MNEC 101 – Fire/Life Safety
Perspective
Agenda
• MNEC
– Why, What & When
• Codes
– UFC
– NFPA-72
• MNEC (ECS)
– The Parts and Pieces
• Audio Integrators
– Why Sell MNEC
– Selling Strategies
Why MNEC
Boston
Joplin, MO
Virginia Tech
Aurora, CO
Sandy Hook
Elementary School
What is MNEC
It is both a communications AND emergency
management tool to provide real-time
instructions and information to building
occupants and visitors during an emergency event.
When is MNEC Used?
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Weather emergency
Medical emergency
Security breach
Public disturbance
Act of terrorism
Chemical release
Fire
Utility outage
Joplin
When is MNEC used?
 Homeland Security
 Terrorist Threats
 Bioterrorism
 Cyber Terrorism
 Public Health
 SARS
 West Nile Virus
 Swine Flu
 Power Outages
 Cyber / Virus Events
 Result in System Losses
 Trading / Pricing Systems
 Electronic Banking
Transactions
 Market Interruption /
Volatility
 Inclement Weather
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Hurricanes
Blizzards
Tornadoes
Flooding
Earthquakes
 Life Safety
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Regulatory Issues
 Water
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Contamination
Loss of Pressure in HighRise Complexes
Primary MNEC Function…
To notify people in a building, on a
campus or a geographic area about
an event …
 What is happening
 What to do
 Where to go
 When it is safe
Very Different Function of a Fire Alarm System
MNEC “IS”
Internal
• Overhead Paging
• Signage
External
• Speakers
• “Giant Voice”
Wide-Area
• Text Messaging
• Paging
• Email
Levels of MNEC….
 Tier 1
 Immediate & intrusive
 Sirens, indoor/outdoor
loudspeakers
Fire voice evacuation
Electronic signage
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 Code compliant
 Tier 3
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Public alerting
Sat/AM/FM radio broadcasts
Sat/off-air TV broadcasts
Location-specific
text messages
Tier 2
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Tier 4
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Personal alerting
SMS Text (cell phones)
Computer pop-ups
Tone alert radios
Email Broadcast (Internet)
Automated voice dialing &
text messaging
Locally relevant alerting
Handheld bullhorns
Radio cell phones
Two-way radios
MNEC is “NOT”
• Fire Alarm
• Fire Alarm is an
Input
• Mass Messaging
• Email
• SMS
• Textual Signage
• Paging System
Codes – They are not scary
• Nomenclature:
– NFPA -72, UFC 04-021-01
– AHJ, ECS, EVACS
– STI, STIPPA
• History
– UFC Began the Code Changes for NFPA
• Codes
– UFC (Most of us do not need to worry about)
– NFPA-72
How it Started…..
Secretary of
Defense, William
Cohen, issued
post-incident
report
6-25-96
Terrorists act
- Khobar
Towers
Housing
Complex,
Dhahran,
Saudi Arabia
7-31-97
12-16-99.
Antiterrorism/Force
Protection
Standards
developed by USAF
How it Started
UFC 04-021-01
Design and O&M: Mass
Notification Systems
requires combination
voice fire alarm and
mass notification
systems
Effectivity Date
5-29-02
UFC 04-010-01
Minimum
Antiterrorism
Standards for
Buildings
The initial
requirements for
Mass Notification
Oct 2004
The Air Force
petitioned NFPA
to develop MNS
standards
The military found that
they could not use
approved fire alarm
systems for Mass
Notification while
remaining in full
compliance with NFPA 72
June 2003
How it Started
UL 2572
NFPA 72 – 2007
Annex E
2007
Allow for the use of fire
alarm systems integrated
with other systems
Provides guidance for the
application, installation,
location, performance, and
maintenance of Mass
Notification Systems
CONTROL AND
COMMUNICATION
UNITS FOR MASS
NOTIFICATION
SYSTEMS
NFPA 72 – 2010
Chapter 12/25
October 2008
2010
Coordination of the
functions of a mass
NEW Standards by notification system with
UL. For systems to
those of a fire alarm
comply and provide
system is essential in
MNEC with Highest order to provide effective
priority.
communication in an
emergency situation.
