It was a dream come true for a tech guy—the one immersed in IP addresses and back-end programming—to be in the presence of the very users we design for.
We talked everything from user interface design to a shooter detection system that detects and tracks gunshots throughout a space and can launch a map to mobile devices showing the location.
That’s when things got really interesting.
These professionals have seen it all, across a broad spectrum of our community. And they are sometimes limited in what they can do by how much time it takes to receive and respond to important—sometimes lifesaving—information.
So we started simple: what is this Mobile App (it’s so new, we’re still in the process of naming it) and what does it do?
The Layered Solutions Mobile App allows you to stay connected to your people wherever they are and wherever you are. It means a principal, a superintendent, an administrator or a first responder can speak live on a cell phone over the public address. It also means a camp counselor, a charge nurse or a supervisor can send an announcement, a question (e.g. are you available to work this Friday?) or an emergency alert (e.g. severe weather, intruder, lockdown) and recipients can respond with a simple YES/NO or brief custom reply. And the shooter detection system got its share of somber discussion on how important it would be for recipients in a space to have a map that showed a shooter’s path.
It’s easy to see that this could change things profoundly for schools, hospitals, public venues, businesses and more.
So the Mobile App takes emergency management and communication on the move. It not only moves with teachers, police officers, team leaders, camp counselors, EMTs and site supervisors, it moves with administrators and leaders who are responsible for the safety and security of these groups. They have the ability to track responses on site and on the move.
And when leaders and first responders can account for everyone quickly and accurately from anywhere, you can imagine how invaluable that can be.
We talked about seemingly small things that have the ability to impact communication, like the size and placement of response buttons, the type size, color and order of emergency alert lists, even all of the ways we can make a system configurable for each organization (e.g. custom response times, lists and messages).
I could go on, but I won’t. Suffice it to say, virtually anything is possible and we covered a lot of ground.
In the end, the day-to-day experiences and feedback of these professionals was more than we could have hoped for. And our Mobile App is being personalized to clients’ needs as I type. I can’t express how grateful we are to these people.
How could this app change things for you and your workplace? I’d love to hear from you.
All the best,
Jerry Geis
CEO & Founder
