Back

FM Articles

Technology Informs on Extreme Weather

Extreme Weather

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has predicted an above-normal Atlantic hurricane season for 2022, marking this as the seventh consecutive year with an above-normal season has been predicted. This year’s Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. Unfortunately, extreme weather cannot be prevented, but there is technology that can be put into place to keep you informed about what’s going on with your property when it hits. Environmental monitoring and mass notification technology combined with an automatic alerting platform can help facilities communicate with staff and keep an eye on their property whether anyone is onsite or not.

Facilities located in hurricane-prone areas are aware of the destruction this dangerous weather can cause due to extreme rain and powerful winds. With that being said, they are no strangers to how to prepare their property for such weather. Once the work is put in to physically prepare a building for hurricane weather, it is just as important to monitor the facility to ensure everything is running how it should.

Leverage Already Existing Technology
Many facilities are already full of a wide variety of technologies, such as cameras, temperature systems, moisture sensors, fire/smoke detection, and door access control, to name a few. These systems are typically siloed, making them difficult to manage. When integrated onto an automated alerting platform, the systems can all work together as well and proactively detect critical situations. Every sensor, alarm, and communication endpoint can be unified to ensure that key individuals, select groups, or entire populations are able to receive real-time information about what’s happening on their campus. This interoperability means that a facility’s existing technology investments don’t have to go to waste. In fact, their utility can be expanded. By unifying all of these, already existing, disparate systems, facilities are able to give their building eyes, ears and a voice, plus the knowledge to take appropriate action.

Be Proactive With Environmental Monitoring and Automated Alerting
In the event of extreme weather, such as a hurricane, there’s a lot to consider. You need to be prepared to protect your people, your property and the equipment within your facility. Implementing various sensors and monitoring/alerting systems can help keep staff informed as to what’s going on in the facility, protect expensive equipment, and minimize downtime at your facility.

For instance, if moisture is detected in an area that should be dry, a sensor can immediately detect the change. This allows the situation to be handled proactively, whereas an employee may not have become aware of the situation for an extended period of time, as the water damage continues. With the added integration of an automated alerting platform, this information can be sent out to the proper individual or group of people right away to provide a call to action to diffuse the leak or potential flood in the building. This alert can contain detailed information about the situation, such as what room moisture is detected in, where the room is in the building, how long there has been moisture in that area, and if it is still there. When staff is provided with this information, they can take the proper steps to remedy the situation, potentially avoiding emergency and costly long-term repercussions.

Communication Is Key
Environmental monitoring can help to detect and diffuse emergency situations, while mass notification can alleviate communication breakdowns within a facility before they escalate.

In the event of extreme weather, you need to communicate pertinent information with your staff, and you need to do it fast.

Mass notification is perfect for getting the right information to the right people in the shortest amount of time. This can be especially useful in the event of an emergency. When extreme weather hits, information moves quickly, but it’s not always accurate. Rather than employees panicking and making uninformed decisions, they can be given the right information as soon as possible with mass notification. An alert can be sent to all of the necessary individuals with details on what actions need to be taken.

By investing in technology that helps automate and streamline a facility’s day-to-day and emergency processes, managers are able to improve their employee’s safety, communication, and operations. This gives staff peace of mind, knowing that no matter the situation, they will be equipped with detailed information about what’s going on around them and it can be dealt with quickly and efficiently.

Danielle Myers is General Manager for Status Solutions. Danielle’s expertise includes working with customers in senior living, health care, education, manufacturing, hospitality and government to design, deliver and maintain solutions for integrated alarm management and automated mass notification. She also has been instrumental in expanding the company’s U.S. channel with the addition of new voice, data, fire, security, audio-visual and managed services providers as certified resellers.