Heard but not seen
“All tasks related to public address and voice alarm can be covered intelligently, future-oriented and user-friendly with APS Aprosys.” Peter Bock, Product management Fire alarm systems Schrack Seconet
Public address – information in everyday use
You’ll certainly be familiar with announcements at railway stations announcing the departure of trains. Sound systems like that are also used in shops, where subtle background music is often intended to create the right shopping mood. “The range of applications for public address systems (PA) is extremely diverse today; they transmit information in real time, play music or other canned audio,” explains Peter Bock, Product Management Fire Alarm Systems Schrack Seconet.
Voice alarm – information during an emergency
Acoustic voice alarms (VA) are useful whenever increased security technology requirements apply. Their primary purpose is to transmit information in a perfectly comprehensible manner in an emergency because spoken instructions are extremely important in these cases: This helps avoid panic or wrong reactions, helps people flee in a calmer and more orderly manner and increases the speed of evacuations. For this reason, voice alarm systems are mostly used in buildings with a lot of people who are not familiar with the escape routes. These include shopping centres, hospitals (with special evacuation scenarios), industrial buildings, universities, sports facilities, hotels, administrative buildings, and railway stations.
Swiss precision for maximum security
An integrated system can take care of both the public address system and the standard-compliant voice alarm in all these types of buildings. “In APS Aprosys from our Swiss sister company g+m , we have just such a solution. It distributes spoken information and plays background music in the normal application. In combination with a hazard monitoring system such as our fire alarm control panel, it also serves to alert and evacuate personnel more quickly,” says Peter Bock. It complies with the provided standards and country- specific regulations.
APS Aprosys with new control unit
The new APS-9000 control unit now integrates various functions in just one module, making it much easier to plan, assemble and configure different projects. At the same time, the familiar modular system architecture, the cost-efficient LAN networking, the unparalleled system and function flexibility as well as the optimal integration with other control systems are all maintained.“This means that all tasks relating to public address and voice alarm can be intelligent, future-oriented and user-friendly”, clarifies Peter Bock.
What should be considered in acoustic planning?
One essential factor for electroacoustic public address systems is the structural conditions of the site – a railway platform has different requirements than a shopping centre or an industrial building. The expertise of the project team is crucial for planning suitable loudspeakers in the right positions as well as the optimal amount and for determining the power requirements and the size of the amplifiers. The noise level, i.e. the volume of the usual ambient noise, and other environmental acoustic parameters such as reverberation due to sound reflection or sound absorption must also be taken into account.
(Header Photo: IG Photography, Lorenzo Patoia / IStock)