Page 24 - Security Today, September 2020

ligence at its core. An integrated workforce ecosystem ensures reduced liability and enhanced reputation that amplifies the ef- fectiveness of onsite security.
For example, HELIAUS® is able to transform data into ac- tionable insights, and take the guesswork out of where the secu- rity team needs to proactively mitigate risk from incidents and improves response. This advanced artificial intelligence platform is designed to improve safety and reduce risk by enhancing on- site guarding services.
It’s not an either or between technology and people; it’s about arming security professionals to work with technology. Today’s work- flows task security professionals via text and email. AI systems in- terface with a company’s monitoring and response centers (MaRCs) in which remote video monitoring data and video analytics data are accessible from the portal and accessed via phone or tablet. These technologies can have data sources that include information from IoT sensors, drones, robots, along with cameras and other sources.
Our business ecosystems today include monitoring and re- sponse centers that provide an abundance of tools and technolo- gies including threat intelligence platforms, remote video and alarm and event monitoring to traditional alarms and remote audio and positioning based patrol route management. Effec- tive communication is critical to maximizing the efficiency and productivity of cutting-edge ecosystems to achieve optimum out- come that ensures enhanced safety and security.
MASS NOTIFICATION APPS
For vital, time-sensitive messages, security professionals rely on mass notification apps which allow them to engage in real-time, one-way interactions with any number of people using a text
alert voice message, email message, app push, digital signage and other customized channels system so that the message can be shared instantly.
Security professionals and the administrators are able to send notifications to thousands of people within seconds. They can ini- tiate requests for help, reply to messages and actively monitor the well-being of their customers from their front-line perspective. Some respected mass notification apps include Everbridge, LiveSafe, Safe- Zone, AlertMedia, CallMy and ReGroup Mass Notification.
Why are mass notification apps “de rigueur” in our modern world?
Consider these scenarios. Several employees headed to the corporate center have disembarked from a commuter train and are walking through a transit center heading east to the parking structure where their cars are located. However, when they arrive at the ground lobby, their smartphone receives an automated text message alerting them that there was a chemical spill near the east side exit of the building. The text message guides them to an alternative and safer exit to avoid being near a contaminant.
Or perhaps a gunshot is heard on a college campus. All stu- dents and faculty receive a message about the location of that gunshot and whether they should shield in place or move to an- other, safer location.
Mass notification alerts could be used to protect people from any number of hazards and emergencies — a flash flood warn- ing for people traveling near a suddenly dangerous roadway or a wildfire alert where flames could be creeping dangerously close to a road or housing community. These mass notification apps go beyond two-way communication to provide a full critical com- munications cycle that initiates an organization’s emergency re-
sponse plan’s predefined crisis communication plan.
Many of the mass notification apps include the ability for stu- dents or employees who are working late to check in on their app to request a security escort to walk them to their car or dormitory. The advent of COVID-19 pandemic presents an immediate need for security professionals and their communities to be able to instantly communicate with each other. For example, if an em- ployee, student, teacher or contractor is found to be positive with the virus, the security professionals need to roll out an immediate
containment plan.
LIVESAFE RELEASES COVID-19 APP
In March 2020, LiveSafe Inc. announced a free, limited ver- sion of its safety and two-way communications app, as well as the platform’s Command and Communications Dashboard, avail- able to any business, college, university or healthcare institution that needs a way for employees or students to anonymously com- municate their concerns and receive important information about the COVID-19 outbreak.
The COVID-19 Safety Resources App enables members of an organization’s workforce or student body to engage in two-way communications with their COVID-19 coordination or response team. Rather than relying on email or emergency notification sys- tems, the LiveSafe Platform offers a discreet way for organiza- tions to engage their workforce and students during a time of limited resources and rapidly changing information.
“We are all in this together and we are stronger when we come together as communities to address critical safety, security and health concerns,” said Carolyn Parent, LiveSafe president and CEO. “In a dynamic environment like the COVID-19 situation, being able to provide accurate information, mitigate your em- ployee’s concerns, and get inbound information about their status can be overwhelming to safety and security teams. LiveSafe en- ables two-way chat and broadcast, and offers needed anonymity so you can quickly identify who needs help and deliver accurate information to your workforce or student population.”
APPS AND COST-SAVINGS
Using HELIAUS, a major Hollywood production studio was able to identify and address their workplace hazards with $657,000 in potential savings due to the improved reporting of slip-and-fall hazards. A perishable foods manufacturer saw over $55 million in potential losses avoided at a single site due to this AI platform.
A Texas hospital plagued with homeless entering the facility saw a 200 percent drop in security incidents with increased staff, visitor and patient satisfaction. A Washington DC landmark prop- erty realized $67,064 in savings from improvement to fire safety measures driven by this AI platform that directly reduced the risk of fire from ovens and heating elements accidentally being left on.
Today, the walls between manned guarding, staff and technol- ogy will come down leaving us with an ecosystem that allows ALL things to cooperate at light speed which ensures
that we’re considering everything we need to
consider, and bringing all these resources to
bear in a way that drives better outcomes.
James K. Lantrip is the senior vice president of op- erations for Allied Universal Technology Services.
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