Evacuation emergencies can happen at a workplace, regardless of how prepared and 'safe' the site is. Unforeseen incidents such as natural disasters, flooding, a environmental risk (such as summer temperatures), or a security breach that puts workers and visitors at risk, can require a full or partial site evacuation. Make sure you have the right system in place.
What's An Evacuation System?
In an emergency, you need to consider what equipment and processes you will use to evacuate people from your site. What type of emergency would require an evacuation? What type of evacuation alert is needed? Who has permission to trigger an evacuation? What prevents false evacuations?
The purpose of a workplace evacuation alarm system is to warn people on site about a fire or dangerous situation so they can leave that environment quickly and calmly. It can use a loud evacuation siren (or several), a discreet messaging service, and/or a spoken word alarm which is ideal for spaces with many different rooms and people who have not trained to evacuate that specific space (such as an airport).
Evacuation Trigger
We've all seen those evacuation triggers that sit behind a glass panel with the Break Glass In Case Of Emergency warning. These triggers are hard wired into the wall, which then connects to a master unit. They're a permanent solution with a substantial upfront investment. Vanguard Wireless' evacuation triggers are much easier to install or retrofit. They're portable, wireless devices that use a radio frequency or cellular signal to connect to the system network.
Regardless of what you install, what's most important is that anyone - without having laid eyes on the trigger before - can easily and quickly trigger an evacuation alert without having to read instructions or undertake a complex process such as logging in. It should just be a big button or handle that can trigger an evacuation alert immediately.
Evacuation Siren
- The Klaxon siren (SuperM) sounds at 127dB and requires connection to mains power. Users can customise how long the siren sounds for during the evacuation process e.g. 12 minutes AND the seconds on/seconds off timing of the siren sound pattern.
- The combined evacuation trigger + siren sounds at 110dB and can be battery powered or mains powered. Users can customise how long the siren sounds for during the evacuation process e.g. 12 minutes.
- Both evacuation sirens can be triggered by a physical evacuation trigger, the control panel, or smartphone app and triggered individually or all together.
- Both evacuation sirens can be installed temporarily or permanently.
Evacuation Lights / Evacuation Strobes
Smoke Detectors / Smoke Sensors
Wireless Fire Alarm Systems
Designing A Workplace Evacuation System
- What are the types of evacuation risks your workplace faces, and how likely are they to occur?
- Are you replacing an existing system or installing something new?
- Do you want your workers to be able to trigger an evacuation?
- How do you want your workers and visitors on site to receive an evacuation alert?
- Do you want event logs and reports that help you analyse the event for safety auditing and process improvement?
- Is there existing hardware or software that the new system needs to integrate with (if possible)?
