Mass Notification Systems
Remake batch 26: rewritten from scratch under the authoring cheatsheet with datasheet constraints; neighbors re-pointed to the new scope boundaries; the electrical code is now the adopted-electrical-code project fact
Showing changes from Rev 7
to Rev 8
in Mass Notification Systems.
−---
−title: Mass Notification Systems
−category: Fire Protection
−toc_depth: 3
−description: >
− When to use: In-building, wide-area, and distributed-recipient emergency communications systems (ECS) — commonly called mass notification systems (MNS) — that warn occupants and the public of fire and non-fire emergencies and instruct them on the appropriate protective action, in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 24. Covers the risk-analysis basis of design that establishes the need for and scope of an MNS; the autonomous control unit (ACU) and local operating consoles (LOC); in-building MNS using voice/alarm communications and visible notification and signage; wide-area MNS using high-power speaker arrays for outdoor and campus-scale coverage; distributed-recipient MNS using text, email, telephone, and mobile-app delivery, and interfaces to the public-alerting infrastructure (IPAWS, Wireless Emergency Alerts, and the Emergency Alert System); message prioritization and integration with the fire alarm system; voice intelligibility requirements and acceptance testing using the Speech Transmission Index and the Common Intelligibility Scale; pathway survivability; primary and secondary power; and commissioning and intelligibility testing. Typical applications include higher-education and K-12 campuses, healthcare and hospital campuses, military and federal facilities subject to UFC 4-021-01, high-rise and large assembly occupancies, transportation terminals, and corporate and industrial sites.
− Not intended for: The fire alarm and signaling function itself — fire detection, the fire alarm control unit, initiating devices, and fire evacuation signaling are covered in [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]]; this standard governs the emergency communications and mass notification function that integrates with and, for emergency messages, takes priority over that fire alarm signaling. Not for standalone area-of-refuge two-way communication systems, elevator emergency phones, or firefighter telephone systems where no mass notification function is provided; not for routine background-music, paging, or commercial public-address systems that carry no emergency communications duty; not for the public safety in-building radio enhancement (DAS/BDA) systems used by responders — those are separate scopes. Wide-area public siren warning operated solely by a civil authority outside the protected premises is outside this scope except where it interfaces to an on-site MNS.
−---
−
−# Scope {toc}
−
−## This standard covers the design documentation, equipment, installation, integration, testing, and commissioning of an emergency communications system (ECS), commonly referred to as a mass notification system (MNS), provided to warn the occupants of a building, the population of a site or campus, or a defined set of recipients of a fire or non-fire emergency and to instruct them on the protective action to take. {note}
−
−## The system shall comply with NFPA 72, National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code, Chapter 24 (Emergency Communications Systems).
−
−## Where the facility is a Department of Defense facility, the system shall comply with UFC 4-021-01, Design and O&M: Mass Notification Systems.
−
−## A mass notification system differs fundamentally from a fire alarm system in purpose: a fire alarm system answers whether there is a fire and produces a single fixed response to evacuate, while a mass notification system addresses many hazards and conveys an intelligible, hazard-specific instruction to evacuate, shelter in place, relocate, or take some other action. {note}
−
−## Because the correct protective action for a non-fire emergency is frequently the opposite of fire evacuation — sheltering in place during a tornado or an external chemical release, for example — the emergency message of an MNS shall be able to take priority over the fire alarm evacuation signal.
−
−## Establishing and managing that priority is one of the central requirements of this standard. {note}
−
−## The scope spans three architectures recognized by NFPA 72 Chapter 24, any combination of which may be required on a project: in-building MNS notifying occupants inside buildings; wide-area MNS notifying people outdoors and across a site, campus, or installation using high-power speaker arrays; and distributed-recipient MNS (DRMNS) delivering messages to individual recipients through text message, email, telephone, desktop alert, and mobile application. {note}
−
−## The scope includes the autonomous control unit (ACU), the local operating consoles (LOC), the notification appliances and speaker arrays, the visible notification and signage, the interfaces to the fire alarm system and to the public-alerting infrastructure (IPAWS, Wireless Emergency Alerts, and the Emergency Alert System), the pathway survivability provisions, and the primary and secondary power supplies. {note}
−
−## This standard is manufacturer-agnostic; equipment is described by function and by the standard to which it is listed, never by brand name or product line. {note}
−
−## All work shall comply with the editions of NFPA 72, UFC 4-021-01, and other referenced documents adopted by the Authority Having Jurisdiction (AHJ).
−
−## Where the AHJ has adopted an earlier edition, the Contractor shall confirm the adopted edition in writing before design begins.
−
−# Referenced Standards {toc}
−
−## Equipment, materials, design, and installation shall comply with the current adopted editions of the following standards and codes.
−## Where requirements conflict, the more stringent shall govern unless the Engineer of Record directs otherwise in writing.
−
−| Standard | Title |
−|----------|-------|
−| NFPA 72 | National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code (Chapter 24 — Emergency Communications Systems) |
−| NFPA 70 | National Electrical Code (Article 760 — Fire Alarm Systems; Article 800 — Communications) |
−| NFPA 101 | Life Safety Code |
−| UFC 4-021-01 | Design and O&M: Mass Notification Systems (DoD facilities) |
−| UFC 4-010-01 | DoD Minimum Antiterrorism Standards for Buildings (establishes the MNS requirement for DoD) |
−| UL 864 | Standard for Control Units and Accessories for Fire Alarm Systems |
−| UL 2572 | Standard for Mass Notification Systems |
−| UL 1971 | Standard for Signaling Devices for the Hearing Impaired (visible notification) |
−| UL 1480 | Standard for Speakers for Fire Alarm, Emergency, and Commercial and Professional Use |
−| IBC Chapter 9 | International Building Code — Fire Protection Systems |
−| IFC Chapter 9 | International Fire Code — Fire Protection Systems (including emergency responder communications) |
−| ICC A117.1 | Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities |
−| ADA Standards for Accessible Design | Federal accessibility requirements for notification |
−| IEC 60268-16 | Objective rating of speech intelligibility by the Speech Transmission Index |
−| FEMA IPAWS | Integrated Public Alert and Warning System program requirements (Common Alerting Protocol) |
−| FCC 47 CFR Part 10 | Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) |
−
−# Risk Analysis and Basis of Design {toc}
−
−## Risk Analysis Required {toc}
−
−### Unlike a fire alarm system, whose scope is largely prescribed by the building code based on occupancy and area, the scope of a mass notification system is established by the risk analysis. {note}
−
−### The basis of design for the mass notification system shall be a documented risk analysis prepared in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 24.
−
−### The risk analysis is the controlling design document and shall be completed and accepted by the Owner and the AHJ before the system is designed.
−
−### No MNS scope, message set, coverage, or survivability requirement in this standard or on the drawings supersedes the conclusions of an accepted risk analysis.
−
−### The risk analysis shall address both fire and non-fire emergencies, the nature and likelihood of the hazards to which the facility is exposed, the characteristics of the occupants (number, mobility, familiarity with the facility, and language), and the characteristics of the facility (construction, size, indoor and outdoor areas to be covered, and the time available to notify and move people).
−
−### The detail and complexity of the risk analysis shall be commensurate with the complexity of the facility.
−
−### The analysis shall be based on the maximum occupant load of each occupiable space, area, building, or site to be covered.
−
−## Hazards Addressed {toc}
−
−### The selected hazards determine the message set, the coverage architecture, and the prioritization logic that the rest of the design implements. {note}
−
−### The risk analysis shall identify the specific emergencies the system is required to address.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Emergencies Addressed by the MNS
−type: checkbox
−options:
− - "Fire (integrated with the fire alarm system)"
− - "Severe weather / tornado / shelter-in-place"
− - "Hazardous material release (external or internal)"
− - "Active threat / hostile event / lockdown"
− - "Infrastructure failure / utility emergency"
− - "Civil emergency / general all-hazards instruction"
− - "Drill / test / all-clear messaging"
−default: "Fire (integrated with the fire alarm system)"
−```
−
−## System Architecture Selected {toc}
−
−### The risk analysis and the areas requiring notification determine which of the three MNS architectures, or which combination, the project requires. {note}
−### A campus, for example, frequently requires all three: an in-building system for occupants of each building, a wide-area system for people outdoors, and a distributed-recipient system to reach individuals who are mobile or off-site. {note}
−
−### The mass notification system architectures provided shall be specified, selected to reach building occupants, outdoor occupants, and mobile or off-site individuals as the project requires.
−
−```datasheet
−label: MNS Architecture
−type: checkbox
−options:
− - "In-building MNS (voice/alarm communications within buildings)"
− - "Wide-area MNS (outdoor high-power speaker arrays / giant voice)"
− - "Distributed-recipient MNS (text, email, phone, app, desktop alert)"
− - "Interface to public alerting (IPAWS / WEA / EAS)"
−default: "In-building MNS (voice/alarm communications within buildings)"
−```
−
−## Emergency Response Plan {toc}
−
−### The emergency response plan is the source document for the message library and the prioritization matrix. {note}
−
−### The mass notification system shall implement an emergency response plan prepared by the Owner that defines, for each identified emergency, the message content, the areas or recipients to be notified, the order and priority of messages, the personnel authorized to initiate messages, and the action to be taken at the autonomous control unit versus a local operating console or a wide-area input.
−
−### The Contractor shall program the system to match the accepted emergency response plan and shall not invent message content or priority independently.
−
−# Submittals {toc}
−
−## Action Submittals {toc}
−
−### The mass notification submittal is a complete system-level engineering document; partial or piecemeal submittals shall be returned without review.
