Nearly 300 Roman Catholic Diocese schools in Ohio started this school year with the cloud-based NaviGate Prepared emergency response safety system.
Approximately 274 schools from within the Diocese of Cleveland, Diocese of Columbus, Diocese of Youngstown and Archdiocese of Cincinnati have all implemented the technology, which securely organizes school safety data and building information – and gives authorized users and local first responders around-the-clock access to it from any Web-authorized device.
NaviGate Prepared was developed by Ohio-based Lauren Innovations. It features secure organization of emergency preparedness plans, call lists, personnel photos, building maps, color-coded floor plans and 360-degree photos of important building areas, like emergency resources, hallways and rooms. It also provides the ability to see detailed views of room entrances and exits, showing firefighters and police the direction in which a door swings.
In an emergency situation, NaviGate Prepared includes the ability to integrate floor plans and reunification procedures, tap into live security camera feeds and quickly locate key resources, such as gas, water and electrical shut-off valves, entrances and exits, designated evacuation sites, individual classroom numbers and more, according to the company.
The NaviGate system also allows administrators, teachers and staff access to their school’s customized emergency flipcharts via a mobile application. After a one-time download from the app store, users log in with the credentials they have been provided and the flipcharts are automatically loaded onto their device for anytime, anywhere access – with or without an Internet connection.
According to the company, NaviGate Prepared aids with the new mandates of Ohio law and legislative rule for submitting annual emergency planning documentation, set forth by the Ohio Department of Education in January 2015.
Of the Ohio Roman Catholic Diocese schools, NaviGate Prepared was first implemented within the 53 schools of the Diocese of Columbus, followed by the 112 schools of the Diocese of Cleveland, the 26 schools of the Diocese of Youngstown and, most recently, 83 schools within the Archdiocese of Cincinnati.