Emergencies can occur without warning, and in those critical situations, having a powerful emergency management system in place can be the difference between disorder and a well-coordinated and effective response. For any organization, keeping its people protected at all times is a top priority, which is why it is important to implement tools that address a wide array of security and safety concerns.
Since implementing the first Platinum Assurance Plan in 2009, AtlasIED Support Services has been providing customers with the finest, most comprehensive, preventive support program for trouble-free communication systems. Via preventive measures, these plans can reduce the risk of unplanned, unscheduled interruptions of life safety and MNEC (Mass Notification and Emergency Communication) systems.
From engaging the senses to fostering emotional connections, the strategic use of background music can enhance the guest experience to include a vibrant start to their day, the sound of local culture, themed music for special events, and a communal atmosphere for fostering connections.
PA equipment has different capabilities, designs, and features associated with each function. They're essential for any organization where mass communication is necessary. Whether the system is needed for announcements, broadcasting, or conferencing, it will help you communicate more efficiently and effectively. PA technology has greatly advanced in recent years, resulting in improved signal-to-noise ratios, better overall performance, and superior modern public address systems compared to their earlier counterparts. The focus on an evolved design has led to improvements in the signal-to-noise ratio of PA systems, pushing the production of better technologies.
In today's modern workplaces, the overall environment plays a crucial role in enhancing employee productivity, satisfaction, and overall well-being. While many businesses focus on factors like ergonomic furniture and appealing aesthetics, one often overlooked aspect is the impact of audio quality.
Mass notification systems or mass communication systems vary widely in terms of everything from their functionality to scalability and ease of use. They're not all created equal and wouldn't necessarily be able to meet the specific needs of your organization. This blog post provides practical guidance for evaluating potential system vendors and making an informed decision that prepares you to handle any crisis that comes your way.
An increasing number of specifications are defining requirements for Class A or Class B wiring for life safety systems and technology that comprise, enhance, or complement said systems. The different wiring methodologies pertain to how a conventional fire alarm panel, or other mass notification system, is monitoring the speaker signal chain for faults. Additionally, it identifies requirements for the system design to mitigate those faults.
When we think of privacy and information security, we often think of cyber security, hackers, and scammers phishing for your information so they can drain your bank account. Cyber security is a HUGE industry and rightfully so. However, information security is just as important in person as it is online.
As schools grapple with the challenges of keeping their students and staff safe, two important tools that have emerged as priority investments for emergency preparedness are public address systems and security cameras. While both of these technologies can be useful in helping to secure a school, there are also some significant differences between them that are worth considering.
How can a GLOBALCOM® mass communications system assist in keeping an airport secure? By being the system hub for the communications infrastructure and other technologies that allows the staff to respond to suspicious activities and provide effective instructions to travelers.
Healthcare facilities across the country are leveraging emergency notification systems to provide excellent patient care, improve communication and keep patients, staff, and visitors safe. In this blog post, we’ve compiled stories from healthcare facilities that provide first-hand accounts of how emergency notification systems are changing the ways they share critical information that helps them care for their patients.
A Campus Safety Magazine survey suggests healthcare, K-12, and higher education markets know they need better communication systems. They need a system that can distribute information in multiple ways, using different devices, and has the ability to reach people onsite and remote.
Early in the pandemic, articles were published about companies discovering efficiencies and effectiveness in their work from home strategies. Some articles suggested work from home would be largely adopted even after the pandemic was over. But only a few months later, the tone of those articles seemed to change as we started to see the impact of less in-person collaboration.
There is a myth in the security industry that many integrators believe to be true. It’s that you need very specific proprietary lines, specific expertise, and particular skills to install and maintain critical communication systems in education and healthcare customers. Nothing could be further from the truth…
The recently signed Infrastructure Bill will impact our industry in many ways. For five years, the bill provides $25B for airports alone, $39B for public transit, and $66B for passenger and freight rail. This allocation will manifest new builds, renovations, and expansions – which will include technology, both security and audiovisual.