−### The Contractor shall submit the following for the Engineer of Record's review and the AHJ's approval before procurement and before any installation begins:
−
−- The accepted risk analysis and the Owner's emergency response plan, on which the design is based
−- Manufacturer's product data for every component: the autonomous control unit (ACU), all local operating consoles (LOC), amplifiers and power supplies, speakers and high-power speaker arrays, visible notification appliances, signage, the distributed-recipient platform, and all interface modules to the fire alarm system and to public alerting
−- Complete system shop drawings, including a riser diagram showing the ACU, every LOC, every amplifier and power supply, all speaker circuits and wide-area array sites, circuit class designations, and pathway survivability levels; and floor plans and site plans showing the location and coverage of every speaker, array, and visible appliance
−- The message prioritization matrix, in table form, showing every message source (fire alarm, ACU, each LOC, wide-area input, distributed-recipient platform, public-alerting input), every message type, and the resulting priority and arbitration outcome when sources conflict
−- An intelligibility design analysis identifying each acoustically distinguishable space (ADS) within the covered area, the design basis for achieving the required intelligibility in each ADS, and the proposed measurement locations for acceptance testing
−- Speaker layout and amplifier load calculations, and voice/voltage-drop calculations for each speaker circuit, confirming device operating level under worst-case load
−- Secondary-power (battery or other) calculations in accordance with NFPA 72, showing standby and alarm (emergency) load and the required capacity with the code-required margin
−- Listing documentation: UL 2572 for the mass notification system and UL 864 for control equipment used in the fire alarm interface, and listing of speakers, appliances, and power supplies to the applicable standards
−
−```datasheet
−label: Action Submittals Required
−type: checkbox
−options:
− - "Risk analysis and emergency response plan"
− - "Product data for all components"
− - "System shop drawings (riser, floor plans, site plans)"
− - "Message prioritization matrix"
− - "Intelligibility design analysis (ADS identification)"
− - "Speaker layout, amplifier load, and voltage-drop calculations"
− - "Secondary-power (battery) calculations per NFPA 72"
− - "Listing documentation (UL 2572, UL 864, UL 1480, UL 1971)"
−default: "Risk analysis and emergency response plan"
−```
−
−## Closeout Submittals {toc}
−
−### At substantial completion, prior to system acceptance, the Contractor shall submit:
−
−- The signed acceptance test report, including the voice intelligibility test report (STI or CIS measurements per ADS) and the message prioritization verification, witnessed by the AHJ where required
−- As-built system drawings reflecting all changes, including final speaker and array locations, final circuit designations, and final array site GPS coordinates for wide-area systems
−- The complete ACU and LOC programming record, including the message library, the recipient and zone groups, the prioritization configuration, and all user accounts and access levels
−- The recorded emergency message library (audio files and text templates) as installed
−- Operation and maintenance data, including operating procedures for each message type, the procedure to initiate a live message from each LOC, the test and inspection schedule per NFPA 72 Chapter 14, and the procedure to issue and to retract a distributed-recipient or public alert
−- Warranty documentation
−
−```datasheet
−label: Closeout Submittals Required
−type: checkbox
−options:
− - "Acceptance test report with intelligibility results"
− - "As-built drawings with array GPS coordinates"
− - "ACU and LOC programming record"
− - "Recorded emergency message library (as installed)"
− - "Operation and maintenance data"
− - "Warranty documentation"
−default: "Acceptance test report with intelligibility results"
−```
−
−# Quality Assurance {toc}
−
−## Contractor and Designer Qualifications {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: Designer Qualification Basis
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Licensed Professional Engineer (ECS/MNS design) + NICET-certified installer"
− - "NICET Fire Alarm Systems Level III designer + Level II installer-in-charge"
− - "As accepted by AHJ — submit documentation for review"
−default: "Licensed Professional Engineer (ECS/MNS design) + NICET-certified installer"
−```
−
−### The mass notification system shall be designed by a person qualified in emergency communications system design — a licensed Professional Engineer with demonstrated ECS/MNS experience, or a designer holding NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems or the equivalent at the level required by the AHJ.
−
−### The installing contractor shall hold the fire alarm or low-voltage license required by the state or local jurisdiction.
−
−### The installing contractor shall demonstrate manufacturer-authorized training on the specific ACU and MNS platform installed.
−
−### For DoD facilities, personnel qualifications shall additionally meet UFC 4-021-01.
−
−## Listing Requirements {toc}
−
−### The mass notification system equipment shall be listed to UL 2572, Standard for Mass Notification Systems.
−
−### Where the MNS shares equipment with, or interfaces to, the fire alarm system, the shared control equipment shall additionally be listed to UL 864 for fire alarm service.
−
−### Speakers used for emergency voice notification shall be listed to UL 1480.
−
−### Visible notification appliances shall be listed to UL 1971.
−
−### All devices shall be listed for use with the ACU platform and shall appear on the manufacturer's compatibility list.
−
−### Unlisted or incompatible devices shall not be installed.
−
−## Coordination {toc}
−
−### A pre-installation conference shall be held with the MNS Contractor, the fire alarm Contractor, the electrical contractor, the network/IT representative (for distributed-recipient and IP interfaces), the Owner's emergency manager, and the AHJ.
−
−### The message prioritization matrix and the emergency response plan shall be reviewed and approved at this meeting.
−
−### Because the MNS message takes priority over fire alarm signaling, the interface between the two systems shall be jointly reviewed by both contractors and accepted by the AHJ before installation.
−
−# System Control Architecture {toc}
−
−## Autonomous Control Unit {toc}
−
−### The ACU is the single authority for the notification appliance network it serves. {note}
−
−### The mass notification system shall be controlled by an autonomous control unit (ACU) that originates, schedules, prioritizes, and monitors all emergency messages and that supervises the notification network in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 24.
−
−```datasheet
−label: ACU Type
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Combination fire alarm / MNS control unit (UL 864 + UL 2572 listed)"
− - "Dedicated MNS ACU interfaced to a separate fire alarm control unit"
− - "Networked ACUs with defined single point of control (campus / multi-building)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "Combination fire alarm / MNS control unit (UL 864 + UL 2572 listed)"
−```
−
−### Unless the emergency response plan directs otherwise, actions taken at the ACU shall take precedence over actions taken at any remote location, including a local operating console or an input from a wide-area MNS.
−
−### Where more than one ACU can control the same notification network, only one ACU shall be in control at any given time, and the means of transferring control shall be defined and supervised.
−
−### The ACU shall be monitored for integrity so that loss of primary power, secondary-power fault, loss of communication with any controlled node, and any circuit fault generate a trouble signal that is annunciated at the ACU and, where the MNS is integrated with the fire alarm system, transmitted to the supervising station in accordance with [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]].
−
−## Local Operating Console {toc}
−
−### A local operating console (LOC) is the interface from which authorized personnel select and initiate pre-recorded messages and deliver live voice messages to selected zones or to the entire system. {note}
−
−### An LOC shall be provided at each location required by the emergency response plan and the AHJ — commonly at a constantly attended location, a security or command center, and the fire command center where one is required.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Local Operating Consoles Provided
−type: checkbox
−options:
− - "Fire command center / fire department interface location"
− - "Constantly attended location (security desk / front desk)"
− - "Emergency operations / command center"
− - "Police or campus dispatch"
−drawing_ref: "emergency response plan"
−default: "Fire command center / fire department interface location"
−```
−
−### The LOC shall provide a microphone for live voice paging, controls to select message and zone, and a visual indication of system status and of which messages are active.
−
−### The LOC shall be secured against unauthorized use by keyswitch, credential, or passcode as required by the emergency response plan.
−
−### Live voice from an LOC, when authorized by the prioritization logic, shall override pre-recorded messages so that responders can give real-time instructions.
−
−## Message Prioritization {toc}
−
−### Because a non-fire emergency may require occupants to remain in place while the fire alarm system is signaling evacuation, both live voice and pre-recorded MNS messages typically take priority over fire evacuation signaling.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Message Priority Order (highest first)
−type: select
−options:
− - "Live voice (authorized LOC) > pre-recorded MNS emergency > fire alarm evacuation > supervisory/trouble > routine/test"
− - "Pre-recorded MNS emergency > fire alarm evacuation > live voice > routine (where ERP requires automated priority)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "Live voice (authorized LOC) > pre-recorded MNS emergency > fire alarm evacuation > supervisory/trouble > routine/test"
−```
−
−### The system shall arbitrate among competing message sources according to a documented prioritization matrix derived from the emergency response plan, in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 24.
−
−### When the emergency response plan so provides, an authorized mass notification message shall take priority over the fire alarm evacuation signal.
−
−### When the MNS takes control of the notification appliances for an emergency message, that condition shall be supervised and annunciated so that responders know the fire signal has been overridden.
−
−### The prioritization logic shall be deterministic so that when two sources contend, the outcome is defined and repeatable, and the lower-priority message is queued or suppressed, not garbled with the higher-priority message.
−
−### The prioritization matrix shall be verified during acceptance testing.
−
−## Fire Alarm System Integration {toc}
−
−### The fire alarm system continues to perform fire detection and to transmit alarm, supervisory, and trouble signals to the supervising station; the mass notification system controls occupant messaging and, for emergency messages, takes priority over the fire alarm evacuation signal as established by the prioritization matrix. {note}
−
−### The mass notification system shall integrate with the fire alarm system covered by [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]].
−
−```datasheet
−label: Fire Alarm Integration Method
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Shared combination control unit (single platform, UL 864 + UL 2572)"
− - "Supervised hardwired interface between separate FACU and ACU"
− - "Listed network interface between separate fire alarm and MNS platforms"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "Shared combination control unit (single platform, UL 864 + UL 2572)"
−```
−
−### The interface shall be supervised so that a fault in the interface generates a trouble signal.
−
−### The integration shall be arranged so that a failure of the MNS does not impair the fire alarm system's required detection and signaling functions.
−
−# In-Building Mass Notification {toc}
−
−## Voice Notification {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: In-Building Voice System Capability
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Pre-recorded messages + live voice paging from LOC"
− - "Pre-recorded messages only (no live paging)"
− - "Live paging only (legacy / limited application)"
−default: "Pre-recorded messages + live voice paging from LOC"
−```
−
−### In-building mass notification shall be provided by an emergency voice/alarm communications system delivering intelligible voice messages, supplemented by visible notification, throughout the areas identified by the risk analysis.
−
−### The voice system shall deliver pre-recorded messages automatically on the appropriate input and shall allow authorized live voice paging from a local operating console.
−
−### The voice notification shall comply with the audibility requirements of NFPA 72 Chapter 18 and the intelligibility requirements of Chapter 24.
−
−## Speakers {toc}
−
−### High-ceiling, hard-surfaced, and reverberant spaces require careful tap selection and speaker spacing to achieve intelligibility, not merely audibility. {note}
−
−### Emergency voice speakers shall be listed to UL 1480 and shall be selected and located to achieve the required sound pressure level and intelligibility in each space.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Speaker Type
−type: select
−options:
− - "Ceiling speaker (lay-in or recessed) — typical occupied rooms and corridors"
− - "Wall speaker — corridors and spaces without accessible ceiling"
− - "Speaker/strobe combination (voice + visible)"
− - "Horn-type / projector speaker — high-noise or high-ceiling spaces"
− - "Pendant speaker — open high-ceiling areas (atria, gymnasia)"
−default: "Ceiling speaker (lay-in or recessed) — typical occupied rooms and corridors"
−```
−
−### The speaker tap setting (power) shall be selected for the acoustic conditions of the space.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Speaker Tap Setting
−type: select
−unit: W
−options:
− - "1/4 W"
− - "1/2 W"
− - "1 W"
− - "2 W"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: deferred
−```
−
−### Speaker spacing and tap settings shall be shown on the floor plans and supported by the intelligibility design analysis.
−
−## Audibility {toc}
−
−### Audibility is necessary but not sufficient — a message that is loud but unintelligible does not communicate the instruction. {note}
−
−### Emergency voice messages shall be audible above ambient sound, producing a sound pressure level at least 15 dB above the average ambient sound pressure level or 5 dB above the maximum ambient level, whichever is greater, in accordance with NFPA 72.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Audible Sound Pressure Basis
−type: radio
−options:
− - "15 dB above average ambient (standard occupied spaces)"
− - "5 dB above maximum ambient (intermittent high-noise spaces)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "15 dB above average ambient (standard occupied spaces)"
−```
−
−### The design shall satisfy both audibility and the intelligibility requirements below.
−
−## Visible Notification {toc}
−
−### NFPA 72 Chapter 24 permits text and graphic displays and supplementary visible signals to convey non-fire messages. {note}
−
−### Visible notification appliances shall be provided to supplement audible notification for occupants who are deaf or hard of hearing and in spaces where audible notification alone is insufficient, in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 18, ICC A117.1, and the ADA Standards.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Visible Notification for MNS
−type: checkbox
−options:
− - "Strobes (shared with fire alarm, distinguished by message)"
− - "Textual signs / message boards (LED or LCD)"
− - "Graphic / digital signage interface"
− - "Supplementary colored / amber visible signals for non-fire events"
−default:
− - "Strobes (shared with fire alarm, distinguished by message)"
−```
−
−### Where a visible appliance is used for both fire and mass notification, the means of distinguishing a mass notification signal from a fire alarm signal shall be defined.
