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MASS NOTIFICATION SYSTEMS
MNS Solutions for a Changing World

Lately, we have become all too familiar with the events that warrant the use of a mass notification system (MNS). The recent shootings at Northern Illinois University and last spring at Virginia Tech are two tragic examples. To better protect their corporate offices, industrial complex, or college campus, facility managers have begun asking questions about MNS technology and its varied applications.

An MNS is much more than an alarm system. By using the technologies based on fire alarm codes and standards, fire system manufacturers are able to produce a robust life safety and security system. For the benefit of owners and managers considering an MNS to safeguard a particular building or complex, this article explains mass notification and its origins, the codes and standards’ treatment of MNS, and the current cutting-edge technologies that are available.

Origins of MNS
The United States Department of Defense outlines mass notification in its Unified Facilities Criteria (UFC) 4-021-01 Design & O&M: Mass Notification. It is defined as “the capability to provide real-time information to all building occupants or personnel in the immediate vicinity of a building during emergency situations. To reduce the risk of mass casualties, there must be a timely means to notify building occupants of threats and what should be done in response to those threats. Pre-recorded and livevoice emergency messages are required by this UFC to provide this capability.”1

The UFC recommends the use of a combined system, particularly in new construction of military facilities, suggesting the building fire alarm control panel form a single combined system that performs both functions (fire alarm and mass notification). For smaller buildings, the public address system may also be integrated with this combined system.

Initially seen as a “military solution,” mass notification systems are becoming more popular among many non-military occupancies. As a result, many authorities continue to reference UFC guidelines for the growing variety of MNS applications outside of the federal government.

Annex E, Mass Notification Systems (MNS) of NFPA72, National Fire Alarm Code, defines MNS as “a system used to provide information and instructions to people in a building area, site or other space using intelligible voice communications and possibly including visible signals, text, graphics, tactile, or other communication methods.”2

Annex E provides information on the need for MNS and how integrating MNS into fire alarm systems makes sense. It also recommends minimum guidelines for system designers, installers and facility managers using MNS.

The Annex is not part of the requirements of NFPA 72, but is included for informational purposes only. It was placed within the Annex because there is a difference between the fire alarm systems impacted by NFPA 72 and emergency notification systems outlined in the UFC. It is important to note that section 6.8.4.7 of the 2007 edition of NFPA 72 does recognize MNS and allows mass notification events to take priority over fire alarm signals.

Applicable Codes & Primary Parts
The Department of Defense UFC outlines three primary components of an MNS system as being an autonomous control unit, a notification appliance network and a “Giant Voice” system.

Per UFC guidelines, an autonomous control unit is, “used to monitor and control the notification appliance network and provide consoles for local operation. Using a console, personnel in the building can initiate delivery of pre-recorded voice messages, provide live voice messages and instructions, and initiate visual strobe and (optional) textual message notification appliances. The autonomous control unit will temporarily deactivate audible fire alarm notification appliances while delivering voice messages to ensure they are intelligible.” In addition, different messages can be broadcast to different areas of the building or campus based on the proximity to the emergency.

A “Notification Appliance Network” is defined as “a set of audio speakers located to provide intelligible instructions at all locations in and around the building. Strobes are also provided to alert hearing- impaired occupants.”

According to Jayson Kneen, communications manager for NOTIFIER, a manufacturer of commercial fire alarm and mass notification solutions, many addressable fire alarm control systems currently installed throughout today’s schools and hospitals already encompass a number of these features.

“More and more of the codes that govern the maintenance of these fire alarm systems are requiring pre-recorded and live voice messaging, especially in education and health care installations,” says Kneen. “And for those facilities containing intelligent fire alarms, some manufacturers offer adjunct voice evacuation products that can easily integrate with current systems.”

The last MNS component indicated in the UFC referred to as the “Giant Voice” or “Big Voice” system, is “typically installed as a base- wide system to provide a siren signal and pre-recorded and live voice messages. It is most useful for providing mass notification for personnel in outdoor areas.” Giant Voice systems are meant to alert those within parking lots, campus malls, stadiums, temporary buildings and the like.

