This designation is granted to monitoring centres that satisfy all of the requirements of the “five points of excellence”, which include the following:

• Commitment to ongoing job-related education and testing by having 100% of its monitoring center operators certified using the TMA online training series on industry best practices.

• Commitment to random inspections and quality criteria standards by a nationally recognised testing laboratory such as FM Approvals, Intertek/ETL, and UL.

• Commitment to raising the industry standards through TMA membership and participation in its activities.

• Commitment to reducing false dispatches.

• Commitment to the highest levels of customer service.

TMA’s Five Diamond designation means, in particular, that a monitoring company has demonstrated an exceptionally high degree of responsibility to its local community and its customers by investing time, money, and commitment to quality operator training.

Operators serve as the life-saving link between businesses and police, fire, and emergency services. The TMA Monitoring Center Operator course covers virtually all phases of monitoring centre communications with customers, police, fire, and emergency services communications centres.

In order to achieve the Five Diamond designation, every Intervention Specialist at the Interface iSOCs has not only passed the course but also has to recertify every three years and demonstrate:

• Proficiency in alarm confirmation process to reduce false alarms

• Proficiency in communications with Public Safety Answering Points, such as the Emergency 911 centres

• An understanding of the codes and standards of such organisations as Underwriters Laboratories, Factory Mutual, the National Fire Protection Association, and others

• Proficiency in the area of emergency preparedness under a wide scenario of possibilities.

“Our interactive Security Operations Centers (iSOCs) leverage advanced monitoring technologies, and our trained security professionals are the best in the industry. I am proud of our team for their relentless commitment to excellence and customer service,” said Brent Duncan, CEO at Interface.

There are approximately 2,700 monitoring centres in the United States that communicate and interact with police, fire, and emergency services agencies. Of this group, fewer than 130 monitoring centres have achieved the Five Diamond designation, setting these companies apart.