Protecting students, faculty and staff is top of mind for campuses. With the types of threats that campuses are facing today, facility managers and security personnel need options to enhance the protection of all on campus. A public address and/or mass notification system is an important tool that can support buildings and campuses both large and small to alert occupants of critical events such as fire, an armed or dangerous person or inclement weather.
A high-quality public address and mass notification system is essential for dealing with security and safety challenges. To be truly effective, a public address and emergency sound system must deliver exceptional performance, clear intelligibility and reliability.
Audio Intelligibility Everyone has been in a facility and heard a message that cannot be accurately understood. A message was communicated, but those in the building had no idea what it was or what action to take. Many public address systems do not consider factors like background noise, occupancy noise, building construction material or changes in the facility that may affect whether messages are heard or understood. For a public address system to be effective, the message must be heard, must be intelligible, and must be delivered without delay. The correct spacing and type of speaker is an important factor in this. Using high-quality systems installed by sound professionals ensures this for buildings and/or campuses. Some systems can even listen to background noise and automatically adjust their volume for better performance.
Audio intelligibility is even more critical when it comes to an emergency event, especially if the system changes instructions based upon the situation. If the system tells occupants to go to the second floor, and they hear the seventh floor, it can be disastrous. Intelligibility is a key part of a public address system—in the equipment itself, design, and the installation.
This article originally appeared in the July / August 2022 issue of Campus Security & Life Safety.
• Emergency Preparedness • Health Care Trends Shaping Security & Infection Control • Automate Your Emergency Response • Leveraging Surveillance
14901 Quorum Drive, Suite 425 Dallas, TX 75254 (972) 687-6700