Messaging options and features

Last Week

We explored CTU Additional Inputs — what they can do and how our customers are using them. If you missed it, you can catch up here: CTU Additional Inputs.

This Week: Messaging Options and Features

​This week we’re diving into how AFAM messaging works — and highlighting a few powerful features you might not know about.

Messaging is something everyone in our industry relies on, but few stop to think about. Our goal is to make sure your alerts are delivered the way you need them, every time.

Message Delivery

We send messages to keep you informed about changes or events on the systems you manage or monitor. You can receive them via any combination of:

• SMS (text message)
• Email
• AFAM AlarmTech App

Messages fall into three main categories:

• Events – Notify you when a specific event or state change occurs.
• Reminders – Follow-up alerts for important events.
• Bring Ups – Sent at 8am, 4pm, and 8pm for any systems still in an off-normal state.

Message Delivery Limits & Recipients

Unlike some of our competitors, we don’t cap the number of:

• Messages you can receive, or
• Recipients who can be notified.

We also have no plans to restrict particular messages only to one delivery method, we want your messaging to work for you. If you want to get every message via SMS, Email, and the AlarmTech App — that’s fine by us. 

We also don’t restrict who can receive notifications. Service agents, property owners, managers, and tenants can all stay in the loop if needed.

Message Delivery Strategies

Behind the scenes, our system uses a sophisticated rules-based engine to control how and when messages are sent.

It considers factors such as:

• Type and timing of the event
• Whether it’s a weekend or public holiday
• Recent similar messages
• Duration of the state change

We call these Messaging Strategies, and a refined default set is applied across all properties.

Custom Strategies

While the default strategies work well for most users, we know some situations call for more flexibility.
That’s why we can create custom messaging strategies for:

• Entire companies
• Individual branches
• Groups of properties

If you’d like to explore a custom setup, contact our support team — we can usually accommodate most requests.

Solomon Dashboard Link

Every SMS and Email we send includes a link to the Summary screen in Solomon, our service agent website. You’ll also find the same link under the PFA Details screen in the AFAM AlarmTech App.

From the Summary screen, you can view details of the PFA or CTU, check recent messages, see keyholders, and access a range of useful functions — including the two below.

Putting Messages On Test

When you’re carrying out work on site, it can be handy to temporarily pause messaging to avoid unnecessary alerts. From the Summary screen in Solomon, you can easily put messaging “on test” for a PFA or CTU for a chosen period.

You can select from several options:

• Put Faults On Test
• Put Faults and Fires On Test
• Put Enhanced / IoT Detector Level Information On Test
• Put Faults and Enhanced / IoT Detector Level Information On Test
• Put Faults, Fires, and Enhanced / IoT Detector Level Information On Test

There’s also a Cancel All On Test option to return everything to normal messaging.

Note: This feature only affects agent messaging. All state changes are still sent to FENZ as usual.

Temporarily Subscribe to All Messages for a Site

(New Feature — Available from Monday 20 October)
When carrying out maintenance, inspections, or surveys, you may want to see every message from a site for a limited time — even if you’re not normally set to receive them. This new feature makes that possible.

To temporarily subscribe:

1. Log into Solomon and open the relevant PFA’s details or summary page.
2. Click ‘Subscribe to All Messages’.
3. Enter how many hours you’d like to stay subscribed.
4. Click OK — and you’ll start receiving all messages for that site until your subscription expires.

Coming Next Week

Next week we’ll explore AFAM Automated Reports, including:

• Available reports
• Delivery options and frequencies
• Who can receive them
• Custom report options