You’ve done some research and decided that your facility or campus needs an emergency communications system. Now, what are the next steps in purchasing an emergency communication system, hire a consultant? This is a great idea, but there are three items to consider first. You’ll want to be well informed, fully prepped, and comfortable to take that next step.
Evaluating the Need
First, you should assemble a team to work on the project. These are the people who’ll need to use the emergency communications system such as the heads of facility management, security, IT, and public relations. Organize a meeting and together perform your own risk analysis. Brainstorm what types of emergencies could occur and what’s the possibility of them taking place. This gives the group ideas on what types of situations and when you’ll need the system. Here are some questions to get you started. You can reference questions from the Risk Analysis Checklist found in NFPA 72, 2013, A.7.8.2 (g).
Is the area susceptible to extreme weather such as tornadoes?
Are there any technological failures that could cause a major problem?
How safe is the surrounding area, are intruders an issue?
What types of issues outside the facility, possibly on a national level might elicit a response?
Communicating
Once you’ve thought through different scenarios that would utilize emergency communications think about how you will alert different people. You’ll need to understand what functions occur inside and outside of the facilities and who’s the audience (same people or visitors) that occupies these areas. Voice messaging over loudspeakers is not the appropriate form of communication if your audience is primarily deaf or in loud areas such as factories. Text messaging and email are a great way to contact those who regularly occupy an area. But what about visitors or those not subscribed to receive alerts? The most important part of this exercise isn’t to identify the solution but to recognize potential problems. Then you can present them to a professional who can help you.
Utilizing Existing Technology
Lastly, take inventory of technology that already exists. Find out if you can leverage it for emergency communication. You can override TV and computer monitors in lobbies and high traffic areas and use them as digital signage to display messages during an emergency. With a few adjustments, PA systems can be supervised and incorporated into the emergency communications system. Also, fire alarm components are an integral part of ECS. If it’s necessary, upgrade these systems right away. Old fire alarms may not integrate and those that are having false alarms or issues will only create more problems when they’re part of the ECS.
Buying an emergency communications system is a sizeable purchase that requires quite a bit of consideration. Before shifting into gear and inviting an external consultant to visit your facility here are the discussions to have with your team: the probability of potential threats, what are the barriers to alerting groups of people in various types of indoor and outdoor environments, and which existing pieces of technology can integrate into the emergency communications system project? For more information on ECS guidelines and requirements, reference NFPA 72, 2013, Chapter 24.