Returning to a safer and smarter school this fall

By Jammy DeSousa, Senior Product Manager, Security Products, Johnson Controls

While schools are meant to be a safe place for learning, tragedies ranging from active shooters to global pandemics have required the education sector to adapt to the possibility of these events by proactively upgrading their security systems. Utilizing security technologies to protect students and faculty continues to be a priority for school districts looking to enhance the security and safety of their campuses. Here is a look at some of the trending security solutions for the education sector:

Active Shooter Technology and Smart Sensors

Intelligent technology allows schools to more quickly identify shootings and other violent incidents than ever before. With AI deep learning analytics, a camera can spot a weapon or recognize the sound of a gun discharging with advanced algorithms that analyze the acoustic signature. This would provide early notification and immediate warning to school officials allowing students and teachers to seek safety more quickly than without this type of technology in place. This video analytics technology also features the ability to share the precise location of where the shots came from with local authorities, drastically shortening the response time from emergency responders.

Smart sensor technology, when paired with a VMS solution, can help schools identify vaping in bathrooms and behaviors such as bullying. These sensors can monitor air quality to detect smoke, vapor or carbon monoxide. In addition, smart sensors can monitor for abnormal noise levels, such as breaking glass and shouting. An alert from a smart sensor would immediately send notification to the school’s VMS system, linking video footage to build context behind an event, even for those that take place behind closed doors, such as locker rooms and bathrooms.

Surveillance and VMS

Many schools already have some type of surveillance system in place, but with advanced analytics, video surveillance is now more reliable and convenient for users. Schools can leverage a video management system to remotely monitor surveillance footage — identifying issues and resolving problems from anywhere. This also allows remote monitoring of school property after hours, stopping potential acts of vandalism, theft, and early detection of smoke and fire before irreversible damage is done. Analytics can also trigger specific alerts for emergency responders when a crisis is detected.

Touchless Access Control

In an effort to keep students and educators safe and healthy, touchless access control offers schools the ability to limit access control touchpoints and reduce the spread of germs. Touchless access control is a solution that ensures that people entering and exiting buildings, or even independent rooms, don’t have to make contact with surfaces of door handles or buttons . It can incorporate a combination of technologies, such as a credential reader with an automatic door opening system, eliminating the need for a person to physically open the door after access is granted, or a standalone solution, such as a frictionless access control system that ensures an experience with no contact and stopping to present a credential. Touchless sensors can also be incorporated into existing door entry systems, such as intercoms, or replace automatic door entry pushbuttons, like those used for handicap accessibility.