Intruder Alarm and Electronic Guard Tour Systems

The biggest enemy of an alarm system is not the intruder — it is the false alarm. Once false alarms pile up, the frontline silences the sounder, the management office ignores the notifications, and a real intrusion goes unanswered. That is why we design with zones and schedules, and use dual-technology detection (for example, PIR plus microwave) to cut false triggers.

Detector placement matters more than model. Sunlight, air-conditioning vents, moving curtains, pets and ceiling leaks all trigger false alarms on passive infrared detectors. Door contacts must be mounted where the frame and leaf truly meet, not fixed wherever adhesive happens to stick. These points look trivial, but they decide whether the system is usable at all.

Emergency buttons belong at staffed positions — the management office, counters, plant rooms — and must be clearly labelled. On activation, the system should raise both a local sounder and a remote notification, not merely light a lamp. Notification recipients and escalation order should be agreed in advance, so that everyone assumes someone else is handling it does not happen.

Electronic guard tour turns patrolling from a signed sheet into a timestamped record. Tour points use NFC tags or QR codes; officers tap on arrival, and the system logs time, location and personnel. The office can review missed points, late visits and unusual dwell times. For an estate's dark corners, rooftops, plant rooms and car parks, such records are far more reliable than after-the-fact statements.

Alarms can connect to an external monitoring centre or the office's phones, but only after confirming the communication path (fixed line, 4G, broadband) and backup power. Phone lines and networks in Hong Kong's older buildings are not always stable, and a single-path alarm system is effectively dead during a power or line failure. We recommend at least two paths, with periodic communication tests.

Every alarm event should carry a handling record: when it was received, who responded, what was found on site, and how it was reset. These records serve both as a management tool and as the basis for reviewing sources of false alarms. The system can export reports so the office can review monthly which detector misfires most often.