This week we're sharing an update on our next-generation CTU, highlighting some of the work we've been doing in the training space, and covering a few other developments from around AFAM.

We recently had the pleasure of being invited by Foodstuffs North Island to deliver a three-hour workshop for their fire alarm service agents, showcasing AFAM's capabilities and services.

A big thank you to Foodstuffs for organising the session, and to all the service agents who attended and generously gave their time.

The workshop generated some excellent discussion, and we've come away with a number of actions, potential improvements, and ideas for new services that will benefit both service agents and property owners and managers.

Training and the availability of resources for installers and technicians was one of the key topics raised during the Foodstuffs North Island workshop.

Over the past few months we've been running a series of free, in-person training sessions for fire alarm technicians, covering a range of topics with a particular focus on the AFAM AlarmTech App. These sessions are often held immediately after technicians' toolbox meetings, making it easy for teams to attend while they're already together.

We're always happy to run these sessions, so if you'd like some free training for your technicians, please get in touch.

We're also about to release the second video in our AlarmTech App tutorial series. In the Resources section of our website you'll also find a growing library of tutorial videos, installation guides, and training material covering the AlarmTech App, CTU, and customer portals.

We're pleased to share that we've found an outstanding person to join our Auckland team as our new Business Development Representative.

We're not quite ready to introduce them just yet—but stay tuned, we'll be making that announcement very soon.

Development of our next-generation CTU continues to make excellent progress, and we're now very close to receiving the first pre-production test units.

As a reminder, we began this project early last year with the goal of completely redesigning our monitoring hardware from the ground up. While our current CTU has proven to be exceptionally reliable and continues to meet today's requirements, the new platform gives us significantly more processing power, additional storage, and expanded input/output capability.

These improvements will allow us to deliver new features and functionality that simply aren't possible with the current hardware.

Key enhancements include:

• A significantly more powerful processor for faster performance and greater capability.
• Bluetooth connectivity for direct access through the AlarmTech App, making commissioning and troubleshooting much easier onsite.
• Multiple general-purpose outputs, extending the CTU's capabilities beyond monitoring.
• Networking capability, allowing multiple CTUs to work together and enabling entirely new functionality.
• Analogue inputs for integrating devices such as pressure sensors (ideal for sprinkler systems), temperature sensors, and other monitoring applications.

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We're excited to share more as development progresses.

In our last newsletter we announced the ability to add assets and features to floor plans, including:

• Fire extinguishers
• Hose reels
• Emergency signage
• Fire doors
• Hazards, such as fuel stores and gas cylinders
• And more

We also asked whether you'd like to do more than simply record the location of these assets.

The response was a resounding yes.

Thank you to everyone who took the time to provide feedback. Your input has given us a clear direction, and we'll now begin expanding this functionality to deliver even greater value.

Over the next fortnight members of the AFAM team will be visiting Auckland, Hamilton, Wellington, Whanganui, Nelson, and Christchurch.

If you'd like to arrange a meeting, grab a coffee, book a demonstration, or discuss how AFAM can provide greater visibility across your fire alarm portfolio, we'd love to catch up.

​In our next newsletter we'll share more of what we've been working on, while also taking a closer look at some exciting new features that are just around the corner.

​This week we're introducing a new enhancement to our floor plans, sharing an update on our growing team, and covering a few other happenings from around AFAM.

This edition is a little shorter than usual, it's been a particularly busy couple of weeks behind the scenes!

We've added the ability to display additional assets and features on our floor plans. Soon you'll be able to include items such as:

• Fire extinguishers
• Hose reels
• Emergency signage
• Fire doors
• Hazards (such as fuel stores or gas bottles)
• And more

This has been one of the most requested enhancements since we introduced floor plans. Initially these items will provide improved visibility and documentation, but if there's enough demand we'll extend the functionality to allow you to manage, inspect, and track these assets directly within the AlarmTech App and across the wider AFAM platform.

If asset tracking is something your business would find valuable, we'd love to hear from you.

​In our last newsletter we mentioned that our Auckland team would soon be expanding, and we're pleased to say we've now advertised the role.