−
−### Strobes used for fire alarm signaling shall continue to comply with the synchronization requirements of [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]].
−
−## Textual and Visible Signage {toc}
−
−### Text signage is especially valuable in high-noise environments and for hearing-impaired occupants, and for conveying detailed instructions that voice alone cannot. {note}
−
−### Where the risk analysis or the emergency response plan calls for visible text, the system shall provide listed textual or graphic message displays in the covered areas.
−
−### Message displays shall present the same instruction as the voice and distributed-recipient messages for the same event so that occupants receive a consistent instruction across all channels.
−
−# Wide-Area Mass Notification {toc}
−
−## Wide-area MNS — sometimes called "giant voice" — uses high-power speaker arrays mounted on poles, towers, or building exteriors to deliver intelligible voice and tone signals across large outdoor areas. {note}
−
−## Where the risk analysis requires notification of people outdoors and across a site, campus, or installation, a wide-area mass notification system shall be provided.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Wide-Area MNS Required
−type: radio
−options:
− - "No — in-building and/or distributed-recipient only"
− - "Yes — outdoor high-power speaker arrays (see site plan)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "No — in-building and/or distributed-recipient only"
−```
−
−## For DoD facilities the wide-area MNS shall comply with UFC 4-021-01.
−
−## High-Power Speaker Arrays {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: HPSA Site Communication Link
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Wired (fiber or copper) supervised link to ACU"
− - "Supervised radio link to ACU"
− - "Dual-path (wired primary + radio backup)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "Supervised radio link to ACU"
−```
−
−```datasheet
−label: HPSA Array Mounting
−type: select
−options:
− - "Dedicated pole"
− - "Existing tower / structure"
− - "Building rooftop / facade"
−drawing_ref: "site plan"
−default: deferred
−```
−
−### Each high-power speaker array (HPSA) site shall provide the coverage and intelligibility required by the design over its assigned area.
−
−### The array site shall include a local control unit, amplification, a power supply with secondary (battery) power and charger, the communication link to the ACU (wired or supervised radio), the array structure (pole, tower, or building mount), and the loudspeaker assembly.
−
−### Array locations shall be established by a joint site survey of the installing Contractor and the Owner, recorded with GPS coordinates, and verified before supporting structures are installed.
−
−## Outdoor Coverage and Intelligibility {toc}
−
−### Outdoor intelligibility is governed by array spacing, height, directivity, terrain, building shadowing, and ambient noise. {note}
−
−### The wide-area system shall achieve intelligible voice coverage over the outdoor areas defined by the risk analysis.
−
−### The design shall account for the factors governing outdoor intelligibility and shall avoid the time-delay and echo effects of overlapping coverage from distant arrays, which destroy intelligibility.
−
−### Tone-only signaling (an alert tone or siren) may be used to gain attention before a voice message but shall not substitute for the intelligible voice instruction where the risk analysis requires voice.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Wide-Area Signal Content
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Alert tone followed by intelligible voice message"
− - "Intelligible voice message only"
− - "Tone / siren only (where risk analysis does not require voice)"
−default: "Alert tone followed by intelligible voice message"
−```
−
−# Distributed-Recipient Mass Notification {toc}
−
−## A DRMNS delivers a message to a list of recipients over telecommunications and data networks: text (SMS) message, email, telephone (voice) call, desktop alert, and mobile-application push notification. {note}
−## A DRMNS is a targeted, opt-in or roster-based system distinct from the broadcast public-alerting systems described below. {note}
−
−## Where the risk analysis requires reaching individuals directly — including occupants who are mobile, off-site, or in areas not covered by in-building or wide-area notification — a distributed-recipient mass notification system (DRMNS) shall be provided.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Distributed-Recipient Delivery Channels
−type: checkbox
−options:
− - "SMS / text message"
− - "Email"
− - "Telephone (automated voice call)"
− - "Mobile application push notification"
− - "Desktop / workstation alert"
− - "Social media / website integration"
−default: "SMS / text message"
−```
−
−## Recipient Management {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: Recipient Enrollment Model
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Opt-in self-registration (subscribers provide contact info)"
− - "Owner-maintained roster (import from directory / HR system)"
− - "Hybrid (roster plus opt-in for non-roster recipients)"
−default: "Owner-maintained roster (import from directory / HR system)"
−```
−
−### The distributed-recipient platform shall manage recipient lists, groups, and roles so that a message can be targeted to the appropriate population — an entire organization, a building, a department, or a defined response team.
−
−### The platform shall support recipient self-registration where the Owner's policy uses opt-in subscription, and roster import where the Owner maintains the recipient list.
−
−### Delivery shall be confirmed and reported where the channel supports it, so the Owner can determine who was reached.
−
−## Public Alerting Interface {toc}
−
−### The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS), operated by FEMA, distributes a single authenticated alert across multiple channels using the Common Alerting Protocol, including Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to mobile devices in a geographic area and the Emergency Alert System (EAS) over radio and television. {note}
−### WEA reaches capable mobile devices in the target area without prior subscription, which makes it valuable for reaching visitors and transient populations that an opt-in roster cannot. {note}
−
−### Where the emergency response plan requires reaching the general public in and around the facility, the system shall interface to the public-alerting infrastructure.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Public Alerting Interface
−type: checkbox
−options:
− - "IPAWS (Common Alerting Protocol gateway)"
− - "Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) via IPAWS"
− - "Emergency Alert System (EAS) via IPAWS"
− - "None — internal distributed-recipient notification only"
−default: "None — internal distributed-recipient notification only"
−```
−
−### Initiating IPAWS/WEA/EAS alerts requires that the originating authority be a FEMA-authorized alerting authority, and the system shall be configured to send to IPAWS only under the credentials and approval workflow established by the Owner's authorized alerting authority.
−
−### The distributed-recipient and public-alerting channels supplement, and do not replace, the in-building and wide-area notification required to protect occupants who are present in the covered area.
−
−### A text message is not a substitute for an intelligible voice instruction to occupants who must act immediately. {note}
−
−# Voice Intelligibility {toc}
−
−## Intelligibility Requirement {toc}
−
−### Intelligibility is a pass/fail design and acceptance requirement under NFPA 72 Chapter 24, not merely a design aspiration. {note}
−
−### Where the mass notification system conveys voice messages, the voice shall be intelligible so that occupants can understand the words, not merely hear that an announcement is being made.
−
−### If the installed system does not achieve the required intelligibility, additional or relocated speakers, signal processing, or acoustic treatment shall be provided until it does.
−
−## Acoustically Distinguishable Spaces {toc}
−
−### An ADS is a space that is physically defined, or that differs from adjacent spaces in its acoustic, environmental, or use characteristics — reverberation time, ambient noise, ceiling height, or surface finish. {note}
−### An ADS may be designated as not requiring intelligibility where occupant instruction is not needed, such as a small mechanical closet.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Intelligibility Required Throughout
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Yes — all occupiable ADS require verified intelligibility"
− - "Selected ADS exempt — exemptions documented and accepted by AHJ"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "Yes — all occupiable ADS require verified intelligibility"
−```
−
−### The covered area shall be divided into acoustically distinguishable spaces (ADS) for the purpose of designing and verifying intelligibility.
−
−### The intelligibility design analysis shall identify each ADS in the covered area and shall designate each ADS as one in which intelligibility is required or one in which intelligibility is not required.
−
−### The basis for any ADS designated as not requiring intelligibility shall be documented and accepted.
−
−## Intelligibility Metric and Criteria {toc}
−
−### A qualitative listening assessment is permitted by the code in lieu of quantitative measurement; however, quantitative STI/CIS measurement is the preferred and more defensible method. {note}
−
−### Intelligibility shall be quantified using the Speech Transmission Index (STI), per IEC 60268-16, or its representation on the Common Intelligibility Scale (CIS).
−
−```datasheet
−label: Intelligibility Verification Method
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Quantitative STI / CIS measurement (preferred)"
− - "Qualitative listening assessment (where permitted by AHJ)"
− - "As required by AHJ"
−default: "Quantitative STI / CIS measurement (preferred)"
−```
−
−### Where quantitative measurement is performed, the system shall be considered acceptable in an ADS when at least 90 percent of the measurement locations within that ADS achieve an STI of not less than 0.45 (0.65 CIS) and the average of the measurement locations achieves an STI of not less than 0.50 (0.70 CIS), in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 24 and its annex guidance.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Minimum STI per Measurement Location
−type: range
−unit: STI
−options:
− min: 0.40
− max: 0.70
− setpoints: [0.40, 0.45, 0.50, 0.60, 0.70]
−default: 0.45
−```
−
−```datasheet
−label: Minimum Average STI per ADS
−type: range
−unit: STI
−options:
− min: 0.45
− max: 0.70
− setpoints: [0.45, 0.50, 0.60, 0.70]
−default: 0.50
−```
−
−### Quantitative STI/CIS measurement shall be used where the AHJ, the Owner, or the risk analysis requires it.
−
−# Circuits, Pathways, and Survivability {toc}
−
−## Circuit Classes {toc}
−
−### The circuit class determines how the circuit behaves under a wiring fault. {note}
−
−### Mass notification circuits shall be designed and installed in accordance with the class designations of NFPA 72 Chapter 12.
−
−### The required class shall be determined by the risk analysis and the notification strategy.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Speaker / Notification Circuit Class
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Class A (fault-tolerant loop — single open or ground fault survives)"
− - "Class B (radial / T-tap — single open disables the downstream segment)"
− - "Class X (enhanced — survives open and short on a redundant path)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "Class A (fault-tolerant loop — single open or ground fault survives)"
−```
−
−```datasheet
−label: Control / Data Network Class
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Class A or Class X redundant network between ACU, LOC, and nodes"
− - "Class B network (where accepted by risk analysis and AHJ)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "Class A or Class X redundant network between ACU, LOC, and nodes"
−```
−
−## Pathway Survivability {toc}
−
−### Pathway survivability is the degree to which the MNS circuits maintain functional integrity during a fire or other emergency. {note}
−
−### The required pathway survivability level shall be determined by the risk analysis in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 24 and Section 12.4, considering both fire and non-fire events, rather than prescribed solely by occupancy.
−
−```datasheet
−label: Pathway Survivability Level
−type: select
−options:
− - "Level 0 — no survivability requirement (risk analysis basis)"
− - "Level 1 — protected by 2-hour fire-rated assembly or equivalent"
− - "Level 2 — circuit-integrity (CI) cable or metallic conduit in 2-hour construction"
− - "Level 3 — listed 2-hour fire-rated cable system"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: deferred
−```
−
−### Survivability provisions shall ensure that the system can continue to deliver messages to areas not yet affected by the emergency for the time required by the emergency response plan.
−
−# Power Supplies and Secondary Power {toc}
−
−## Primary Power {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: Primary Power Supply Voltage
−type: radio
−options:
− - "120V, single-phase, 60 Hz (standard)"
− - "208V / 240V, single-phase, 60 Hz (large amplifier banks)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "120V, single-phase, 60 Hz (standard)"
−```
−
−### The ACU and each amplifier, power supply, LOC, and wide-area array site shall be supplied from a primary power source in accordance with NFPA 72 and NEC Article 760.
−
−### In-building MNS control equipment shall be served by a dedicated branch circuit, identified and labeled, coordinated with [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]] where the MNS shares the fire alarm power arrangement.
