As college and university campuses become more connected, higher-ed leaders are looking for solutions that can help leverage the Internet of Things (IoT) to enhance safety and communication.
Mass notification systems are becoming a popular choice in higher-ed institutions–they offer the ability to connect with a wide range of IoT endpoints to accomplish a wide variety of alerting and safety tasks that can help protect students, staff, and visitors.
Related content: How to secure IoT on campus
The two biggest challenges campuses need to overcome when it comes to alerting people about an emergency are speed and reach. Speed is how quickly a message can be distributed, and reach is how likely it is that that message is received by 100 percent of a campus’s desired population.
On large campuses, these two challenges can be particularly difficult to overcome. Substantial populations, multiple campus buildings, and unforeseen distractions can make it hard to ensure a message has reached everyone who needs to receive it. While the IoT can offer ample options when it comes to tools that initiate messages, without everything tied together on the backend, the alerting process can be slow and ineffective.
With multiple devices and systems to activate through the IoT, higher ed institutions can lose valuable time and run the risk of forgetting to activate an important component. During a crisis, this wasted time and accidental negligence can put people at unnecessary risk.
That’s where a mass notification system comes into play.
Mass notification can empower IoT devices and systems within a campus and bring them together in an effective alerting ecosystem. As campuses prepare for threats like active shooters, severe weather, medical emergencies, and more, they need to leverage every channel available to help get the word out.
By connecting all of a campus’ IoT devices on the backend with a mass notification system, colleges and universities can easily broadcast messages to IP speakers, desk phones, mobile devices, desktop computers, lighting systems, door access controls and more, all with the push of a button. With text, audio and visual elements working in tandem, campuses can interrupt ongoing activities and ensure their message is getting across regardless of where someone is on campus or what they are doing. This can speed up the alerting process, and the more devices used to communicate a message, the less likely it is that someone will miss a message.
The IoT can also be used to trigger mass notifications on campus:
• Contact closures on AED boxes can activate alerts when the box is opened.
• Physical panic buttons can be pressed to request assistance or alert people that an emergency taking place.
• Surveillance cameras that detect motion can send alerts that include a link to the camera feed so officials can get real-time insights into a situation.
• Water sensors in sensitive areas like server rooms can also clue administrators into potential problems before they get out of hand.
• Fire alarm systems can be integrated to provide additional alerting support in the event of a fire, notifying people via mobile phones to stay away from a building.
• In lab areas, chemical sensors can notify people of a problem.
With the right mass notification system and sensor, campus officials can become aware of situations more quickly. That way less time is wasted being alerted about a situation, and more time can be spent responding to it.
Mass notification systems can also be used on a campus for non-emergency scenarios. When connected to the IoT, mass notification systems can be used to automate or shutoff systems like lighting and water to help campuses save money and assist with green initiatives. It can also broadcast scheduled, non-critical messages to help ensure the system is working properly during quieter periods that allow for any necessary adjustments to be made.
With myriad safety and daily uses, mass notification and the IoT will continue to be an important component of campus safety. Mass notification systems connected to the Internet of Things offer campuses the flexibility they need to develop the most effective safety plan for their students and staff. With the ability to designate zones and groups, customize message templates, and follow up as incidents resolve, campus officials can alert the right people at the right time to keep them out of harm’s way.
Pat Scheckel is Vice President of Product Management at Singlewire Software. Based out of Madison, Wis., Scheckel has more than 20 years of experience in the IT industry, including two decades with unified communications, and has helped numerous organizations implement mass notification solutions to enhance communication and safety.
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