We're looking for a Business Development Representative (BDR) to work alongside Anastasia, supporting both sales and business development activities throughout the region.

The position is ideal for someone early in their sales career who is looking for the opportunity to develop into a Business Development Manager role.

If you, or someone you know, may be interested, take a look at the advertisement on Seek by clicking on the link below, but don't leave it too long, as applications are already coming in.

As a reminder, the Support section of our website contains a wide range of helpful resources, including:

• Brochures
• Installation and tutorial videos
• Compatibility Guides showing which fire panels support in-panel installations and IoT detector-level information
• Installation Guides

We're continually adding new content, so any brochures, videos or tutorials mentioned in future newsletters will also be available there.

One of the questions we were asked this week was whether we offer a satellite connectivity option for remote sites. It's a question that comes up every few months, usually from customers with buildings beyond the reach of reliable cellular coverage.

The short answer is: not yet.

The good news is that all of the cellular modem manufacturers we work with have indicated that dual cellular/satellite modems are on the way. They're not commercially available to us just yet, but it's clearly where the industry is heading.

There are also some technical considerations to work through. Not all satellite networks are the same, and message delivery times vary depending on the technology being used. Any solution we offer will need to meet the performance and reliability requirements expected of a fire alarm monitoring system.

As soon as suitable hardware becomes available and we're confident it meets our standards, you can be sure we'll be among the first monitoring providers to offer satellite connectivity as an option.

Over the next fortnight members of the AFAM team will be visiting Auckland, Hamilton, Christchurch, and the Coromandel.

If you'd like to arrange a meeting, grab a coffee, book a demonstration, or discuss how AFAM can provide greater visibility across your fire alarm portfolio, we'd love to catch up.

​In our next newsletter we'll be showcasing a couple of new features we've been working on, sharing highlights from a recent industry event, and bringing you more updates from around AFAM.

This week we had planned to take a detailed look at the new Site Map Portal, but we’re going to save that for next time while we finish the supporting videos.

Instead, we’ll cover some developments across the other portals, upcoming app releases, and a few general updates.

We’ve created a brochure specifically for Service Agents BDMs and Account Managers to use with customers and key accounts. 

The brochure helps explain how AFAM’s additional free services, including the Property Portfolio Portal and floor plan functionality, provide added value and benefits to building owners and property managers. 

Before making it generally available, we’re looking for feedback. If you’re a BDM or Account Manager who thinks this may be useful and you’d like to review the brochure, let us know and we’ll send you a copy.

If you’ve recently had a demo of the Property Portfolio Portal, you may already have seen this feature we’re close to releasing.

The idea is to assign a score to each individual property based on factors such as recurring defects, aged defects, testing history, and other key indicators. These scores are then combined to create an overall portfolio score.

This allows you to compare your portfolio against anonymised portfolios of a similar type, while also identifying the individual sites and contributing factors that may benefit from remedial work to improve the overall score.

We’ll share more details and examples of this feature in action very soon.

The updated Apple version of the AFAM AlarmTech App will be released within the next couple of days.

There’s nothing special required to upgrade — the app will update automatically in the same way as your other apps.

This release brings the Apple version in line with Android and includes:

• New controls for selecting which message types generate notifications and alerts
• A new rules engine that allows alerts based on specific words or phrases
• Improved user interface and usability
• General performance improvements and bug fixes

The rules engine can be particularly useful for identifying specific defect types or prioritising notifications for key customer sites.

The AFAM AlarmTech App is now being used by just under 100 companies and branches.

We considered offering something special to the 100th group to sign up, but it’s difficult to discount something that’s already completely free.

Remember, the app allows you to view all properties you manage or maintain — not just those monitored by AFAM.

If you’d like to get set up, or would like a walkthrough of the functionality, get in touch and we can arrange a demo or assist with onboarding.

Just a reminder that we maintain a full inventory of monitoring equipment spares at our Auckland office.

If you’re in Auckland and urgently need equipment or parts, contact the office and we’ll arrange the fastest possible shipment.

​In our next newsletter, we’ll take a deeper dive into the Site Map Portal, with more detail, visuals, and a look at additional enhancements currently in development.