Copyright Bruce Myers, Jonathan Graves, 2008.

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Campus Emergency Notification @UNC-Wilmington

EDUCAUSE Southeast Regional ConferenceJune 2, 2008

Bruce P. MyersITSD, Technology Needs Assessment and Consulting

Jonathan GravesITSD, Technology Research & Development

Location: Southern portion of the North Carolina Coast, between the Cape Fear River and

the Atlantic Ocean, approx 660 acres in size Faculty, Staff, Administration:

Employees and part-time workers (approx 2,000) They are mobile when on-campus (not always in the office)

Students: Full/part time; incoming Freshmen & outgoing Seniors (approx 12,000

active) On-site, day and/or evening classes Distance learning Living on/off campus & commuters Main and satellite campuses (e.g., Center for Marine Sciences)

General Public: Visitors attending special events (cultural arts, sporting) Library use, walking or driving the campus grounds Adjacent residential neighborhoods

Each of these groups are affected by our notification process.. Our Approach: Maximize effectiveness by using a multi-layered approach

Challenges for our Campus: Our Location and Diverse Population

Emergency Management: Comprehensive program, all hazards focus Housed within the Environmental Health & Safety department UNCW Emergency Operations Plan 

 A response plan that can be applied to all hazards. Contains hazard specific annexes (e.g., the hurricane plan).

Crisis Decision Team: Made up of senior university officials (VC level) Responsible for making critical decisions during an emergency or

disaster: Cancellation of classes, closure of the university, campus evacuation

Conducts crisis communications and meets regularly during an incident 

Emergency Operations Group (action follow-through): UNCW Staff members who play an operational role during an

emergency Conducts response actions and activities during an event Resource gathering, campus preparation steps, reparation of critical

facilities

How are we Structured for Handling Emergencies ?

Methods of Communication..

SeaHawk Siren system: Installed and activated July, 2007 Horn arrays are strategically located on (2) campus buildings Testing plan:

Low volume functional test on the 2nd Monday of each month Full volume test on the 2nd Monday of January, July, and September

Campus police department conduct tests and are the primary operators of the system, along with the County EC center.

UNCW.edu website has instructions for campus and surrounding neighborhoods

Limitations: Most effective for those who are outside at the time of warnings Environmental factors may confuse the message (wind, other ambient

noise)

The Siren Coverage Map

Our Environmental Health & Safety Website

Methods of Communication..

E-mail, Text, and Web: Hosted with a 3rd party provider (PIER, Fall 2006) Managed by our Marketing and Communications department Relies upon UNCW-provided information:

Banner (ERP): Name, campus e-mail address, location Personal cellphones: Self-Service “opt-in” registration for

faculty/staff/students Site documentation: campus buildings, key personnel w/contact information

are populated within the PIER system Externally hosted Web site can be used to provide up-to-date

information if our campus site became inaccessible Recent Test Plan results:

A 91% delivery success rate to cellphones was achieved across 2,000 faculty/staff/students

1/2 of the failures due to incorrect phone #’s or lack of a text messaging plan.

A regular testing plan is currently in development Limitations & challenges:

Up-to-date and accurate information ..very important !! Are you on the grid (on-line) ?

Our External Web Presence (PIER)..

Methods of Communication..

Cable TV Interruption: Breaks into the cable broadcast and takes control of all

campus programming Displays an instructional page, and allows for live voice/audio Reaches viewers in residence halls and common spaces

across campus (approximately 4,000 endpoints) Started using in January, 2008 Testing Plan: Tests are scheduled with the siren system Limitations & issues:

Will not interrupt DVR/DVD/gaming users Does not reach entire campus population (satellite offices) Hardware is a mix of components; support and turnaround times are too

lengthy Remote access to control content was not implemented..issues

Normal Broadcast using the Cable Network

UNCW-TV

Time-Warner Cable

Broadcast Sources…

Campus TVEndpoints

(Idle)

Interrupted Broadcast for Emergencies..

