Propelled by tragic events such as the Virginia Tech shooting massacre in 2007, a new generation of mass notification technologies are fast opening new doors of opportunity for security contractors in education, retail center, health care, government facility and other verticals.
At its foundation, a mass notification system (MNS) is based on the same principle as voice evacuation. Today, however, new solutions are allowing for a far greater ability to deliver specific life-safety messages to targeted groups by way of multiple means of communication. These include live or recorded voice announcements over outdoor loudspeakers or indoor paging systems, text messaging, E-mail blasts, radio, fax machines, electric signs and others.
Also known as emergency communications systems (ECS), these new solutions are even being leveraged to improve business processes and other internal communication tasks for end users. Along with essential installation skill sets, including IP/IT proficiency, security contractors looking to capitalize on this growing market will need to gain an understanding of the facets unique to MNS. Among them are keeping abreast of new changes to NFPA 72 codes and requirements, negotiating market impediments and identifying projects that best suit your company's abilities.
Overview of Vertical Opportunities
Because mass notification technologies allow a facility to contend with the specifics of a threat opposed to only announcing the threat, today's solutions make for natural application in a broad range of environments.
University campuses are among the most active verticals currently in the MNS market. In a recent mass notification survey, SSI asked readers which applications are proving the most popular; colleges/universities led the pack along with office buildings.
Helping drive this vertical, the Higher Education Opportunity Act of 2008 mandates all educational facilities to have the capability to immediately notify all personnel in the event of an emergency. Stimulus funding and grants are also providing some of the financial wherewithal for colleges and universities to pursue new and enhanced life-safety measures.
The higher education market "is heating up more and more everyday," says Ted Milburn, GE Security's product marketing manager for the Americas. Nowadays campus officials are driving emergency communication purchases in new ways, Milburn says. "They are saying to parents, 'We will keep your kids safe,' and it becomes a great marketing tool for them to deploy some form of mass notification."
All facilities with a considerable footprint, especially those with multiple buildings, are a natural customer for MNS. Think hospitals, shopping malls, sports stadiums, transit sites, assembly complexes and the like. Any location where large groups of people gather is a prime candidate for MNS and especially intelligible voice mass notification solutions.