−
−### The Contractor shall provide the connected-load calculation to the electrical engineer of record for verification.
−
−## Secondary Power {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: Secondary Power Duration
−type: radio
−options:
− - "24 hours standby + 15 minutes emergency operation (standard voice/ECS)"
− - "24 hours standby + 30 minutes emergency operation (enhanced)"
− - "60 hours standby + 15 minutes emergency operation (essential facility)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "24 hours standby + 15 minutes emergency operation (standard voice/ECS)"
−```
−
−```datasheet
−label: Secondary Power Source
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Sealed VRLA (valve-regulated lead-acid) batteries — standard"
− - "Batteries supplemented by standby generator (extended duration)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "Sealed VRLA (valve-regulated lead-acid) batteries — standard"
−```
−
−### Each component shall be provided with secondary power so that the system continues to operate on loss of primary power, in accordance with NFPA 72.
−
−### The secondary supply shall support the system in standby for the required standby period and shall then deliver the full emergency (alarm) load for the required emergency-operation period.
−
−### For voice/emergency communications systems, the secondary supply shall support full emergency operation for 15 minutes following a 24-hour standby period, with longer durations where the risk analysis, the AHJ, or UFC 4-021-01 requires them.
−
−### Battery capacity shall be calculated with the margin required by the adopted edition of NFPA 72, and the calculation shall be submitted.
−
−### Each wide-area array site shall have its own secondary power sized for the same standby-plus-emergency duration, because an array site is remote and may lose primary power independently of the central equipment.
−
−# Installation {toc}
−
−## The Contractor shall install the system in accordance with this standard, the approved shop drawings, NFPA 72, NEC Article 760 and Article 800, UFC 4-021-01 where applicable, and the manufacturer's instructions.
−
−## Where these conflict, the more stringent governs.
−
−## The MNS shall be installed so that its required functions, and the required functions of any integrated fire alarm system, are not impaired by the installation of the other.
−
−## Wiring Methods {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: Speaker Circuit Wiring Method
−type: select
−options:
− - "FPL cable in EMT (power-limited, non-plenum)"
− - "FPLP cable in EMT (power-limited, plenum)"
− - "FPLR cable in EMT (power-limited, riser)"
− - "Circuit-integrity (CI) / fire-rated cable (survivability applications)"
−drawing_ref: true
−default: "FPL cable in EMT (power-limited, non-plenum)"
−```
−
−### In-building MNS speaker and control wiring shall use cable types and raceways appropriate to the circuit classification of NEC Article 760 and the pathway survivability level required.
−
−### Emergency voice circuits shall not share raceway with non-emergency power circuits.
−
−### Where pathway survivability is required, the wiring method — cable type and raceway — shall be a listed assembly evaluated for the required level, and the Contractor shall confirm compliance before purchasing materials.
−
−### Conduit and raceway installation shall coordinate with [[sync/raceways-and-conduit]].
−
−## Wide-Area Array Installation {toc}
−
−### Wide-area speaker array structures shall be installed at the GPS-verified locations established by the joint site survey, on foundations and supports designed for the wind and ice loads of the site.
−
−### Array control cabinets shall be weatherproof and listed for the outdoor environment.
−
−### Radio links, where used, shall be installed and aimed for a reliable supervised path to the ACU, and the link shall be tested for signal margin before acceptance.
−
−## Identification and Labeling {toc}
−
−### The ACU, each LOC, each amplifier and power supply, and each array control cabinet shall be permanently labeled identifying its function.
−
−### Where the MNS shares equipment with the fire alarm system, labeling shall make clear which functions are mass notification and which are fire alarm.
−
−### Circuit breakers serving MNS equipment shall be identified and labeled against accidental disconnection.
−
−# Testing and Commissioning {toc}
−
−## Acceptance Test {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: Acceptance Test Scope
−type: checkbox
−options:
− - "All pre-recorded messages and live voice from each LOC verified"
− - "Message prioritization matrix verified (including MNS-over-fire priority)"
− - "Fire alarm integration and supervision verified"
− - "Audibility (sound pressure) verified per zone"
− - "Voice intelligibility (STI/CIS) verified per ADS"
− - "Visible notification and signage verified"
− - "Distributed-recipient delivery verified (each channel)"
− - "Public alerting (IPAWS/WEA/EAS) interface verified (test message)"
− - "Secondary-power operation verified"
−default: "Message prioritization matrix verified (including MNS-over-fire priority)"
−```
−
−### The complete system shall be tested and commissioned at acceptance in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 14 and Chapter 24, UFC 4-021-01 where applicable, and witnessed by the AHJ where required.
−
−### The acceptance test shall verify every message source and message, the prioritization matrix, the integration with the fire alarm system, the audibility and intelligibility of voice notification, the visible notification, the distributed-recipient and public-alerting delivery, the supervision and trouble reporting of all circuits and nodes, and the secondary-power operation.
−
−### Testing shall not be scheduled until the Contractor has completed a full pre-test with its own personnel.
−
−## Message Prioritization Test {toc}
−
−### The prioritization matrix shall be verified by simultaneously presenting contending message sources and confirming that the system resolves the contention deterministically per the accepted matrix.
−
−### The test shall specifically confirm that an authorized mass notification emergency message takes priority over the fire alarm evacuation signal where the emergency response plan so requires, and that the override is supervised and annunciated.
−
−## Intelligibility Test {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: Intelligibility Test Coverage
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Every ADS requiring intelligibility measured"
− - "Representative sampling of ADS by type (where accepted by AHJ)"
− - "Qualitative listening test (where permitted)"
−default: "Every ADS requiring intelligibility measured"
−```
−
−### Voice intelligibility shall be verified at acceptance for every ADS in which intelligibility is required.
−
−### Where quantitative verification is used, measurements shall be taken with a calibrated STI/CIS measurement system at representative locations within each ADS, and the results shall meet the per-location and per-ADS criteria stated above.
−
−### The intelligibility test report shall identify each ADS, the measurement locations, the measured values, and the pass/fail determination, and shall be included in the acceptance test submittal.
−
−### Where an ADS fails, corrective measures shall be applied and the ADS retested until it passes.
−
−## Distributed-Recipient and Public-Alerting Test {toc}
−
−### The distributed-recipient platform shall be tested by sending a test message over each configured channel to a test group and confirming delivery and delivery reporting.
−
−### Where a public-alerting interface is configured, an end-to-end test of the IPAWS/WEA/EAS path shall be coordinated with the Owner's authorized alerting authority and FEMA as required, using the designated test procedure, so that a live public alert is never inadvertently issued during testing.
−
−# Delivery, Storage, and Handling {toc}
−
−## Equipment shall be delivered in the manufacturer's original packaging, stored in a clean, dry, conditioned space within the manufacturer's environmental limits, and protected from physical damage, moisture, and dust until installed.
−
−## Wide-area array electronics and outdoor enclosures shall be protected from weather until permanently installed and energized.
−
−## Batteries shall be stored charged and within their temperature limits and shall be placed in service before their shelf-life charge is depleted.
−
−# Warranty {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: Warranty Period
−type: select
−options:
− - "1 year from date of system acceptance"
− - "2 years from date of system acceptance"
− - "Per manufacturer's warranty document — see closeout submittal"
−default: "1 year from date of system acceptance"
−```
−
−## The Contractor shall warrant the mass notification system installation against defects in materials and workmanship for a period of not less than 12 months from the date of system acceptance, or for the longer period stated in the contract documents.
−
−## During the warranty period the Contractor shall respond to system troubles within the time stated in the contract and shall correct, at no cost to the Owner, any defect in the control equipment, speakers, arrays, visible appliances, wiring, programming, or interfaces, including any deficiency that causes the system to fail to meet the audibility or intelligibility requirements established at acceptance.
−
−# Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance {toc}
−
−```datasheet
−label: Inspection and Testing Frequency
−type: radio
−options:
− - "Per NFPA 72 Chapter 14 minimum (annual functional test)"
− - "Quarterly functional test (enhanced / high-occupancy)"
− - "Per UFC 4-021-01 (DoD facilities)"
− - "Per Owner's maintenance contract with listed contractor"
−default: "Per NFPA 72 Chapter 14 minimum (annual functional test)"
−```
−
−## After acceptance, the Owner shall maintain the mass notification system in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 14 and, for DoD facilities, UFC 4-021-01.
−
−## The maintenance program shall include periodic inspection of all components, periodic functional testing of message sources, prioritization, and notification, periodic verification of secondary power, periodic confirmation of distributed-recipient and public-alerting connectivity, and battery replacement on the manufacturer's schedule.
−
−## Intelligibility shall be re-verified after any change to the building acoustics, the speaker layout, or the message content that could affect it.
+---
+title: Mass Notification Systems
+category: Fire Protection
+description: >
+ When to use: Emergency communications systems under NFPA 72 Chapter 24 that warn the occupants of a building, the population of a site or campus, or a defined list of recipients of a fire or non-fire emergency and tell them what to do. Covers the risk analysis that establishes the system's scope as a design deliverable; in-building mass notification with its autonomous control unit, local operating consoles, priority of emergency messages over fire alarm evacuation signaling, visible notification and textual signs for non-fire events, and voice intelligibility as a measured acceptance criterion; wide-area mass notification using high-power speaker arrays; distributed-recipient mass notification by text, email, telephone, mobile application, and desktop alert as an integration requirement; two-way emergency call stations that are part of a mass notification function; pathway class and survivability; primary and secondary power; the message library and the live and prerecorded message hierarchy; and acceptance testing with intelligibility verification. Applies to campuses, healthcare, high-rise and assembly occupancies, transportation terminals, industrial sites, and Department of Defense facilities subject to UFC 4-021-01.
+ Not intended for: The fire alarm function, the fire alarm control unit, initiating devices, fire evacuation signaling, the shared voice evacuation speakers and amplifiers, and fire fighter telephones ([[sync/fire-alarm-systems]]); routine paging, background music, and general intercom ([[sync/public-address-and-paging]]); emergency responder radio coverage enhancement ([[sync/public-safety-radio-systems]]); the two-way emergency communication in elevator cars ([[sync/vertical-transportation]]); two-way communication stations at areas of refuge that are not part of a mass notification function, which no standard in this library currently covers; video surveillance ([[sync/video-surveillance-systems]]); intrusion detection ([[sync/intrusion-detection-systems]]); access control ([[sync/access-control-systems]]); raceway and conduit products and installation ([[sync/raceways-and-conduit]]); and public warning sirens operated solely by a civil authority outside the protected premises, except where they interface to the on-site system.
+---
+
+# Scope {toc}
+
+## This standard covers the risk analysis, control equipment, operating consoles, notification appliances, speaker arrays, distributed-recipient platform, circuits, power supplies, installation, and acceptance testing of an emergency communications system, commonly called a mass notification system, provided under NFPA 72 Chapter 24. {note}
+
+## A fire alarm system answers one question, whether there is a fire, with one fixed response, evacuation. A mass notification system addresses many hazards and delivers a hazard-specific instruction: evacuate, shelter in place, lock down, relocate, or stand by. The correct response to a non-fire emergency is often the opposite of fire evacuation, which is why the ability of an emergency message to take priority over the fire alarm evacuation signal is the central requirement of this standard rather than a feature. {note}
+
+## NFPA 72 Chapter 24 recognizes three mass notification architectures that a project combines as its risk analysis requires. In-building mass notification reaches the occupants of a building through voice, visible appliances, and textual signs. Wide-area mass notification reaches people outdoors across a site or campus through high-power speaker arrays. Distributed-recipient mass notification reaches named individuals through text, email, telephone, mobile application, and desktop alert, wherever they are. {note}
+
+## The system shall comply with the edition of NFPA 72 adopted by the authority having jurisdiction.
