Southern and Northern Monitoring

About SMS and NMS

Southern Monitoring Services and Northern Monitoring Services is one of the largest specialist monitoring providers in the UK, providing dependable fire, intruder, water and flood detection, asset tracking, temperature monitoring and much more. Founded in 1983 with two alarm receiving centres in Waterlooville and Altrincham, SMS and NMS pride themselves on quality and customer service.

High false alarm volumes from CCTV systems

Like all ARCs, SMS and NMS were grappling with a significant number of false alarms which were being generated by their video surveillance systems. It became clear that it was unsustainable to have operators spend so much of their time dealing with false alarms. The Covid-19 pandemic further heightened the need to protect precious staff resources. Contingency planning became more than just IT resilience and the business had to ensure it could continue to operate with higher levels of staff absence.

In 2019, SMS and NMS started work on a transformation initiative, reviewing a number of potential solutions that would work to solve the false alarm challenge. They were looking for a product that would work well from the start, and one they could work closely in partnership with to make adaptations and enhancements.

A proactive approach and willingness to listen

SMS and NMS started testing with Calipsa, and quickly came to appreciate Calipsa’s proactive approach and its willingness to listen to their requirements. The main concern was the fact that the solution was new to them and had to work – SMS and NMS customers expect an uninterrupted, high quality service 24/7, 365 days a year.

Calipsa’s integrations with both RSI Videofied and Immix made it a viable solution that would work seamlessly with SMS and NMS’ existing operations. It had previously used a RSI Videofied solution that was a complete video handling system with email notifications and clip forwarding, however the email side of things was end of life and no longer supported. Calipsa and SMS / NMS worked together closely to build a solution that not only replicated the email functionality, but that also brought the RSI Videofied systems into the Calipsa portal, giving extra visibility and control. SMS and NMS customers will soon have access to the Calipsa app which will provide even more convenience.

“We have been very pleased to work with Calipsa as we roll out this important enhancement to our technology portfolio and customer service. We look forward to working together to keep improving the service we offer our customers”

STEPHEN LORD
General Manager

False alarm reduction and improved operator morale

Since implementing Calipsa, SMS and NMS have seen a significant reduction in false alarms. In turn, this has reduced the amount of operator time being spent on CCTV handling, improving operator morale as they are no longer being bombarded with huge numbers of false alarms on busier days. Overall, this will ensure SMS and NMS can deliver faster response times to all alarms as there are less nuisance alerts getting in the way.

SMS and NMS customers have also seen clear benefits. Calipsa’s site sharing and email notification features allows SMS and NMS customers to see exactly what is going on with their sites and cameras, providing more visibility over alarms. The masking functionality also allows quick changes to be made to customer systems without the need for a site visit, saving customers both time and money.

Calipsa has had a significant impact on nearly all the sites SMS and NMS have applied it to. Looking to the future, SMS and NMS will continue to work in partnership with Calipsa to provide product and feature suggestions, while expanding the reach of Calipsa on its customer sites.