People Alarms

People Alarms in OPS-COM provide a critical safety and monitoring feature by allowing administrators to flag specific user profiles with alerts. When an event associated with a flagged user occurs, the system triggers a visual alarm, notifying relevant administrators to take appropriate action. This article outlines how to set up alarm permissions, add people alarms to user profiles, and view/clear these alarms.

Setup & Configuration

System Settings

There are a number of system settings you can change on the Alarms tab. 

• People Alarm Append Threshold - the number of minutes before an alarm will create a new dispatch log entry instead of appending to an existing one.
• People Alarm Dispatch SubID - You can set the subID for consistency.
• Allowed Alert Emails - You enter the addresses of the systems that will be populating alerts into OPS-COM. To add recipients of alerts, use the setting in this wiki article. 

Before administrators can effectively use the alarm system, the necessary dispatch permissions must be assigned to their administrative roles.

Setting up Alarm Permissions

1. Click System Configuration, Admin Management and click Manage Roles.
2. Select the administrative role you wish to modify by clicking its Permissions button.
3. Within the Editing Permissions screen, under the Dispatch category, select the permissions related to alarms (e.g., View Alarms, Clear Alarms, Add Alarm Comment).
4. Click Save Permissions at the bottom of the page when you are finished.

Adding People Alarms to Users

People Alarms are configured directly within a user's profile.

1. Click User Management, User Search
2. Search for and select the user to whom you wish to add a People Alarm.
3. Click the Edit button next to their Basic Profile Information section.
4. This will take you to the Edit User Profile window.
5. Locate the option to toggle the People Alarm.
6. Toggle this option On. Once toggled, you will gain the ability to add an Alarm Comment in the provided field.

Note: The License Plate Alarm and Plate Alarm messages will both share this same comment.

• • Even if a user's profile does not have alarms explicitly toggled on or an alarm comment associated, the system will still be alerted if an API call for a specific student/staff number triggers an alarm.

Using this Feature

Viewing People Alarms

Administrators can view active alarms and dispatch logs directly from the top-right panel on the admin side of OPS-COM.

• All alarms associated with a specific user profile or license plate are consolidated into a single Dispatch Log entry if the alarm is triggered within 30 minutes of the first alarm related to that profile/plate. This prevents a large number of individual alarms from flooding the system. If more than 30 minutes pass, a new dispatch record will be created.
• If an API call for a person alarm is triggered with an unknown student/staff account number, it will be routed to the generic alarms section. This is typically indicated by a bell icon next to the people and plate alarms section. These generic alarms will also continue to be rolled up into the same dispatch log within 30 minutes of the first alarm.

Clearing Alarms

You can clear an alarm from your view if you no longer need to be notified about it.

• To clear an alarm, locate it in the alarms panel and select the clear option.

Important: Clearing an alarm only removes the alert from the administrator who cleared it. The alarm will remain visible for other administrators until they choose to clear it for themselves.

• Even after an alarm is cleared from active view, it can still be accessed and reviewed from the Dispatch Log Report for historical reference.

Best Practices & Considerations

• Clear Alarm Comments: Use concise and actionable alarm comments (e.g., "Student requires escort," "High-risk individual"). This ensures rapid understanding and appropriate response from administrators.
• Role-Based Notifications: Ensure that administrators who are responsible for responding to people alarms have the correct dispatch permissions configured.
• Timely Clearing: Encourage administrators to clear alarms once they have been addressed. This helps keep the active alarm panel relevant and reduces notification fatigue.
• Integration with Protocols: Integrate the use of People Alarms with your organization's emergency or response protocols. Ensure all relevant staff know what actions to take when an alarm is triggered.
• Regular Review of Dispatch Logs: Periodically review the Dispatch Log Report to monitor alarm trends and ensure response effectiveness.