+
+## The Contractor shall confirm the adopted editions of NFPA 72, the building code, and the fire code in writing with the authority having jurisdiction before preparing the risk analysis submittal.
+
+## The additional design criteria that apply beyond NFPA 72 Chapter 24 shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Additional Design Criteria
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "None beyond NFPA 72 Chapter 24 and the adopted codes"
+ - "UFC 4-021-01 for a Department of Defense facility"
+default: "None beyond NFPA 72 Chapter 24 and the adopted codes"
+```
+
+## Where a combined fire alarm and mass notification system is furnished, the fire alarm function, the control unit as a fire alarm control unit, the initiating devices, the fire evacuation signaling, and the shared emergency voice/alarm communication speakers and amplifiers are furnished under [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]]. This standard adds the mass notification function to that equipment: the autonomous control unit function, the local operating consoles, the priority of emergency messages over fire alarm signaling, the non-fire visible notification, and the intelligibility criterion applied to mass notification messages. {note}
+
+## The following are outside this standard and are governed elsewhere. {note}
+
+- Fire detection, the fire alarm control unit, initiating devices, fire evacuation signaling, the shared voice evacuation speakers and amplifiers, and fire fighter telephone systems, see [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]]
+- Routine paging, background music, and general intercom, see [[sync/public-address-and-paging]]; a paging system interfaced to this system is a supplementary path and is not the emergency communications system
+- Emergency responder radio coverage enhancement, see [[sync/public-safety-radio-systems]]
+- The two-way emergency communication in elevator cars, see [[sync/vertical-transportation]]
+- Two-way communication stations at areas of refuge that are not part of a mass notification function, which no standard in this library currently covers
+- Video surveillance, intrusion detection, and access control, see [[sync/video-surveillance-systems]], [[sync/intrusion-detection-systems]], and [[sync/access-control-systems]]
+- Raceway and conduit products and installation methods, see [[sync/raceways-and-conduit]]
+- Public warning sirens operated solely by a civil authority outside the protected premises, except where they interface to the on-site system
+
+# Referenced Standards {toc}
+
+## Equipment, materials, and installation shall comply with the latest adopted edition of each of the following unless a specific edition is cited.
+
+## Where referenced standards conflict, the more stringent requirement shall govern unless the Engineer of Record directs otherwise in writing.
+
+| Standard | Title |
+|----------|-------|
+| NFPA 72 | National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code |
+| NFPA 70 | National Electrical Code |
+| NFPA 101 | Life Safety Code |
+| NFPA 1600 | Standard on Continuity, Emergency, and Crisis Management |
+| International Building Code | Chapter 9, Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems |
+| International Fire Code | Chapter 9, Fire Protection and Life Safety Systems |
+| UFC 4-021-01 | Design and O&M: Mass Notification Systems |
+| UFC 4-010-01 | DoD Minimum Antiterrorism Standards for Buildings |
+| UL 864 | Control Units and Accessories for Fire Alarm Systems |
+| UL 2572 | Mass Notification Systems |
+| UL 1480 | Speakers for Fire Alarm and Signaling Systems, Including Accessories |
+| UL 1711 | Amplifiers for Fire Protective Signaling Systems |
+| UL 1971 | Signaling Devices for the Hearing Impaired |
+| UL 1638 | Visible Signaling Devices for Fire Alarm and Signaling Systems, Including Accessories |
+| UL 2017 | General-Purpose Signaling Devices and Systems |
+| IEC 60268-16 | Sound System Equipment, Part 16: Objective Rating of Speech Intelligibility by Speech Transmission Index |
+| ICC A117.1 | Accessible and Usable Buildings and Facilities |
+| ADA Standards for Accessible Design | Accessibility standards issued under the Americans with Disabilities Act |
+| OASIS CAP 1.2 | Common Alerting Protocol |
+| 47 CFR Part 10 | Wireless Emergency Alerts |
+| IEEE 485 | Recommended Practice for Sizing Lead-Acid Batteries for Stationary Applications |
+
+# Submittals {toc}
+
+## Action Submittals {toc}
+
+### The Contractor shall submit the following for the Engineer's review and return before any mass notification equipment is procured or installed:
+
+- The risk analysis on which the system design is based, in the form NFPA 72 Chapter 24 requires, with the Owner's and the authority having jurisdiction's acceptance recorded
+- The Owner's emergency response plan, or the portion of it that defines the emergencies, the messages, the recipients, and the personnel authorized to initiate messages
+- Product data for the autonomous control unit, every local operating console, every amplifier and power supply furnished under this standard, every speaker and high-power speaker array, every visible appliance and textual sign, the distributed-recipient platform, and every interface module, identifying the listing standard and the listing mark for each
+- Riser diagram showing the autonomous control unit, every local operating console, every amplifier and power supply, every speaker array site, every circuit with its class designation and its pathway survivability level, every interface to the fire alarm system, and primary and secondary power connections
+- Floor plans and site plans showing every speaker, array, visible appliance, textual sign, two-way call station, and local operating console, with the coverage area of each array
+- Message prioritization matrix listing every message source, every message, and the arbitration result when two sources contend
+- Message library listing every prerecorded message with its text, its trigger, its notification zones, and its distributed-recipient groups
+- Intelligibility design analysis identifying every acoustically distinguishable space in the covered area, its design basis, and the proposed measurement locations
+- Speaker circuit power calculation and amplifier sizing for every speaker circuit furnished under this standard
+- Secondary power calculation listing every component with its standby and emergency current draw, the durations applied, the margin applied, and the resulting ampere-hour capacity
+- Outdoor coverage analysis for every high-power speaker array showing the predicted sound pressure level and intelligibility over its assigned area
+- Cybersecurity plan covering remote access, account management, credential replacement, and firmware maintenance for the control unit, every networked component, and the distributed-recipient platform
+
+```datasheet
+label: Required Action Submittals
+type: checkbox
+options:
+ - "Accepted risk analysis"
+ - "Owner's emergency response plan"
+ - "Product data with listing standard and listing mark for each component"
+ - "Riser diagram with circuit classes and survivability levels"
+ - "Floor plans and site plans with appliance, array, sign, station, and console locations"
+ - "Message prioritization matrix"
+ - "Message library"
+ - "Intelligibility design analysis"
+ - "Speaker circuit power and amplifier sizing calculation"
+ - "Secondary power calculation"
+ - "Outdoor coverage analysis for each high-power speaker array"
+ - "Cybersecurity plan"
+default:
+ - "Accepted risk analysis"
+ - "Owner's emergency response plan"
+ - "Product data with listing standard and listing mark for each component"
+ - "Riser diagram with circuit classes and survivability levels"
+ - "Floor plans and site plans with appliance, array, sign, station, and console locations"
+ - "Message prioritization matrix"
+ - "Message library"
+ - "Intelligibility design analysis"
+ - "Secondary power calculation"
+ - "Cybersecurity plan"
+constraint: all_of
+```
+
+### The Contractor shall submit the mass notification action submittals as one coordinated package covering the whole system, together with the fire alarm action submittals where the two systems share a control unit.
+
+### The Engineer shall return a partial submittal without review, and the Contractor shall bear the cost of the Engineer's review of the resubmittal.
+
+### A mass notification submittal is reviewed as a system because the prioritization matrix, the message library, the circuit classes, and the secondary power calculation each describe the same equipment from a different side, and none of them can be checked alone. {note}
+
+## Informational Submittals {toc}
+
+### The Contractor shall submit the following for information before the pre-installation conference:
+
+- Certification and licensing documentation for the individual designated as system designer and for the individual designated as installer-in-charge
+- Fire alarm or low-voltage contractor licensing documentation required by the state or local jurisdiction
+- Evidence of the installing contractor's manufacturer-authorized training on the control unit platform and on the distributed-recipient platform proposed
+- Qualification statement listing comparable completed mass notification projects with their scope and completion dates
+- Proposed acceptance test plan giving the test procedures, the test sequence, the intelligibility measurement procedure, the personnel assigned, the forms to be used, and the witnessing arrangements
+- Where a public alerting interface is provided, the Owner's alerting authority designation and the test procedure agreed with that authority
+
+```datasheet
+label: Required Informational Submittals
+type: checkbox
+options:
+ - "Designer and installer-in-charge certification documentation"
+ - "Contractor license"
+ - "Manufacturer-authorized training evidence for the proposed platforms"
+ - "Qualification statement with comparable completed projects"
+ - "Proposed acceptance test plan with intelligibility measurement procedure"
+ - "Alerting authority designation and agreed public alerting test procedure"
+default:
+ - "Designer and installer-in-charge certification documentation"
+ - "Contractor license"
+ - "Manufacturer-authorized training evidence for the proposed platforms"
+ - "Proposed acceptance test plan with intelligibility measurement procedure"
+constraint: all_of
+```
+
+## Closeout Submittals {toc}
+
+### The Contractor shall submit the following before the mass notification system is accepted:
+
+- Completed Record of Completion in the form NFPA 72 Chapter 7 requires, signed by the Contractor, by the individual who performed the testing, and by the authority having jurisdiction's representative
+- Acceptance test report, including the prioritization verification record and the intelligibility measurement report for every acoustically distinguishable space measured
+- Record documents reflecting the installed locations of every appliance, array, sign, station, and console, the surveyed coordinates of every array site, final circuit designations, and every deviation from the reviewed submittal
+- Control unit and local operating console configuration record listing every message, every zone, every recipient group, every priority assignment, every programmed delay, and every user account with its privilege level
+- The installed message library as audio files and message text, in a format the Owner can edit and reload
+- Operation and maintenance manual covering the procedure to initiate each message from each console, the procedure to issue and retract a distributed-recipient message, the procedure to issue and cancel a public alert where that interface is provided, the secondary power replacement interval, and the inspection and testing schedule NFPA 72 Chapter 14 requires
+- Cybersecurity closeout record listing every account created, the role assigned to each, the installed firmware version of each networked component, and a signed statement that every default and vendor-supplied credential has been replaced
+- Written warranty documents and the service contact information for warranty response
+- Signed inventory of the spare parts turned over to the Owner
+
+```datasheet
+label: Required Closeout Submittals
+type: checkbox
+options:
+ - "Record of Completion per NFPA 72 Chapter 7"
+ - "Acceptance test report with prioritization verification and intelligibility measurements"
+ - "Record documents with array site coordinates and final circuit designations"
+ - "Control unit and console configuration record"
+ - "Installed message library in an editable format"
+ - "Operation and maintenance manual"
+ - "Cybersecurity closeout record"
+ - "Warranty documents and service contact information"
+ - "Signed spare parts inventory"
+default:
+ - "Record of Completion per NFPA 72 Chapter 7"
+ - "Acceptance test report with prioritization verification and intelligibility measurements"
+ - "Record documents with array site coordinates and final circuit designations"
+ - "Control unit and console configuration record"
+ - "Installed message library in an editable format"
+ - "Operation and maintenance manual"
+ - "Cybersecurity closeout record"
+ - "Warranty documents and service contact information"
+ - "Signed spare parts inventory"
+constraint: all_of
+```
+
+# Quality Assurance {toc}
+
+## Designer and Installer Certification {toc}
+
+### The certification basis for the individual responsible for the mass notification system design shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: System Designer Certification Basis
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems at Level III or higher"
+ - "NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems at Level IV"
+ - "Professional Engineer licensed in the project jurisdiction with emergency communications system design experience"
+ - "Professional Engineer registered in the fire protection discipline"
+ - "Certification accepted by the authority having jurisdiction on submitted documentation"
+default: "NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems at Level III or higher"
+```
+
+### NICET Fire Alarm Systems certification is the credential most jurisdictions name for the person who lays out a Chapter 24 system, and Level III is the level at which the certification covers system design rather than installation and inspection. A Professional Engineer is named where the jurisdiction's licensing law treats a life safety system design as the practice of engineering, and the fire protection discipline is named where the project is reviewed under a fire protection engineering seal. The documentation-based option applies where the jurisdiction's own credential differs from both. {note}
+
+### The certification basis for the individual supervising field installation, programming, and testing shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Installer-in-Charge Certification Basis
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems at Level II or higher"
+ - "NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems at Level III or higher"
+ - "Manufacturer factory certification on the installed control unit platform"
+ - "Certification accepted by the authority having jurisdiction on submitted documentation"
+default: "NICET certification in Fire Alarm Systems at Level II or higher"
+```
+
+### Level II is the NICET level at which the certification covers installation and testing of a complete system under a designer's layout, and it is the floor most jurisdictions set for the person in charge on site. Level III is selected where the installer-in-charge also resolves field design changes. Manufacturer factory certification is selected where the control unit platform is one the manufacturer services only through certified installers, and the documentation-based option applies where the jurisdiction's own credential differs. {note}
+
+### The installing contractor shall hold the fire alarm or low-voltage contractor license the state or local jurisdiction requires for the duration of the work.
