GC SurgeDocsIs GC Surge Working? — How to Measure Your Results
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Is GC Surge Working? — How to Measure Your Results

This page explains how to measure whether GC Surge is delivering results in your operation. It covers how to measure your baseline alarm processing time, what to expect from each engine, and how to read your Day 7 results. Covers: Establishing Your Baseline, What to Expect from Each Engine, Reading Your Results, If Results Are Not Yet Visible.

Establishing Your Baseline APT

APT (Alarm Processing Time) is the time from when an operator takes ownership of an alarm to when all alarms on that site are closed. It is the primary measure of how efficiently your team is working.

Record your APT early so you have a reference point to compare against as the platform delivers results. NOVA99x is active from the moment cameras are connected, so your very first shift data already reflects filtered alarms.

  1. Run at least one full shift in ZenMode. Your operators handle pre-filtered, correlated alarms from the start.
  2. At the end of the shift, open Alarm Center — Admin View and note the Avg. Processing Time shown in the leaderboard.
  3. Record this number. This is your baseline APT — the starting point everything else is measured against.

See Dashboard KPI Reference for the full definition of APT and how it is calculated.

What to Expect from Each Engine

GC Surge delivers results in stages. Each engine adds to the one before it:

Stage 1 — ZenMode alone (active from Day 1)

ZenMode combines correlated alarms into a single closeable event and processes them in parallel rather than one at a time. In live operation, a workflow of 10 alarms that takes 30 seconds to handle sequentially takes approximately 6 seconds with ZenMode. You will see this reflected in a lower APT from your very first shift.

Stage 2 — NOVA99x active (from Day 1)

NOVA99x removes up to 99% of false alarms before they reach your operators. Combined with ZenMode, the measurable range across live deployments is 85% to 97% less alarm processing time compared to handling alarms without the platform. NOVA99x is always active — no configuration or enabling is required.

Stage 3 — Insights compounds over time

Insights tracks 8 KPIs per operator, per shift, in real time. As your team reviews their performance data shift by shift, handling patterns improve. This compounds the APT gains already delivered by NOVA99x and ZenMode. The result measured across live deployments is 40% more cameras per operator on the same team, and climbing over time.

APT and Cameras per Operator Are Separate Measurements

APT measures how fast an operator handles each alarm. Cameras per Operator (CPO) measures how many cameras the team can cover per shift. Lower APT frees up operator time, which creates the headroom for CPO to grow — but the two figures measure different things. Read them together as two separate signals that both confirm the platform is working, not as a formula where one directly produces the other.

Reading Your Day 7 Results

At Day 7, GC Surge reads your actual results and displays them on the dashboard alongside a subscription prompt. To review your results yourself before Day 7:

  • APT trend — open Alarm Center — Admin View and compare the current Avg. Processing Time against your Day 1 baseline. A drop of 85% or more indicates both engines are working as expected.
  • Cameras per Operator — shown in the Dashboard KPI Reference and on the Home dashboard. Compare to your pre-trial staffing ratio.
  • Filter Ratio — in Analytics, this shows what percentage of incoming alarms NOVA99x is removing. A healthy filter ratio is above 85%.

If Results Are Not Yet Visible

If APT has not improved after several shifts, check the following in order:

  1. Alarm volume. GC Surge delivers reliable gains when daily alarm volume across the centre is 5,000 or more. Below this threshold the platform works, but the improvement is less consistent. Check your total daily alarms in Analytics.
  2. NOVA99x is enabled. It is disabled by default during the trial. If you have not yet enabled it, APT improvement is coming from ZenMode alone. Enable NOVA99x to see the full reduction.
  3. Cameras are in active alarm-sending state. If cameras are connected but not generating alarms, ZenMode has nothing to process. Verify alarm forwarding is active on the camera side.
  4. Operators are using ZenMode. APT is only recorded when alarms are handled through the ZenMode screen. If operators are closing alarms outside ZenMode, those closures do not contribute to the APT metric.

For setup verification steps, see Getting Started — Your First 30 Minutes. For subscription and trial details, see Subscription Lifecycle — Trial to Paid.

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