School Safety Technology: 5 Benefits Outside of Security

School security technology is critical for obvious reasons related to the safety of students and staff. However, there are additional reasons that keeping school security technology updated and upgraded can benefit a campus – reasons that are not necessarily limited to safety.

Here are five additional benefits to keeping the school safety technology in NYC schools current.

Streamlined Site Management

Security may be the most important requirement of managing a school site, but it isn’t the only requirement. Keeping the utilities running smoothly is critical as well, and there are ways that school security technology can contribute. Here’s just one example: During the long winters that extend well into spring, there are many opportunities for plumbing pipes to freeze and burst. If it ever happens in the middle of the night, having current school security technology can mean the difference between finding out immediately and finding out in the morning. Site managers can receive a notification when it happens, and use their access to the technology to remotely unlock the doors for the contractor so the situation can be intervened right away. If the work is completed overnight, then there’s no interruption to the next school day.

Better Visitor Management

Speaking of contractors visiting the school site, a visitor management system (VMS) is an outstanding way to give those workers access. An effective VMS can be accompanied by a secure vestibule to keep track of visitors, contractors and other folks who may enter the building sporadically but are not given full access control.

For a school that utilizes vendors on the campus, a VMS can verify that the vendor is sending the same people every time – and, it can confirm that the vendors are showing up at the scheduled time.

A VMS can be especially helpful for automating the process of managing those who need access to the building after hours, like those workers coming to repair the pipes before sunrise. It should be designed to grant or deny access to smart card badges, or by authenticating the entrant’s own ID. While there’s still a security advantage to this school safety technology in NYC, schools can also use it to manage authorized repair vendors after-hours to ensure they are arriving and departing on schedule. And of course, this can be used for nightly janitorial staff as well.

Attendance Management

A robust security technology system should do more than manage visitors; there should be an attendance management component as well. By also utilizing an access control system, administrators can collect accurate daily attendance reports – customized by class name, student name, arrival time and other factors. This can be an excellent way to eliminate truancy by making mid-day “ditching” much more difficult than traditional doorways. And because students aren’t the only campus occupants with an attendance requirement, the access control system can also be used by school administration to stay on top of staff presence. Ideally, this system will be able to generate reports on building attendance on demand.

Team Communication

Before email, mass notifications could only be sent through print communication or live meetings. But even email isn’t always read or responded to in real time. Fortunately, now there are real time ways to communicate with mobile technology– but until recently, there were very few platforms specifically designed for K-12 school applications. Now there is one: Ruvna, a mobile application that supports staff communication via smartphone. Of course, it can be indispensable in school emergencies – but even in regular daily routines, Ruvna is an ideal messaging platform. If desired, administrators can implement school policy that designates Ruvna as the best practices method of communication between faculty members. It’s a great way to keep school employee communication informative and professional.

Peace of Mind

When choosing a private or charter school for their children, smart parents look for campuses with current school safety technology – and in NYC as much as anywhere else, knowing a school has the most up to date security technology can give parents extra peace of mind. Likewise, staff members want confidence that safety is at the forefront of their employer’s priorities; with current school safety technology, they can rest assured that it is.

These are just some of the ways that updating school security technology can help schools up their game in areas other than security. To learn more, contact POM Technologies. We will be glad to answer your questions.

About POM Technologies 

Peace Of Mind Technologies is a security system installation and monitoring company that has delivered site-specific, cost -effective security solutions to facilities throughout the greater New York Metro area since 2002. Our modern-day school safety technology are unmatched in NYC. Contact us at (212) 688-2767 or info@pom-tec.com to request a free security analysis, or reach out via the contact form below.