IQ Certification

What is IQ?

Installation Quality Certification is the leading false alarm reduction program in the nation. It also happens to be a quality badge of honor for those companies that have received their certification. IQ companies adhere to a rigid set of standards and operating procedures that set them above other alarm companies in the community.

The goals of the program are to raise the overall quality and false alarm control effectiveness of electronic security and life safety systems. In addition, the IQ Certification Program will strengthen the bond between the alarm industry and the law enforcement and fire prevention communities by providing them with a legal and ethical way to refer consumers to companies taking proactive steps toward quality control and false alarm prevention.

IQ Installation Guidelines

Any system installed in accordance with UL or FM specifications shall be considered acceptable under these standards. All work shall be completed in a neat and orderly manner.

Electronic security and life safety system equipment shall be securely mounted to the building structure.
A suitable moisture barrier shall be provided between equipment and exterior masonry walls.
All wiring is to be in accordance with applicable NFPA codes and standards and any state and local regulations.
All detection circuit wiring shall have conductors not smaller than 22 AWG.
Transformers shall be properly affixed to an electrical outlet.
Wiring between a battery or power supply to a notification device shall be of a sufficient gauge to not have a voltage drop of more than 15 %.
When operating on backup power, the voltage measured at the notification device shall not be less than the minimum operating voltage specified by the manufacturer.
All splices shall be twisted, "hot" soldered and covered with electrical tape or secured with solderless crimp connectors.
Connection wires to screw terminals shall be made using either a crimp or solder type spade lug.
Terminal boards with clamping washers will not require a spade lug or soldering.
Solderless crimp connectors shall be crimped with a tool recommended by the manufacturer.
Where grounding is required or desirable, the system shall be grounded under NEC (National Electrical Code), UL or manufacturer's standards.
All connections to the public telephone network will be in accordance with existing tariff regulations and guidelines.
All connections to a public switched telephone network shall include, at a minimum, a simple method for the alarm user to disconnect the system from the phone network. This means of disconnection shall detect unauthorized disconnection, automatically restore all phones that are connected through system equipment and prevent alarm signals from being sent via the phone network to the monitoring station.
Every electronic security and life safety system using a digital communicator shall have a proper telephone interface device as required by the FCC, accessible to the alarm user and mounted within 24 inches of the control panel.

Procedures to prevent or cancel exit/entry false alarms (Extended delay times, use of delays before dialing, use of cancel codes, etc.) shall be utilized. Each system is to be tested completely after installation. Test is to include operation of backup power.

IQ Monitoring Guidelines

All systems shall be monitored by an IQ Certified Company.
Central station dispatchers shall attempt to verify all burglar alarm signals, as well as all other signals that can be prudently verified, before requesting police dispatch.
Central stations shall have a policy to create a data flow between the central station and the installing/service company/department so that the installing/service company/department can call all customers who have experienced an alarm activation to investigate and prescribe corrective action as needed.
Central stations providing contract monitoring services shall encourage all contractually related installation companies to attain IQ Certified Company status

IQ Equipment Guidelines

All electronic security and life safety system equipment must be UL listed, FM or IRI approved or equivalent, used only for the purpose intended by the manufacturer and installed per the manufacturer's specifications.
All panic or medical emergency alarm activation's shall cause an audible alarm.
All holdup alarms (requiring push button activation) must use simultaneous 2 button activation or a keyed or coded manual reset after activation.
Any electronic security and life safety system that has a touchpad or other device designed to allow the user to activate the alarm (when in the disarm mode) must be configured as follows: panic, fire and medical emergency alarms must be audible; duress or holdup alarms can be silent. Duress codes shall be dramatically different from user codes.
All audio detection devices shall either be volumetric sound detectors with central station operator analysis or detectors that require two different inputs in within one-half second to generate an alarm.
Every residential electronic security and life safety system control panel shall have either: a) push on/off connectors to the battery and a description of the transformer location permanently affixed to the inside of the control panel; or b) an on/off switch that disconnects the battery and transformer from the central processing unit inside the control panel.
Every electronic security and life safety system shall have standby power sufficient to operate the system in non alarm status without being the cause of an alarm activation for a minimum of four hours.
Every electronic security and life safety system shall have a supervised standby power supply that causes a local annunciation when standby power falls below the manufacturer's recommended specifications.
Any residential system with an audible alarm shall have a sufficient number of sound generating devices to alert or awaken all normal hearing occupants within the alarm site that an alarm has been activated.
All intrusion alarm audible devices shall automatically silence no more than 30 minutes after activation. Exterior intrusion alarm audible devices shall not be activated more than three times from the same device in a single arming period unless the cause of the activation is known and corrected.

IQ Company Guidelines

Each IQ Certified Company shall form a Quality Control Team whose function is to identify, prevent, and/or eliminate false alarms and unnecessary dispatches. Companies with five or fewer employees should obviously involve everybody in the direct effort. Larger companies will want to include at least one key person from each of the separate departments (management, sales, installation, service and monitoring).
The Quality Control Team shall evaluate all new equipment for potential problems and reevaluate all equipment in use for evidence of problems.
The Quality Control Team shall develop and implement design features and technology aimed at eliminating user mistakes by making the system, to the extent possible, "goof proof." Using pre-alarm buzzers and lights, alarm abort features and/or swinger shunts, can give users every opportunity to avoid mistakes and to promptly correct any they do make before the police or firefighters are dispatched.
The Quality Control Team shall develop procedures to resist the creation of different operating programs for each system and encourage the standardization of system indicators and operation.
The Quality Control Team shall institute a policy that requires affirmation that a system is in test mode before technicians begin work on any system previously known as in service or active.