In modern work environments, effective HSE strategies enable staff to identify, understand and respond to emerging hazards efficiently. By adopting organisational and technological measures designed to improve threat detection and response practices, leaders can minimise risk impacts.
Safety and security technologies like cameras, sensors, alarms and access systems have long been key components of HSE management, helping leaders to better identify threats, preempt risks and pursue continuous improvements; but often such solutions are deployed independently.
By learning from the almost 70% of high-risk organisations that use integrated safety systems to mitigate threats, leaders can improve facility-wide safety outcomes. Building from this, below we explore how integrated access control and fire alarm systems can benefit modern HSE strategies.
The Risks of Standalone Safety Systems
Standalone safety systems function in silos, meaning they have no awareness of risks identified by wider systems. If a fire alarm sounds but doors remain locked, occupants will be unable to enact HSE strategies, slowing responses, introducing confusion and worsening safety outcomes.
During a critical emergency like a fire, the speed of the response can significantly influence the severity of the outcome. Given that a fire can become life threatening in as little as 3-5 minutes, and government data reveals the average Fire and Rescue Service (FRS) response time is just over 9 minutes, internal efforts by HSE leaders to speed response times could help to save lives.
How Integrated Systems Support Better Safety Outcomes
Efforts to integrate safety technologies, including access control and fire alarm systems, enable HSE leaders to develop automated responses to site-specific threats. By eliminating silos, HSE leaders enable stimuli detected by one technology to inform the operation of another, helping to streamline guidance provided to employees by enabling safety systems to respond automatically.
By working with professional safety systems and access control installation teams to establish integrations between access control and fire alarm systems, the below benefits can be realised.
Automated Evacuations
By developing an integrated system, HSE leaders can use data communicated by fire alarms to immediately unlock emergency exits. As soon as a fire is detected, signals are sent to relevant access readers requesting a response. The access system can be programmed to immediately disengage door locks and hold doors open to ensure streamlined egress for building occupants.
Obstructions and access restrictions introduce significant risk when performing evacuations, particularly during fires where visibility and air quality are low. Data shows that efforts to eliminate obstructions during an emergency response can speed evacuation times by as much as 77.5%.
Real-Time Occupancy Tracking
Establishing an accurate, real-time headcount is critical during a fire response to help inform search and rescue operations. By pursuing integrations between access control and fire alarm systems, leaders can receive accurate headcounts based on access control logs captured at the exact moment the fire was detected to ensure that manual headcounts are based on timely data.
Accurate, real-time occupancy tracking helps to reduce risk during search and rescue operations. By ensuring leaders can provide FRS personnel with accurate headcounts at the scene, they can help to improve resource efficiency and avoid redundant searches that could increase casualties.
Controlled Re-Entry
Integrations between fire alarms and access control systems enable leaders to automatically control how access points function during an emergency. In the event of a fire, signals can be sent to ensure perimeter doors remain locked and inaccessible to persons outside the building, while granting unimpeded egress to building occupants leaving the premises though evacuation.
Access points can be programmed to remain secure for a period of time after the evacuation is completed to help minimise risks of premature re-entry. FRS personnel and first responders can be given unique credentials to gain tracked access to the building to conduct required searches.
Further Options for Safety and Security Integrations
In addition to aiding fire responses, choosing to deploy integrable access control and fire alarm systems can open up wider opportunities for safety and security integrations. Leaders can link access control and alarm systems to smart security devices like environmental IoT sensors and CCTV cameras to support a wide range of practical, site-specific safety and security integrations.
Examples include:
- Cameras: Integrated cameras can be programmed to instantly record and flag footage of suspicious entry events and scenes around alarms to improve visibility into emergencies.
- Sensors: Air quality, heat and humidity sensors can be connected to fire and wider alarm systems to improve detection accuracy and provide additional contextual information.
- Communication systems: Leaders can create real-time mass notification systems via comms system integrations to ensure all occupants and wider staff are aware of threats.
Integrated Systems Improve Safety Outcomes
During a critical emergency like a fire, when threats can evolve faster than communications can be made, integrated systems help to speed responses and ease panic. By eliminating silos and enabling safety systems to immediately and appropriately respond to site-specific emergencies, HSE leaders can help to safeguard occupants, assist first responders and minimise risk impacts.
Author Bio
David Foy: Head of Content at HSE Network
David leads the content delivery team at HSE Network and handles the day to day management of advertorial and editorial content campaigns. David has experience in safety content creation across written and podcast-based mediums and has been working with HSE Network for over 5 years.
