Topics included in this article:
- Overview
- Set Up Alarm Monitoring
- How to Use Alarm Monitoring
- Pause Alarm Monitoring
- Live Agent Calibration mode
- Stop Alarm Monitoring With Authorized Badge Entry
- Verification Best Practices
- Helpful Links
- Contact Support or Sales
Overview
Alarm Monitoring combines Rhombus AI-powered detection with professional monitoring services to help organizations detect, verify, and respond to potential security threats. By monitoring configured events across cameras, sensors, and access control devices, Alarm Monitoring can notify designated emergency contacts and, when necessary, dispatch emergency services based on customizable threat qualifications. This article explains how to configure Alarm Monitoring, create monitoring schedules, organize devices with sub-locations, manage emergency contacts and responder information, review threat cases and reports, and follow best practices for reducing false alarms and verification volume.
For more information, review our Monitoring Services Agreement.
Note: This service is intended for customers who want additional security during off-hours without the need for dedicated personnel.
Set Up Alarm Monitoring
Alarm Monitoring must be set up in the Rhombus Web Console.
The setup for Alarm Monitoring is as follows:
- Add Alarm Monitoring licenses
- Set a default Emergency Contact
- Choose to monitor manually or with schedules
- Set event triggers, threat qualifications, and submission delays
- Add PINs for Alarm Pads
- Create first responder entry instructions
| 1. Log in to the Rhombus Console, navigate to the "Locations" tab, and select the location associated with Alarm Monitoring. |
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2. Hover over the hamburger button in the upper-right corner and select one of the "Alarm Monitoring" options: |
Note: If you don't see the Alarm Monitoring interface in your console, contact your Rhombus representative.
Alarm Central
Alarm Central is the main hub for Alarm Monitoring. On this page, you can:
- View a snapshot or report of used verifications.
- View all monitored events and associated devices.
- Set whether monitoring will be stopped with a badge entry (available when using access control).
- When enabled, any authorized badge entry will stop monitoring. If monitoring is on a schedule, it will resume at the next scheduled start time. Monitoring may be manually started at any time.
- Monitor manually.
- Create custom settings for event monitoring.
- Monitor using schedules.
- Create a custom monitoring schedule and select the events to be monitored during that schedule.
- Multiple schedules can be created if different schedules are desired for different events at a location.
Sub-Locations
A location with an active Alarm Monitoring license can be divided into named sub-locations (such as floors, suites, units, or zones) to which devices can be assigned.
Note: Each device can be assigned to only one sub-location at a time.
1. Navigate to the "Locations" tab and select a location with an active Alarm Monitoring license.
2. Click the button in the upper-right corner.
3. Click the "Sub-Locations" tab in the upper right corner, then click "Add Sub-Location."
4. Enter a name for your sub-location, click the dropdown menu for the device type you want to assign to the sub-location, then click and drag devices to the sub-location.
5. With sub-locations enabled, alarm monitoring settings can be configured for individual sub-locations instead of applying to the entire location.
Monitor Manually
Manual monitoring has no defined start or end time. It relies on a user to manually enable or disable monitoring. Users with the appropriate permissions can enable or disable monitoring through the Rhombus Web Console, Mobile App, or Alarm Pad.
Monitor Using Schedules
Scheduled monitoring begins and ends at specified times. Use an existing schedule or create a new one. Monitoring can also be manually enabled or disabled at any time through the Console, Mobile App, or Alarm Pad.
Add Events to Monitor
Once you have chosen manual or scheduled monitoring, you must add events that trigger an alarm when they occur. You can also add a multi-event, which requires multiple console events to occur before triggering an alarm.
1. Add an event or multi-event to be monitored. When adding an event, select the device(s) which will be monitored.
Note: For multi-events, choose the number of verifications that must occur within a specified time period to trigger an alarm.
2. Set the threat qualification for the monitored events. This qualification determines what constitutes triggering an alarm.
Note: For immediate action on qualified monitored events, choose "Skip qualification and trigger alarm."
3. If desired, set a submission delay. This setting determines the amount of time between event detection and submission to the alarm monitoring service. A submission delay provides time to dismiss an event before it is submitted to the alarm monitoring service.
4. Finally, if desired, choose whether to play an audio clip upon event detection and/or verification of a threat.
Emergency Response Contacts
1. To add additional emergency contacts for your organization, navigate to the "Locations" tab and select the location associated with Alarm Monitoring. Hover over the hamburger button in the upper-right corner, then click "Emergency Response Contacts" below "Alarm Monitoring."
2. Add details for your organization’s emergency contacts including name, phone number, and a schedule when they can be contacted. The default contact will be used if no custom schedule is configured or during any time periods not covered by a custom schedule.
