Wednesday, May 29, 2013

5 Critical Emergency Communication Strategies


Last week’s tornado in Oklahoma reminds us that effective emergency communication systems are necessary in any organization. Residents of Moore, Oklahoma had only 16 minutes to prepare for the tragedy, and the average amount of time people have to move to safety before a tornado is only 10 minutes. In other disastrous situations, including school shootings, people often have even less time to prepare.

To help your organization develop an effective emergency communication plan, Occupational Health & Safety offers these 5 strategies:

1.    Prerecorded Voice Alerts. Record voice alerts giving detailed instructions about how to react in an emergency so that people don’t have to take time out to decipher the meaning of a siren. For multilingual workplaces, provide alerts in all needed languages.
2.    Remote Location Targeting. Advanced network-based communications allow workplaces to broadcast alerts using many different devices from any location. This makes it possible for alerts to be communicated to all parts of a workplace and even to remote locations, such as the other end of a large campus.
3.    Automatic Emergency Alert Activation. Technology can be used to automate emergency communications using sensors and other monitoring devices, including gas monitors and National Weather Service data streams. This technology may be crucial in the event that workers designated to activate emergency alerts are absent at the onset of an emergency.
4.    Emergency Call Tools with Built-in Location Identification. Since cell phone networks can fail during widespread emergencies, emergency call tools may be needed for reporting problems. Advanced call systems transmit the call location automatically, so responders can send help immediately.
5.    Independent Backup Networks with Automatic Switchover. Backup communication networks are necessary for ensuring that your organization’s emergency system will work. Modern emergency systems rely on communications networks operating on a site’s Local Area Network using Ethernet or wi-fi. If the local network fails in a crisis, a backup emergency network is needed for transmitting calls and alerts. One common backup option is use of wireless mesh networks that are independent of other communications channels.

Find more information at Occupational Health & Safety