Audiovisual, security, and tech rich systems are unique in their complexity and the rate at which the technology evolves. While expertly trained, integrators can sometimes be challenged by project timelines, product availability, interconnecting brands, and scope creep. More than ever, integrators should consider manufacturer services as a seamless part of their project support.
Before people were working from home, noise distractions and lack of speech privacy negatively impacted productivity in all office environments. That has not changed. But people have become used to the sounds and privacy afforded to them while working from home, in their own space, where they are comfortable and protected. Some are looking forward to returning to the office, others are undecided, and a third group never wants to return.
Discussion about the relationship between mass communication and classroom technologies in higher education including how mass communications systems that support classroom instruction can be included in larger security budgets, on-premise vs. off-premise communication capabilities, and how mass communication systems can support successful student outcomes on college and university campuses.
AtlasIED's Atmosphere digital audio platform first hit the market in July of 2020 and only 8 months later, additional features and enhanced capabilities are being added. Gina Sansivero, VP of Marketing & Corporate Communications, Michael Peveler, VP of Sales, and Tom Lureman, Director of Engineering and Product Management, get together to explain the Atmosphere 2.0 firmware update and answer questions.
One of the industries most impacted by COVID-19 was transportation. AtlasIED's Dave Moriarty, Senior Systems Specialist for Transportation, and Olivier Savoie, International Sales Manager for Transportation, have seen many changes in the industry over the years, but nothing quite as transformative as the past 12 months.
Atmosphere™ accessories solve real world problems with real world solutions.
The COVID-19 pandemic has affected every sector of the hospitality industry. Restaurants, in particular, have felt the sting, as business came to a screeching halt temporarily while families went into hard lockdown. It didn’t take long, however, before restaurant owners started implementing new take-out strategies to stay afloat. Nimble and resilient, restaurant owners, managers, and staff have adapted admirably to COVID mandates. But the road to recovery isn’t over. As businesses continue to move forward, digital audio systems can play a vital in their success.
Education is on everyone’s minds as this fall’s back-to-school season looks different in every way due to the COVID-19 pandemic. AtlasIED’s Michael Peveler, Vice President of Sales, and Michael Yonks, Regional Sales Manager for Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana, and Arkansas, spoke about the challenges facing K-12 schools and districts and how AtlasIED’s solutions can make communication easy.
Almost every K12 school district had or still has an analog paging system that they use for daily communications. While these systems typically did the job they were intended to do, school districts who haven’t switched to network audio may be missing out on key features they didn't even know existed.
The technology solutions for the transportation industry are hyper-specialized. AV needs for public transit can differ from other markets. AtlasIED’s Chris Deatrick, Product Manager, and Justin Young, General Manager, lent their expertise in software engineering and industry focus to help unpack the needs, and provide solutions for various transportation sectors.
Schools will implement protective measures such as masks, disinfectant, and social distancing to help stop the spread of the coronavirus as K-12 students and staff return for the 2020—21 academic year. But how can communications technologies assist in the effort to provide safe and healthy schools?
The number one way to differentiate your business is to be the expert. The majority of people will pay more for something if there is additional value attached to it, like professional expert installation or follow-up technical service. The more you know and can convey to your customers, the more important your expertise becomes.
Speech privacy and sound masking are a rapidly growing category in the commercial AV market. If you are researching sound masking you may have seen the terms direct field and indirect field masking systems. How do you know which is right for your facilty? The good news is AtlasIED can not only explain the difference but also has solutions for both applications.
AtlasIED communication systems, unlike many other systems using pre-recorded messages, utilize messages recorded by actual people. These two vocalists are celebrities in their own rights, appearing in over 200 locations world wide and being heard by more than one billion people every year. Learn more about these instantly recognizable vocal celebrities.
Time is arguably the most valuable commodity in the world. It never seems like we have enough time for work, family, and other things we want to do. Time is increasingly important to integrators, as any speed that can be gained during a system installation is bonus time for the integrator. Where can integrators save time?
