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

  • Texas K–12 District to Build New Elementary, High Schools

    The High Island Independent School District on the Bolivar Peninsula in Southeast Texas recently announced that construction on a new elementary school and a new high school will begin in January 2026, according to local news. Funding will come from a $27.9-million bond passed in May 2025.

  • Tennessee State University Gains Approval for New Engineering Facility

    Tennessee State University in Nashville, Tenn., recently announced that it has received approval from the Tennessee State Building Commission to build a new engineering building on campus, according to a university news release. The 70,000-square-foot, $50-million facility will play home to the university’s engineering programs and the Applied & Industrial Technology program.

  • FAU Starts Construction on Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building

    Florida Atlantic University recently began construction on a new academic building for its campus in Boca Raton, Fla., according to university news. The Kurt and Marilyn Wallach Holocaust and Jewish Studies Building will stand two stories, measure in at 22,000 square feet, and play home to the university’s Holocaust education and Jewish studies programs.

  • UCNJ Launches $30M Modernization of Physical Education Center

    The Union College of Union County (UCNJ) in Cranford, N.J., recently broke ground on a new $30-million modernization project for its Physical Education Center (PECK), according to a news release. The college partnered with DIGroup Architecture for the project’s design, transitioning the existing 42,000-square-foot structure into a campus hub for student athletics and campus life.

Digital Edition