Honeywell announced a strategic investment in RapidSOS, the emergency response data platform used by more than 5,200 emergency communications centers (ECCs) worldwide.
Honeywell noted that the existing communications infrastructure between buildings, alarm monitoring stations, emergency centers and fire stations often uses legacy, manual technology, which slows response times and affects the accuracy of transmitted information.
Through the strategic investment and technology integrations, the Honeywell Connected Life Safety System (CLSS) will link to the RapidSOS emergency response data platform to provide faster, more accurate communications with emergency centers. When combined with Honeywell’s solutions, RapidSOS technology will securely transmit detailed data about the emergency, such as the type of hazard, severity, and location within the impacted building to emergency response centers, according to Honeywell.
“Time matters in an emergency. If you add up the time that regulations allow for each step in the current emergency communications process, it takes 590 seconds – or nearly 10 minutes – from the time a fire is first detected to when first responders arrive at a building. We’re trying to improve communications processes to cut that time in half,” said Jurgen van Goethem, president of commercial fire and security for Honeywell Building Technologies. “This investment in RapidSOS helps to further our efforts to improve both the quality of information shared and the time it takes for first responders to arrive at an emergency, potentially saving more lives. RapidSOS helps to deliver better information to emergency centers while our recent acquisition of US Digital Designs improves communication from the emergency center to the fire station.”
RapidSOS works with public safety agencies to provide an emergency response data platform that integrates across first responder software and operational systems. RapidSOS connects more than 400 million devices to thousands of 911 agencies supporting more than 165 million emergencies annually.
Earlier this month, Honeywell announced it had agreed to acquire privately held US Digital Designs, a Tempe, Arizona-based company, in an all-cash transaction
US Digital Designs delivers alerting and dispatch communications solutions, which enhance first responders’ efficacy and enable faster emergency response times, Honeywell said.
The acquisition will be integrated into Honeywell’s Fire and Connected Life Safety systems business and will expand Honeywell’s line of solutions for public safety communications, providing first responders with better situational awareness of building emergencies and improved life safety. When combined with Honeywell’s solutions, US Digital Designs’ offerings will securely transmit detailed data about the emergency, such as the type of hazard, severity, and location within the impacted building, all before first responders even arrive onsite, the company added.
Honeywell’s public safety portfolio also includes Fiplex bi-directional amplifiers (BDAs) that provide continuous and critical in-building radio coverage. Honeywell had acquired a majority stake in Fiplex Communications in March 2021.
