Inovonics Introduces Enterprise Mobile Duress Best Practices to Improve 'People Protection' in the Workplace

LOUISVILLE, Colo., Nov. 11, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Inovonics (www.inovonics.com), a leading provider of enterprise life-safety and specialized commercial wireless systems, has developed a framework to address the growing rise in workplace violence – called Enterprise Mobile Duress (EMD) – that outlines best practices for implementing "people protection" as a core, integrated security initiative. Developed from many years of first-hand experience, EMD provides a roadmap for planning, deploying, scaling and integrating mobile duress systems with existing physical security tools – video, access control and intrusion detection -- to increase personal safety in the workplace.

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With two million Americans the victims of workplace violence each year, there is great demand for a solution that extends beyond existing building security approaches and provides a dedicated system for people protection in office, factory, departmental or campus settings. As part of the introduction of EMD, Inovonics also today announced the recent deployment of its Radius EMD system in several departments at Denver's St. Joseph's Hospital (see today's related news, "Inovonics, HSS and Exampla Saint Joseph Hospital Team-up. . .").

"Traditionally, the foundation of security in business, education and healthcare has consisted of a layered approach to three key pillars–intrusion detection, access control and video monitoring," said Mark Jarman, president of Inovonics. "Each of these methods is tried and true. However, EMD extends beyond the bricks and sticks and provides reliable people protection while shaping the culture of the workplace. It creates a workforce that not only is prepared, but has the confidence and knowledge to handle confrontation and threats by having the tools to alert authorities and responders before a situation turns violent. It is the quintessential fourth pillar that traditional security systems are missing." 

Inovonics is offering its EMD framework for the industry to use, share and evolve. To learn more about EMD, and to download a free white paper outlining the core tenets, please visit Inovonics at: (http://www.inovonics.com/related_document/inovonics-white-paper-enterprise-mobile-duress-systems-for-healthcare/).

An overview of Enterprise Mobile Duress tenets include:

Accept the Realities of Today's Workplace: Today, violence in the workplace, most notably in business and education settings, continues to rise. Unfortunately, unexpected violence and the need for integrated security extends beyond schools, large office campuses and factory environments, and now includes hospitals, emergency rooms, retirement communities, and, in some cases, even automobiles and airplanes. Avoiding or ignoring this trend can prevent organizations from taking proactive steps to increase the safety and well-being of its most precious asset – its people. Additionally, today's workforce and student bodies are highly mobile and must move freely across and between workplaces and campuses to be effective. This added mobility further complicates the creation of risk-free environments and extends one's vulnerability to violent and threatening incidents.

Take a Holistic Approach By Extending Physical and Logical Security Solutions Beyond Physical Asset Protection: An overall security plan for most facilities includes various blends of access control, video monitoring and intrusion detection. An EMD strategy augments current physical and logical security practices and systems, as well as existing security response protocols, by identifying the location, incident type and response needed in alert messages. It extends beyond traditional security approaches that advocate a layered approach to protecting a building and its assets. EMD is a critical part of a comprehensive security strategy, strengthening that plan by adding an additional layer of protection focused specifically on the safety of highly mobile people within and around buildings and campus environments.

Extend Coverage Beyond High-Risk Areas: EMD systems need to cover any number of individuals at one time, in a commercial, public or academic setting. EMD becomes most effective when implemented across departments, entire campuses, or even multi-site locations to accommodate the mobility of today's workforce working collectively to reduce the risk of incident by creating a coverage area that's all inclusive. 

Embrace "Fit-for-Purpose" Enterprise-grade Wireless for Duress Systems: Life safety requires the utmost in reliability and performance. Make sure the wireless infrastructure used is interference-hardened, properly suited for security applications – supervised, battery backed-up, etc., and scalable to encompass the growing needs of an organization or institution and capable of delivering prioritized duress messages in a timely, uncompromising manner. 

Establish Policies and Procedures: Implementing an EMD system requires organizations to: develop policies and procedures to educate and train staff on the expanded role EMD plays in a security ecosystem; conduct ongoing education regarding when and how to use an EMD system to ensure successful threat identification and response; and, work to align the enterprise around response protocol, which may range from assistance from nearby staff members to a fully armed police or security detail. Also, to develop the "muscle memory" in those who may initiate an alarm as well as those responding, regular training and situational awareness should complement any EMD system deployment. 

Remember the Individual Who's on the Front Line: As security professionals, we are trained to think about risk reduction, complex security systems integration and response protocol, but none of this is effective if the individual who's on the front line isn't a part of the process.  These are folks who benefit most from EMD and have the greatest impact on its effectiveness.  It is important to consider their work flow, comfort, concerns and most importantly, participation in any EMD deployment.

Make EMD and Integrated Security a Top-level Organizational Strategy: Enterprise Mobile Duress should integrate into business operations and help drive continuous improvements. It must provide system administrators the ability to survey and analyze events, such as the number, type, severity and location of duress calls, as well as response metrics to invite operational improvements that align the entire organization toward a common goal of increased personal safety and the elimination of workplace violence.

Share this story: #Inovonics offers #EMD (Enterprise Mobile Duress) tenets; installs #EMD system at @ExemplaStJoes & #HSS for people, #nurse safety www.inovonics.com

Inovonics Wireless Corporation
Based in Louisville, Colo., Inovonics is a leading provider of enterprise life-safety and specialized commercial wireless systems. Founded in 1986 and a division of Roper Industries (NYSE: ROP), the company pioneered the use of 900 MHz frequency hopping spread spectrum wireless technology to deliver the most reliable and cost-effective solutions for critical commercial wireless needs. Healthcare, K-12 education, business and government organizations turn to Inovonics as a partner dedicated to perfecting wireless coverage and wireless infrastructure reliability within a range of settings and environments. In addition, Inovonics developed the Enterprise Mobile Duress (EMD) framework to help advance the common industry goal of protecting people from violence and helping organizations take a practical and strategic approach to improving personal safety in the workplace. For more information about Inovonics or to learn about EMD, please visit: (www.inovonics.com or www.enterprisemobileduress.com), or call 800-782-2709.

Contact:
Terri Douglas
Catapult PR-IR
303-581-7760, ext. 18
[email protected]

SOURCE Inovonics

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