The following visual provides a high-level overview of main steps and workflow for Solink’s Professionally Monitored Video Alarms:
Note: All text messages outlined in this guide will display in French if this is the language preference selected for the Alarm Contact. Location must be in Canada.
Alarm Contact Outreach Explained
This section explains each possible scenario that can occur when a Solink alarm is triggered. Please take note of what Alarm Contacts can expect when a Dispatch Agent reaches out via SMS text and / or phone during each of the following scenarios.
1. A Real or Potential Emergency
A real or potential emergency occurs, on average, less than 1% of the time. In this scenario, the Verification Agent has confirmed that there is a threat to person or property:
This is passed to a Dispatch Agent and they immediately:
Contact local emergency services to respond to the threat at the location.
Send all Alarm Contacts a SMS text message (see all possible SMS text messages below).
Simultaneously, another Dispatch Agent calls the Primary Alarm Contact. If the Primary Alarm Contact does not answer, the Dispatch Agent calls other Alarm Contacts in the order they appear under Solink Alarm Configuration. See how Solink logs the call event details here.
SMS Text Messages
When there is a real or potential emergency, the agent sends an SMS text message to your alarm contacts based on the exact reason listed below.
Agent Reason | Message |
Active break-in or burglary in progress | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by an active break-in. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
Unknown person is inside business but not actively taking or damaging property | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by unknown person inside. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
Unknown person is taking items from outside of business | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by person taking items from outside. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
Unknown person is outside business but not actively taking or damaging property | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by unknown person outside. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
Other | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by other threat. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
2. Unable to Load Video
On rare occasions, the Verification Agent is unable to load the video stream. This is often due to intermittent network issues or low bandwidth at the location. This issue usually occurs on one camera, so it does not necessarily mean the agent is completely ‘blind’ to motion on other alarm cameras.
The Verification Agent attempts to load the video three consecutive times and often is able to load within these attempts.
In the event the Verification Agent cannot load after three tries, a Dispatch Agent will immediately send all Alarm Contacts a SMS text message. At the discretion of the Dispatch Agent, they may also call to ensure people and property are safe, starting with the Primary Alarm Contact.
The SMS text message your alarm contact(s) receives says the following:
"Solink has detected motion at Store 123 but we could not review the video due to a video loading issue. We will not be dispatching police unless you respond "Yes" to this SMS within the next 5 minutes. View alarm here: https://test-alarm.solink.direct/alarm/ky1RcirAxdGudvOvefRnLg"
Note: You may receive this message on occasion - if so, It is likely only an intermittent issue. Please review the video link provided and respond to the agent if there is a real emergency. If you receive this message frequently (e.g., one per night), please contact our Support team as there are likely changes we suggest to improve your connectivity.
Note: Solink requires at least 2 mbps average upload speeds for Professionally Monitored Video Alarms. Slower speeds result in the monitoring agent reaching out more frequently due to an inability to load video after three attempts.
3. Inconclusive (with or without visible person on video)
On rare occasions, the Verification Agent is unable to conclusively determine whether someone or something poses a real threat. This footage often occurs on one camera. If there is a subsequent motion event, another agent reviews the footage and may be able to produce a more conclusive result from a different camera angle.
Some examples include:
Video with a visible person. For example, an employee or delivery person who is not in uniform or fully visible within the camera shot.
Video without a visible person. For example, a light turning on / off, but it is unclear on video if it is an automatic lighting system or a person turning it on / off in an area not visible by the camera.
In the event the Verification Agent cannot conclusively determine a threat, but a person is visible on the video:
The agent will send all Alarm Contacts a SMS text message, outlined in the table below. At the discretion of the Dispatch Agent, they may also call to ensure people and property are safe, starting with the Primary Alarm Contact.
SMS Text Messages
When an alarm triggers but the agent is unable to determine if there is a real or potential emergency based on the footage, the agent sends (or does not send) an SMS text message to your alarm contacts based on the exact reason listed bellow.
Agent Reason | Message |
Other - Person shown | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by an unverifiable person. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
Person is outside of business, not acting suspiciously | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by a person seen outside of the business. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
Person is inside of business, not acting suspiciously | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by a person seen inside of the business. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
Emergency service personnel on site | Agent does not send a message |
Moving vehicle | Solink has video verification of an alarm at Store 123 caused by a moving vehicle. Police will be dispatched unless we receive a ‘No’ reply to attempt cancelation. |
No Contact Scenarios
The agent does not reach out if the video is inconclusive in the following scenarios:
Camera view obstructed or dark
Video technical issue
No person shown
Emergency service personnel on site
Other
Note: After the monitoring agent has flagged the video as inconclusive and does not reach out as per the list above, you can search for the video event (use the search bar on the Alarms tab and search for “Unverifiable (Unable to determine Conclusively)”.
4. Employee Detected Onsite - Auto Disarm
When a monitoring agent reviews footage of an alarm and determines that the people onsite are employees, not suspicious individuals, the alarm is then disarmed until the next scheduled arm period, or for a certain period of time configured by your Customer Success representative.
All alarm contacts then receive an SMS text message with the following information:
The number of times employees were detected onsite over a given period of time.
A notice that the site has been disarmed along with the length of time it will remain disarmed.
A link to review the video of the alarm(s).
The options to either re-arm the system or dispatch emergency services via text.
See this guide for more information.