White Papers

• White Paper - Fire V2 08 03 13
• Supervised Monitoring

Functionality

LoBenn Inc. has developed a solution to meet the communication changes in the S559-04 standard. Working with the experts from GE Fire, LoBenn was able to adapt their current IP Alarm Communication technology to meet the new ULC standards. LoBenn’s solution had previously been developed to IP enable any fire/alarm panel in the industry. When looking at the S559-04 standard, it became obvious it was a short jump to meet the new standard. The LoBenn solution is rich with functionality, allowing it to exceed the requirements of the standard. The key to LoBenn’s solution is the LoBenn LNI 2000.

• IP line supervision (active monitoring)
• Know in less than 30 seconds of a communications failure
• ULC S559-04 and S304-06 listed for "Active Communications"
• 1 primary and up to 7 back-up monitoring sites
• Network status reports
• Software downloadable
• Email Notification of problems
• Alarm discrimination. Pinpoints location of IP network failures
• Intelligent Upgrades, ensures latest software at installation
• Intuitive redundancy
• Watchdog Protection
• powered from the panel

LoBenn’s solution does not alter or interpret the data from a fire control panel, which means there is no protocol limitation on the data. If the alarm panel uses a digital-dialer, then the LoBenn product can send the data. The receiver then receives the data normally, even though it is delivered through the Internet.

This unique approach is what allows LoBenn to support all existing communication technologies in use today. This means the upgrade from the old communications standards to the new standards can be done painlessly and applies to any existing system installed. Now imagine being able to being able to move to the new standard through a simple upgrade. In addition, if you are using leased lines (DVAC) today, you will be able to save ‘000’ dollars in operating costs.

For new installations, companies like GE Fire are incorporating the LoBenn solution into their new fire panels; such as the Fire Shield. Going forward, all Fire Panels can have Active Monitoring of their fire communications system. This raises the bar for the industry while reducing the cost in the same breath. Where is the industry likely to head. IP is the beginning of a new Era for the security Industry. To date solutions have been very specific to one technology without taking into account other aspects of physical security. Examples:

• Video Security – widely used and in the use of IP. However, to date there has been little work done to integrate it with monitoring technology even though that is exactly what video is used for.
• Remote access to physical security systems – ability to view panel status, but ability to alter the panel settings (a capability that exists via dial up technology.

Imagine the world where a physical alarm is tripped, example a motion sensor, and immediately the monitoring centre will have a video image displayed of the area where the sensor was tripped. Sound simple; it can be.

IP will also bring standards to the security industry. To date, the security industry has had few to no standards. The communication protocols and formats number in excess of 17. IP has built in standards which will drive industry standards for security. IP will bring the security industry and the IT world together. After all, companies are not going to create an independent company network solely for security.

It’s time to get involved in where the industry is going.