Sponsored by Advance Systems
Whatever industry you work in, whether it’s industrial, healthcare, education or hospitality, one of your number one priorities has to be safety. You have to be prepared for all possible emergency situations, from fire, to theft, to natural disasters.
To be prepared, you need to be not only well-equipped, but also have a system in place that allows you to communicate quickly and effectively in an emergency situation.
You need a specific system in place for each different type of possible emergency because the actions that need to be taken are very different depending on whether you are dealing with a fire, security or life safety. However, you can actually improve the efficiency of your safety systems by integrating them. By bringing all of your safety and security systems together, to be overseen and managed centrally as a whole system with several branches, rather than separate systems, you can speed up operations. With everything managed from one point of operation, you can identify and assess any problems that arise quickly and deal with them appropriately.
When your systems are integrated, you can coordinate the different branches of your integrated system more efficiently than if you were managing a number of separate systems.
Having a system tailored to your business’ life-safety needs, today’s technology can allow you to seamlessly manage a number of complex systems easily and seamlessly, incorporating functions including fire detection and alarm, intrusion, video surveillance, emergency communication, access control into a single platform.
But why would you want to do this? Well, there are a number of benefits to having integrated security and safety systems that could potentially be life-saving. The bottom line is that an integrated system can give you better protection than a number of separate systems. In an emergency, every second counts, and so the smoother operations are, the more likely it is that your system will keep everyone safe. With an integrated solution, your system operator(s) can view and record any suspicious activity, and if necessary, remotely lock or open escape routes.
This function can also be integrated with your fire alarm system, and can be coordinated so that if the fire alarm is activated, escape routes are activated automatically, saving precious time by eliminating the need to open fire escapes manually. Your life-safety platform can even be connected to devices such as voice-activated alarms, speaker systems, duress buttons and mobile phones, meaning that you can use the system to warn people to take shelter or evacuate/relocate as appropriate, and as quickly as possible, in an emergency.
Another benefit is that an integrated system is easier to use than a number of separate systems. Many integrated systems are easy and intuitive to operate, with touch-screen functionality, as well as additional features including floor plans and real-time images. An integrated system can also offer improved data security and protection. While life-safety is the priority in an emergency situation, data protection is also an important concern, and the system can allow life-safety staff to work closely with your IT department to ensure that your network and data are not compromised in an emergency.
Another advantage of an integrated system, from a business perspective, is cost-effectiveness. Multiple sites can be managed from a single, central location. Fire alarms, video surveillance and two-way audio systems can be managed and operated remotely. With life-safety staff able to remotely identify any problems, they can assess the situation and take action much more quickly than if their physical presence on-site was required, improving efficiency, which can mean fewer damages to your facilities in case of an emergency, and hence fewer repairs required, resulting in improved cost-efficiency, as well as safety.
Holding responsibility for the safety of other people is an incredibly important, often stressful role. Having an integrated life-safety, fire and security system in place can make your job easier, and those you are responsible for safer.
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