The Boston Globe Taps Mobile App to Help Employees Prepare for Emergencies

The Boston Globe Taps Mobile App to Help Employees Prepare for Emergencies

  • Aug 10, 2016

In today’s environment, organizations need to be prepared for a growing number of unpredictable situations. For The Boston Globe, whose 800,000 square foot headquarters operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, making safety plans easily accessible on mobile devices at anytime to more than 700 employees is a critical task.

To help mobilize emergency preparedness procedures, The Boston Globe began working with RockDove Solution’s In Case of Crisis mobile app in 2014. Since then, In Case of Crisis has helped The Boston Globe train and prepare employees for various scenarios by opening up access to multiple emergency plans through their mobile devices. With a mix of employees in the office and out in the field, producing and reporting on stories, In Case of Crisis helps The Boston Globe centralize plans on mobile devices, turning them into digital playbooks.

With quick access to the most up-to-date safety procedures, building diagrams and emergency contact phone numbers, The Boston Globe’s security department can communicate with employees more effectively by using the app. While paper-based safety materials are helpful, mobile devices allow employees to immediately access protocols ranging from severe weather events to workplace violence and even a medical emergency.

While necessary and complementary to mobile plans, paper-based resources or evacuation maps can be difficult to find during an actual crisis. Offering crisis management guidelines on the mobile devices that employees carry with them every day has significantly opened up the lines of communication between The Boston Globe security department and employees. In addition, emergency guidelines are available with or without a Wi-Fi connection, meaning they are accessible even if a building loses power.

In Case of Crisis’ customized plans are made available to The Boston Globe’s newsroom, production and administrative staff based on their roles and responsibilities with the organization. If an employee leaves the organization, procedures are no longer available. Security personnel and employees now have peace of mind knowing that safety resources are always up-to-date and available on their phone.

“We are pleased to work with a prestigious partner like The Boston Globe and help the organization continue to create a safer workplace for their employees,” RockDove Solutions COO, Christopher Britton, said. “In Case of Crisis has helped turn The Boston Globe’s emergency preparedness plans into actionable digital playbooks, giving employees an easy and secure way to access the most up-to-date safety procedures.”

RockDove Solutions will help The Boston Globe revise its emergency preparedness plans via the In Case of Crisis mobile app next year when the organization moves into its new downtown Boston headquarters and new printing and distribution facility in Taunton.

 

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