Where it is Now
State, local and
municipal
building codes
2010
2012
2013
Local code officials have adopted the code for MNEC
quicker than any other major technology
UFC Requirements
Unified Facility Criteria
An in-building mass notification system shall include one
or more of the following components:
(1) Autonomous control unit (ACU)
(2) Local operating console (LOC)
(3) Fire alarm control interface
(4) Notification appliance network
(5) Initiating devices
(6) Interface to other systems and alerting sources
These are the building blocks of MNEC
NFPA Changes
National Fire Protection Association
– Requires Mass Notification to be part of fire alarm/life safety system.
– Permits a mass notification control unit to take control of fire alarm notification
appliances including amplifiers, speakers, and strobes.
– MNEC has highest priority over fire alarm.
– Will require a MNEC voice message any time the priority is granted to the
mass notification control unit.
– Strobes used for dual purposes shall not be marked ‘FIRE’, strobes to be blank
or ‘ALERT’.
– Dedicated MNEC strobes shall be AMBER and ALERT wording.
– Operation of MNS system is based on the emergency response plan.
– Intelligibility of voice messages are required to meet the requirements of
chapter 7 (notification).
– Visual notification to be completed through strobes, textual, graphic or video
displays.
Mass Notification Emergency Communication
Servers
Control
Inputs
TTS1
MS1
End of Line
Device
Remote
Control
Outputs
Main LOC
Ambient Noise
Compensation
ACU
LOC: Local
Operation
console
802.3.af
Standard PoE
Secure Network
Infrastructure
Outputs
(‘the world’)
Inputs
Ancillary Features:
Logging, Scheduler, Universe-wide Paging,
3rd Party Interface, VoIP
Life Safety Interface
ACU: Autonomous Control Unit
• Supervises the entire ECS
• Interfaces with Inputs and Outputs
• The “brain” of MNEC
• Requires redundancy
• 8 Simultaneous Messages sent
• UL 2572 Approved
• Controls all Inputs and Outputs for
Emergency Communication
Local Operating Consoles
LOC
Placed in areas that have the ability to send
Emergency Messages
Ambient Noise Control
• Surface mount, networked appliance
•Controls volume of channel, group or cluster
• 2 microphone inputs
• Multiple parameter adjustments in GUI
• Independent mic gain controls
• Threshold (with capture), max. and min.
compensation
• Ramp times, ratio and weighting
Adjusts loudspeaker volume to compensate
for variations in ambient noise
Message Server
Facilitates global messaging functions
•Messaging – storage and playback (8 simultaneous)
• System configuration – storage and service
• Inter-world paging
• Event scheduling
• System event logging
• Remote 3rd party control via Ethernet (‘ETAP’)
•3 network ports – CobraNet, Control and VoIP
• Signage Integration
Text To Speech Server
•Runs embedded Text-to-Speech Engine (Nuance)
• Configured in GUI - text entry in Windows Client
• Up to 40 high quality voice fonts (languages)
Life Safety Interface
Parallel Control Inputs
from Fire detection
System and Switches
Control Inputs via
RS232 or Ethernet
(TCP/IP) for future
interconnect flexibility
LSI
Standards Compliant
Fault and Alarm
Indicators on Panel
Monitored Parallel
Control Outputs to
Lamps and Sounders
Control Outputs via
RS232 or Ethernet
(TCP/IP) for future
interconnect flexibility
Interfaces to an emergency or fire
detection system in order to meet voice
evacuation requirements.
End of Line Device
Verifies the integrity of speaker cables between
ACU and End of Line (EOL)
•Supervision of Audio Notification Circuit Required
•Multi-tone ultrasonic testing, FFT based
•Applicable to 100V, 70V and low Z speaker lines
•Not reliant on speaker line for powering
Fire Alarm Integration Example
Emergency mode
LOC
Pre-recorded
messages from the
ACU or live pages
from the LOC go to:
LSI
ACU - 1
Disabled
Disabled
Building 1
Disabled
ACU - 2
Building 2
Disabled
ACU -3
Disabled
Building 3
Fire, Life Safety & Audio Integrators Involvement
• Vision – What is the ultimate goal of the
customer?
• Functionality – What is the Emergency
Response Plan?
• Ease of Use – How will the ECS be used in
Emergencies
• Business Continuity – How does the ECS help
with day to day efficiency?
