BS 5979, BS7858
BS 50134 & TSA Codes of Practice

BS 5979 is a British Standard, produced by BSI (the British Standards Institute). It covers the construction, staffing, operations and security of alarm monitoring centres (for Security Alarms and Social Alarms).

Category 1 covers the high-risk monitoring centres (e.g. for Banks, etc), and monitoring of fire alarms and other safety systems.

Category 2 covers lower-risk monitoring centres, such as for monitoring of alarms within retirement homes and hospitals, etc (social alarms).

Increasingly, organisations that provide services to the elderly or vulnerable persons are using this standard in order to ensure that their staff and contractors are likely to be honest and trustworthy. Organisations in sectors where personnel could present a significant security threat may also find this standard of considerable use.

This standard dictates a method for obtaining references, performing certain screening activities within specified timescales. 

It also provides the framework for alternative actions when references are unavailable or unclear.

Organisations for which this standard is especially applicable include:

• Prisons
• Immigration Detention & Removal Centres
• Social Alarm Monitoring Centres
• Mobile response services
• Banks
• ISPs

BS 50134 is a British Standard, produced by BSI (the British Standards Institute). It covers the requirements for Social Alarm Monitoring systems, including:

• requirements of the monitoring organisations.
• requirements of the monitoring equipment
• requirements of the alarm-sending equipment

TSA Codes of Practice are a set of requirements produced by the TSA (formerly ASAP - Association of Social Alarm Providers), based on some of the requirements of BS 5979 and BS 50134.

Code of Practice 1 (CoP 1) covers activities within the call receiving centre

Code of Practice 2 (CoP 3) covers equipment installation activities

Code of Practice 3 (CoP 3) covers mobile warden activities

Dr Terry Russell and his colleagues at Centre for ISO9000 have assisted some of the largest UK Social Alarm Monitoring Organisations to meet the requirements of these standards (e.g. Cirrus Communications / Peverel, Eldercare and Positive Response). 

We can assist your organisation to achieve 

TSA registration, and/or 

• ISO 9001:2000
• BS 5979
• BS 50134

registration with an approved Certification Body ("Quality Registrar"), such as BSI, in a cost-effective and timely manner.