Page 26 - Campus Security & Life Safety, November 2017

EMERGENCY COMMUNICATION
EFFECTIVE AND INTEGRATED MASS
NOTIFICATION AT THE PUSH OF A BUTTON
The advantages of having a mass notification system with a single point of activation By Greg Smith
COLLEGES AND UNIVERSITIES HAVE A TREMENDOUS RESPONSIBILITY TO SAFEGUARD STUDENTS, FACULTY AND STAFF MEMBERS WHO LIVE, STUDY AND WORK ON THEIR CAMPUSES. IT IS A DAUNTING TASK FOR SAFETY PERSONNEL WHEN THE THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE WHO ARE ON CAMPUS EVERY DAY, AT ALL TIMES OF DAY AND NIGHT, ARE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. ALSO, MANY CAMPUSES HAVE SEVERAL UNSECURED ENTRY POINTS THAT CAN BE ACCESSED BY ANYONE AT ANY TIME.
Fortunately, schools are up to the challenge and typically have sev- eral security measures in place. These measures can include a badge- only entry for certain buildings, employing a full-time police force, and using a mass emergency notification system in the event of a crisis such as an active shooter or severe weather event.
A mass notification system can be comprised of various forms of communication including email, text messages and phone calls, pop- up messages on computer screens and digital signage, and large out-
door speakers. However, with varying forms of notification methods comes the challenge of activating all of them quickly and effectively. Components of a system might not be integrated with each other, which could require safety personnel to perform multiple activations.
Many universities, like Gordon College in Wenham, Mass., face this issue.
“During a crisis, you don’t have time to go down a checklist of all the systems you need to activate,” said Chris Jones, associate vice president for Technology and Operations for Gordon College. “The list to acti- vate all our systems was daunting, even without the pressure of an emergency.”
MASS NOTIFICATION AND THE
INTERNET OF THINGS: INTEGRATION
Whether a school like Gordon College already has an emergency noti- fication system in place and is looking to expand or is considering longer-term future additions, considering the system’s ability to inte- grate is essential. If a school already has one or more products or sys- tems in place, it’s crucial that the new system works well with those components, not only for cost effectiveness but to ensure a cohesive system overall.
With so much of today’s technology relying more and more on the Internet of Things, it does not make sense for schools—or any organi- zation—to invest in a system that can’t connect and integrate with various systems and technologies. That is why schools need to imple- ment a mass notification system that can easily—and seamlessly—inte- grate with third-party systems.
One of the strengths of the Alertus System is its ability to easily integrate with other systems to automatically send incident-specific notifications across desktop and laptop computers, VoIP phones, digi- tal signage, and more.
“In looking at Alertus, it was the way to unify everything together,” added Jones. “We now have it set that with basically “one click,” it can activate all the systems. Being able to setup pre-scripted alerts to fire off with one button press or one click during a crisis can really help save lives during an emergency.”
Alertus has a robust set of APIs supporting logical integration with third-party systems. The use of APIs facilitates third-party system acti- vation of the Alertus System, and, similarly, Alertus enjoys strong part- ner relationships with other notification service providers, which enables the Alertus System to activate these partner systems.
The Alertus System also has built-in capabilities to generate or con- sume various data feeds, including Syndication and CAP feeds. These capabilities enable smart, cross-platform integration, which is typi- cally informed by customer-defined business rules. Similarly, the Aler- tus System can cause integrated systems to activate in prescribed man- ners, or vice-versa.
PANIC BUTTONS: ONE TOUCH ACTIVATION
A key benefit to having an integrated notification system is the ability to have a single point of activation. When an emergency situation arises, security personnel can lose valuable time—which can cost lives—because they have to deploy multiple forms of notifications.
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