+
+### The installing contractor shall hold current manufacturer authorization for the control unit platform and for the distributed-recipient platform installed on this project.
+
+### Where the project is a Department of Defense facility, the designer and the installer-in-charge shall additionally meet the qualification requirements of UFC 4-021-01.
+
+### The individual designated as installer-in-charge shall be present on site during acceptance testing.
+
+## Product Listing {toc}
+
+### Mass notification control equipment shall be listed to UL 2572.
+
+### A control unit that performs both the fire alarm function and the mass notification function shall be listed to both UL 864 and UL 2572.
+
+### Speakers furnished under this standard for emergency voice notification shall be listed to UL 1480.
+
+### Amplifiers furnished under this standard shall be listed to UL 1711 or to UL 2572.
+
+### Visible notification appliances furnished under this standard shall be listed to UL 1971 or to UL 1638 for the signal they convey.
+
+### Textual and graphic signs that convey emergency messages shall be listed to UL 2572 or to UL 2017 as a component of the emergency communications system.
+
+### Every device shall appear on the control unit manufacturer's published compatibility listing for the control unit model proposed, and a device that does not shall not be installed.
+
+### UL 2572 is the listing that evaluates control equipment for the Chapter 24 functions a fire alarm listing does not cover: message storage and arbitration, live voice from more than one console, distributed-recipient output, and the supervision of a wide-area array over a radio link. A paging amplifier or a commercial sound controller carrying no such listing fails inspection as an emergency communications system however well it performs, which is why the listing is checked before the product data is reviewed for anything else. {note}
+
+## Pre-Installation Conference {toc}
+
+### The Contractor shall convene a pre-installation conference before any mass notification rough-in begins, attended by the parties indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Required Pre-Installation Conference Attendees
+type: checkbox
+options:
+ - "Mass notification contractor and the designated installer-in-charge"
+ - "Fire alarm contractor"
+ - "Electrical contractor"
+ - "Owner's information technology representative"
+ - "Owner's emergency manager or security director"
+ - "Engineer of Record"
+ - "Authority having jurisdiction"
+ - "Commissioning authority"
+default:
+ - "Mass notification contractor and the designated installer-in-charge"
+ - "Fire alarm contractor"
+ - "Electrical contractor"
+ - "Owner's information technology representative"
+ - "Owner's emergency manager or security director"
+ - "Engineer of Record"
+constraint: all_of
+```
+
+### The message prioritization matrix and the message library shall be reviewed line by line at the pre-installation conference and shall be signed by the attending parties.
+
+### The Contractor shall distribute conference minutes to every attendee and to the Engineer of Record within five business days of the conference.
+
+# Risk Analysis and Emergency Response Plan {toc}
+
+## Risk Analysis as the Basis of Design {toc}
+
+### The scope of a fire alarm system is prescribed by the building code from the occupancy and the building area. The scope of a mass notification system is not prescribed by any code; NFPA 72 Chapter 24 requires it to be established by a risk analysis, and the analysis, once accepted, governs which hazards the system addresses, which areas and recipients it reaches, what survivability its pathways need, and how long it runs on secondary power. {note}
+
+### The basis of design for the mass notification system shall be a documented risk analysis prepared in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 24.
+
+### The party responsible for preparing the risk analysis shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Risk Analysis Prepared By
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Owner, furnished to the Contractor as a design input"
+ - "Engineer of Record, with the Owner's emergency manager"
+ - "Contractor's designer, for the Owner's and the authority having jurisdiction's acceptance"
+```
+
+### An Owner that operates an emergency management program already holds the hazard inventory, the occupant data, and the response plan the analysis draws on, and furnishing the analysis keeps the design answerable to that program. The Engineer of Record prepares it where the analysis is part of the design contract and the Owner's program is being created alongside the building. The Contractor's designer prepares it on a design-build delivery, which places the hazard assessment with the party that also sizes the system to it, so the Owner's acceptance step is where the two are kept honest. {note}
+
+### The risk analysis shall be accepted in writing by the Owner and by the authority having jurisdiction before shop drawings are prepared.
+
+### The risk analysis shall address the nature and likelihood of the fire and non-fire hazards to which the facility is exposed, the number, mobility, familiarity, and language of the occupants, the indoor and outdoor areas to be covered, and the time available to notify and move people.
+
+### The detail of the risk analysis shall be commensurate with the complexity of the facility, and where the parties disagree whether the analysis is sufficiently detailed, the authority having jurisdiction shall make the determination.
+
+### No datasheet selection in this standard and no note on the drawings shall reduce a scope, coverage, survivability, or secondary power requirement the accepted risk analysis establishes.
+
+## Emergencies Addressed {toc}
+
+### The emergencies the mass notification system is programmed to address shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Emergencies Addressed
+type: checkbox
+options:
+ - "Fire, in coordination with the fire alarm evacuation signal"
+ - "Severe weather and tornado shelter-in-place"
+ - "Hazardous material release, internal or external"
+ - "Hostile event and lockdown"
+ - "Bomb threat and suspicious package"
+ - "Utility failure and infrastructure emergency"
+ - "Medical emergency requiring staff response"
+ - "Earthquake and structural emergency"
+ - "Flood and dam failure"
+ - "Civil disturbance"
+ - "All-clear and return to normal"
+ - "Drill and system test announcement"
+drawing_ref: "the accepted risk analysis"
+default: deferred
+constraint: all_of
+```
+
+### Each selected emergency shall have at least one prerecorded message in the message library and at least one entry in the prioritization matrix.
+
+### Where the risk analysis identifies an emergency that is not listed in the datasheet, the Contractor shall add it to the message library and the prioritization matrix as the risk analysis directs.
+
+## Message Library and Emergency Response Plan {toc}
+
+### The emergency response plan is the Owner's document that says, for each emergency, what the occupants are told, who is told, in what order, and who is allowed to say it. The message library and the prioritization matrix are that plan written into the control unit, and the Contractor programs them from the plan rather than composing them. {note}
+
+### The Contractor shall program the message library and the prioritization matrix to match the Owner's accepted emergency response plan.
+
+### The number of prerecorded message templates furnished in the message library shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Prerecorded Message Templates
+type: range
+unit: messages
+options:
+ min: 1
+ max: 200
+ step: 1
+drawing_ref: "the accepted risk analysis and the emergency response plan"
+default: deferred
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### Each prerecorded message shall state the nature of the emergency, the protective action to take, and where to go or what to avoid, in the order NFPA 72 Chapter 24 describes.
+
+### Each prerecorded message shall be recorded by a professional voice talent in a neutral accent, in each language the risk analysis identifies, and the recordings shall be delivered to the Owner in an editable format.
+
+### Where the risk analysis identifies occupants who do not share a common language, each message shall be provided in each identified language in the sequence the emergency response plan directs.
+
+### The Contractor shall not compose, alter, or omit message content independently, and any message the Contractor believes to be inconsistent with NFPA 72 Chapter 24 shall be referred to the Engineer of Record in writing before it is recorded.
+
+### A live message delivered from a local operating console shall be permitted to supplement, interrupt, or replace a prerecorded message under the priority the prioritization matrix assigns to the console.
+
+# Environmental and Service Conditions {toc}
+
+## Control equipment, local operating consoles, amplifiers, and power supplies installed indoors shall be rated for continuous operation across the ambient temperature and humidity range of the room in which they are installed, and not less than the 32°F to 120°F (0°C to 49°C) range at 93 percent relative humidity, non-condensing, that the listing standards apply.
+
+## Equipment installed outdoors, including high-power speaker array electronics, array site batteries, and outdoor visible appliances, shall be rated for continuous operation between [[parameter: site-ambient-temperature-minimum]] and [[parameter: site-ambient-temperature-maximum]].
+
+## Array site batteries installed outdoors shall be housed in an enclosure that holds the battery within its rated operating temperature range, by heating, ventilation, or both, across the site temperature range stated above.
+
+## Array structures, their foundations, and their mounted equipment shall be designed for the wind and ice loads [[parameter: adopted-building-code]] assigns to the site.
+
+## Control equipment, batteries, array structures, and array site cabinets shall be anchored and braced as [[parameter: seismic-design-category]] requires for a designated seismic system under the adopted building code.
+
+## A mass notification system is one of the components the building code designates for continued operation after an earthquake, because the earthquake is one of the emergencies it exists to announce. Equipment that rides out the shaking but tips its battery cabinet over has survived the hazard it was installed to address and then failed to report it. {note}
+
+# System Architecture {toc}
+
+## Mass Notification Types Provided {toc}
+
+### The mass notification types provided on the project shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Mass Notification Types Provided
+type: checkbox
+options:
+ - "In-building mass notification"
+ - "Wide-area mass notification"
+ - "Distributed-recipient mass notification"
+drawing_ref: "the accepted risk analysis"
+default: deferred
+constraint: any_of
+```
+
+### The in-building articles of this standard apply where in-building mass notification is provided, the wide-area articles apply where wide-area mass notification is provided, and the distributed-recipient articles apply where distributed-recipient mass notification is provided.
+
+### Where more than one type is provided, the same emergency shall be announced on every type from one initiating action at the control unit or at an authorized local operating console.
