Natural disasters, security breaches, and fires cause major damage to businesses. While not every business will experience these dangerous situations, it’s important that all are prepared for the worst. Emergency planning and management is critical. Business owners are responsible for the safety and well-being of their employees and customers.
Businesses are using digital signage for emergency messaging, notifying everyone at a moment’s notice, saving time, and even lives. Integrating alerts into digital signage has become law in many states. Along with locking doors and limiting access to buildings, the alert systems are a natural fit to keep people safe.
Hurricanes and Other Natural Disasters
Hurricanes devastate the coastal communities, leveling buildings and causing power outages for hundreds of thousands of people. While the damage will take years to repair, and many businesses will be reeling from the impact of the hurricane, physical safety of individuals will always take precedence over property.
Digital signage is an excellent tool for emergency messaging, because it allows businesses to alert customers and employees to impending danger. Digital signage also deploys vital information after storms have hit. Employees access content from cell phones, keeping up on the latest reports of damage and company news/updates.
Businesses and schools need a plan to keep everyone safe in the event of natural disasters, like Hurricane Ian. Once a plan is in place to keep everyone safe, the next consideration to be made in an emergency plan should be to preserve property. When it comes to weather-proofing digital signage, one key step, which may seem counterintuitive, is to leave the displays on. While we might think we should turn them off, or even unplug them, experts recommend leaving digital signage running. This is because the internal fans will continue to run, which slows the accumulation of condensation within the device.
LEARN MORE about preparing digital signage for hurricanes.
Alerting Software Integration
When disasters strike, every second counts. Through the integration of alerting software, digital signage displays emergency messaging instantaneously. Businesses save time and headache with a one click solution, displaying alerts on thousands of screens in seconds. Emergency messaging is tailored to each business and each specific situation.
For example, a school may use digital signage to set up one emergency message for a lockdown situation, a second for inclement weather, and a third for a fire in the building. Whatever the case, emergency messaging is easily customizable and effortlessly deployed.
LEARN MORE about triggering emergency messaging for digital signage.
Key Candidates for Digital Emergency Messaging
Having a plan in place for various emergencies is key for virtually all businesses, but it’s specifically crucial for certain industries.
For schools and hospitals, digital signage is an essential tool for emergency messaging. These types of businesses are responsible for people who are more vulnerable, considering that they work with children and elderly populations. It’s imperative that their emergency plans are air tight, and that staff are able to react quickly and calmly. With the push of a button they can deploy emergency messaging to Arreya channels, taking over the content at a moments notice. When time is critical, alerting is easy.
Digital signage displays precise instructions for emergency messaging, giving instructions on what to do, where to go, and even what parts of the building are dangerous. Staff are able to take control of emergency situations more quickly and effectively as a result.
Keeping Stakeholders Safe Outside your Four Walls
While the safety of customers and employees on location is of great concern, it’s also important to keep them safe after they leave. Businesses have more remote employees now than ever, and they need the ability to alert them to dangerous situations during working hours.
Digital signage software deploys emergency alerts to any device with internet access, not just the screens in the office. If inclement weather like a tornado or a hurricane is impending for an area where employees are located, digital signage software integrates with alert software to automatically alert everyone.
Replacing Outdated Emergency Messaging
While sirens are useful for alerting multiple people at once, they provide little context as to where the danger is coming from or what to do to stay safe. Digital signage brings emergency messaging up to date, giving context to dangerous situations. Instead of bringing distress and panic like traditional alarms or sirens, digital signage provides clear instructions on where to go and what to do, no matter the situation. Maps and rendezvous points are displayed in the event of a fire, and directions to basements, bathrooms, and sturdy structures are provided for tornado warnings. In the case of a hurricane, like Hurricane Ian, digital signage displays evacuation routes and doppler radar.
LEARN MORE about the future of emergency messaging.
Preparing for the Worst
While we all hope we never have to deal with an emergency situation, and maybe we’d even prefer not to think about it, emergency planning is key to avoiding disasters. By using digital signage for emergency messaging, business owners are protecting their most valuable asset: their people. Replacing damaged property is expensive and inconvenient, but generally, everything is replaceable. Investing time and resources into an emergency plan is well worth it, and digital signage is a valuable tool in any emergency plan. Digital signage provides vital information designed to save lives through emergency messaging.