The role of smart sensors in enhancing school safety, according to Monique Merhige, President, Infusion Direct Marketing.

Safety in schools

School administrators have several responsibilities to students and staff.

Not only do they oversee academics and curriculums, but they are also responsible for creating a healthy, safe and secure learning and teaching environment.

This means that they need to know what is happening within a building, both the visible, such as a water spill in a hallway, and the unseen, such as the quality of air the students and staff breathe, which can impact health, performance and safety.

Smart sensors have emerged as a cost-effective resource to help detect hidden dangers and mitigate risks.

Small in size and tamper proof, these sensors can be installed in areas where privacy is key and where video security cameras are not allowed, such as bathrooms and locker rooms.

They are often touted for their ability to help fight the vaping epidemic in schools.

The devices can detect vaping, vaping with THC (the chemical component found in marijuana) and the aerosols used to try to cover this up.

An Internet of Things (IoT) smart sensor can also detect dangerous airborne chemicals and potential emergencies, such as escalating fights or someone who needs immediate health assistance.

Smart sensors to monitor air quality

Schools face the greatest risk of chemical and gas exposure in custodial closets, cafeterias, science labs, pool facilities, art rooms, bus depots and maintenance rooms.

These can create a myriad of hidden dangers that have short and long-term health effects from inhaling toxic chemicals or carbon monoxide poisoning.

Carbon monoxide is an odorless gas that has no taste or color, and when too much is present in the air, the body replaces the oxygen in the red blood cells with this gas.

This can lead to serious tissue damage or even death in some cases.

Studies have shown that students in classrooms with high outdoor air ventilation rates tend to achieve higher scores on standardized tests in math and reading than children in poorly ventilated classrooms.

In addition, the presence of dampness and mold in schools increases the risk of asthma and related respiratory health effects by 30-50%.

Advanced IoT smart sensors have evolved into an environmental and security monitoring solution that tracks air pollution through substances such as CO₂ (carbon dioxide), particulate matter, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and NO₂ (nitrogen dioxide).

“We are seeing more and more schools being impacted by poor indoor air quality,” said David Antar, MSSI VP of IPVideo, Motorola Solutions.

“In fact, one of the schools we work with had an issue with school buses running in front of open classroom windows, creating a situation where students and staff were breathing in unhealthy air on a daily basis.

“Without the smart sensor alerts and notifications, the situation could have gone undetected and the health of the students could have been threatened.”

High levels of humidity can also impact student and staff experiences.

High temperatures and excessive humidity promote mold and mildew growth which can cause allergy-like symptoms for people with sensitivities.

Indoor air problems can be subtle and do not always produce easily recognized impacts on health.

Symptoms can include headaches, fatigue, shortness of breath, sinus congestion, coughing, sneezing, dizziness, nausea and irritation of the eye, nose, throat and skin.

It can also cause structural damage to buildings.

Smart sensors can identify areas of high-humidity levels and alert school administrators of potential issues that need to be assessed.

With these versatile smart sensors, schools can quickly detect air quality concerns and address them to create a healthy learning and teaching environment for students and staff.

Poor indoor air quality can have a negative impact on a student’s overall well-being and can cause poor decision making, affecting learning.

It’s important for schools to understand the benefits of improved indoor air quality.

This can enhance students’ academic performance, as well as teacher and staff productivity and retention.

Smart sensors to identify potential emergencies

“An important step in preventing an incident from turning into an emergency is early detection,” added Antar.

“We are starting to see smart sensors be used to help monitor medical emergencies that can occur in privacy areas such as classrooms, bathrooms, locker rooms and dormitories.”

If a person is in distress and needs assistance, a smart sensor’s keyword alert function can detect words like “help” and send immediate alerts to security personnel to get medical assistance.

This can help save lives when time is of the essence.

A medical emergency can happen anywhere at any time, but now students and staff can have peace of mind knowing they are protected throughout school facilities.

Other common emergencies that can occur at schools include the escalation of aggressive behavior that can lead to fights and school shootings.

Sensors can detect higher than usual noise levels and send notifications and alerts to school administrators about the location of an event and where the noise level is escalating.

With gunshot detection features, smart sensors can use audio analytics and cloud technology to identify the gunshots and location, quickly alerting staff and allowing security, police and management to respond faster.

Another great feature is the emergency alert lighting and audio.

In an emergency, multicolored LEDs can be programmed to provide different lighting effects and colors, triggered by different events.

Unique colors can be used for different alerts such as purple for air quality or red for temperature.

The lights are projected onto the ceiling around the device for extended visibility and can be combined with configurable audio alerts.

Panic buttons also offer users peace of mind and can trigger email or mobile push notification alerts that can provide security teams with the names of sensor device(s) within range of the panic button.

If an incident occurs where a gunshot rings out at a school, smart sensors can identify the location where a gun was fired and automatically notify security personnel and administrators to take immediate action.

They can notify first responders of the event location enabling a rapid response. 

Smart sensors for health and safety

Schools are embracing smart sensors to enhance the learning experience of students in many ways.

Today’s smart sensors are being used for more than just vape detection.

They have evolved into an advanced environmental and security monitoring solution, offering an array of capabilities, from detecting the air quality to spoken keyword alerting, they are designed to enable the safety and well-being of students and staff.

As we navigate through a world where technology plays an important part of our daily routine, the adoption of smart sensors has emerged as the right step towards a more efficient, secure and healthy experience for students and staff.

They provide discreet, non-invasive monitoring in schools without compromising individual privacy.

With this ability to detect the unseen, schools are taking proactive control of their environment.

The future looks bright for students with the help of smart sensors and a caring staff that helps keep them safe.

About Monique

Monique Merhige is the Founder of Infusion Direct Marketing and has over 20 years of marketing and public relations experience with technology companies ranging from security integrators to high-profile security companies.

Monique has served as an Adjunct Professor of Marketing at Dowling College on Long Island and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Marketing and an MBA in General Management.

She has authored numerous case studies and cover articles and continues to be a driving force in the security industry.

This article was originally published in the July edition of Security Journal Americas. To read your FREE digital edition, click here.