+
+### A campus that announces a lockdown on its in-building speakers, then separately on its outdoor arrays, then separately by text, has given its operator three things to do in the first minute of an emergency and has given the people outdoors a minute's head start into the building being locked down. One action that releases all three channels is what the risk analysis means when it calls for them together. {note}
+
+## Fire Alarm Relationship {toc}
+
+### The relationship between the mass notification system and the fire alarm system shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Mass Notification System Architecture
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Combined fire alarm and mass notification system on one listed control unit"
+ - "Standalone mass notification control unit interfaced to a separate fire alarm control unit"
+ - "Standalone mass notification system with no fire alarm system on the premises"
+```
+
+### A combined system puts both functions on one UL 864 and UL 2572 listed control unit, so the voice evacuation speakers, the amplifiers, the circuits, and the secondary power serve both and the priority between the two functions is settled inside one panel by its listing. It is the usual arrangement where a voice fire alarm system is required anyway. A standalone control unit interfaced to a separate fire alarm control unit applies where the fire alarm system already exists and is not being replaced, where the two systems are maintained by different parties, or where the risk analysis calls for a mass notification platform the fire alarm manufacturer does not offer; it costs a supervised interface, a second set of speakers or a listed speaker-sharing arrangement, and a second secondary power supply, and the priority between the two panels has to be engineered and tested rather than inherited. A standalone system with no fire alarm system applies to an outdoor site, a wide-area system serving open ground, or a distributed-recipient system on a campus whose buildings have their own fire alarm systems. {note}
+
+### Where a combined system is selected, the control unit, its notification circuits, and its secondary power shall be furnished under [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]], and this standard shall govern the mass notification function performed through them.
+
+### Where a standalone control unit is interfaced to a separate fire alarm control unit, the interface shall be supervised so that a fault on the interface produces a trouble signal at both control units.
+
+### Where a standalone control unit is interfaced to a separate fire alarm control unit, the arrangement shall be such that a fault or loss of power in the mass notification system does not impair any fire alarm detection, signaling, or emergency control function.
+
+### Where a standalone control unit shares the fire alarm notification appliances or speaker circuits, the sharing arrangement shall be listed for that purpose and shall appear on both manufacturers' compatibility listings.
+
+## Control Equipment Enclosure {toc}
+
+### The enclosure type of the autonomous control unit and of every local operating console shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Control Equipment Enclosure Type
+type: select
+options:
+ - "Type 1"
+ - "Type 2"
+ - "Type 3R"
+ - "Type 4"
+ - "Type 4X"
+ - "Type 12"
+default: "Type 1"
+```
+
+### Type 1 is the enclosure a listed control unit ships in and is the arrangement for a control unit in a fire command center, an electrical room, or a security office. Type 2 adds a drip shield for a room with piping overhead. Type 3R applies to an exterior wall or a covered outdoor location, Type 4 to a hosed-down location, Type 4X to a corrosive or coastal atmosphere, and Type 12 to a dusty industrial interior. Every type above Type 1 is selected for the room the equipment lands in, not for the equipment. {note}
+
+### Control equipment and consoles installed outdoors shall be housed in a Type 3R enclosure at minimum, regardless of the type indicated in the datasheet.
+
+### Control equipment and consoles installed where exposed to a corrosive atmosphere, salt spray, or washdown shall be housed in a Type 4X enclosure, regardless of the type indicated in the datasheet.
+
+### High-power speaker array site cabinets shall be housed in a Type 3R enclosure at minimum, and in a Type 4X enclosure where exposed to a corrosive atmosphere or salt spray.
+
+### Every enclosure housing control equipment shall be secured with a lock keyed alike to the fire alarm control unit where one exists on the premises, and otherwise keyed as the Owner directs.
+
+# Autonomous Control Unit {toc}
+
+## Control Unit Functions {toc}
+
+### The mass notification system shall be controlled by an autonomous control unit that stores the message library, arbitrates among message sources according to the prioritization matrix, initiates messages on every provided mass notification type, and supervises every circuit, console, array, and interface in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 24.
+
+### Where a combined system is selected, the fire alarm control unit furnished under [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]] shall perform the autonomous control unit function under its UL 2572 listing.
+
+### Actions taken at the autonomous control unit shall take precedence over actions taken at any local operating console unless the prioritization matrix assigns a higher priority to a designated console for a designated message.
+
+### Where more than one autonomous control unit can control the same notification appliances, only one shall be in control at any time, and the transfer of control shall be a supervised, deliberate operator action recorded in the control unit event log.
+
+### The autonomous control unit shall annunciate a trouble signal on loss of primary power, on a secondary power fault, on loss of communication with any console, array site, amplifier, or interface, and on any circuit fault.
+
+### Where the mass notification system is combined with or interfaced to the fire alarm system, mass notification trouble signals shall be transmitted to the supervising station through the fire alarm off-premises transmission furnished under [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]].
+
+### The autonomous control unit shall record every message initiation, every priority override, every transfer of control, and every trouble event in a non-volatile event log that holds the number of events indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Control Unit Event Log Capacity
+type: range
+unit: events
+options:
+ min: 500
+ max: 20000
+ setpoints: [500, 1000, 2000, 4000, 10000, 20000]
+default: 1000
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### The autonomous control unit shall be located at the location indicated on [[drawing: the emergency communications system floor plans]].
+
+## Control Unit Cybersecurity {toc}
+
+### The autonomous control unit, every networked component, and the distributed-recipient platform shall comply with the cybersecurity requirements of NFPA 72 Chapter 11.
+
+### The remote access policy for the autonomous control unit shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Remote Access to the Control Unit
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Not permitted by any means"
+ - "Permitted for read-only diagnostics over an authenticated and encrypted connection"
+ - "Permitted for diagnostics and programming over an authenticated and encrypted connection"
+ - "Permitted only through an Owner-managed virtual private network"
+default: "Permitted for read-only diagnostics over an authenticated and encrypted connection"
+```
+
+### A mass notification control unit that can be reached remotely can be made to announce something remotely, which is the reason read-only diagnostics is the usual policy and programming access is granted only where the Owner's service arrangement needs it. Prohibiting remote access altogether trades the convenience of remote diagnosis for an attack surface of zero, and the Owner-managed virtual private network keeps the connection under the Owner's own authentication where the Owner operates one. {note}
+
+### Every account able to initiate a message from the distributed-recipient platform or from a networked console shall require multi-factor authentication.
+
+### The Contractor shall replace every default and vendor-supplied credential on the control unit, on every networked component, and on the distributed-recipient platform before acceptance testing begins.
+
+### The Contractor shall record every account created during installation and commissioning, with the privilege level of each, in the cybersecurity closeout record.
+
+# Local Operating Consoles {toc}
+
+## A local operating console is the position from which an authorized person selects and releases a prerecorded message, delivers a live voice message, and sees which messages are active and which zones they are reaching. It is the part of the system a person touches during an emergency, so where it sits and who can operate it are decided by the emergency response plan rather than by the equipment layout. {note}
+
+## Local operating consoles shall be provided in the quantity and at the locations indicated on [[drawing: the emergency communications system floor plans]].
+
+## Each local operating console shall provide a microphone for live voice, controls to select any message in the message library and any notification zone or group, and a visible indication of system status and of every active message with its zones.
+
+## Each local operating console shall be supervised by the autonomous control unit so that loss of communication with the console produces a trouble signal.
+
+## The means by which a local operating console is secured against unauthorized use shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Console Access Control Method
+type: select
+options:
+ - "Keyswitch"
+ - "Passcode entered at the console"
+ - "Credential reader on the console"
+ - "Console inside a locked enclosure"
+ - "Console at a constantly attended location with no additional control"
+```
+
+## A keyswitch is operable by anyone holding the key and leaves no record of who turned it. A passcode is revocable without rekeying and the console logs which code was used, at the cost that a code shared across a shift is as anonymous as a key. A credential reader ties each message to a named badge holder and revokes with the badge, where the Owner operates an access control credential system the console can read. A locked enclosure fits a console in a public lobby that must not be reachable at all between emergencies, and no additional control fits a console behind a dispatch counter that is staffed around the clock and is itself secured. {note}
+
+## A local operating console shall be permitted to share an operator workstation or a monitoring display with the video surveillance system where the mass notification function remains under the control unit's listing, and the shared interface shall be defined in the shop drawings and coordinated with [[sync/video-surveillance-systems]].
+
+## Where the project is a Department of Defense facility, each local operating console shall meet the console requirements of UFC 4-021-01.
+
+# Message Priority {toc}
+
+## Priority over Fire Alarm Signaling {toc}
+
+### The priority of mass notification messages relative to fire alarm evacuation signaling shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Priority of Mass Notification over Fire Alarm Signaling
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Mass notification emergency messages take priority over fire alarm evacuation signaling"
+ - "Fire alarm evacuation signaling takes priority over mass notification messages"
+ - "Priority assigned message by message in the prioritization matrix"
+```
+
+### NFPA 72 Chapter 24 permits a mass notification message to take priority over fire alarm signaling where the risk analysis supports it, and it is the arrangement that lets a shelter-in-place instruction hold occupants inside while a fire alarm that a tornado has set off tells them to leave. Fire alarm priority is selected where the risk analysis finds that no identified non-fire emergency calls for an instruction contrary to evacuation, or where the authority having jurisdiction will not accept an override of the fire alarm signal. Message-by-message assignment lets a hostile event message override the fire alarm while a utility failure message yields to it, at the cost of a matrix that has to be built, reviewed, and tested for every pairing. {note}
+
+### Where mass notification messages take priority over fire alarm signaling, the override shall be supervised and annunciated at the fire alarm control unit and at every fire alarm annunciator so that responders know the fire evacuation signal has been overridden.
+
+### Where mass notification messages take priority over fire alarm signaling, the fire alarm control unit shall continue to detect, to transmit alarm signals to the supervising station, and to operate emergency control functions while the override is active.
+
+### Where mass notification messages take priority over fire alarm signaling, the fire alarm evacuation signal shall resume automatically when the overriding message ends unless the prioritization matrix directs that it stay suppressed for a designated message.
+
+## Live and Prerecorded Message Hierarchy {toc}
+
+### The priority of live voice relative to prerecorded messages shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Live Voice Priority
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Live voice from an authorized console overrides prerecorded messages"
+ - "Prerecorded messages override live voice"
+default: "Live voice from an authorized console overrides prerecorded messages"
+```
+
+### Live voice overriding the prerecorded message is the arrangement NFPA 72 Chapter 24 assumes for an in-building system, because the person at the console knows something the recording does not. Prerecorded priority is selected where the emergency response plan reserves live voice for trained personnel who are not always on site and does not want an untrained operator talking over an automated instruction. {note}
+
+### Where live voice overrides prerecorded messages, the prerecorded message shall resume or shall be cancelled, as the prioritization matrix directs, when the live message ends.
+
+## Prioritization Matrix {toc}
+
+### The autonomous control unit shall arbitrate among competing message sources according to the prioritization matrix derived from the emergency response plan.
+
+### The prioritization matrix shall list every message source, including the fire alarm control unit, the autonomous control unit, each local operating console, each wide-area input, the distributed-recipient platform, and any external alert input, and the arbitration result for every pair of sources that can contend.
+
+### Arbitration shall be deterministic so that the same pair of contending sources always yields the same result, and the lower-priority message shall be queued or suppressed rather than mixed with the higher-priority message.
+
+### A message of lower priority that was suppressed shall be released, or shall be discarded, as the prioritization matrix directs for that message, when the higher-priority message ends.
+
+### The prioritization matrix, once reviewed by the Engineer and signed at the pre-installation conference, shall be the contractual basis for control unit programming, and any change to it after signing shall be submitted to the Engineer of Record before it is programmed.
