As schools and churches see an uptick in security issues, Johnson Controls is hoping a product it released earlier this year will make a difference. Its Autocall 4017ES fire alarm control unit takes the voice capabilities of units it’s been offering for years to large facilities like arenas, airports and universities and makes them available to smaller facilities.
These small facilities “normally can’t afford these big fire protection systems – with voice – so we created these [audio panels] purposefully for them,” Martin Schulte-Frankenfeld, senior director of global product management at Johnson Controls, said in an interview.
The crucial feature of the small-facility product is its voice capabilities, Schulte-Frankenfeld said, because it solves one of the biggest problems of any emergency alert system: occupant trust.
“It’s the spoken communication [that gets] people over their hesitation,” he said. “People are hesitant to follow [passive signage] if they don’t know what’s going on, because the last thing they want is to become trapped…. Not every corridor should be used.”
The panels come with pre-programmed voice instructions that direct occupants through the building, depending on the location and type of emergency. Although it’s designed as a fire alarm system, it functions in any type of emergency.
“You could have a gas leak, or a security threat, or weather emergency,” he said.
Building operators can record their own instructions but evacuation codes, like those published by the National Fire Protection Association, require exactness in their wording, so instructions that don’t meet code requirements can raise compliance issues.
“The last thing you want to do is confuse or panic people … but you also want to underline the urgency, so that’s why these requirements are applicable,” he said.
The panels come equipped with a microphone to enable an authorized person to make announcements and give instructions in real-time if that becomes necessary.
“You can get access to these if you’re a specific level of authority, and then you can overrule these automated voice messages,” he said. “The identification piece is important. [Only] if you identify yourself as having authority can you make these messages. You want to avoid someone just walking by and grabbing a microphone.”
In situations when getting to the exits involves more than one step, or when only some people should evacuate and others should stay in place, providing instructions in phases helps keep people moving, Schulte-Frankenfeld said.
“If you have [an incident] in a school, you don’t want to give instructions [leading people] to where the bad guys are,” he said. “You want to keep them in a safe area.”
Facilities in compliance with emergency evacuation codes will already have an alert system in place, but Schulte-Frankenfeld believes the voice capabilities of this newer system will give smaller operations a potentially more effective way to comply.
“Whether pre-recorded or live, people tend to react more quickly and accurately to the instructions if they’re given verbally rather than just hearing a ring or a bell," he said. “People get confused about what to do and [they’re afraid of] getting stuck in a fire hazard. So, having voice also for smaller applications is critical.”
