Technology companies develop more sophisticated mass notification systems to keep personnel safe

When faced with an emergency, an organization is tasked to keep personnel informed of life safety issues in a timely and location-based manner. The ability to provide proper instructions to employees, patients, or students during a man-made emergency or destructive weather event is crucial to preserving calm, order, and sometimes life itself. Distributing this type of "mass notification" to thousands of people in a campus or multi-story environment can be challenging. Technology companies have pushed themselves to develop more sophisticated mass notification systems (MNS) that can be designed and deployed across a large scale setting. Companies such as Woodbury, NY-based Lencore Acoustics Corp. have made great strides in the development of mass notification systems that integrate seamlessly with existing standalone and networked sound masking systems. Adding paging capabilities to a sound masking system can be done with little or no additional cabling or speaker installation; existing infrastructure is leveraged to act as the framework for the MNS. After the addition of MNS functionality, life safety paging can override sound masking function when it is needed. Traditional sound masking systems are comprised of a series of strategically placed overhead speakers that are finely tuned to emit an indiscernible sound that covers up other unwanted sounds. The distractions associated with background conversations, coworkers' keyboards tapping, and loud office equipment can be virtually eliminated by a sound masking system. In addition to the environmental comfort element, sound masking systems can help to protect the "speech privacy" of those within the workspace. Forward-thinking manufacturers have developed sound masking technologies in recent years that run over the network. Lencore's Spectra iNet system takes advantage of the IP technology, utilizing Power over Ethernet (PoE) to drive the speakers, and a web based user interface for central management. The Spectra iNet runs over conventional Cat 5e data cables, eliminating the need for the additional expense of installing a proprietary cabling architecture. The addition of Lencore's Music Page Interface (MPI) adds mass notification capabilities to the Spectra iNet sound masking system. The powerful IP-based MPI mass notification system can be programmed to cover an area of 1.5 million square feet. For location directed paging up to 100 individual zones can be programmed into the MPI system that can be reached via a standard phone dial pad. For enterprise or campus-wide notification, the system can be programmed for "all-call" and emergency broadcast paging. Networked mass notification systems such as Lencore's MPI can be integrated with Cisco IP Communications Manager Telephony systems by a qualified technology partner. This integration extends the reach of the MNS to that of the Cisco IP Telephony system. Carrying existing Cisco IP infrastructure allows real time communication for company or campus wide announcements. Yet, in the case of a localized emergency the system's zoned paging provides for emergency microphone page on a per station basis. Sound masking and mass notification systems have evolved successfully into networked technologies. Safety administrators can now take advantage of the range, economics, and universal protocols of the IP infrastructure for their speech privacy and life safety requirements. John Allegro is director of marketing for BBH Solutions, Inc., New York, N.Y.