The Alarm That Cried Wolf: How Alert Fatigue Desensitizes Building Teams

Modern buildings generate thousands of alerts every week—from HVAC faults to security sensor triggers to power events—but most of them require no action. Over time, the noise desensitizes the very people responsible for responding. In this episode, host Alex Morgan sits down with property operations leader Michael Harrington and facilities engineering leader James Rogers to explore why alert fatigue has become one of the quietest risks in commercial real estate. They break down the sources of false and low-priority alarms, the tradeoff between sensitivity and reliability, and how response cultures degrade when teams are constantly interrupted by non-events. The conversation moves beyond complaining about notification overload to practical strategies: tiering alarms, requiring a human decision for every alert, auditing the last 30 days of notifications, and creating clear ownership for alarm rationalization. Listeners will learn how to reduce noise, improve response times, and make sure the next alarm—the one that actually matters—gets the attention it deserves.