Started a new account a bit ago. I'm a bit bemused by the alarm procedure.
The doctor in charge is big on security, so he's asked his office manager change the alarm code weekly. She (the office manager) doesn't have the time, so she changes it "when she thinks of it". And then tells everybody. They all have the same code, because changing all those codes would be even more time consuming.
I can envision the over-worked office manager changing the code, and then getting pulled onto another task, and forgetting to tell someone of the new code - probably us. I really hate those three in the morning calls from a frustrated janitor. And the client doubtless hates the false alarm charge from the city, due to the police dispatch.
What we do, and recommend to our janitorial clients, is issue each of our folks authorized to disarm the office alarm an individual code. We emphasize to each that he is to NEVER let his code out; he is responsible for anything bad happening in the office while his code has the alarm disarmed. When a person leaves our employ, we delete his code, immediately. We do not have to wait for the alarm company to act; we can do it in-house. And the alarm company need not know anyone's code; all they show on their records, and on the security print-out, is the user number (so anyone reviewing the security record knows who disarmed the alarm, and who armed it, but not his code. Most all alarm companies are set up similarly, as is the alarm company of the client mentioned above.
In passing, it's probably not a good idea to use the building's street address, or the current year, as an alarm code. Burglars might be mean and anti-social, but they're not necessarily stupid.
I hardly claim to be qualified as a security consultant (I have a consultant for that), but I can handle simple common sense (I think).
Comments