As the importance of emergency notification becomes more highly recognized, safety personnel at colleges and universities may find more and more mass notification system vendors knocking at their doors. How does the savvy emergency manager separate the wheat from the chaff? Berkly Trumbo, Director of Emergency Communication Systems at Inova Solutions, has compiled a helpful white paper with seven items to consider when comparing emergency notification system vendors.
Called Selecting a Visual Communications System Provider: Seven Tips for Emergency Management Personnel in Higher Education Institutions, the white paper covers a range of topics from system integration to the vendor’s track record. Trumbo offers valuable insight to guide emergency managers in the right direction, whether they are at the beginning of the selection process or nearly ready to make a decision.
Here is an excerpt from the white paper:
- “Since every campus has different needs and challenges, be wary of vendors that offer a ‘one size fits all’ solution. It may not meet the unique requirements of your campus’ physical layout, internal processes, protocols or technology infrastructure. Ask your vendor to personally visit your campus to evaluate relevant factors and make recommendations for placement, installation and implementation of a visual notification system. If your vendor does not have the expertise or the willingness to participate in a customized, on-site needs assessment, consider that a red flag.”
This white paper and others that discuss emergency notification on college campuses are available here.
Inova Solutions March 2009 press release