UNCW-TV

Time-Warner Cable

Alert

Alert

Alert

Broadcast Sources…

Campus TVEndpoints

(Active)

The Technology Behind the Alert

Reliable and Ready.Department Discussions - led to an

overwhelming consensus that the technology implemented must be up to par if it was going to be used for emergency communication.

How do you determine - is it reliable? is it ready? Network – Bandwidth, QOS, Up TimeHardware – Cable TV Components, Computers,

Media PlayersSoftware – Custom Applications, Vendor Apps

Let’s discuss the technologies -

Cable InterruptWorks by

Telephone signal that causes a relay to close.Cable injector modulates generator’s analog output on

all channels.Message derived from

Telephone Relay w/ Voice PromptCharacter Generator, Microphone

Points of failurePhone, cable feed, power supply, phone relay.

Other considerationsOff campus distribution, (Marketing/Communications)Digital Television Switch

-Current system only modulates 76 channels.

Current Prototypes

Digital Signage Interface - Web based interrupt through an emergency portal Works by – UDP/TCP IP Packet Writing

Finding all available network media players Retrieving each player’s current play list media and storing it in an

SQL DB. Interrupts players with emergency players. After set time, previous content is then restored.

Contains the following equipment EBS-N200 Network Media Players Web Server using ASP.Net and Web Services SQL Database

Other considerations Not all of the players initially received the interrupt message. Two other network players received the emg. interrupt message, but

then reverted back to what they were originally player. When restoring the players to their original content list the players

didn’t respond.

Digital Signage

Pop-up MessagingSammy AlertInterface - Web PortalWorks by

Desktop clients poll a web service that reads from an XML file.

When a new Emergency node is created in the XML file, the computers Pop Up an emergency message along with a link to get more information.

Contains the following equipment/partsSQL Database to log polling information and successful

hitsWeb Service for clients to connect toSammy Alert Desktop Application

Future considerationsVarious operating systems.

Extron IP Based Telecom (Testing)Interface – wall mounted, IP Based Telecom

system.Works by

Two way classroom communication for the Police and TAC.

ContainsHardware wall mount communication deviceSoftware for communication with help desk/police.

Future considerationsNetwork reliabilitySecurity

Intercom System

Windows Vista GadgetsInterface – resides on the end-users desktop.Works by

RSS Feeds, VB-Script, WMIContains

Future considerationsCatch on - # of Users?Security of the application

Merging Messaging Methods

Understanding the basics of TCP/IP socket communication / Web Services in order to make the technology talk.Security concerns (Power Plants).

Utilizing the PIER interface as the initiator of a sequenced alert.

Zoning off sections of the campus for targeted alerts.

Receiving feedback for reporting purposes.

Design with a multi-layered approach: No single method will cover all hazards

Collaborate with Stakeholders: Gathering police, communications, security, IT, and other key decision makers at the same time to form plans and discuss options is essential

Buy, build, or contract services? Decide upon the correct “mix” of products and services to support your EN strategy...we have done all (3)

Minimize product maturity risk: Understand the limitations of the technologies being used for your EN strategy (cable interrupter)

Buildings on the UNC-W campus are in a state of change: Renovations and new construction are going on side-by-side Outfitting them with updated technology (wireless I/P, more safe building materials) is

helping to enable solutions and minimize our risks. EN Drills (direction from police, safety & communications teams):

Too frequent, and they start to become ordinary Not often enough, and they are forgotten.

Communications plan: We use orientation seminars, handouts/fliers to keep sharpened awareness, presence of Emergency personnel at on-campus fairs/shows for Q&A

EN centerpieces: Set your priorities (what we will do), determine your methods (how we will do it), and instill a governance model (develop policies , procedures, and review for changes and improvements)

Conclusions and Lessons Learned

Our Contact Information:

Bruce Myers myersbp@uncw.edu910. 962.7652

Jonathan Gravesgravesjs@uncw.edu910. 962.2495