New Focal4 Situational Awareness Platform Improves Life Safety and Business Continuity

Gamewell-FCI by Honeywell announces its release of the new Focal4 Shared Situational Awareness (SSA) system to streamline facilities’ day-to-day operations and greatly improve response to emergencies in buildings used for education, local government, healthcare, utilities, critical infrastructure, large retail, transportation and other commercial organizations.

Focal4 is a software platform able to aggregate information from all brands and variations of systems, including access control, video, fire alarm, HVAC, traffic, mobile devices and more. Focal4’s open architecture and scalability make it easy to implement and a great value for small facilities as well as multi-building complexes around the world.

As a natural extension of an organization’s security system, Focal4 provides a comprehensive picture of all events in and around a facility or campus, enabling security directors, emergency management officials and first responders to make fast, accurate emergency response decisions. Saving lives and preventing future emergency situations is a primary reason for any building, campus or municipality to utilize Focal4. Risk-averse organizations that must safeguard business continuity, minimize the possibly of litigation and protect their reputation are also ideal Focal4 candidates.

“It’s nearly impossible to mitigate an emergency situation when you only have information from one source. Imagine having to decide what do in when multiple emergencies are happening at the same time,” said John Stofa, municipal account manager for Honeywell Fire Systems. “Focal4 gives you the whole picture in real time so you can decipher what’s happening and respond quickly and appropriately.”

The ability of Focal4 to help streamline building operations is a growing trend many facility managers are starting to grasp. The culmination of data from various sources enables these managers to pinpoint costly inefficiencies or issues with HVAC, lighting systems, security procedures or false alarms. In many cases, the extra costs can be quickly nullified and managers can proactively prevent future issues as well.

By leveraging existing systems, rather than replacing them, Focal4 can protect these investments and maximize security too. The Focal4 SSA system can support standard operating procedures by sending critical information to specific personnel, in addition to repurposing historical data for required reports, training and future scenario response planning.

The Focal4 SSA system is a standard software package, which can be expanded to offer a variety of different features, all sold à la carte, allowing users to buy only the capabilities they need.

Featured

  • Choosing the Right Solution

    Today, there is a strong shift from on-prem installations to cloud or hybrid-cloud deployments. As reported in the 2024 Genetec State of Physical Security report, 66% of end users said they will move to managing or storing more physical security in the cloud over the next two years. Read Now

  • New Report Reveals Top Security Risks for U.S. Retail Chains

    Interface Systems, a provider of security, actionable insights, and purpose-built networks for multi-location businesses, has released its 2024 State of Remote Video Monitoring in Retail Chains report. The detailed study analyzed over 2 million monitoring requests across 4,156 retail locations in the United States from September 2023 to August 2024. Read Now

  • Gaining a Competitive Edge

    Ask most companies about their future technology plans and the answers will most likely include AI. Then ask how they plan to deploy it, and that is where the responses may start to vary. Every company has unique surveillance requirements that are based on market focus, scale, scope, risk tolerance, geographic area and, of course, budget. Those factors all play a role in deciding how to configure a surveillance system, and how to effectively implement technologies like AI. Read Now

  • 6 Ways Security Awareness Training Empowers Human Risk Management

    Organizations are realizing that their greatest vulnerability often comes from within – their own people. Human error remains a significant factor in cybersecurity breaches, making it imperative for organizations to address human risk effectively. As a result, security awareness training (SAT) has emerged as a cornerstone in this endeavor because it offers a multifaceted approach to managing human risk. Read Now

Featured Cybersecurity

Webinars

New Products

  • FEP GameChanger

    FEP GameChanger

    Paige Datacom Solutions Introduces Important and Innovative Cabling Products GameChanger Cable, a proven and patented solution that significantly exceeds the reach of traditional category cable will now have a FEP/FEP construction. 3

  • Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation.

    Connect ONE®

    Connect ONE’s powerful cloud-hosted management platform provides the means to tailor lockdowns and emergency mass notifications throughout a facility – while simultaneously alerting occupants to hazards or next steps, like evacuation. 3

  • A8V MIND

    A8V MIND

    Hexagon’s Geosystems presents a portable version of its Accur8vision detection system. A rugged all-in-one solution, the A8V MIND (Mobile Intrusion Detection) is designed to provide flexible protection of critical outdoor infrastructure and objects. Hexagon’s Accur8vision is a volumetric detection system that employs LiDAR technology to safeguard entire areas. Whenever it detects movement in a specified zone, it automatically differentiates a threat from a nonthreat, and immediately notifies security staff if necessary. Person detection is carried out within a radius of 80 meters from this device. Connected remotely via a portable computer device, it enables remote surveillance and does not depend on security staff patrolling the area. 3