Critical alarms are alerts that require immediate action to protect people, operations, services or the environment. In organisations such as universities, manufacturing sites, utilities, hospitals and local authorities, these alarms may relate to:
What makes these environments different is not the number of alarms — it’s the operational complexity behind them.
Alarms are often monitored by small control room teams, supporting large, dispersed estates with staff working across multiple locations, shifts and roles. When they're are not managed effectively, response times increase, risks escalate and critical information can be missed.
Critical Alarm Management ensures that the right alarms reach the right people, in the right way, at the right time.
In many organisations, alarms from different systems all route through a central control room or monitoring point. Over time, this creates several challenges:
This is a common issue across:
When alarm handling relies too heavily on individuals rather than processes, the risk of delayed or missed response increases — particularly during busy periods, out-of-hours operation or simultaneous incidents.
Effective Critical Alarm Management reduces this risk by designing response around how teams actually work, not how systems happen to be connected.
Control rooms play a vital role — but they should not be the single point of failure.
In many environments, operators are already managing:
A modern Critical Alarm Management approach allows:
This reduces cognitive load on operators while improving response speed and accountability — a benefit shared across all sectors with 24/7 or safety-critical operations.
Automation in alarm management is not about removing people from the process — it’s about removing unnecessary steps. For organisations with dispersed teams and multiple systems, automation helps to:
Critical alarms can be configured so that:
This is particularly valuable in environments where:
Automation supports resilience by ensuring that alarms are handled consistently, even under pressure.
Critical alarms can be delivered via:
This flexibility ensures alarms reach staff wherever they are, without forcing organisations into a one-size-fits-all approach or unnecessary ongoing costs.
See how the right mobile solutions supports alarm response and front line safety.
Organisations that manage alarms typically work within legal, safety and governance requirements, with clear responsibilities shared between security, estates, health & safety and IT teams
Critical Alarm Management solutions must therefore:
Our approach is designed for complex organisations, where technology must support collaboration rather than create friction.
Critical alarm management is widely used in organisations where control rooms manage multiple alarm sources, teams are dispersed across large or complex estates, and response time is critical to safety, service continuity and compliance.
It is particularly relevant in sectors such as:
Universities and higher education – managing alarms across city-centre campuses, shared spaces and publicly accessible buildings
Manufacturing and industrial sites – responding quickly to safety, process and equipment-related alarms without disrupting operations
Utilities and infrastructure – coordinating alarm response across remote, unmanned or safety-critical assets
Local authorities and councils – supporting control rooms responsible for public buildings, housing and community services
Hospitals and Healthcare Environments - managing life-critical alarms across complex clinical environments, supporting mobile clinical and facilities teams, and ensuring rapid response without disrupting patient care.
Each of these environments has its own challenges, but all rely on clear alarm prioritisation, reliable communications and well-defined response processes.
