Millions of homes throughout the UK have their exteriors graced by a small, coloured alarm box. For years, burglar alarms, in addition to different types of security windows and doors, plus numerous locks and bolts, have provided the main deterrence against undesirables entering our properties. Today, however, a host of security systems, which originally started life within the commercial market, have now found their way in to the domestic arena.
Access control and audio/video door entry systems, together with CCTV, are becoming ever more commonplace. The basic technology is not that new, but the rate at which it is evolving is incredible. Advanced systems, once restricted to the corporate sector, are now available at an affordable price for the domestic sector. Installers are finding themselves required to become familiar with ever more advanced systems as homeowners look for an all-encompassing security system.
Often overlooked is the fact that access control and door entry systems only represent security when a person is at home, at which point they become an integral part of a security system themselves. When a dwelling is empty, however, the installation serves no deterrent purpose.
Security as a totality
This may be a statement of the obvious, but it is worth making to bring home to installers that security should always be looked at in total and not just as module-based. As such, access control and door entry systems are an excellent sales and profit generator for security installation companies and electrical contractors.
What many do not appreciate is the need for detailed product knowledge and comprehensive training to maintain the good reputations of manufacturers and the industry.
While simple in concept, in every way the domestic market is becoming as sophisticated as others in security. Access and door entry systems have moved rapidly from the electrical to the electronic and it is highly probable in a few years time that we will also see them becoming increasingly biometrical.
Fingerprint, voice and retina recognition are the next generation – maybe only five years away in terms of volume production and acceptance. Fingerprint recognition has the potential of being the least expensive to develop, given that identifying just a few of the features of the fingerprint gives odds of several million to one against access being granted to the wrong person.
Developments in this field are still not yet financially viable in terms of large scale, profitable production. On the other hand, wireless communication is making CCTV and video entry systems perfectly feasible. Digital technology has made imaging much clearer and more reliable.
There are certain limitations in terms of communications interference and line-of-sight obstructions, but these will be overcome by developments in antennae. So, expect the next year or so to bring things to a head and products to start hitting the domestic market in volume during 2001/2002.
Inevitably, the domestic market has benefited from the trickle-down effect of developments in the commercial sector. Interestingly, it has been the local authority and housing association markets that have been the most receptive.
This is undoubtedly because they have a duty of care towards their tenants, not only to offer a definable, high level of security, but also to restrict the potential for vandalism and graffiti, which are, unfortunately, a persistent feature of life on housing estates throughout the country.
In many instances, too, this market has been a prime driver in the development of special needs systems. Proximity cards held in front of a reader are one example; others include the use of infra-red remote controls to replace telephone answering sets; strobe lighting to gain the attention of people who are hard of hearing; and interfaces that allow cordless telephones to be used as door entry systems.
Simultaneously, voice-activated software will eventually make a massive impact. Simple Braille engraving on pushbutton panels is also already widespread and should be standard. What has been presented thus far is a picture of a highly dynamic market that refuses to stand still. It is developing and growing in size and sophistication. It is, by and large, a market selling good quality products – but is it maturing in terms of customer service?
Sadly, the industry as a whole could do a lot better! The problem we face is a lack of knowledge among installers. Unfortunately, this problem is likely to grow &88211; and reputations will suffer as the domestic market develops more sophisticated tastes. Distributors do not see it as their job to vet the credentials of their customers, although lists of recommended installers can be supplied by some manufacturers and passed on by distributors to potential end-user customers.
Installers need more support
As manufacturers, we owe it to our industry to offer high-level technical training and support to as many installers as possible. Manufacturers can only offer this, however – they cannot demand that installers take advantage of the offer. The sad irony is that, with so many untrained installers about, when installations go wrong it is the manufacturer’s name that suffers.
One of the biggest problems is that some installers do not know how to test finished installations properly. Furthermore, should an installation not work or subsequently develop a fault, they do not know where to start looking to remedy it. As far as some installers are concerned, it is the product that is at fault, so it is promptly returned to the manufacturer. Meanwhile, the poor customer is left with a bitter taste in the mouth. However, the vast majority of products returned to manufacturers are not faulty at all. In fact, this figure could be as high as 85 per cent.
Manufacturers’ Help Desks are also going to have to become a standard feature of the industry if the domestic market is to continue to grow effectively. These, plus the investment in training, are costs worth bearing if, in the long run, the reputation of the industry is not to suffer and installation standards are to improve.
(Editor’s note: At a recent breakfast meeting organised by this magazine and attended by manufacturers and installers, installers said the reason they rang manufacturers’ helplines so readily was that instruction manuals were often confusing. They were too often written by the product developer who assumed the installer had the same intimate knowledge of it as they had themselves. This is borne out by Security Installer’s test team, who often comment on the poor standard of instructions. One suggestion at the meeting was that manuals should be written by an installer unfamiliar with the product!)
However, when all is said and done, it should be noted that there are a lot of excellent installers about and more manufacturers are encouraging installers to take advantage of the training courses on offer. The value of all this becomes apparent when you consider this is an industry with a total market value of nearly GB pound 200million – expected to increase by another 20 per cent during the next three years – with the domestic sector accounting for about GB pound 15 million of this. Currently, there are about ten major players in this domestic market with numerous smaller ones.
It will not be long, however, before the industry starts to contract, as mergers and takeovers come about. This will eventually leave a core of ‘big league’ companies. It is the nature of business, but it also brings with it the potential for even higher manufacturing and installation standards and, perhaps, a trade association to police them – the ideal platform for expanding a domestic market with ever-increasing sophisticated needs.
There can be little doubt that the domestic security market is continuing to grow at a rapid pace and that the systems this market demands are themselves constantly becoming ever more advanced. What will remain crucial to continuing development in this direction is an industry of manufacturers, distributors and domestic installers who are able to offer the levels of support and expertise necessary to bring security technology of the 21st century into our homes.