Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, known as Virginia Tech, has selected Virginia-based Inova Solutions as part of its emergency mass notification system. This month, university officials will implement over 200 of Inova’s durable and highly visible OnAlert displays as a means to instantly communicate vital information to large groups of students, staff and faculty in public areas.
Virginia Tech’s initial project includes 220 OnAlert displays for mass notification in classrooms and common areas. When no emergency message is needed, the displays show accurate time and date to ensure synchronized school operations. The displays are powered by existing network connections using standard Power over Ethernet (POE) technology. Centrally networked, the comprehensive system is easy to install, manage and send emergency messages as needed.
"OnAlert is a simple, secure way for authorized school officials to issue emergency alerts," said Gerry Gorman, Vice President at Inova Solutions. "The wall-mounted LED displays are visible from over 100 feet, inexpensive to install and easy to operate."
State Requires Schools to Have Emergency Plan by January 2009
The Commonwealth of Virginia recently passed legislation requiring colleges and universities to establish comprehensive, prompt and reliable first-warning and notification plans by January 1, 2009.
Tips for Choosing Emergency Mass Notification Systems
For schools considering mass notification systems, here are a few considerations:
1. Use multiple technologies to deliver emergency messages, such as Visual Messaging, SMS/Text, Email and Public Address. This multi-tiered approach allows for communication overlap in the event of weak cell phone coverage or limited reach of other systems. Read about this comprehensive communication strategy in Inova Solutions’ free position paper, A Holistic Approach to Mass Notification, available for download here.
2. Coordinate public address and visual messaging systems for optimal reach, especially for large congregation spaces like student unions, cafeterias and lecture halls to minimize the impact of noise often accompanying a crisis and support the disabled population as required under the Americans with Disabilities Act.
3. For visual displays, LED screens deliver crisp, clear messages to large areas.
