Because the building was newly constructed, they had no specifications to base their evacuation and lockdown procedures on. This meant that the new school emergency call system had to be extra flexible in terms of configuration to allow for further post-construction fine tuning. Whenever a school-related security incident occurs anywhere in the world, the school’s crisis team reviews the case to update their existing security concept accordingly.

In cooperation with a local installer, the International School of Berne described procedures for an Emergency and Threat Response System and Commend was asked to deliver and implement the system. A GE800 hardware-based intercom server was installed to guarantee full self-sustained availability of the system. The server’s modular structure enables the systematic future extension of the system. The entire emergency call system was implemented using only Commend’s school building emergency call stations, which provide direct call connections to the in-house crisis intervention team. If required, emergency calls can be relayed automatically to the appropriate police unit.

The police crisis intervention team can use the direct communication lines to the classrooms to assess incident situations first-hand and provide instructions and/or psychological support to locked-in persons. In case of an incident, all calls, announcements and actions taken are recorded and logged as evidence. This information can be used later on to optimise procedures, to improve the system, and also for training.