Mass Communication for Higher Education
In the event of a widespread emergency, it’s important to deliver clear messages to students, staff, and visitors across the entire campus. These messages will help them seek cover during a sudden weather emergency or make decisions to run or hide in the event of an active assailant situation. And, in addition to your desire to provide a safe and secure campus, organizations like the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) are developing new standards that will mandate the systems required to do so.
Challenges
Aside from budget, a significant challenge to providing voice messages to every part of the campus is infrastructure. There simply aren’t power and data communication capabilities in every area. However, most voice communication systems can leverage existing legacy systems to maximize reach.
For example, many telephone systems utilize a session-initiated protocol (SIP) interface. SIP is a standard that allows disparate systems to connect and send voice messages across systems. A new mass communication system can be connected to the existing phone system, making each phone a part of the emergency notification system. This can also be done with many intercom solutions that connect intercom terminals at doorways, entrances, stairwells, and parking lots.
Ease of Operation
Once deployed, messages can be sent at any time by an authorized official. These systems can also send pre-recorded, or canned, messages. Canned messages can be ideal in stressful situations or when multiple, different messages must be sent to various parts of the campus.
For example, if a weather event is developing, it may be important to recommend that building occupants seek shelter away from windows, but stadium occupants must be advised to vacate the seating bowl and seek shelter near concrete reinforced areas. It’s critical to deliver these specific messages to specific areas of the campus.
Integration
System integration is a mainstay of modern safety and security solutions. The mass notification system is not exempt. A complete analysis of current and future system deployments must be performed to ensure compatibility and optimal functionality.
The Right Partner
Our team understands that colleges and universities have many challenges that are unique to their campus. Some campuses are wide open and located in a city environment, but others may be smaller and contained within a building or two. We have the extensive campus protection experience required to ensure security and safety compliance.
Netronix begins by evaluating the challenges, performance expectations, and environmental conditions of your campus. Input is gathered from the security team, facilities staff, IT department, administrators, and other stakeholders. Next, we perform a site survey, inside and outside, to evaluate the physical layout of the campus and uncover potential vulnerabilities. Once the risks and expectations are clearly defined, our team designs a unified security solution to include mass communication. Products from a variety of leading manufacturers are assembled into a custom design and demonstrations of key components are performed on-campus.
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