How Mobile Verification and Mustering Systems Aid in Emergency Safety
During an emergency evacuation, there are two critical tasks at hand. The first is to get everyone out of the building quickly, and the second is to confirm that everyone has reached safety. While the first task requires implementing the right practices, the second comes down to deploying the right mustering technology.
Most people have practiced mustering since elementary school. During a fire drill, students learn to get into single file lines, follow their teachers outside to designated areas, and wait to be checked in on clipboard rosters. With 20 to 30 students per class, this is simple enough.
But for corporate buildings that hold hundreds to thousands of people, a clipboard roster is not an effective accountability method. Instead, facilities should be using emergency mustering solutions that automatically track building occupancy. With easy-to-use handheld badge readers, facility managers can quickly account for the safety of everyone evacuating the building.
How does it all work?
To get a visualization of how an emergency mustering solution works, picture an evacuation during a fire at a large commercial office building. If the building had handheld badge readers, people could scan in their ID badges as they evacuated using one of the wireless handheld devices held by an evacuation captain. Then, as more and more people began to reach safety, system administrators could watch the live list of people accounted for or missing. And if someone was missing, the handheld devices could show where that person’s last documented location was.
This type of technology can assist an emergency response team in determining the best course of action. In the scenario above, it would allow first responders to determine whether or not they need to enter a burning building to save a missing person. The technology can be used as a stand-alone system or it can integrate with a company’s access control system. An integration would additionally allow a facility to authorize visitors, keep track of where and when they entered the building, and see how long they were in a specific location for.
And of course, the back end system provides transparent synchronization of data to and from all handheld devices. Facilities can use this information and reporting to continually improve their emergency systems and procedures so that building occupants remain protected.
Learn more about emergency mustering solutions
Don’t wait until an emergency takes place to realize your facility needs new safety technology. Contact us today to learn more about mustering solutions, mobile verification, and other emergency security solutions that can protect your building occupants.
