Vaping has become a real epidemic according to many sources. In this face of this growing problem for our schools, Norris is helping out.
Norris Inc diversified it’s detection and notification muscle this past year with the addition of a new offering, the HALO IoT Multi-Sensor, which is manufactured by the IPVideo Corporation. The device is a good fit into Norris’ core life-safety and security offerings and helps Norris’ customers better protect their students, customers, visitors, employees, faculty, and staff.
The device works in conjunction with Norris’s emergency notification platform, Vigilance and expands the capabilities of the platform, according to Vigilance Head of Product, Jeremy Boutot.
“The HALO device has multiple sensors for real-time detection and security,” Boutot said. “At a high level, the devices are used for vape detection, sound detection, air quality detection, and chemical detection,” Boutot added that the devices have been very popular due to their ability to help combat vaping in schools.
Vigilance Software worked directly with IPVideo Corporation over the last year to integrate directly with the HALO Sensor. The resulting integration gives organizations a more advanced alerting and notification system that is easier to use with multiple sensors, Boutot explained.
“Instead of having to manage the alerting user groups on each individual sensor, it can all be managed under one centralized admin portal. It can be a real challenge when you have dozens of sensors in multiple buildings or schools,” Boutot said. “The Vigilance product also helps monitor the health of the units. In the event one of the sensors becomes unresponsive and is not able to be contacted over the network, Vigilance will send an alert indicating the sensor is offline, so the appropriate people can check the unit.”
Asked how the sensors work, Boutot noted that they provide active air sampling.
“The HALO IoT Multi-Sensor does active air sampling to detect and measure particles. The HALO has 12 unique detection sensors. The sensors are programable to adjust the thresholds of the normal range,” Boutot said. “Anytime the sensor has a reading that goes outside the normal operating range, meaning it detected particles above the normal level, and alert gets triggered, and the designed people are notified.”
Such aggressive sampling, detection, and notification provide a higher level of safety for students, faculty, and staff, according to Boutot.
“The HALO Multi-Sensors help keep the workplace and schools safer through monitoring abnormal noise level detection such as you would get through gunshots or bullying incidents. The detectors monitor air quality for vape, THC, smoke, formaldehyde, benzene particulates, and volatile organic compounds(VOC),” He said. “The sensors pick up chemicals such as ammonia, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen. For light and environmental factors, the sensors help monitor occupancy, sensitivity, temperature ranges, humidity, tampering, and pressure.”
MSAD44 (Bethel, Maine) installed a HALO detector in one of their restrooms just before the beginning of the 2019-2020 school year. Shortly after the start of school on the first day, a student was caught vaping due to the detectors and the Vigilance notification system. Like MSAD44, many schools across the country have decided to do more than just talk about the vaping problem and are putting in real solutions to help combat the problem.
The HALO IoT Smart Sensor has won numerous industry awards in 2019, including the Best New Security Product from the Security Industry Association (SIA).
Want To Learn More?
Readers can learn more about vape detection in general by visiting Vigilance. More information on the HALO IoT Multi-Sensor can be found here.
What is Norris all about?
Norris, Inc.—a Saco, Maine-based life-safety and security systems integrator with satellite offices in Bangor, Maine; Lee, New Hampshire; and Burlington, Vermont—was founded nearly 40 years ago by two brothers, Brad and Harty Norris.
On February 28, 2020 Norris Inc was acquired by Minuteman Security Technologies Inc. Minuteman Security Technologies Inc. (Minuteman), headquartered in Andover, Massachusetts and founded in 1998, is a leading provider of enterprise security technology solutions. Minuteman security systems are used by a wide range of organizations throughout the United States. Customers include law enforcement, energy companies, mass transit, large retail chains, academic institutions, public safety agencies, and community hospitals with regional offices from Maine to Illinois.
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