Horn speakers and compression drivers have been around forever. They are incredibly reliable, cost-effective, and can cover wide areas for voice, tone and public address applications. Horn speakers and compression drivers benefit when using filtering that protect the compression driver from lower frequencies while making them highly efficient.
Speaker placement is one of the fastest ways to take a sound system from sounding great to you have to be kidding. Selecting the right speaker is only the first part of the job, getting it positioned to maximize its efficacy is just as important. Where should you start? Let AtlasIED help out.
One of the easiest and most cost-effective methods to address the quiet hospital is speech privacy technology. Speech privacy technology electronically introduces a steady, constant sound that masks unwanted noise created by conversations, equipment, and the normal operation of a hospital.
Choosing the right amplifier can be the difference between having a great sounding system and one that doesn't live up to a client's expectations. With so many options in the market, how do you choose the right amplifier for your application? Read more for some general rules to help ensure you get the right amplifier to complete your installation properly.
Unified Communications (UC) is a popular form of collaborative communications for all business types that leverages todays converged networks. UC can include many forms of communication including instant messaging (chat), voice (IP telephony), mobile convergence, visual signaling, and more, that enables the same notification to be pushed across multiple devices thereby breaking the distance barriers that are characteristic of traditional analog systems.
The best solution for today's collaborative office environments to reduce distractions is a quality Speech Privacy Solution, often also referred to as a sound masking system or a white noise system. AtlasIED speech privacy technologies pleasantly raise the ambient sound level in the environment by emitting acoustically optimized white or pink masking noise.
Safety Listings are specific standards that products are required to meet for given applications and uses. These include everything in a building from the electrical system to the plumbing as well as the loudspeakers, wiring, electronics, and racks used to support the paging, BGM, or emergency communication systems.
Few systems are as misunderstood as "70V" systems. The most important trait of these systems is the use of transformers that are used to "step down" the signal voltage before applying it to the loudspeaker. This is necessary because the signal voltage is "stepped up" at the amplifier. Myths regarding these systems abound. Some are rooted in fact, others, not so much. These are some common misconceptions about 70V loudspeaker systems.
Load-A-Rack Installation Tool
-Tuesday, July 31, 2018Have you ever struggled to hold a 50lb amplifier with one arm while you try to hold a mounting screw on the end of your screwdriver, and line up the holes on the rack rails with the mounting ears of the amplifier all while you hope you don't strip the threads? Or better yet, have you ever dropped a heavy rack component onto other components in the rack when you were trying to take it out? WHY?
Sources: Gun Violence Archive and K-12 School Shooting Database
The frequency of K-12 school shooting incidents has been increasing drastically. A 163% increase since 2020 and 1,900% since 2010. In 2023, (at the time this article was written) there have already been more than 75 K-12 school shooting incidents.
It is important to understand the difference between an "incident" and an "active shooter situation" in these reports. Incidents become an active shooter situation "when the shooter killed and/or wounded victims, either targeted or random, within the school campus during a continuous episode of violence,"
An incident "includes when a gun is brandished, is fired, or a bullet hits school property for any reason, regardless of the number of victims, time, or day of the week." This could include gang shootings, domestic violence, shootings at sports events and afterhours school functions, suicides, fights that escalate into shootings, and accidents.
There are some discrepancies in the way the term "mass shooting" is used. In some data, a mass shooting can be any incident where 2 or more people are killed. This would not include people who are injured. GunViolenceArchive.com is not exclusively data about K-12 schools, but it defines a mass shooting as an event where "four or more people are shot or killed in a single incident, not including the shooter."
Some media outlets tend to focus on whichever data will get the emotional response they are after. Regardless of whether the emergency event is classified as an incident or an activer shooter situation, any time a weapon is displayed, discharged on, or discharged at a school campus, adminstrators have a responsibility to take safety and security measures according to protocol.
While school administrators are primarily concerned with school security and safety during school hours, having emergency preparedness plans in place for scenarios outside of their control are also important. For example, if shots were to be fired in a gang fight blocks away from a school campus, a lockdown event may still be necessary to ensure the safety of staff and students.