Note: If a threat is deemed valid, emergency contacts will be notified via text and phone call. Police will be dispatched if there is a threat to a person or property.
Contact from Alarm Monitoring Service
The monitoring service will contact the emergency contacts using the following phone numbers:
- +1 (619)329-8928
- +1 (619)329-8846
- +1 (619)329-8736
- +1 (619)304-4016
1. Add the numbers to a contact like Rhombus Monitoring so the calls aren't silenced.
2. Allow texts and phone calls from Rhombus Monitoring when "Do Not Disturb" or other "Focus Mode" settings are enabled.
Responder Entry Instructions
Responder Entry Instructions can provide emergency services with essential entry information. If responders need a key code to enter the premises or specific driving instructions to get on-site, use this field to provide them with that information. Enter the instructions and click "Save" in the bottom right.
Alarm Pad PINs
The alarm pad PIN ties to the Rhombus Keypad app on the iOS iPad store or the TS10. To learn more, see our articles on TS10 Setup and Alarm Pad Scenarios & Installation. Alarm pad PINs are customizable and must be four numbers long.
Custom Threat Qualifications
By default, Rhombus uses specific threat qualifications to determine whether emergency services should be contacted. These default qualifications are "Threat to Person or Property" and "Person Present." Custom Threat Qualifications allow users to customize precisely what scenarios will trigger a police dispatch.
1. To set up Custom Threat Qualifications, log in to the Rhombus Console, navigate to "Settings," and click "Threat Qualification."
2. Click "Add Custom Threat Qualification" in the upper left corner.
3. Enter a name for the Custom Threat Qualification, select the scenarios which will trigger a police dispatch, and click "Save."
4. Navigate to the "Locations" tab, select a location, hover over the hamburger button in the upper-right corner, then select "Alarm Central."
5. Click the "Monitoring settings" dropdown menu, then below "Qualification & Submission," click the first dropdown menu, select the newly created Custom Threat Qualification, and click "Save."
How to Use Alarm Monitoring
The Rhombus Console and Mobile App provide options to view the current status of alerts and threat cases.
Console
In the Rhombus Console, you will see some features for how to view alarm monitoring information. One option is the "Status" which will display locations with monitoring scheduled or the amount of cameras monitored. The other feature is "Threat Case." This allows a user to see the list of logged events during a previous alarm event.
Status
There are several ways to view the Alarm Monitoring status in the Rhombus Console.
1. Add a dashlet to the Rhombus dashboard to view the amount of locations that have alarm monitoring scheduled or if there is any missing information that needs to be entered.
2. Alarm Monitoring status can also be viewed from the "Locations" tab. From there, you can manually start Alarm Monitoring.
Threat Cases
| 1. Navigate to the "Locations" tab and select the location associated with Alarm Monitoring. |
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| 2. Hover over the hamburger button in the upper-right corner, then click "Threat Cases." |
- Initiated - If an Alert Submission Delay is set, the user will see a countdown timer, and have the option to Dismiss the alert, Escalate the alert to the alarm monitoring service, save the clip, share the clip, pause/snooze or report a false positive.
- Requested - This status signifies that the alert has been sent to the monitoring service for verification, and a response is pending.
- Escalated - This state signifies the monitoring service should begin or has begun emergency protocols such as reaching out to emergency contacts and alerting local authorities. In the picture below, a threat case timeline for when events happened is displayed.
- Dismissed - This state signifies that a user intercepted the threat case before it was sent to the monitoring service and verified that there was no threat present.
- Verified - This state signifies that the monitoring service reviewed the alert and did not identify a threat to a person or property in the provided clip.
- Canceled - This state signifies that an ESCALATED threat case was deemed resolved by a user without emergency protocols being followed to completion. I.e. a user made the explicit decision to halt an in-progress threat response by the monitoring service. The below alarm was canceled.
- Closed/Resolved - This state signifies that the monitoring service resolved an ESCALATED threat case as a result of following emergency protocols.
Reports
The Rhombus Console provides the ability to view Alarm Monitoring Reports.
Select the "Logs & Reports" tab, then click "Alarm Monitoring Logs & Reports."
Here, you can view reports for all your monitored locations and download the data locally.
You can also find alarm monitoring setup updates through Audit Logs:
- Who made the last adjustment, user, or PIN name
- Settings changes or enabling/disabling monitoring
- Which location was impacted
Mobile App
In the mobile app, you can access the Alarm Monitoring section by tapping "Menu" in the bottom-right corner, then tapping "Alarm Monitoring."
Pause Alarm Monitoring
Alarm Monitoring can be paused in the Rhombus Console, Mobile App, and Alarm Pad. When pausing alerts, choose the alert tied to the location for which you desire to pause alerts.