• Liability – How does MNEC make the customer
compliant?
• Perception – Means everything
Target Applications
Corporate
Recreation
Retail
Transportation
Hospitality
Education
Healthcare
Government
The Key MNEC Issues …
 Any message, to any device,
anywhere
 Open standards is essential
 Integrate and interface systems
 Create situational awareness
 Create full interoperability
 Test as frequently as practical
with local, state & federal
responders
NSCA members are the
EXPERTS!
 Intelligible Audio IS what Audio
Integrators do
 STI is something you understand
 Business Continuity through
audio
 Sound Masking – If you can
make sound go away, you are
uniquely suited to provide quality
sound
 Sound Re-Enforcement –
Another word for Intelligible Audio
Why MNEC Is So Important
C-Level
Code
Litigation
Perception
Vision - Perception
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•
•
•
•
Customer/User
Potentials
Employee/Staff
Community
Competitors
Vision - Litigation
Physical threats such as local, regional or terrorist-related
disasters can severely threaten a company's bottom line.
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Virginia Tech (Clery Act)
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More Security Issues = Higher Liability
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Employees, visitors, all personnel
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MNEC bring credibility to safety
efforts
Functionality - Code
Survivability
Monitoring
•No Single Point of
Failure
•Auto-Fail Over
Fire Alarms are
Monitored and verified
to be working as will
Mass Notification
Devices
Speech Transmission Index (STI)
Talker
Room
Noise
Reverberation
Background
Listener
Adapted from
Ingenieurbüro Michael
Creydt
STI Chart Comparison
STI
<0.3
<0.45
<0.6
<0.75
<1.0
Intelligibility
Very bad
bad
Acceptable
Good
Very good
Minimum
Per
NFPA
Adapted from
Ingenieurbüro Michael
Creydt
Functionality - Intelligibility
Ease of Use –
Emergency Response Plan
• Build System to ERP
• Know what an ERP is.
• Partner with those
who create ERP’s.
• One Touch Operation
• Automated Operation
Business Continuity
Day to Day Operations
• Mass Messaging
• Scheduled Messages
– Bells, Prayers, Shift
Change
• Process Management
– Manufacturing, etc.
• Use the SMART
Phone
Next Steps
• Information
– Codes Adopted in your
Marketplace
– A&Es who can use your expertise
– Who is doing MNEC in your area
now?
– Product
– What product will you use?
– Look for Notification Product
– Wheelock, American Signal
– Integration Avenues
– Software (RAVE, REACT)
– ASK THE QUESTION!
References
Gray, A. (2009). Khobar Towers Attack Proved Need For Mass Notification. Retrieved on October 6th, 2011 from
Web Site: www.mnec.org/articles
Department of Defense. (2008). Unified Facility Criteria (UFC), Design and O&M: Mass Notification Systems,
Department of Defense, Washington DC
Mayfield, T. (2010). Security on an Education Campus, Presented July 2010, AMAG Architect and Engineer
Consortium, Florida
Moore, W. D. (2007). Mass Notification Systems: Design Challenges for the FPE. SFPE Fire Protection
Engineering, 1
National Fire Protection Association. (2012). NFPA 1 Fire Code 2012. Quincy Massachusetts: National Fire
Protection Association.
National Fire Protection Association, (2013). NFPA 72 National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, Quincy
Massachusetts: National Fire Protection Association.
National Fire Protection Association, (2012). NFPA 101 Life Safety Code, Quincy Massachusetts: National Fire
Protection Association.
Newsweek, (1996). A Bomb and 3 Minutes’ Warning, Newsweek, 128(2), 24 Retrieved on October 6th, 2011 from
EBSOCO web site:
http://libproxy.eku.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=aph&AN=9607027773&s
ite=ehost-live&scope=site
NSCA. (2010). History and Development of the National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code (NFPA 72). Retrieved
September 9, 2010 from MNEC web site: http://www.mnec.org/history.html
Biamp Systems. (2010). Vochia Simplified. Oregon: Biamp Systems
UTC – EST. (2010). Mass Notification. Sarasota, Florida: EST Systems
Questions?
For Further Information
•
•
•
•
Chuck Wilson
P) 319-366-6722
E) cwilson@nsca.org
www.mnec.org.