THIS ARTICLE, DESIGNED TO HELP COMPANIES ANALYZE THEIR FALSE ALARM PROBLEMS, IS THE SECOND IN A SERIES BASED ON THE ALARM INDUSTRY QUALITY CONTROL MANUAL.
Abstract
NUMEROUS FALSE ALARM STUDIES REVEAL THAT THE RATE OF THESE ALARMS IS GREAT AND THE MAJOR CAUSES ARE USER MISTAKES, EQUIPMENT MALFUNCTIONING, MISAPPLICATION, AND A VARIETY OF OTHER ERRORS AND CONDITIONS, SOME UNCONTROLLABLE. THESE ANALYSES ARE VALUABLE FOR A GENERAL UNDERSTANDING OF THE PROBLEM, BUT THEY LACK DATA DETAILED ENOUGH TO GUIDE INDIVIDUAL REDUCTION EFFORTS. EACH COMPANY HAS A UNIQUE EXPERIENCE WITH FALSE ALARMS AND IT IS NECESSARY TO PINPOINT THE CHIEF CULPRITS WHETHER THEY BE A CERTAIN SENSOR SYSTEM OR A FLAW IN INSTALLMENT TECHNIQUES. ONE OF THE MAIN SHORTCOMINGS IN MOST ALARM STUDIES TO DATE HAS BEEN THE ABSENCE OF ANALYSES OF THE EXPENSE OF FALSE ALARMS. A COST ANALYSIS FORMAT IS GIVEN TO COMPUTE THE ANNUAL COST OF FALSE ALARMS AND A METHOD IS OUTLINED FOR DETERMINING THE GENERAL FALSE ALARM RATE OVER A FIXED PERIOD OF TIME. FALSE ALARM CAUSES ANALYSIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT EXERCISE AND THE CAUSE DATA CAN HELP DETERMINE THE DIRECTION AND FOCUS OF THE REDUCTION EFFORT. TO CONDUCT SUCH A GENERAL CAUSE STUDY, RESEARCHERS MUST INVESTIGATE EACH FALSE ALARM, DISTINGUISHING BETWEEN SUBSCRIBER ERROR, ALARM PERSONNEL, EQUIPMENT MALFUNCTION, EQUIPMENT MISAPPLICATION, TELEPHONE LINE PROBLEMS, WEATHER CONDITIONS, AND OTHER FACTORS. AFTER 6 MONTHS, A CALCULATION SHOULD BE MADE OF WHAT PERCENTAGE OF THE TOTAL NUMBER OF FALSE ALARMS IS ATTRIBUTABLE TO EACH CAUSE. THE REPORT NOTES THAT NUMEROUS STUDIES HAVE DEMONSTRATED THAT MOST FALSE ALARMS--UP TO THREE-QUARTERS--RESULT FROM SUBSCRIBER MISTAKES AND EQUIPMENT PROBLEMS AND METHODS TO ANALYZE BOTH AREAS ARE DETAILED. (MJW)