Total Solutions for Emergency Response
A comprehensive emergency communications system features layers of solutions to get the right message to the affected parties as quickly as possible. Whether you need to warn about a fire, initiate a lockdown, deliver severe weather warnings, or convey other types of emergencies, the need for an efficient communications system is obvious. Here are the types of solutions available from State Systems Inc., which you should utilize to create a comprehensive emergency response system for your business.
Audible Notifications
A fundamental part of any emergency communications system is the ability to convey messages audibly. You might make use of:
- Fire alarm sirens and bells: When evacuation is needed in a fire or similar emergency, fire alarm sirens convey that message without the need for words. This prevents language barrier issues and helps to ensure that everyone knows to vacate the building immediately.
- Emergency voice systems: In more complicated situations, words may be needed to get the message across. For instance, an external threat may call for a building lockdown, requiring an explanation over the loudspeakers to ensure people don’t mistake a lockdown for an evacuation.
Visual Alerts
For the benefit of the hearing impaired, and to ensure you convey messages in places where audibility is difficult, visual alerts are critical. Your emergency response system should include:
- Strobe lights: Codes mandate that strobes used for fire alarm evacuations must be clear or nominal white. You should install these along with amber lens, multi-candela strobes to provide non-fire alerts.
Long-Distance Communication
Audible and visual notifications inside and outside your building alert anyone on the premises of an emergency, but what about employees who aren’t around? You may need to inform them of a closure or delayed opening due to weather or another emergency. Then, you need to get the word out when your business reopens.
Mass notification is the key. In addition to facilitating onsite alerts, a mass notification system makes it possible to send one-way phone calls, text messages, emails, social media updates, and more with the click of a button. This keeps everyone in the loop and reduces the chance of anyone missing out on crucial information.
Pre-Determined or Live Emergency Messages
Sometimes, it’s faster and easier to send out pre-determined announcements and instructions. Other times, specific details or real-time information requires live messages. A flexible system should be capable of transmitting both types of emergency communications from a central location for ease of use.
Area-Specific Messages
Sometimes, the same instructions apply to employees throughout the entire building. Other times, individual departments or wings of the building need to respond to an emergency differently. It could also be that employees not currently at the building need different instructions from those already on site.
To convey information concisely and avoid confusion, your system should be able to deliver a universal message to all targeted areas or area-specific messages based on location or the type of threat at hand. This applies for both local and long-distance notifications.
Install an Emergency Communications System in Your Mid-South Business
State Systems Inc. installs, replaces, tests, maintains and repairs emergency communications systems. We want to ensure your business is always prepared for a threat by integrating the above solutions with your existing life-safety investments, creating the most cost-effective system possible in the process. Choose us as your premier building systems installer and integrator for the best prices, most streamlined performance, and highest quality results.
To learn more about building a comprehensive solution for emergency response, please contact State Systems today. We serve businesses across the Mid-South, including Tennessee, Arkansas and Mississippi.
