Why Is It Important?

The key benefit for users of such accredited solutions is that serious incidents can be fast tracked to the Police to generate the highest priority Level 1 response where the situation warrants such a response.  This fast-tracked process is via Lone Worker Unique Reference Numbers (URNs) and also requires compliance with the National Police Chief’s Council (NPCC) Police Requirements For Security Systems.  Lone Worker URNs are in place with every Police Force in England allowing an ARC to contact the regional Police Force directly and quickly and bypassing the national public facing 101 and 999 services.

BS8484 accreditation also provides organisations with the reassurance that the supplier, the devices and apps used, the ARC facility and response services (where offered) are credible and meet certain minimum requirements.  All are audited and certified by an independent inspectorate body.

History

BS8484 was launched back in 2009 when the lone worker safety solutions industry, through the British Security Industry Association (BSIA), worked together with the NPCC and the British Standards Institute (BSI) to create a recognised BSI Code Of Practice.  This ensured credible and reputable suppliers were delivering solutions that generated verified alarms through to the Police, enabling the Police to confidently deliver the highest priority Level 1 response for situations that warranted that level of response without fear of wasting resources attending unverified or incorrectly verified false alarms.

Reliance Protect Accreditation

Reliance Protect were one of the first suppliers to be accredited with BS8484:2009 accreditation and played a significant role in the development of revised 2016 and 2022 versions of the standard. We are audited and certified by the Security Systems And Alarms Inspection Board (SSAIB).

If you want to learn more about fast-tracked Police responses and the BS8484 Code Of Practice please contact us.

Key Elements

BS8484:2016 is made up of a number of key sections:

Section 4: Supplier Recommendations

This section contains requirements for the suppliers covering areas such as quality systems, financial stability, staff security screening, and data security management.

Section 5: Lone Worker Devices & Apps

This section looks at the requirements for the essential and optional functionality of lone worker devices and lone worker apps.

Section 6: Training & Support

The supplier needs to demonstrate effective training of staff to deliver the services, including the ARC staff, and also the provision of quality training courses and materials for customers.  Section 6 also covers the minimum levels of customer support required such as customer support teams and device usage management information, and minimum ARC service levels.

 

Section 7: ARC

The supplier’s ARC, whether in-house or contracted service, needs to be accredited to BS9518 and either BS5979 Category II or EN50518 /BS8591 covering the infrastructure of the ARC building and alarm handling processes.

 

Section 8: Response Services

This section looks at the requirements for suppliers providing alarm response services either in-house or contracted.