Western will be installing an emergency notification intercom system in all academic buildings including the Viking Union, Wade King Recreation Center and most resident halls. The Campus Safety Voice Annunciation System will be fully installed by the end of this month and is in the process of being tested, said Tim Wynn, director of facilities management.
When complete, it will give Western the ability to send messages to students, staff and faculty immediately during any emergency situation. The intercoms are an addition to the already existing fire alarms.
The project was scheduled to be finished this month, but it will be pushed back to February or March until the testing is completed, said Project Manager Jeff Maurer. Most of the preliminary testing took place during winter break.
Students may hear some announcements over the intercoms during additional weekend testing, Maurer said. They will do their best to inform students about these tests before they happen.
“Before we had this in place, there was absolutely no reliable way we could get a message out quickly,” Wynn said. “We have text and e-mail notifications, but that takes minutes to engage and in many cases, we do not have minutes.”
Construction began on July 14, but the design for the project started in September 2009, he said.
“There has always been a need for an emergency alert system like this,” Wynn said. “But the Virginia Tech incident really galvanized our planning and our request (for funding).”
The state gave Western $750,000 to install the system in every academic building. The VU and the rec center each provided $13,000 for their own construction costs. Resident housing also paid for their budget of $160,000 from capital funding.
“This project has gone very well with regards to the budget,” Wynn said. “When you are dealing with so many buildings you always have a couple glitches with regards to infrastructure. Fortunately those have been minimal, and we have been able to keep within the budget.”
Campus Dispatch, University Communications and the president’s office are the only three places on campus with the capability to broadcast live messages or pre-recorded messages to campus.
Mills Electric, the general contractor assigned to the project, sub-contracted with Performance Systems and Siemens to program and install the system. Most of the alarms were fixed with amber lights that will flash to inform the hearing-impaired of an emergency.
“As we upgrade fire alarms in the future, we will plan on doing full coverage with the ambers, but due to budgets, (the number we installed) was all we could afford,” Maurer said. “(Western’s) Environmental Health and Safety Department and the police are going to have to come up with a training program to let people know what to do (when an intercom message comes through), particularly for the hearing-impaired community.”
Gayle Shipley, director of environmental health and safety, said her department promotes emergency preparedness.
“One thing that certainly is clear is that people need to be prepared and need to have their own plans in order to be resilient if there is a problem,” she said.
Once everything is installed and ready, Wynn said he hopes to train the student population and staff to respond appropriately to the emergency system and ensure everyone is aware of its existence.
“The importance of preparedness cannot be underestimated,” Shipley said.
The project was scheduled to be finished this month, but it will be pushed back to February or March until the testing is completed, said Project Manager Jeff Maurer. Most of the preliminary testing took place during winter break.
Students may hear some announcements over the intercoms during additional weekend testing, Maurer said. They will do their best to inform students about these tests before they happen.
“Before we had this in place, there was absolutely no reliable way we could get a message out quickly,” Wynn said. “We have text and e-mail notifications, but that takes minutes to engage and in many cases, we do not have minutes.”
Construction began on July 14, but the design for the project started in September 2009, he said.
“There has always been a need for an emergency alert system like this,” Wynn said. “But the Virginia Tech incident really galvanized our planning and our request (for funding).”
The state gave Western $750,000 to install the system in every academic building. The VU and the rec center each provided $13,000 for their own construction costs. Resident housing also paid for their budget of $160,000 from capital funding.
“This project has gone very well with regards to the budget,” Wynn said. “When you are dealing with so many buildings you always have a couple glitches with regards to infrastructure. Fortunately those have been minimal, and we have been able to keep within the budget.”
Campus Dispatch, University Communications and the president’s office are the only three places on campus with the capability to broadcast live messages or pre-recorded messages to campus.
Mills Electric, the general contractor assigned to the project, sub-contracted with Performance Systems and Siemens to program and install the system. Most of the alarms were fixed with amber lights that will flash to inform the hearing-impaired of an emergency.
“As we upgrade fire alarms in the future, we will plan on doing full coverage with the ambers, but due to budgets, (the number we installed) was all we could afford,” Maurer said. “(Western’s) Environmental Health and Safety Department and the police are going to have to come up with a training program to let people know what to do (when an intercom message comes through), particularly for the hearing-impaired community.”
Gayle Shipley, director of environmental health and safety, said her department promotes emergency preparedness.
“One thing that certainly is clear is that people need to be prepared and need to have their own plans in order to be resilient if there is a problem,” she said.
Once everything is installed and ready, Wynn said he hopes to train the student population and staff to respond appropriately to the emergency system and ensure everyone is aware of its existence.
“The importance of preparedness cannot be underestimated,” Shipley said.
The Western Front
January 14, 2011
http://westernfrontonline.net/news/12964-intercoms-improve-safety-in-buildings
