comment on fire alarm communication and back up battery

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Ken,

One of the list members wrote; “more and more people either abandon their land line or worse yet, trust their phone service to a VOIP or cable carrier which has no battery backup for the modem or router.”

I’d like to point out that this is a violation of NFPA-72 for fire systems. NFPA-72 specifically requires that all field installed equipment such as Optical Network Terminals and Cable Modems be equipped with 8 hours of standby power, i.e. a battery. As a matter of fact New Jersey is in the process of adopting regulations that will require alarm service providers to submit a form confirming that where fire alarm communications is carried over a Managed Facility Voice Network (MFVN), i.e Verizon FiOS, Cablevision, Comcast, Time Warner, etc. that the required battery backup is installed in the service providers communications equipment. The applicable code reference is 2010 NFPA-72 3.3.141, A3.3.141 and TIA-10-3 (http://www.nfpa.org/assets/files/PDF/CodesStandards/TIAErrataFI/TIA72-10-3-INC.pdf)

Last but not least fire alarm communications is not permitted to be carried over Non-MFVN providers such as Vonage, Magic Jack, Skype, etc.

Not the official position of any agency, association, committee or otherwise. Obtain required applications, permits, inspections and approvals from Authority(s) Having Jurisdiction.

Hope this helps,

John Drucker, CET
Fire Protection Subcode Official
Fire/Building/Electrical Inspector
Fire Marshals Office
Borough of Red Bank, NJ

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more on responsibility on take over alarms

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Ken:

[UDAC , digital communicator, part of a fire control,or could be stand alone control panel used soley to transmit signals to a central station receiver. The fire control could be the responsibility of one contractor,and the monitoring belongs to someone else]

If the situation is the monitoring of an existing fire alarm with a independent UDAC, is not the monitoring company only responsible for the communication device and its correct installation to code and its ability to report to the central station. If we take this train of thought one step further, then would we be responsible for the interconnection to the phone provider,(blocks & cable) and then the dial tone as well ? Where does the responsibility stop ?

Thomas Scalley, Installation Manager

Electronix Systems

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Response

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When you say "responsible", the alarm company is responsible for the services it is contracted for and charging for or performing. You're not responsible for communication pathways or equipment that you didn't install or service. You are responsible for having the expertise to perform the services you have agreed to perform. But, "responsibility" is also synonymous, for our discussion, with the duty assumed by the alarm company and the limits of that duty expressed in a properly drafted contract. Use the new revised Disclaimer Notice on take overs.

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manufacturer warranties - are they sufficient?

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Dear Ken,

Can you give us some insight on manufacturers' warranty? In two different systems we bought alarm equipment that was made by a very well-known manufacturer owned by a multinational corporation and sold to us by their affiliated alarm equipment distributor. The items later failed. We exchanged the failed devices over-the-counter. Later the one-year limited warranty coverage was rejected by the manufacturer based solely on warranty codes printed on the circuit boards and in the absence of any obvious signs of damage that the warranty would rightfully exclude.

One of the failed devices was recently shipped back to me unrepaired, COD for $203.00, representing the cost of a replacement device that had been furnished over-the-counter. Except for the tag attached to it, I would not have been able to tell whether it was the failed unit or a replacement.

I called the distributor to complain. The counter person sympathized and was going to take up the issue with the manager and then call me back. I'm still waiting for that reply but not holding my breath.

The problem is multifold:

· The device that created the most irritation was purchased from the distributor October 19, 2011, and failed February 17, 2012, a mere 4 months after our equipment purchase.

· The devices originally purchased by us were apparently in the distributor's inventory for well over half of the manufacturer's one-year limited warranty period. I’m sure that’s not unusual, especially in an economic downturn. If we were to discover an unacceptably out-of-date warranty code, nothing says the distributor is likely to have any fresher product in stock. Anyway, we'd expect the distributor to favor a first-in-first out inventory rotation to minimize the occurrence of this problem.

· Techs picking up equipment do not have the time to open each package to examine the warranty code, which is stamped on the back of the circuit board itself and requires some dis assembly as well.

· We usually cannot decipher the warranty code even if we do look at it. I don’t know whether the distributor's counter person could decipher it either.

· I recognize that a dealer who frequently uses a particular product could fudge a claim on an older part by associating it with the invoice for a more recent purchase. This could understandably be a dilemma for manufacturers. However, in this case, there can be little doubt about our purchase date.

· The COD package had no packing slip or indication on the outside of the package to suggest what was inside. It was not preceded by any notice that it was coming or that the warranty had been rejected. I feel this was deceptive.

What are the distributor's legal and moral obligations with regard to the one-year warranty? Does our limited warranty legally begin on the day we purchase the component from the distributor? Can they set arbitrary policies? Judgment calls aside, can they legally apply different policies to different purchasers? What would be the impact if the manufacturer and the distributor were owned by the same parent company?

What about our dealer obligation to the end user? Our contracts are quite clear regarding our limited warranty obligation to the end user. Ignoring the obvious negative message it would send to our clients, do we need to amend our contracts to protect ourselves against losses due to potential warranty rejection by any specific manufacturer?

My techs theorize that the manufacturer and distributor are in cahoots to stifle competition from smaller dealers with policies like this. Such reactions and comments certainly cannot be good for this supplier.

One of our other manufacturers offers a three-year warranty on their equipment, which adequately buffers our contractual one-year limited parts warranty. I can also tell you that another independent distributor who values our business more highly would have simply shielded us from the cost of the rejected part.

What does the law say about these practices? Is there any basis to complain to the Attorney General? Is the manufacturer obligated to provide a key to decipher the warranty codes? What can we do to make this supplier fly straighter? (Perhaps publishing this complaint will elicit other complaints and cause enough pressure to get those policies fixed.)

As a final question, the original purchase and the exchange device were paid using a VISA card. When we subsequently turned in the defective unit, our card was credited for the exchange device. Should I be considering a claim with my card company for reimbursement?

With thanks for comments and advice,

PO'd in PA

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Response

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A manufacturer warranty is that manufacturer's contract to repair and otherwise stand behind its product. Far as I know manufacturer's are free to fashion their own warranty terms. Competition among manufacturers is supposed to pressure manufacturer's to provide warranties that are more acceptable to middlemen and customers. You should certainly know what the manufacturer's warranty is and how well the manufacturer stands behind its product because you typically offer your own warranty, including parts and labor, and you don't want to be providing a warranty that exceeds the manufacturer's warranty, unless you're charging for that in your Service Contract. It is not uncommon for a dealer to limit equipment warranty to the manufacturer's warranty; just make sure you know what that warranty is.

You're all heard of the "implied warranties" which are implied by law. These warrant that the product is manufactured to represented specifications and that the product is fit for the particular purpose intended. These warranties apply unless disclaimed, which they usually are, and replaced by a "limited warranty".

If you have a beef with a particular product or a particular manufacturer you can post that complaint here. Just be certain that you're right and justified. As far as objecting to a particular warranty your only recourse may be to select another product with a better warranty or better yet, less problems,

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