BrightArrow’s Safety Solution

BrightArrow delivers SafeCast, a safety feature which allows you to anticipate and respond to potential emergency situations. As the fastest growing platform, BrightArrow now delivers more safety functionality than all of the other systems combined. SafeCast, an Emergency Hotline, allows you to easily send an alert quickly during the time of a disruptive incident which poses serious risk or threat to people.

BrightArrow is your number one resource for
emergency and safety communications.

SafeCast

  • Emergency, Safety and Informational Notifications
  • Keywords to Alert Authorized Users
  • Anonymous/Emergency Tip Line Feature
  • Primary Internal Alert System, or a Backup Mechanism
  • Unmatched 24×7 Support

BrightArrow’s SafeCast lets you initiate the alert via App, Text-in and Dial-in. One of the easiest ways to launch this is to simply text to a predefined phone number, which in turn distributes the emergency information according to the rules you have defined.

Upon an emergency event, you text the associated keyword that you have in place (ex: #shooter or #fire) with any accompanying details and the system takes the appropriate action. Your authorized users receive the alert and follow the necessary steps to ensure safety.

BrightArrow’s SafeCast and other safety features can be adapted into your safety plan. For more information or to schedule a free live webinar demo, please contact Sales@BrightArrow.com.

How can these safety features be adapted into your organization?

BrightArrow’s SafeCast allows you to easily send an alert quickly to either: (1) Some of your staff, (2) All of your staff, or (3) Parents and staff.

SafeCast for Staff-to-Staff Emergency Alerts

BrightArrow’s SafeCast lets you initiate the alert via App, Text-in and Dial-in. As schools started deploying the feature, many found that the easiest option given the wide spectrum of technical skills of their staff and faculty is to simply allow them to text to a predefined phone number; which in turn distributes the emergency information according to rules you have defined.

We include an app for those with app-savvy folks, but for most staff and faculty we provide you a dedicated phone number that your employees add to their mobile phones “Favorites.” Upon an emergency event, they text the associated keyword with any accompanying details, and the system takes the appropriate action. Usually most staff only need a couple of keywords in their repertoire, and if they text without a keyword (or with an invalid one) it immediately responds back with the list of valid keywords.

SafeCast for Staff-to-Parent Emergency Alerts

SafeCast can be setup in many ways. You can have keywords for all staff to use (like #shooter or #fire) and other keywords for only authorized administrators (#allparents, #allstaff, #evacuation, #lockdown). You define in advance who is authorized to launch each alert, and who receives the alert. The lists of those receiving or authorized to send the alerts can be synchronized with your SIS or HR database so it is always up-to-date.

For example, maybe a staff member uses a keyword to notify emergency staff of a serious situation (maybe they text “#intruder in the playground”). The Principal or authorized administrator can then subsequently text a keyword that goes to all staff and parents, “#Lockdown Parents, In lockdown as police investigate an intruder. Children are safe. More information soon. Principal Holmes.”

Why is texting a keyword a more reliable approach over an app (even though we provide both)?

  • Security: With texting the phone’s Caller ID determines the validity of the sender. No login information that has to be remembered and can be hacked by trouble-causing students.
  • The Easiest Technology: Apps are wonderful, but they require installation, updating, and enough phone memory and resources to run reliably. Everybody can text.
  • Connection Reliability: If the emergency occurs in a location that has poor wireless or WIFI connections, texts tend to be more reliable than apps because they need minimal connectivity to send.
  • Basically, It’s Using #Hashtags: A popular communication technique is #Hashtags. Compared to learning to navigate an app interface, texting with hashtags is easy. And if you forget the hashtag keyword, it will text back the choices.
  • Simplicity Minimizes the Stress: If your app is not running right, or other apps have used up your phone’s memory, or you forget your login, or a bad connection, or, or… the increased stress level can lead to mistakes. The simplicity of texting a keyword lets you focus on the actual emergency instead of the communication tool.

Other examples of how this functionality can be used in your organization:

Expanding the Emergency Alert Subsystem for Weather Cancellations and other Urgent but Non-emergency Announcements:

This feature is much broader in scope than just the above safety examples. You can set up keywords for weather delays or cancellations. You can text a keyword, use the app, or use the web page, as these features are interchangeable.

Using the Emergency Hotline for Student Absence Reasons from Parents:

The emergency hotline allows responses, which can be very useful when you need a text back or call back with an answer. For example, it can text or call parents with absent students and a reply text or voice message can arrive into your email inbox for easy access to the response.

BrightArrow’s SafeCast and Emergency Hotlines can be adapted into your Safety Plan:

Organizations have different safety plans. The BrightArrow alert mechanisms are so simple, inexpensive, and easy to configure that it does not have to replace other items in your plan. It can be your primary internal alert system, or your backup mechanism. It can fill in gaps in your plan or become the main communication component in your Safety Plan.

SafeCast is your powerful and highly reliable emergency notification solution. Reach out to BrightArrow to explore and discuss your needs and requirements to help you apply this safety functionality to your operation. 

We find BrightArrow to be an easy-to-use solution for communications between our pastor and the congregation. The personal nature of a voice message was exactly what we were looking for and was warmly received by our church members. It is a user-friendly tool and the BrightArrow staff is friendly and knowledgeable.

Good Shepherd Church & School
Elgin, IL

“Our church uses BrightArrow’s service to send out urgent prayer requests. It’s an excellent way to reach a large amount of people in various formats of texts, phone and email. I highly recommend this company.

Dawn Cushard, Hickory Grove Church,
Tollesboro, KY