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CARD ACCESS LIABILITY
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Ken
This is a valuable service you provide to the industry. Thank you.
I have a BMS (building management system) for a commercial building in Manhattan. Part of this system is card access. They just installed a new lobby revolving door and a swing door next to it. They want a maglock on the swing door with a REX and card reader. They do not want the emergency push button even though I told them it is code. Should I install and get an email or letter from the customer stating they were advised but refused the push button? What liability would I have if I did this?
Thanks,
Chris
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RESPONSE
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The safest answer is refuse to install equipment or systems that do not meet code. If someone gets hurt using the door, really hurt, suing the building owner may not be enough and if the injured person's lawyer looks close enough your name is likely to surface. It's not worth the exposure.
If you decide to do the install then you must state on the Commercial All in One and on the Disclaimer Notice that you advised the subscriber of the code requirement and that the subscriber declined the code installation, and be sure your subscriber is indemnifying you and naming you on its insurance policy as an additional insured.
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LICENSE HOLDER AGREEMENT AND CHARGES
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Ken
What is the going rate to charge for a company to work under my New York alarm/security license in NYC? Do you have contracts to cover this and what is the cost?
Thanks,
CS
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First be sure you and everyone else knows that license holders cannot "rent out or lease" their license. A license holder can accept employment or other relationship whereby the license holder can hold the license for the company. The relationship, duties of the license holder and the company vary state by state, and for that reason we have to customize the Qualifier Agreement not only for the specific deal struck between the license holder and company, but to accommodate the specific license laws in the jurisdiction. Our Qualifier Agreement is $1500.00 and typically paid by the company.
What do license holders charge? It depends on a number of factors but perhaps the top two considerations are whether the license holder is already employed by the company [but obviously not an owner or officer] and whether the license holder is permitted to qualify for more than one company in the jurisdiction. We see monthly charges ranging from $500 to $2000 and the term of agreement from "at will" to 5 years. Additionally a non working employee will have to be reimbursed for any work performed in furtherance of the license duties.
For Qualifier Agreements contact our Alarm Licensing Department, Jesse Kirschenbaum, Esq. at Jesse@kirschenbaumEsq.com 516-747 6700 x 307 or Nicoletta Lakatos at NLakatos@KirschenbaumEsq.com 516-747 6700 x 311.
If you are interested in posting your availability as license holder, or looking for a license holder, check out The Alarm Exchange.
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ANOTHER COMMENT ON SMOKE DETECTORS FROM SEPTEMBER 2, 2015
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Ken
A response to RDH’s comment on 110vac interconnected smoke detectors with a relay – those relays typically do NOT operate when the power fails and the detectors are running on battery. For this reason, and the lack of integrity supervision, we will not use them for monitoring. Only for detectors that we install on our listed system.
Another question comes up amidst all this chatter about 110-volt smoke alarms installed by electricians: If us alarm folks have all this exposure and liability for proper design, code compliance, testing and the like, why don’t the electrical contractors have a similar duty to protect?
TB
Washington
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RESPONSE
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They do. Electricians aren't yet tuned into protective contracts. They will get there, especially if they want to be in the alarm business.