An Army facility has launched a four-prong method of communicating with employees in personnel crisis situations such as a hazardous material spill or weather emergency, in what it calls an attempt to cover all bases to ensure that employees won’t miss the message about what is happening and what to do.
The Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania is committed to using four separate methods, three of which are operational and the fourth in progress:
• Notification by email, voice mail and text to work and personal cell phones registered with the system, plus messaging to the work computer.
• An enhanced 911 system allowing emergency responders to locate a caller via GPS in case the caller cannot speak due to injury or the need to keep silent.
• Audio, programmable lights and electronic message boards in high noise areas; the lights are amber strobes that will alert employees, who can then get information via announcements and the message boards.
• The “giant voice” loudspeaker system used to make announcements to employees who may be outdoors or near windows, which is being modified to send predetermined and custom messages.
