Automated security manufacturer Ness has opened a purpose-built facility that offers training to installers in all things security and allows them to demonstrate the company’s extensive product line to end‑users.

Located in the Victorian suburb of Nunawading, the facility is designed to be as hands-on as possible for installers.

“This new centre will be a huge benefit for security installers who want to move into the home automation side of the industry,” national intelligent systems manager Greg Kingsley says.

“Home automation is where the security industry is heading; there’s no more money in the straight security sector and installers who have their heads in the sand are losing out.”While we always have the end-user in mind, we need to target the installer, because nine out of 10 times it is the installer who chooses the product, not the customer.

“This means an installer needs to be able to sell the product. This is where our facility comes in.”

Installers, many of whom don’t have access to a showroom of their own, can bring their clients to the centre to show off the products in a mock home environment.

The training room is fitted out with Category 6 cabling for the most part, with some Cat 5 being used to reinforce the structured cabling design.

The room is controlled by C-Bus and features two M1 units running simultaneously – one specifically for the training room and the other for the main building.

It also features four individual security management and access control ports and demonstrates the company’s line of biometric devices, including fingerprint readers and facial recognition.

Greg says the launching of the showroom also means Ness can offer much more comprehensive training to its dealers.

Training packages are available from $800 for Victorian-based installers, $995 for New South Wales and $1,200 for Perth. All packages include airfare, accommodation and meals during the two-day course.

At the end of the course, installers leave with an M1 unit they can install in their own premises or resell to a customer for profit.

Further, Ness dealers accredited by the company’s Select Dealer program are well taken care of.

All Select Dealers receive comprehensive training in the entire product line as well as having the benefit of cashing in on Ness brand recognition.

And the perks don’t end there. For Select Dealers, if a unit fails within three months of installation due to a manufacturing fault, the company will replace it and pay the installer $50 for the inconvenience of a call-out to swap the units.

“If we didn’t have confidence in our manufacturing capabilities we’d go broke,” Greg says.

The company is working on various new products, including a hybrid digital video recorder that can use analogue or Internet protocol cameras.

“For us, diversification is the way to go. The M1, for example, can be a stand-alone device or a networked one that can be installed in anything from a one-bedroom apartment to an entire high-rise building.”

Additionally, the Ness M1, which already interfaces with phones, remotes and a media centre plug-in, can now operate via an Apple iPhone after downloading a small file.

Greg expects the iPhone interface eventually to be available on all touch screen mobile phones.