Tech Watch

May 1, 2007 12:00 PM

The Virginia Tech campus shooting further emphasized the need for colleges, universities and schools to implement emergency procedures to ensure effective and quick communication with students, parents, teachers and staff during an emergency. Emergency mass notification systems offer this ability using features that enable mass text, e-mail and voice message delivery to hundreds of contacts within seconds. Now, many schools — and companies — are adopting these systems in order to keep their students and employees safe.

Selective Mass Notification System

COMMUNICATES THROUGH TEXT MESSAGING The Web-based campus communication system features a central interface that allows users to self-administer and manage time-sensitive information in minutes to students, faculty, staff, campus security and first responders. The system uses the supplier's network to send SMS text message alerts to subscribed cell phones, wireless PDAs, pagers, school and personal e-mail accounts, personal Web browser portals and RSS readers. The system also includes a bulletin board feature that allows school officials to post an emergency message on the school's Web site without having to contact the school's Webmaster. The central interface allows administrators to set up accounts and groups, create registration forms and bulletin boards, send advisories, manage subscribers and view reports. E2Campus, Omnilert LLC (e2campus.com/online) Circle No. 1 or visit securitysolutions.com/productinfo.

Web-Based School Emergency Notification System

DELIVERS MESSAGES SIMULTANEOUSLY TO MOBILE DEVICES Within minutes of an emergency, school officials can use the system to deliver a single, clear message to students, parents and guardians by phone, cell phone, e-mail, pager or PDA. Customized messages can be created and updated in real-time for a number of situations, students or groups. Schools can also increase preparedness by preparing messages beforehand to handle emergency or routine situations. The system eliminates paper and phone-tree communications as well as the costs required to maintain auto-dial or broadcast e-mail systems. Students, parents and guardians enter their contact information on a secure Web site and can then define how they wish to receive messages. Instant Alert for Schools, Honeywell (honeywell.com/buildingsolutions) Circle No. 2 or visit securitysolutions.com/productinfo.

School Mass Notification System

OFFERS THREE SERVICE LEVELS TO FIT VARYING NEEDS The system streamlines voice and text emergency communications to thousands of parents, students, faculty and staff members using a variety of communication devices. Users may choose from three service levels. The standard edition enables users to access the system online or by phone; to designate student, parent and guardian relationships for future communication; and to send absentee, informative and emergency voice and text notifications. The premium edition adds polling, ad-hoc reporting and conference call capabilities. The ultra edition further allows users to build pre-set scenarios; implement a customized caller ID function; create fields that collect, filter and report meaningful information; and send quota-based notifications. InstaCom School Edition, 3n (National Notification Network), (3nonline.com) Circle No. 3 or visit securitysolutions.com/productinfo.

Outdoor Mobile Public Alerting System

DELIVERS EMERGENCY MESSAGES IN HIGH-VOLUME AREAS The mobile, self-contained system issues audio messages via live voice, recorded and/or siren tones throughout high-population and wide geographic areas. The communication can be used in situations that call for emergency evacuation, crowd control, voice deterrents and critical area warnings. The central command platform can function via wireless, fiber optic or broadband communications, and interoperability is supported by UHF/wide-band and VHF/narrow-band radio frequency capabilities. The system also conducts surveillance and relays visual information from an emergency scene. ADT Clear Warning Public Alert Warning System, ADT Security Services (adt.com) Circle No. 4 or visit securitysolutions.com/productinfo.

VoIP Emergency Notification System

DELIVERS PRE-RECORDED MESSAGES TO DESIGNATED PHONE NUMBERS The emergency communication system uses Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) to send a message to a database of telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and fax numbers. The system includes an instant callback feature, which gives parents and students the option to make a return call to a designated phone number by pressing a single key. A real-time reporting feature allows school personnel to immediately determine which students have been reached by telephone and which have received e-mail messages. The system will then continue to call those students who have not been reached. Users may also create custom call groups — for example, groups of students who live in a particular dormitory or in an off-campus residence — and specify which groups will receive messages first. Emergency Notification System, Global Connect (gc1.com) Circle No. 5 or visit securitysolutions.com/productinfo.

Conference-Enabled Emergency Notification System

NOTIFIES AND BRIDGES RECIPIENTS INTO IMMEDIATE CONFERENCE The system's quick-join conferencing feature can bridge contacts into a telephone conference call within seconds after notifying them of an emergency, which expedites handling of a crisis for better outcomes of events. When notifying, the system “looks” for individuals at work, at home or on cell phones and can leave alternative messages when it has not reached a person. The system sends voice and text emergency messages to e-mail, fax, digital and alpha pagers, PDAs and cell phones using group lists created from a master database. It also includes Command Mapper, which enables users to identify geographic areas on a map and notify recipients in those areas. The system can be used as a stand-alone system or hosted at the supplier's secure data center site. Command Caller 5, Prosodie Interactive Inc. (voicetech.com) Circle No. 6 or visit securitysolutions.com/productinfo.

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© 2008 Penton Media Inc.

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