A lockdown typically takes place when there is a credible threat within the interior or exterior of a building – such as an active shooter or building intruder. Without a solid plan and proper training, it can be difficult for schools to know how and when to make the right decision to initiate a lockdown. By practicing routine lockdown drills, you can help educate employees and students within your facility the procedures to follow and where to take shelter in the event of a real lockdown emergency. Lockdown drills help schools create a plan and test the proper mass notification tools so that everyone is prepared and quickly informed with what actions need to be taken in order to stay safe.
It is important for schools to create a plan, know who their audience is, train staff, and practice running lockdown drills so everyone can safely follow proper procedures in the event of a real threat.
Mass notification systems can help simplify communication and access control procedures by allowing schools to trigger notifications that alert the right people about a lockdown. With Intrado Safety Suite, you can break down communication barriers by uniting disparate technology systems into a centralized set of tools.
In this article, you will learn about several purpose-built tools that can help schools prepare for lockdown scenarios.
Six Tools Your School Can Use:
In-Building Notifications & Incident Management
Intrado Safety Suite provides a unique and tightly integrated end-to-end incident management solution for emergencies. With Safety Suite, users can initiate emergency alerts and notify people on-campus, leverage automated workflows, event-specific checklists, digital student reunification, share emergency alerts directly to 911 PSAPs, and more.
For example, during a lockdown situation in a school, a staff member can initiate an emergency alert through Safety Suite which notifies first responders.
Access Control/Initiated Door Locks
Having the ability to control building access through Intrado Revolution is an important safety tool. Revolution can integrate with access control systems (i.e., automatic doors and windows) via contact closures.
For example, in the event of an active shooter on a school campus, an authorized user can dial an extension from their IP phone or press a dedicated panic button that would activate a Revolution notification to rapidly lock all access points via contact closure to ensure your facility is fully secure.
Panic Buttons
Analog Buttons & IP Panic Buttons can be used to activate notifications using GPIO contact closures. Revolution software can extend the life of your existing analog infrastructure by allowing you to leverage your analog and IP equipment together for mass notification. This strategy can save customers time and money because you won’t have to rip and replace your equipment or train personnel on how to use a new system.
Wearable 911 Panic Button sends alerts to other button users and simultaneously triggers Safety Shield to notify your local 911 PSAP agency. This process transmits the device location and incident details which then get passed to the local 911 emergency communications center (ECC). The Wearable Panic Button helps schools comply with Alyssa’s Law, which requires public schools to implement a silent panic alarm capable of directly alerting first responders during an emergency.
In a school facility, analog buttons can be placed in an accessible place like a hallway or gymnasium where anyone can trigger the button to alert others about a lockdown emergency situation. With the wearable 911 panic button, you have accessibility any place at any time.
Hands Free Paging
Leveraging Revolution’s two-way paging intercom feature can help communicate a message quickly and effectively. It allows users to initiate hands-free communication between two talkback devices.
For example, a teacher can initiate an intercom notification between their talkback speaker by pushing a wall-button in their classroom. This action activates a Revolution intercom notification between the talkback speaker in a classroom and another speaker, such as the front office.
If a teacher is performing CPR on a student and they need to quickly communicate with the front office, the hands-free paging system is the safest and fastest way to get help rather than having to use a phone while doing CPR.
User Interface
Another form of rapid activation can be found on the dashboard page in Revolution’s user interface. The dashboard buttons enable users to quickly trigger a panic alert with the click of a button. Each user can create up to three different panic buttons on their dashboard.
For example, in any setting, authorized users can leverage these buttons for lockdowns, active shooter, and more. The buttons can communicate to other staff members notifying them about what type of emergency is taking place.
Mobile Client App
The Mobile app is an emergency notification tool that triggers mass alerts for your school. The app allows your IOS and Android users to activate a notification in order to communicate and request help directly from their Revolution Mobile app. Users can also have the option to allow the app to use location services while running the program, which enables designated personnel to respond quicker to the situation.
In a school building, faculty can use the Mobile app to send or receive notifications in case of a crisis. Since people almost always have a phone on them today, important information can be reached easily informing users and giving them flexible accessibility to request assistance
To learn more about Intrado Safety Suite, visit https://www.intrado.com/campus-building-solutions