North Building Technologies

A new system enhancement module has been developed by North primarily for use in remote sites. It combines a large alarm store with a security module, enabling two separate, yet highly powerful functions to be carried out by a single module.

For way of an example, imagine that you had a remote site which is normally un-manned. There are systems on the site that are capable of generating alarms which you wish to be sent to a HQ. Not all alarms are as important as others - some merely being 'information' or 'warnings' - so a method of storing alarms may be needed to reduce the amount of times the remote site dials the HQ. Also, access to this site is gained via a card reader, therefore a module on the system is required to hold the token information for security clearance. The new AlarmDispatch module provides these functions, buffering alarms and holding security information.

Alarm Storage

The AlarmDispatch has a store that can hold up to 400 alarms. This store can be emptied to the AlarmDispatch's Alarm Object if certain conditions are achieved:

• If a user-specified number of alarms have been received
• If a user-defined priority alarm has been received
• If a user-defined time of day is reached
• If a write is made to the Dispatch trigger object

If the AlarmDispatch’s Alarm Object repeatedly fails to accept an alarm, the AlarmDispatch sends a 'destination failed' alarm to another alarm destination object.

Security Management

The AlarmDispatch also holds security information on 100 users. For each user, AlarmDispatch stores the following information:

• Name
• General Security Level
• Token
• Group Number
• Enable
• Privilege Areas 1..8 Security Level

Other devices, when given a token (from a swipe-card say), requests from the AlarmDispatch the name and/or level for the user with this token. The device can then determine how to act, depending on whether AlarmDispatch recognised the token. Each user can be enabled or disabled via an object; if disabled, then AlarmDispatch informs devices that the user currently has no privileges. Each user can be a member of a group, and the group can be enabled or disabled; if disabled, then any user within the group is effectively disabled.

PRODUCTS

CP/ALARMDISPATCH/MRTC485 Compass Point for alarm dispatching
OBS/ALARMDISPATCH ObSys driver module for alarm dispatching

Search the North e-Library for more information and technical documentation on the Alarm Dispatch interface.

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