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Emergency Phone Solutions: Today's Blue Light Call Boxes Do More Than Call for Help

Pike Goss
Tue, May 09, 2023

Emergency phones, blue light phones, call boxes – whatever your preferred terminology, we're talking about the same thing: those high visibility blue light towers that provide an immediate direct line to emergency assistance. In addition to providing the public with peace of mind, they're an excellent tool for security professionals charged with mitigating liability for criminal activities on their properties.

 

Today's blue light towers hold much more than an emergency phone. Landlines have been replaced with video intercoms, allowing responding officers to see the person seeking help. Wide-angle surveillance cameras mounted up top aid situational awareness and may be equipped with artificial intelligence to detect the presence of people, vehicles, or pre-defined conditions. Loudspeakers, horns, or sirens can issue warnings and directions during emergencies. Attached solar panels may power the tower's technology. And the blue light, intended to create high visibility, is more attention-grabbing with strobing effects that activate under certain conditions. The tower's many technologies support emergency response efforts and serve as a powerful crime deterrent.

 

The Need for Call Box Integration

Today’s Security Operations Centers (SOCs) manage video surveillance, access control, perimeter detection, visitor management, public address systems, and other security solutions as part of a cohesive ecosystem. Open APIs allow technology from different manufacturers to communicate with each other and provide synergistic value. Unfortunately, most emergency call boxes work in a silo, unable to seamlessly share video, audio, and data across platforms. As blue light towers have evolved from simple emergency phones to security technology hubs, call box manufacturers have failed to move beyond a myopic vision of their devices as a stand-alone solution.

 

Pedestal PRO has a different view. Just as security stakeholders have carefully selected their site's security solutions based on how well they work together, they should have that same freedom when selecting technologies to deploy within blue light towers.

 

To deliver on that mission, we use the same business model we've used for years to become the leading provider of access control pedestals. For a call box solution, we let customers purchase an intercom system from any manufacturer and then order from us a customized blue light tower or wall station ready to accommodate their devices of choice. It's a turnkey service.

 

From a security perspective, the advantages are significant. Rather than settle for "good enough," stakeholders can design emergency towers that leverage best-of-breed technology. Video from their intercom call box and surveillance cameras can be viewed as part of a site's broader video management platform. Edge analytics within those devices can trigger automated responses, like flashing lights and audio warnings that the site is under surveillance. Sitewide audio-over-IP public address systems can simultaneously leverage the speakers on each blue light tower. Integration is a force multiplier that allows security teams to do more with technology – resulting in improved public safety, operating efficiencies, and mitigated liability.  

 

Call Box Customization

Proving a choice of vendor-specific technologies isn't the only way Pedestal Pro customizes solutions. Our blue light towers feature a patented, low-profile architectural design that customers can order at different heights and with a choice of colors, lettering, and vinyl graphics. We also offer high-visibility wall-mounted call boxes.

 

There's no minimum quantity required for fabrication. Standard delivery requires a lead time of 12 to 15 days, with fast-tracking options available for an additional charge. Our website makes it easy to order. Customers can start with a design they see posted and customize it, or start from scratch and build what they want from the ground up. We have an extensive library of specifications for popular intercom systems, cameras, and other devices, making it easy for us to design each blue light tower accurately. Everything will be precut, lined up, and matched to accept bolts, wires, and devices to minimize installation work in the field.

 

For more information about how Pedestal PRO is redefining the very definition of blue light phones, read an interview with our company's President and Founder, Pike Goss, that originally appeared in the March 2023 Issue of Security Business Magazine and SecurityInfowatch.com.

- Pike Goss | 17 - Tue, May 09, 2023
(last updated: Tue, May 9, 2023 10:47 PM)