Multilayered Emergency Mass Notification: What It Is & Why Your Organization Should Strive For It
By Kara Stamets, Content Marketing Specialist at Alertus Technologies
When faced with an emergency, organizations must be able to communicate quickly and effectively to mitigate harm and destruction. Fire alarm and public address (PA) systems are fundamental, but adding additional layers of mass communication is key to keeping your constituents informed. A multilayered mass notification system (MNS) is beneficial because it can be customized to distribute targeted alert messaging to the broader community through several methods.
Whether your organization is a university campus, healthcare facility, government building, or widespread industrial space, outfitting your facility with an MNS or adding layers to your current notification system will provide your community with better protection and quicker communication.
Recommended Layers for Mass Notification
The National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code Handbook (NFPA 72) provides the most current safety provisions and guidelines for fire detection, signaling, and emergency communication systems. According to Chapter 24 of the Handbook, there are four critical layers of mass notification designed to reach targeted audiences regardless of their location, audible or visual abilities, or access to personal devices:
Facility-based: This mass notification method is traditionally accomplished by installing systems/equipment inside a building controlled by authorized users. This can include fire alarms and PA systems, for example, aimed at immediately capturing all building occupants' attention.
IP Network-based: Enterprise and network-based mass notification solutions leverage all connected devices, including desktops, digital signage, and VoIP phones. You can reach many people across multiple locations with emergency alerts or routine internal communications with network-based solutions.
Personal and Mobile Notification: Delivers fast, accurate, and detailed messages directly to community members, whether on or offsite, through channels like email, SMS, mobile apps, or cell broadcast.
Wide-Area Outdoor Warning: Distributes clear voice emergency alerts to widespread outdoor areas, including campuses, municipalities, manufacturing facilities, and critical infrastructure facilities.
Why Your Organization Should Adopt a Layered Approach to Mass Notification
People must be alerted quickly when mass shootings, natural disasters, or other crises occur. To protect your community, a layered MNS is the fastest way to reach a large number of people through various notification methods with tailored messages.
Traditional fire alarms are required for most commercial buildings and are essential components of an MNS. But, a fire alarm paired with multimodal personal notifications such as SMS, or email notifications, provides clear and effective communication beyond traditional alerting methods to reach everyone within seconds. Emergencies also impact business continuity, but with an MNS, you’ll have better organization and support during and after incidents.
What to Look for in an MNS
Integration Capability: Leverage existing investments and unify all devices under one platform to ensure a cohesive and cost-effective approach.
Notification Coverage: Comprehensive notification coverage that provides a variety of communication channels, such as SMS and push notifications, desktop notifications, VoIP phone messages, and email, help achieve layered alerting.
One-Step Activation: A single activation point will simplify and expedite your alerting process with custom messages to target the right people with the correct information. Your MNS should allow for simple, mobile activation so authorized users can send emergency alerts from anywhere.
Code Compliance: An MNS should provide hardware and software that meets specific laws and regulations, such as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), The Higher Education Opportunity Act, and the NFPA 72.
Alertus is a one-stop shop for mass notification and critical communication needs. We offer interoperable software solutions that help tie legacy systems into our next-generation audible and visual notification hardware. If you are considering outfitting your entire organization with a mass notification system or would like to add critical layers to your current system, schedule a demo with us today.
Webinar
In this on-demand webinar, “Building Complete Coverage: Four Layers of Emergency Mass Notification,” you’ll explore the importance of a multilayered mass notification approach to better inform and protect your community.