Glossary A–ZLetter E
Emergency message
An emergency message is a notice that, in an emergency, overrides all other content and appears immediately on selected or all screens.
It is triggered manually or prompted by another system through an interface.
Occasions may be an evacuation, a technical failure, a closure, a storm or a search notice within the building. An emergency message is only effective if it has been prepared: ready-made templates with short, clear sentences, defined screen groups and a small circle of people authorised to trigger it, with deputies. A clear way to end the message again is just as important.
Operators should know what a screen cannot do. It does not replace mandatory alarm and evacuation systems, escape route signs or public address announcements. Official warnings to the public run through dedicated systems to which an ordinary screen is not connected; warnings scraped from the internet do not replace that connection. Screens may be switched off or faulty. The emergency message should be rehearsed regularly without visitors mistaking the test for the real thing.