BS - EN Standards
INDUSTRY STANDARDS - BRITISH & EUROPEAN
Why choose an NSI (National Security Inspectorate)Approved Company?
NSI's mission is to raise standards in the Security Industry in the interests of the customer.
NSI believes that every customer, whether a large commercial organisation or an individual householder, is entitled to receive a professional service from their security provider. The threat to every customer is the long-term undermining of standards by poor performers. It is NSI's motivation to separate the strong from the weak and protect the customer by separating the good from the bad in a transparent and open way.
NSI approved companies must prove their competence on an on-going basis. They may not always be the cheapest, but they are invariably the best. If a company has not been approved by NSI, challenge its credentials.
All NSI approved companies:
• meet the highest business performance standards
• meet all relevant British and European Standards for technical performance
• security screen all relevant staff
• provide a high level of staff training and supervision to industry best practice standards
• are comprehensively insured to protect customers and staff
• are inspected every six months by professional auditors including random site visits
NSI Gold companies also:
• meet the industry specific ISO 9001:2000 Quality Management System Standard
• demonstrate a long term track record of performance and evidence of reliability and stability
NSI provides the toughest inspection services to ensure that all its approved companies continuously meet the highest standards.
Approved companies are recognised for their different stages of development through three tiers of NSI approval: Gold, Silver and Bronze.
The Gold schemes are the most esteemed and provide a target for ambitious companies to achieve, whilst Silver provides smaller and younger businesses with an opportunity to receive an appropriate level of approval.
AlertSystems are NSI GOLD approved installers of CCTV, Access Control and Intruder Alarm systems.
NSI's schemes cover a wide range of areas within the security services.
Security Systems Installation & Maintenance for
• Intruder Alarms
• CCTV
• Access Control
Accreditation
NSI is accredited by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS), which operates on behalf of the Government under a Memorandum of Understanding from the Department of Trade and Industry.
UKAS ensures that bodies like NSI are run in an appropriate manner. Each accredited organisation must be run by a Management Board who take into account the opinion of all interested parties, so that no one party can dictate its actions or activities. It must also be structured such that independence and impartiality of certification and certification decisions are assured.
Approval Criteria
To achieve and retain NSI approval, companies must meet a wide range of criteria including technical standards relevant to how they provide their specific service and requirements covering the way their businesses are operated. These include checks that companies:
• carry out security screening to BS 7858 of all individuals in relevant employment
• are financially sound with a capital base appropriate to turnover, normally including annual accounts covering two years prior to date of application
• have persons managing, controlling and having principal interests in the ownership of the company that are demonstrably reputable persons of good standing
• have suitably experienced managers and trained and qualified personnel, sufficient to meet obligations
• operate from suitable and adequately secure premises
• use suitable tools, equipment, test instruments and vehicles (where relevant)
• hold product liability insurance cover extending to wrongful advice and failure to perform with a limit of indemnity (in respect of any one event and also in the aggregate) of at least one million pounds sterling
• provide twenty-four hour cover (where relevant)
• maintain sufficient level of trading activity
• do not impose unreasonable contracts upon customers
• have policy to encourage maintenance contracts for electronic security systems
• have procedures in place for dealing with customer complaints effectively
• adhere to all relevant industry Standards, Codes of Practice, etc
• manage and conduct all business in accordance with stated policies, procedures and practices
Ongoing six-monthly inspections include;
• review of new contracts to ensure they have been dealt with properly and efficiently
• site visits to customer premises to inspect security systems for compliance with standards
• review of any management & structural changes
• checking that all new staff are security screened
• checking that changes to industry standards etc are being implemented correctly
• checking that training is being delivered effectively
In addition, the Quality Management Systems of NSI Gold approved companies are audited by NSI against the requirements of BS EN ISO 9001
SECURITY INDUSTRY STANDARDS
BS EN ISO 9001:2000 Quality System
CCTV
NACP20 Code of Practice for Planning, Installation and Maintenance of CCTV Systems
BS8418 Installation & Remote Monitoring of Detector Activated CCTV systems
BS EN 50132 Series European Standards on CCTV Systems
Access Control
NACP30 Code of Practice for Planning, Installation and Maintenance of Access Control systems
BS EN 50133 Series European Standards on Access Control systems
Intruder Alarms
BS 4737 Series. British Standards on Intruder Alarms
(Originally due to expire October 2005)
BS EN 50131 Series European Standards on Intruder Alarms
(Originally due to commence October 2005)
Industry Statement regarding EN 50131 Series
BS 8473:2006 Intruder and hold-up alarm systems
Management of False Alarms - Code of practice
DD243 Installation and configuration of intruder Alarm systems designed to generate confirmed alarm conditions - Code of practice
