Response procedures

A response procedure tells operators how to handle an alarm, with decisions, evidence checks, contact attempts and other recorded actions. Administrators build the procedure library under Settings > Response procedures, where the feature is available. Assign published procedures to Sites so operators receive the appropriate instructions with each alarm.

Build a draft

1. Enter New procedure name and select New procedure. Use a name that describes the response, such as checking an after-hours intrusion.
2. Choose New step type and select Add step. Open a step to edit it. Instruction explains an action; Check the evidence prompts a review; Decision branches according to the answer.
3. Use Contact for a contact attempt, Output to switch a Site output, Talk through a speaker to speak through a Site speaker, or Wait and recheck before another check. An Output or Talk step names the output or speaker as each Site's Site controls show it, for example Exterior light. Where schedules are available, a Schedule check branches according to its time window.
4. Connect each possible result to its next step and make each path reach Finish. Mark steps required where the operator should explain a skipped action.
5. Select Save draft. Correct the issues reported by validation, including missing destinations, loops and paths that cannot finish.

Write instructions that someone unfamiliar with the Site can follow. Identify what to inspect, what counts as a confirmed incident and which contact role to call. A procedure does not grant permission to operate an output or make an unavailable device work.

Try it before publishing

Open Try it and select Start the simulation. The simulator uses the last saved draft, so save your edits first. Walk through each decision and result, including a contact who does not answer and a check that fails.

Simulation does not call people, operate outputs or change alarms. Use it to inspect the route and wording, then check the actual Site contacts and device setup separately. When the draft is ready, select Publish. Published versions provide the instructions used for alarm responses; later edits should be reviewed and published deliberately.

Assign it to a Site

1. Open the Site workspace, select Response and find Response procedure.
2. Choose a published Procedure and select Save procedure. Check warnings for contact roles that nobody at this Site holds.
3. Use Procedure by category or source when a particular alarm needs a different response. Select Assign a procedure, choose the category or source under For, the procedure and Assign.

A source assignment takes priority, then a category assignment, then the Site default. Review these assignments before archiving a procedure: archiving can leave Sites without their intended response. See Sites for the rest of the Site setup.

Follow it during an alarm

Open the alarm, acknowledge it and follow its procedure panel. Read the current step, inspect the evidence and record the actual result. For a contact, record whether the person answered. An Output step switches its output from the panel and shows the reported state, with Send again if the command needs repeating; a Talk step talks through its speaker. Both need the same permissions as Site controls. Check the result before continuing. Each command and talk stays in the step's history with who did it and when. Skipping a required step needs a note explaining why.

Use Finish procedure when the route reaches its end, then resolve the alarm with the appropriate outcome. Resolution is allowed before the procedure finishes; its history records where it stopped. Finishing the procedure and resolving the alarm are separate actions. If the alarm is reopened, its earlier runs stay listed under Earlier responses. See Alarms and incidents for ownership and review history.