Skip to main content
Add as a preferred source on Google

Build Your Own Mass Notification System

  • 05/01/15

If you build your own mass notification system, you will have a deep understanding of how to use it and manage it.

That’s what Tidewater Community College has done. With offices in Norfolk, VA, Tidewater has seven campuses — four main campuses and three specialty campuses — serving 42,000 students.

“We’ve developed our system over a number of years,” says George Okaty, director of safety and security with Tidewater. “We’re actually putting in a third system right now.

“We have a Cooper Notification system for text alerts and email notifications. We also have a Valcom system with outdoor speakers mounted on buildings across all seven Tidewater campuses.

“The external speaker system has a live capability — a microphone that the provost or security staff can use to make a timely notification. We can also activate the system remotely through pre-programmed emergency messages on each campus. We test the speakers once a month to make sure they are operational and to make sure the staff knows how to use them.”

Tidewater’s third mass notification system is being installed now. It is a Cisco classroom telephone system. Each classroom will get a phone.

“The goal is to give classrooms the ability to speed-call security for assistance or 911,” says Okaty. “We’re also installing new software to use for emergency messaging into the classrooms. This will be a situational awareness system — we’ll be able to get messages to one or several buildings, one floor and even one room.”

This article originally appeared in the issue of .

Featured

  • Zurn Elkay Releases 2025 Sustainability Report

    Zurn Elkay Water Solutions recently announced the release of its annual sustainability report, according to a news release. The 2025 report discusses the organization’s efforts to maintain good environmental stewardship and the solutions provided in helping customers meet sustainability goals.

  • University of Tennessee at Chattanooga Launches New Emergency Communications System

    The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UTC) recently deployed a new emergency notification and incident management system for its campus, according to a news release. The university partnered with 911Cellular to launch Safe@UTC, a smartphone app allowing university officials to communicate and respond during emergency situations.

  • Wold Architects & Engineers Acquires VPS Architecture

    Full-service planning, architecture, and engineering firm Wold Architects & Engineers recently announced that it has acquired VPS Architecture, according to a news release. The move will help strengthen Wold’s education and public-sector design expertise, industries in which both companies have strong pre-existing ties and relationships.

  • Vanderbilt to Partner with ABM for Campus Preservation and Modernization

    Vanderbilt University recently announced that it has selected ABM Performance Solutions for a preservation and modernization project at its New York City campus, according to a news release. ABM will deliver its end-to-end ABM Performance Solutions (APS) model to manage critical operations during renovation and maintenance.