Three reasons your alarm does not work
The system is running, the limits are set, and the log looks fine. Yet nobody notices anything until it is too late. Here are the three most common causes.
Kim Djurhuus, founder
7 min read
The alarm went off. Nobody reacted.
The most expensive mistake is not an alarm that does not go off. It is an alarm that goes off without anyone doing anything about it.
All three causes below have in common that the system technically works. The problem is the setup.
1. The alarm only goes to an email
An email does not require a reply and is not read at two in the morning. If the alarm only goes that way, the system is in practice a logbook with a warning.
A call is something else. It wakes someone up, and it takes an action to end it.
The setup should therefore use calls, SMS and email at the same time, not instead of each other, and it should escalate to the next person if the first does not answer.
Who would actually notice an alarm on Friday at 23:00? If you cannot answer with a name, the setup is not finished.
2. The limits are too sensitive
If the alarm goes off every time someone fetches something from the refrigerator, people stop reacting after two weeks. Not because they do not care, but because they have learnt that the alarm rarely means anything.
It is the most dangerous of the three, because the system appears to work. The alarms are recorded, and the log is full of them.
The solution is not a looser limit, because then you do not catch the real loss. The solution is a delay per level, so a normal door opening does not count, while a sustained drop does.
3. Nobody is notified when the system itself fails
A sensor with a sensor fault does not measure correctly. A logger that has lost its connection does not send. And a measuring point that does not send looks like a measuring point without problems.
That is why technical alarms exist: lost communication, sensor faults and gateway faults. Without them, a point can be silent for weeks without anyone noticing.
It is typically only discovered when someone needs to pull a report, and by then the gap is already there.
A system that does not tell you when it fails itself is not an alarm system. It is a logbook.
What a good setup includes
Three alarm levels up and three down, each with its own delay, so warning and alarm can be distinguished.
An on-call rota with more than one name, and escalation that continues until someone acknowledges.
Acknowledgement with name and timestamp, stored in a log that cannot be altered.
Technical alarms for lost communication, sensor faults and gateway.
And a door alarm where it makes sense, so the cause of a deviation is visible straight away.
The three mistakes
Email only
Does not require a reply and is not read at night. A call is what wakes someone up.
Limits too sensitive
An alarm at every door opening teaches people to ignore the system. A delay solves it.
No technical alarms
A silent measuring point looks like a measuring point without problems.
Frequently asked questions
How long should the delay be?
It depends on which products are in the equipment and when they start to be damaged. That is what the delay should be set by.
How many people should be on the on-call rota?
At least two, ideally three. With one name, the system depends on one person having their phone switched on.
Can we test the setup?
Yes, and you should do so before it matters. We go through it with you at installation.
What if someone acknowledges without doing anything?
The acknowledgement is stored with name and timestamp, so it can be seen. That is one of the reasons shared accounts are a problem.
Can the alarm go to our own alarm system?
No. LoRa Alert Relay can trigger a siren or lamp of your own choosing, but it is not connected to an alarm system. Alerting to people goes through OCEAlert.
Read on
Alarms
Calls, SMS and email with escalation down the on-call rota until someone acknowledges.
Read about alarms →
What is a data logger?
The difference between a thermometer, a data logger and a monitoring system.
Read the article →
Why do we use LoRaWAN?
What LoRaWAN is, why we use it, and when Wi-Fi makes sense instead.
Read the article →Kom hurtigt i kontakt med den rette specialist.
Vi hjælper med alt fra nye monitoreringsløsninger til kalibrering, validering og teknisk support.
Generelle henvendelser
Nye projekter
IT & teknik
Administration
Besøg os
Måløv Byvej 229
2760 Måløv
Ring til os
+45 72 22 02 05
Man-fre, 08-16
Fortæl os, hvad du har brug for.
Vil du se, hvordan det ser ud hos jer?
Book en gennemgang. Vi kommer forbi, ser på udstyr og lokaler og rådgiver om, hvor følerne skal sidde. Derefter får du et skræddersyet forslag. Uden forpligtelser.
Book en gennemgang