If an emergency happens, how will you respond? Emergency notification systems help you keep everyone up to date until incidents are resolved. With the right system, you may prevent a minor emergency from becoming a full-blown catastrophe.
Not all emergency notification systems deliver the same results. Consider your options closely, so you can choose a system that boosts security across your facility.
What Is an Emergency Notification System for Business?
With an emergency notification system, you can alert anyone, at any time, about a critical situation. The system is built on software and hardware components that power real-time communications. It lets you alert clients, employees, and many others about emergencies. And it allows you to do so via text, phone, email, and many other platforms.
Communication challenges that notification systems address during emergencies include:
- Mass Communication: Send alerts to large groups of people in just seconds.
- Lack of Visibility: See who’s viewing your alerts, when they’re seeing them, and how they’re responding to them.
- No Power: Provide emergency updates even if you lose power.
There’s only so much you can do when it comes to communicating in an emergency. A notification system helps you quickly and easily alert stakeholders about an emergency. But the system isn’t an all-in-one tool. In all likelihood, your system’s effectiveness will depend on multiple tools working together. To support these tools, your organization may need processes that’ll help keep them working as expected.
Remember, the system you choose has far-flung effects on how well you respond to an emergency. As such, review sound and paging systems and other notification options carefully.
What to Look for in an Emergency Alert System
There are several components that distinguish top-rated emergency alert systems from the rest of the pack. These include:
- Instant Alerts: If you send an alert, recipients should receive it only seconds later.
- Digital Signage: Digital signs make it easy to keep your stakeholders to see updates throughout an emergency.
- PA Systems: These systems let you warn your stakeholders about dangers and provide instructions that they can use to stay safe until an emergency is resolved.
- Text and Email Updates: Staff, clients, and others can receive emergency text and email notifications on their smartphones, tablets, and other devices.
- Geo-Targeted Notifications: You can send location-based emergency updates.
- Power Backup: If your backup generator stops working, your system will continue to send alerts.
Just because you buy an alert system for emergencies doesn’t guarantee it’ll deliver your desired results. By hiring professionals to help you, you’ll be able to pick out a system that has these components and many others.
It’s also beneficial to have one of the best security and audio visual companies in Philadelphia at your side. This company can teach you about digital signs, PA systems, and other audio visual tools and technologies. In an emergency, you’ll be able to use these tools and technologies and many others to alert stakeholders.
Tips for Ongoing Emergency Preparedness
Look at your facility and consider the types of emergencies you may face and how you’ll communicate with stakeholders. At this point, if you don’t have an emergency alert system, you can start searching for one. Or, if you already have a system, you can work with your supplier to keep it up to date.
Your emergency notification system provider can help you add training to your emergency preparedness drills. This helps you make sure your staff knows how to send and receive alerts in emergencies. Plus, staff members will be able to avoid missed communications that could put your entire facility in danger.
Additionally, track your mean time to detect, average incident response time, and other system metrics. With metrics, you can identify areas where you can get better in an emergency. Over time, you’ll be able to optimize your emergency response efforts.
Add Video Surveillance and Access Control
Video surveillance and access control systems help speed up your emergency response. In some instances, you may use them to prevent an emergency from happening.
Your security team can use video cameras to remotely monitor your facility. As soon as team members see a possible emergency, they’ll be able to respond. Your cameras also give you a glimpse into how your team responds to an emergency in real-time.
With access control systems, only authorized personnel can enter different areas of your facility. These systems log everyone who goes in and out of these areas to help maximize your facility’s security.
Ready to Get an Emergency Notification System?
At Delco Solutions, we offer video surveillance, access control, and other systems to complement your emergency notification system. Our friendly, knowledgeable team will teach you about our security and audio visual systems and how they can enhance your emergency communications. We’ll help you get the security and AV systems you need to proactively respond to emergencies. Contact Delco Solutions for a PA system, digital signage, and other security or audio visual systems.