Console
1. Navigate to the "Locations" tab, select the location, and click "Pause Alerts" in the upper-right corner.
2. Select how long you want to pause alerts, then click "Confirm."This will stop alerts for the entire organization.
Mobile App
Below is a quick video on how to pause alerts within the Rhombus Mobile App.
Live Agent Calibration Mode
Calibration Mode is used to ensure all licenses, alert policies, and contact lists are set up properly so that the customer has a seamless experience. During this one-week experience, the alarm monitoring review service will be active. They will review and verify the alerts and contact the appropriate individuals on the contact list. The customer will confirm with Rhombus that everything is working properly before disabling the test mode.
Note: An orange dot will display beside the headphone symbol indicating a location is in Calibration Mode.
Stop Alarm Monitoring With Authorized Badge Entry
Alarm Monitoring can be disabled when an authorized employee enters a location using their badge. This means the first person arriving at the building won’t need to take any additional steps to disable the alarm after entering.
If enabled, any authorized badge entry or keypad entry will stop monitoring. If monitoring is on a schedule, it will resume at the next scheduled start time. Monitoring may be manually started at any time.
Requirements:
- This feature requires Rhombus Access Control and Alarm Monitoring.
- To disarm the system using a badge, users must have an authorized badge, and their access grant schedule must align with the time they are trying to disarm. If there is a conflict with their access grant schedule, they will be unable to badge in or disarm the system.
- To disarm with a keypad, users must have an assigned PIN credential, and their grant schedule must align with the time they are trying to disarm. If there is a conflict with their access grant schedule, they will be unable to use the keypad or disarm the system.
- Re-arming the system is not affected by the access grant schedule. It still requires either a scheduled monitoring setup or a manual activation via the console, mobile app, or iPad app.
| 1. Navigate to the "Locations" page and select on the location that you want to enable this feature for. |
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| 2. Hover over the hamburger button in the upper-right corner, then click "Alarm Central." |
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| 3. Enable the "Stop Monitoring With Authorized Badge Entry" toggle. Optionally set to have the door automatically re-armed after an authorized badge entry. |
Supported Third-Party Integrations
Rhombus supports keypad reader and certain third-party access control badge systems for use with disabling alarm monitoring via an authorized badge entry.
For more information on the specific integration, please review the following documentation:
Verification Best Practices
A "Verification" is a service-generated request for an Alert Assessment (see the Monitoring Services Agreement for additional information). Each Verification results in a video clip being transmitted to a live agent, who determines whether the Alert represents an active threat and should trigger a Notification Event.
Rhombus offers alarm monitoring license tiers based on the volume of Verifications generated. If your service generates a high volume of Alerts requiring Verification, you must purchase a license tier that accommodates your expected Verification volume.
High Verification Volume
If you have a high volume of Verifications but very few (or no) Notification Events, you may be paying more than necessary for the service, and your alarm monitoring configuration may need to be adjusted. Likewise, if you exceed the number of Verifications included with your license, you risk affecting a location's license status and having alarm monitoring disabled for the remainder of the month.
When configuring your alarm monitoring settings, it is important to ensure that:
- You monitor the areas identified as the highest risk and configure your solution to minimize false-positive alerts.
- You understand how many Verifications are likely to be generated during your grace period (the first month after the service is installed).
- Your organization does not risk deactivation due to excessive Verifications.
To help avoid a high volume of Verifications, Rhombus recommends following these best practices:
Device Selection
Choose devices for monitoring that provide a clear view of the area of interest and experience minimal expected foot traffic during monitoring hours.
Limit the number of cameras covering the same field of view to avoid initiating Verifications for duplicate events.
Event Selection
- Configure alerts for events that are most likely to indicate an active threat.
- For example, an outdoor camera that captures heavy pedestrian traffic may generate excessive verifications when configured with a human movement alert. In contrast, a door event triggers an alert only when someone enters.
Camera Activity Regions
- Specify activity regions on cameras where no traffic is expected during monitoring periods. This allows the Service to focus on the areas most likely to require alerts. For more information, see our article on Region Setup.
Schedule
- Select a schedule that is appropriate for your location, and enable monitoring only when necessary. For example, activate monitoring on cameras only after hours or only in public areas during periods when no human traffic is expected.
Helpful Links
- Alarm Monitoring: Alarm Pad Scenarios & Installation
- Creating and Assigning Alert Policies
- Optics and Object Distances for Analytics
- Pause/Snooze Notifications
- Configuring Activity Regions
Contact Support or Sales
Have more questions? Contact Rhombus Support at +1 (877) 746-6797 option 2 or support@rhombus.com.
Interested in learning more? Contact Rhombus Sales at +1 (877) 746-6797 option 1 or sales@rhombus.com.
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