In the past, massive speaker systems were used in a limited capacity to sound your typical fire or bad weather siren warnings throughout large outdoor areas. Only recently with the rise in demand for MNS, have facility managers looked to fire alarm manufactures to develop more powerful speaker clusters to deliver intelligible voice instructions to those outdoors and in the general vicinity of buildings.

The Annex E of NFPA 72 covers MNS for the purpose of guiding the design and installation of these systems within the growing variety of commercial facilities considering an MNS.

Much like UFC guidelines, the Annex recommends “security personnel should be able to effect message initiation over the MNS from either a central control station or alternate (backup) control station. Where clusters of facilities exist, one or more regional control stations might also exercise control.” It also recommends that the MNS should offer a “dynamic library of scripted responses to various emergency events and it would be easily customizable to meet the needs of the individual customer.”

Aside from the UFC and Annex E of NFPA 72, the other codes and standards that certain facilities considering an MNS must note are the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), OSHA 1910.165, Employee Alarm Systems, and FEMA’s Outdoor Public Alerting Systems.

OSHA 1910.165 applies to “all emergency employee alarms installed to meet a particular OSHA standard.” Among other things, the ADA requires strobes to alert hearing-impaired occupants. And FEMA’s Outdoor Public Alerting Systems guides warning systems for nuclear power plants.

Complete Solutions for Effective Notification
The Annex E of NFPA 72 plainly defines the priority of MNS as the protection of life by indicating the existence of an emergency situation and instructing the occupants of the necessary and appropriate response and action. Yet with numerous MNS-type products flooding the market, it is hard for owners/managers to decisively define their own facility’s MNS needs then, move forward with the implementation of an effective solution.

Per all the aforementioned codes and standards, Kneen agrees the utilization of a fire alarm control system for mass notification makes the most sense, “Fire alarm systems are supervised and required to be tested and maintained regularly, which should give building owners an added level of comfort knowing that the system will be ready to perform when called upon. And because a fire system is supervised, if a problem occurred that could compromise the systems functionality, the fault would be detected and proper personnel alerted to the condition so it can be corrected.”

As to the decision of whether to install a new fire alarm or upgrade an existing system, Kneen recommends contacting an engineered fire alarm systems distributor that represents a comprehensive line of fire alarm and mass notification products. These experienced fire alarm professionals can provide end users a detailed picture of a property’s mass notification options, potential costs and scope of installation. Moreover, they already have a thorough understanding of NFPA 72 and its applications.

“With health care and schools being two of the top market applications which utilize our fire and life safety systems, we’ve found the most effective mass notification systems utilize a combination of strobes, voice communications (indoor and Giant Voice), and LED programmable signage,” states Kneen.

In the midst of an emergency, flashing strobes accompanied by live or prerecorded audible instructions tend to have a much higher impact on occupants. At the same time, highly-visual signs in large areas of assembly can offer information specific to the emergency or display a simple message such as “evacuate.” To deliver voice instructions to those outside, large speaker clusters can be installed on the exterior of a building or throughout a campus.

For those multiple buildings or campuses spread across a city, state or even the globe, some fire alarm manufacturers have harnessed the latest Voice over IP (VoIP) technology, delivering live voice messaging to anywhere in the world via the Internet. These state-of- the-art systems employ one or more workstations from which security or facilities personnel can utilize VoIP to communicate. For added monitoring and control, these workstations can integrate with a multitude of building systems, including fire alarm, card access, video and other security equipment.

The marriage of MNS and fire alarm control systems is a growing trend that is expected to continue reaching into larger varieties of facilities and multi-building properties, including K-12 schools, highrises, mass transit hubs and even public gathering places such as theatres, restaurants and places of worship.

“This is a technology that goes way beyond a general alarm sounding,” explains Kneen. “We’re creating an intelligent life safety system backed by stringent codes and standards. Given the flexibility and intelligence of these systems, there’s no telling what additional mass notification innovations we’ll be able to offer in the future.”

Beth Welch, manager, NOTIFIER, a division of Honeywell, is successfully adapting its alarm systems and codecompliant technology to produce the complete life safety solution.

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