Emergency Notification Systems and Crisis Communication – Blog

Active shooter incidents are not just happening at colleges and schools; they are happening in all types of places of work, play, and worship. The number of people killed in mass shooter attacks has escalated since 2012. Two of the deadliest mass shootings happened in 2017. Over the last decade, there have been 475 people killed and 882 people wounded in America due to mass shootings. These active shooter statistics are unbelievable - yet a reality. Legally, all employers must now address the possibility of an aggressive intruder or active shooter who means to do harm to people in work settings.

Safety is an important decision when choosing where to live, vacation, and work. Everyone wants to feel secure in and out of their homes, especially when children are involved. No matter where you choose to live or work, you expect to be made aware when an emergency happens in your community or within your organization. Although your community, your place of play, or work may have an emergency plan, actualizing that plan is something totally different.

In this constantly evolving world of technology and mass notification, there are always updates and enhancements to reach more people in better ways, which ensures the protection of your organization and the safety of your people. What’s the best way to stay up to date with the enhancements of your mass notification system? Scheduling calls with your MNS account manager is a great way to stay in the know. That is sometimes easier said than done when you’re busy.

Success in organizational or campus safety is contingent upon careful planning and collaboration with other business units. The best outcomes occur when an emergency manager, operations manager, safety director, or the like, assembles a team to assist with testing and implementing their solution. When you’re working with hundreds, or even thousands, of people on a large campus the question comes down to how can you make sure you’re successfully reaching every person?

When it comes to critical communications, just like flying an aircraft filled with hundreds of passengers, failure is not an option. There is not a second chance to get it right. Therefore, when it's imperative that your communications are received, can you be certain your organization will succeed? Exercising and measuring all of the 'moving parts' of a system goes a long way toward reducing this risk. This is where Proven Success Indicators (PSIs) come in.

In this Q&A, originally published in the 2018 Critical Mass Magazine, Chief Peter Carey discusses how Buffalo State College coordinates emergency preparedness, notification, and response throughout the entire campus community. Carey is Campus Safety Magazine’s 2017 Campus Safety Director of the Year for Higher Education.