Generic Alarms

Generic Alarms in OPS-COM provide a flexible notification system for various non-specific alerts, often stemming from external system integrations or unknown user/vehicle IDs. This article details how to configure administrator permissions to view these alarms, explains how generic alarms are triggered and rolled up into dispatch logs, and guides administrators on viewing and clearing them from their dashboards.

Setup & Configuration

To enable administrators to view and manage alarms, proper dispatch permissions must be configured for their roles.

Setting up Alarm Permissions

Before

1. Admins
   can
   1. Click useSystem alarmsConfiguration, inAdmin theManagement systemand theyclick willManage needRoles.
   to have the proper dispatch permissions added to their administrative role. 

   

   2. Select the permissionsadministrative role you wish to addmodify by clicking its Permissions button.
   3. Within the Editing Permissions screen, under the Dispatch category, select the permissions related to thealarms role(e.g., andView clickAlarms, Clear Alarms, Add Alarm Comment).
   4. Click Save Permissions at the bottom of the page when you are finished.

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Using this Feature

How Generic Alarms Get Pushed to the System

Generic alarms can be triggered by several mechanisms:

• Unknown Student/Staff Number

:

One way forIf a genericPeople alarmAlarm is sent to hit the system would be if a people alarm was sent in with a student or staff number that isdoes not exist in the system,OPS-COM database, the alert will be categorized as a generic alarm. The message will beinclude provideddetails from the access point as well asor any other provided details.

information.

ITS-Networking Alerts Systems

:

ThisSome mustclients beintegrate setuptheir andITS configured(Information byTechnology Services) or networking alert systems with OPS-COM before you can use this.COM. In this casescenario, an email alert is pushed from the external system to OPS-COM.COM, Thiswhich getsthen parsedparses it and sent out asissues a generic alert. SomeClients ofoften ourutilize clients are utilizing these systemsthis for stolen devicesdevice whichalerts, havewhere the systemsexternal pushsystem usprovides the incident and MAC Address. Just like

This peoplespecific integration with ITS-Networking Alert Systems must be set up and plateconfigured alarms,by ifthe youOPS-COM submitTeam before it can be used.  There may be setup and recurring fees associated.

Dispatch Logs and Alert Rollups

To prevent the system and administrators from being overwhelmed by a large volume of alerts, OPS-COM implements an alert onrollup feature.

• Dispatch Logs: Once an alert is received, the system automatically creates a dispatch report. If a valid incident was passed to OPS-COM with the alert, the incident will be automatically linked to this dispatch log.
• Alert Rollups: If the same alert (e.g., for the same MAC address or Incidentincident) is triggered multiple times within a 30 30-minute timetimeframe frameof theythe willfirst alert, all be rolled up into a single dispatchsubsequent log records for that can then be acted on. If a valid incident is pushed along to the system the incidentalert will be associated to the dispatch log. 

  Dispatch Logs and Alert Rollups

  Dispatch Logs

  Once you have received the alert the system automatically creates the dispatch report and links the provided incident if there was a valid incident passed to our system. 

  Alert Rollups

  To prevent a large number of alerts being pushed to dispatch and admins of the system. We have made it so that if the same alert is triggered within 30 minutes of the first. Then all of the log records will be rolled up and added to a single dispatch log record / alert.alert.
  
  

  This

  

  keeps

  the alert feed concise and actionable.

Clearing/Viewing Alarms 

AdminsAdministrators arehave ablethe ability to clear, view, and close alarms for their accounts only, which means that other admins will still continue to seemanage the alerts untildisplayed theyon cleartheir them.personal dashboard.

1. To doview thisactive alarms, hover over the bell icon at the top top-right of your screenscreen. andThis will display a list of current alerts.
2. From this list, you can select thea alertspecific youalert. wishYou towill clear.then
   
   
   see

   

   two

   
   
   
   

   options:

   From

   here we can 
   • Go To Entry: whichClicking this will take usyou directly to the dispatchDispatch logLog reportReport and search for the specific alert.alert, Orallowing for detailed review.
   • Clear Alarm: whichClicking this will remove the alert icon from the top top-right of your screen, indicating that you have acknowledged it. Note: Clearing an alarm only removes the screenalert butfor your account. Other administrators will continue to see the alert until they clear it for themselves.

Clearing an alarm from the dashboard does not remove the corresponding dispatch log fromrecord. The dispatch log remains accessible for historical tracking and reporting.

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Best Practices & Considerations

• Integration with External Systems: If integrating with ITS-Networking Alerts Systems, ensure clear communication with the dispatchOPS-COM records.
  Team during setup to define alert types, data formats (e.g., MAC Address, Incident ID), and desired actions.
• Monitor Generic Alarms: Regularly check the generic alarms section, as these can indicate unprofiled activity or system-level issues that require attention.
• Consistent Alerting Protocols: Develop internal protocols for how different types of generic alarms should be responded to by your administrative team.
• Utilize Dispatch Logs for Analysis: Leverage the Dispatch Log Report to analyze trends in generic alarms, identify recurring issues, or review responses over time.
• Awareness of Rollup Feature: Understand that the 30-minute rollup window is designed to prevent notification fatigue. If multiple similar events occur in quick succession, they will appear as a single alert on the dashboard.