Emergency Notification Systems For Alerting Your Business

business man writing emergency planWhen it comes to emergency notification systems or mass notification systems most people think of schools, primarily because of the press received whenever a school shooting takes place. The reality is, the need to send alerts, warnings, and informational messages quickly and easily to large groups of people at once makes a great fit for business use.

Vigilance Software has deployed their emergency notification system to organizations as small as a 10 user non profit and as large as a $1.5 billion dollar global retailer.

Types of Business Using Mass Notification

It amazes us how many different types of businesses and organizations use some sort of notification system. We have seen our software deployed in the following industries:

  • Retail
  • Distribution
  • Manufacturing
  • Corporate
  • Financial Services
  • Law Firms
  • Medical Facilities
  • Non profit organizations

Common Use Cases for A Business Emergency Notification System

  • Medical Response
  • Workplace Violence
  • Active Shooter Response
  • Security Response
  • Panic Buttons
  • Facilities Lock down
  • Fires
  • Production Issues
  • Business Continuity
  • Sensor Monitoring
  • Administration Alerts
  • Emergency Alerts
  • Information Alerts

How It Works

It all starts with being able to initiate the alert you want to send. In the case of Vigilance Software, this done using a desktop computer, web application, or mobile application. You select the type of alert (active shooter, medical assistance, information, etc.) add additional details if you want, and then send the alert.

The users of the system will receive the notification through text notification, desktop alert, email notification, mobile push notification, and robocalling.

With more advanced setup, you can also do overhead paging, digital signage, SIP based phone systems, and more. With systems integration you can also trigger actions such as a lock down on your access control system or trigger an alarm on your security system so it will contact the monitoring company.

Workplace Injuries

When it comes to workplace injuries the numbers are staggering. Reports indicate that every 7 seconds in the U.S. a worker is injured on the job. When you calculate that out to the hour, day, week and year here is the break down:

  • 510 an hour
  • 12,600 a day
  • 88,500 a week
  • 4,600,000 a year

Almost every business faces workplace injuries. As part of your safety plan you should address the issues of how you are going to respond when an incident happens and how you will communicate to the proper people.

Using Emergency Notification For Workplace Injury

Many businesses and organizations have an internal medial response team. Alerting Software can be used to help your internal emergency response team respond quickly. The faster you can get to and help treat an injury or medical condition, the greater the likelihood for a better outcome. If the injury warrants it, getting 911 rolling to the situation is important. Police, EMS, and fire are all the first-responders, but they cannot be your company’s first response in your action plan. You will need to address and manage the situation until the first responders arrive.

Workplace Violence

Millions of American workers report having been victims of workplace violence

The National Safety Council reports that every year millions of workers in the U.S. report being a victim of workplace violence. It is actually the fourth leading cause of death in the workplace. These types of assaults can lead to both injury and death. In 2017 alone there were 18,400 workplace injuries caused by assaults along with 458 deaths.

Active Shooters At Work

According to the FBI more than 42% of all active shooter incidents take place in businesses. It actually makes up the largest category by more than double, followed by schools and then open spaces. Although active shooters are the rarest example of workplace violence, you still need to plan for them. Part of that planning has to be a communications plan.

A Way to Respond

You don’t ever want to put your employees at risk. Having a way to quickly and easily communicate with them in the middle of chaos is a great way to help keep them safe during a crisis or potentially dangerous situation.

 A Smart Panic Button

I always like to think of the mobile application as being a panic button in your pocket with super powers. As the name implies, an emergency mass notification system sends notifications to masses. But not everyone needs to receive all the alerts. You need to have a way to control who receives what. With a system like Vigilance Software each alert is configured ahead of time to determine exactly what actions should take place when the alert is initiated and exactly which groups of people should that specific alert.

If your company is considering an emergency notification system, please contact Vigilance Software to see how we can help.