A mass notification system (MNS) is a platform that sends one-way messages to inform employees and the public of an emergency. Organizations best served by a mass notification system include fire and police departments; emergency management organizations; federal, state and local governments; cities and communities; building owners and building management companies; and businesses that can justify its need and investment. Such systems can improve the safety and security of an organization by providing alerts and real-time instruction during a crisis.
Mass notification systems have a database of names, phone numbers, email addresses and delivery methods. Emergency notification software must have a strong communications infrastructure with enough bandwidth to deliver thousands of messages. People and organizations can be contacted via prerecorded phone calls, text messages, emails and social media. Human action can activate an MNS, as can sensing devices such as smoke or gas detectors and specialized task-specific systems for such things as security.
A mass notification system (MNS) works similarly to voice evacuation, but instead of dealing specifically with fire alarm systems, or specifically evacuating a facility, a MNS can be used for multiple purposes. For example, in the event of a tornado, you would not want to evacuate your facility and expose occupants to severe weather. Instead, a MNS can notify everyone of the conditions, and inform employees to take cover per pre-establishes emergency procedures. Mass notification systems can be used to notify occupants of a variety of scenarios, ranging from quarantines, to active shooters.
Voice evacuation systems are considered a category of emergency communication systems (ECS), which also include mass notification systems.
Voice evacuation systems are considered a category of emergency communication systems (ECS), which also include mass notification systems.