Emergency Communications & Mass Notification
Staying connected and getting the correct messages out to the right people during a crisis is critical to employees and public safety. Whether it’s getting the message out to key personnel, all employees, all locations, or an entire community of people. It is best to have effective communication solutions for your business needs.
Emergency Communications
& Mass Notification
Crisis communications must be fast and reliable and often need some form of follow-through. You’ll want to make sure whoever needed the alert received your message. This concept may be simple if you need to reach out to a few key individuals. Yet, what if you need to reach out to multiple employees or multiple locations full of employees? Consider if you need to reach hundreds of people at the same time. In that case, are you ready? Also, what if you need to reach out to thousands of people? There are times when an entire community or population needs crisis instructions for safety. Are you prepared to communicate messages effectively throughout your organization and your community?
What type of communication does your business need?
Select the number of people in your business to determine what type of communication style you may need.
Small emergency communication solutions are most often for areas that may need live support in an otherwise isolated area. For example, a call button is placed in an elevator or parking lot structure to notify of a malfunction and possibly trap an individual. Another example would be a campus blue-light phone box. The blue-light phone boxes seen around campuses immediately connect someone in harm with campus security or police. Smaller solutions also include security strategies that involve wireless alerts to key employees when a situation arises. Wireless alerts let essential personnel know of a current situation so that procedural steps can begin with employees under their control. In this way, management handles a crisis and does not incite panic among the employees.
Medium emergency communication solutions are suitable for buildings with a larger number of employees or safety rooms like government structures. Structures with more employees need a fast and efficient way to get emergency communications to all employees when a situation occurs. Think of a situation where you need to notify all employees of crisis instructions but not panic customers, guests, or residents. For example, an alert system may tell employees over their computers and phones to stop work and report to the meeting room immediately. Additionally, government facilities may need a safe room. Safety rooms lock officials in a secure location during an attack or potential threat.
Mass notification communications exist for crises that need to communicate clear instructions to an entire community of people for their safety. We can achieve this via public monitors, public addresses, emergency broadcasts, and wireless text communications. The best examples are natural disasters and national crisis information. In a natural disaster, it is your responsibility to notify the public of environmental shelters, emergency medical services, and other assistance they can receive. Amateur radio may provide such details in public broadcasts. In a national crisis like a terrorist attack, the public needs safety instructions and stability during a scary and uncertain time. Mass notification works off a database of names, contact information, and optional delivery methods. Emergency notification software must be structured, and the internet connection should have enough bandwidth capacity to deliver thousands of messages. Reaching your audience may be by prerecorded phone calls, text messages, emails, or social media posts.
Open Communication
Open communication is the key to both help and the response times when an emergency arises. Emergency management training teaches us to remain calm and in control at these moments of concern. Clear communication and the speed at which information travels determine response times. Real-time safety intelligence enables you to communicate with firefighters or emergency responders efficiently. Alerts provide updates that allow police to stay on top of critical incidents. You can give instructions, keep head-counts, or provide public service mass notifications with proper crisis communication systems. Emergency communications call for strategic security solutions under high-pressure situations.
Smart technology notifications outsmart criminals.
Innovative technology beats offenders in severe and threatening situations. Security agencies cannot afford to waste time when a crime is in progress. One part of smart security is camera intelligence communicating automatically. The surveillance system connects to a response system. Notifications and instant alerts inform someone if something is abnormal. IP security cameras detect a threat and notify the police or an emergency communications center instantaneously. Time is the key component, and with technology on the rise, our crisis response has evolved to reduce victims.
Communicating an emergency with the public.
When delivering crisis information to the masses, ensure your data aligns with other credible sources. This will reduce confusion and maintain your credibility as a reliable relief resource.
In a critical emergency, the public needs helpful information telling them what to do or where to go. Emergency communications may include warnings, directions, protective actions, available assistance, and status updates. You can help ensure employee and public safety, as well as facilitate restoration and recovery efforts.
Public gatherings and crowds are especially vulnerable to terrorist threats and extremist acts. Public events are targeted because of their large number of potential targets and the statement of implication on the event itself if it supports a specific cause. Working in the interest of public safety, emergency communication for events should be well-thought-out and established ahead of time.
IMS Technology & Security has many emergency communications devices to select from. For instance, your industry may call for wireless communication, amateur radio, media broadcast, internet, or social media. Our custom security solutions interpret your needs and intended audience. We’ll find the correct communication solution that fits you. Whatever emergency communications you choose, your emergency communications should be clear and provide adequate information quickly.
Your risk factors decide what emergency communications style to choose.
Your industry’s risk factors play a major role in dictating what kind of security systems you require. Are you a business or enterprise that needs to account for hundreds of employees? Or maybe you’re a company that is accountable for speedy lockdown emergency services. Knowing how your risk factors change the emergency services you’ll need is just as important as the security equipment you’ll put in place. At IMS, we analyze your risk factors and help you predict possible threats before they happen. Our security professionals use industry knowledge and expertise to secure common known areas of breach for your business.
Different situations call for different emergency service responses.
Ticker-tape conveyor messages may display text on public monitors or a flashing blue light to alert law enforcement authorities of a situation. Most panic buttons are silent alarms so as not to alert the perpetrator. Yet, an actual alarm may sound under other circumstances. Furthermore, features can also be integrated into your surveillance systems for video connectivity. The public service alerts for mass notification can use software to give alerts through text messages to a cell phone number or an app. There are obvious advantages to being connected anywhere, no matter what solutions you need. Open lines of communication can send warnings to your smartphone, building security, a monitoring center, or directly to emergency personnel. Best of all, whatever security solution you choose works whether you’re on property or off the property. Advances in technology make mobile apps ideal for mass notification systems.
An onsite assessment helps us identify gaps in your security holes and develop a specifically tailored security system for your company. We design a security system that meets your convenience, pricing, necessary security protocols, system operations, and data storage standards. We work closely with you to find the perfect solution to any security problem. Whether you’re starting from scratch or integrating into a partial system that needs upgrades, we see the best mdm can provide the right solution for your needs.