A Holistic Approach to Mass Notification
The role of visual alerting and smart LED signage in emergency situations on university campuses
By Inova Solutions
Emergency Response Strategy
The principle need at the core of any notification system is to effectively communicate vital information instantly. The severity of this requirement has become more evident in recent years with a rise in campus violence across the country. As a result, higher education and law enforcement communities have united in their commitment to create a more secure environment with the proper notification tools in place should an incident occur.
Emergency response strategies on university campuses are still in the early stages of development. Some of the first methods implemented involved mass notification via sirens, email messages and text messages to cell phones. But this mix contained notable gaps and limitations that do not provide a holistic solution:
- Most cell phone towers are ill-equipped to handle the incoming and outgoing communication traffic often involved with an emergency situation. In some cases, a spike in demand on the wireless communication infrastructure can delay message transmission times from seven minutes to well over 100 minutes.
- There are many locations, especially in the larger buildings on campus, where cell coverage is weak or where the use of cell phones is prohibited. Visual notifications provide clear messages to protect life.
- Studies show that college students often read only those messages sent from close friends. System-generated or emergency messages might be overlooked for hours before being read.
- In the special case of an explosion, subjects within hundreds of feet from the detonation can suffer deafness and be impermeable to audible messaging, therefore relying only on visual cues for evacuation or other special instructions. LED displays have the ability to shine through limited amounts of smoke or dust.
- Clear messages that provide relevant information for specific locations on campus are critical to protecting students and staff as events change during a crisis.
To fill these gaps and move toward a holistic solution, public safety officers in many sectors are implementing visual alerting solutions as part of their communication mix; these solutions are now attracting the attention of the higher education industry as well.
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