How A Fortune 500 Utilized SimpleSense Technology

Safety is paramount for a Fortune 500 company located in Pennsylvania. One way the company’s security department traditionally ensured staff safety was by monitoring publicly available police dispatch information. The company’s ability to listen to such information, especially as it pertained to their geofence, was very helpful. It allowed the department to learn about an incident faster than it would have otherwise and, consequently, save seconds or even minutes in response time. Rapid response time is crucial in situations such as cardiac arrest, fires, and active assailant events.

Because more than 80 percent of calls to 911 come from a cell phone, the security department would lose precious time learning about and responding to an incident.

In addition, once alerted about an incident, the security department could assist first responders in entering company buildings and locating the individuals in need of assistance. However, local police began encrypting their communications in an effort to frustrate criminals tuning in to their signal, which in turn became a blind spot for the company’s security department.That’s because the security department is only informed when an employee calls 911 from a landline. They can’t capture a call made from an employee’s personal cell phone. Because more than 80 percent of calls to 911 come from a cell phone, the security department would lose precious time learning about and responding to an incident. As a result, the department began searching for other ways to retrieve that critical information.Conversations began taking place between SimpleSense and the security department concerning what their needs were. When the focus of the conversation shifted to the people within the company’s geofence, the company started to really understand where those gaps were and decided to pilot the technology within their department.SimpleSense enables two or more security agencies to stream, analyze, and transact critical information during an emergency in real time. After the company and the county entered into a legal agreement defining providers of data, and detailing provisions regarding types of data, accessors of data and protection of data, SimpleSense created the opportunity to share information, define which information would be shared, and ensure data would be transmitted securely. Among the shared information is the incident type; the date, time, and location of the incident; and the units dispatched. Other information might include GPS coordinates, patient condition, and an alternate location name. No personally identifiable information is transmitted.The SimpleSense solution has already proved useful to the company. During protests near the company in spring 2020, the security department quickly responded to a person who had passed out within its geofence. In another case, the department learned that local police were pursuing a suspect within its geofence and was able to assist law enforcement. SimpleSense technology made it possible for Security to act quickly in both incidents. As the company’s security director stated, “after all, safety is in the department’s DNA.”