+
+# In-Building Mass Notification {toc}
+
+## Shared Voice Evacuation Equipment {toc}
+
+### The source of the speakers and amplifiers that deliver in-building mass notification messages shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: In-Building Speaker and Amplifier Furnishing
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Shared emergency voice/alarm communication speakers and amplifiers furnished under the fire alarm system"
+ - "Dedicated mass notification speakers and amplifiers furnished under this standard"
+default: "Shared emergency voice/alarm communication speakers and amplifiers furnished under the fire alarm system"
+```
+
+### Where a voice fire alarm system is provided, its speakers already cover every occupiable space to the audibility the code requires, and the same speakers carry a mass notification message under the control unit's UL 2572 listing with no second set of appliances, circuits, or batteries. Dedicated speakers are furnished where no voice fire alarm system exists, where the fire alarm system is not being replaced and cannot be listed for the sharing, or where the risk analysis calls for coverage, such as an industrial high-noise area, that the fire alarm speaker layout does not reach. {note}
+
+### Where the shared speakers and amplifiers are furnished under the fire alarm system, their type, layout, tap settings, circuit power calculation, and installation shall be as specified in [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]], and this standard shall add the mass notification priority, the console operation, and the intelligibility criterion for mass notification messages stated below.
+
+### Where dedicated speakers and amplifiers are furnished under this standard, their layout, tap settings, and circuit power calculation shall achieve the audibility of NFPA 72 Chapter 18 and the intelligibility criterion of this standard in every acoustically distinguishable space the risk analysis requires to be covered.
+
+### Where dedicated speakers are furnished under this standard, the speaker type in each space shall be as indicated on [[drawing: the emergency communications system floor plans]].
+
+## Audible Notification {toc}
+
+### In-building mass notification messages shall produce a sound pressure level not less than 15 dB above the average ambient sound level, or not less than 5 dB above the maximum sound level having a duration of at least 60 seconds, whichever is greater, measured in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 18.
+
+### A mass notification message shall be preceded by an alert tone distinct from the fire alarm temporal pattern, and the three-pulse temporal pattern of a fire alarm evacuation signal shall not be used for any mass notification message.
+
+### Where a mass notification message is to be heard in a sleeping area, the alert tone preceding it shall meet the low frequency requirement NFPA 72 Chapter 18 applies to audible appliances in sleeping areas.
+
+## Visible Notification for Non-Fire Events {toc}
+
+### Mass notification messages shall be accompanied by visible notification in every space where the fire alarm visible notification is required and in every additional space the risk analysis identifies.
+
+### The lens color of the visible appliances that signal a mass notification message shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Mass Notification Visible Appliance Lens Color
+type: select
+options:
+ - "Amber"
+ - "Clear, shared with the fire alarm visible appliances"
+ - "Blue"
+ - "Red"
+ - "Green"
+ - "White"
+default: "Amber"
+```
+
+### Amber is the lens color the market has settled on for a non-fire alert, and an amber appliance marked ALERT beside a clear appliance marked FIRE tells a deaf occupant which of the two things is happening without a text display. A clear lens shared with the fire alarm appliances uses one appliance for both signals and relies on the textual sign or the message pattern to distinguish them, which the listing and the authority having jurisdiction have to accept. Blue, red, green, and white lenses are procurable for a project whose emergency response plan assigns a color to a particular event, such as blue for a medical response or red for a lockdown, and each extra color is an extra appliance in every room it covers. {note}
+
+### Visible appliances dedicated to mass notification shall be marked ALERT, and shall not be marked FIRE.
+
+### Where a visible appliance signals both fire alarm and mass notification conditions, the means of distinguishing the two signals shall be defined in the shop drawings and accepted by the authority having jurisdiction.
+
+### Mass notification visible appliances within view of one another, and within view of fire alarm visible appliances, shall be synchronized in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 18.
+
+### Where a supplementary paging system is interfaced to this system as a non-life-safety path, the visible notification that accompanies an emergency message delivered over that path shall be furnished under this standard, and the paging system furnished under [[sync/public-address-and-paging]] shall not be relied on for any visible notification.
+
+## Textual and Graphic Signs {toc}
+
+### The extent to which textual or graphic message signs are provided for in-building mass notification shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Textual Message Sign Provision
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Not provided"
+ - "Provided in designated spaces"
+ - "Provided throughout the covered area"
+drawing_ref: "the accepted risk analysis"
+default: deferred
+```
+
+### A text display carries the instruction to a deaf occupant, to a person wearing hearing protection, and to anyone in a space too loud for voice, and it holds the instruction on the screen after the voice message ends. Signs in designated spaces fit a project whose risk analysis finds those conditions in a lobby, a shop floor, or a classroom wing; signs throughout fit a facility whose occupants are not expected to hear a voice message anywhere, and the cost of a sign in every room is what keeps the first arrangement the common one. {note}
+
+### Where textual signs are provided, their locations shall be as indicated on [[drawing: the emergency communications system floor plans]].
+
+### Textual signs shall display the same instruction as the voice message and the distributed-recipient message for the same event.
+
+### Textual signs shall be supervised by the autonomous control unit so that loss of communication with a sign produces a trouble signal.
+
+### Where a digital signage system owned by the Owner is interfaced as a supplementary display path, the interface shall be arranged so that an emergency message takes control of every connected display and holds it until the message is cancelled.
+
+# Voice Intelligibility {toc}
+
+## Acoustically Distinguishable Spaces {toc}
+
+### An acoustically distinguishable space is a space that is physically separated from its neighbors, or that differs from them in reverberation, ambient noise, ceiling height, or surface finish enough that a voice message intelligible in one is not thereby intelligible in the other. A corridor, the open office it serves, and the stair at its end are three such spaces, and the intelligibility analysis treats each on its own. {note}
+
+### The intelligibility design analysis shall divide the covered area into acoustically distinguishable spaces and shall designate each as a space in which intelligibility is required or a space in which it is not.
+
+### A space shall be designated as not requiring intelligibility only where the risk analysis finds that occupants of that space will receive the instruction by another means or need no instruction, and the basis for each such designation shall be documented and accepted by the authority having jurisdiction.
+
+### A loud but unintelligible message in a space where intelligibility is required is a failure of the system rather than of the occupant; audibility is necessary and is not sufficient. {note}
+
+## Intelligibility Criterion {toc}
+
+### Intelligibility shall be expressed as the Speech Transmission Index measured in accordance with IEC 60268-16, or as its equivalent on the Common Intelligibility Scale.
+
+### The average Speech Transmission Index across the measurement locations in each acoustically distinguishable space requiring intelligibility shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Average Speech Transmission Index per Space
+type: range
+unit: STI
+options:
+ min: 0.40
+ max: 0.80
+ step: 0.01
+default: 0.50
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### The Speech Transmission Index that not less than 90 percent of the measurement locations in each acoustically distinguishable space shall individually achieve shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Speech Transmission Index at Individual Locations
+type: range
+unit: STI
+options:
+ min: 0.40
+ max: 0.80
+ step: 0.01
+default: 0.45
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### NFPA 72 Chapter 24 requires voice messages to be intelligible and its annex describes an average of 0.50 STI, with 90 percent of locations at 0.45 STI or higher, as the level at which trained listeners reliably understand an unfamiliar instruction. A fire evacuation message is short and expected; a mass notification message is longer, names a hazard the occupant did not anticipate, and is often the only time they hear it, which is why the average criterion is held at 0.50 rather than at the 0.45 the fire alarm standard applies to its own voice messages. Values above 0.50 are selected for a courtroom, a lecture hall, or a space where the message is in the listener's second language, and each step up is bought with more speakers at lower output rather than more power. {note}
+
+### Where the measured value in any acoustically distinguishable space does not meet the criteria indicated in the datasheet, the Contractor shall add or relocate speakers, adjust tap settings and equalization, or provide acoustic treatment accepted by the Engineer of Record, and shall repeat the measurement, at no additional cost to the Owner.
+
+## Intelligibility Verification Method {toc}
+
+### The method by which intelligibility is verified at acceptance shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Intelligibility Verification Method
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Quantitative measurement of the Speech Transmission Index with a calibrated instrument"
+ - "Qualitative listening assessment by a panel in accordance with NFPA 72 Annex D"
+default: "Quantitative measurement of the Speech Transmission Index with a calibrated instrument"
+```
+
+### NFPA 72 permits either method, and the quantitative one produces a number that can be compared with the criterion in the datasheet, repeated after a renovation, and defended to the authority having jurisdiction. The listening assessment costs no instrument and is accepted by some jurisdictions for a small system, at the cost that its result rests on the panel's judgment and cannot be re-run against the same baseline later. {note}
+
+### The coverage of the intelligibility verification shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Intelligibility Verification Coverage
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Every acoustically distinguishable space in which intelligibility is required"
+ - "A representative sample of each type of acoustically distinguishable space, accepted by the authority having jurisdiction before testing"
+```
+
+### Measuring every space is the only coverage that proves the system in the rooms that differ from their neighbors in ways the design analysis did not predict, and it is the coverage a project with a few dozen spaces affords without discussion. A sample by space type, agreed with the authority having jurisdiction before testing, is what a campus with several hundred classrooms of one construction uses, with every atypical space measured individually. {note}
+
+### Quantitative measurements shall be taken with an instrument that implements IEC 60268-16, at the measurement locations identified in the intelligibility design analysis, at the ambient noise level the space experiences in normal occupancy.
+
+# Wide-Area Mass Notification {toc}
+
+## High-Power Speaker Arrays {toc}
+
+### Wide-area mass notification uses high-power speaker arrays on poles, towers, or rooftops to put an alert tone and an intelligible voice message over the open ground of a site, where there is no building to carry an in-building message and no roster to carry a text. Coverage is governed by array height, directivity, spacing, terrain, building shadowing, and the ambient noise of the site, and the arrays are laid out from an outdoor coverage analysis rather than from a spacing rule. {note}
+
+### Each high-power speaker array shall comprise the loudspeaker assembly, the amplifiers, a local control unit, a power supply with secondary power and charger, the communication link to the autonomous control unit, and the supporting structure, listed together to UL 2572 as an array site.
+
+### Array sites shall be located as indicated on [[drawing: the emergency communications site plan]].
+
+### Each array site shall be mounted on the supporting structure indicated on [[drawing: the emergency communications site plan]].
+
+### The final position of each array site shall be established by a joint site survey of the Contractor and the Owner's representative, recorded by surveyed coordinates, and accepted by the Engineer of Record before any foundation or structure is installed.
+
+### The outdoor coverage analysis shall demonstrate that every array site, operating alone and together with its neighbors, achieves the sound pressure level and the intelligibility criterion of this standard over its assigned area without an echo or time-delay effect from an overlapping array that degrades intelligibility.
+
+### The sound pressure level a wide-area message produces at the edge of each array's assigned area shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Wide-Area Sound Pressure Level at Coverage Edge
+type: range
+unit: dB(A)
+options:
+ min: 60
+ max: 90
+ step: 1
+default: 70
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### Outdoor ambient noise on a campus quad sits near 55 dB(A) and near an arterial road or an industrial yard rises past 70 dB(A), and the message has to clear it by the same 10 dB to 15 dB margin an indoor message does; 70 dB(A) at the coverage edge is what a quiet campus needs, and a site beside a highway or a flight line needs more arrays or a higher level. Each 6 dB added at the coverage edge roughly doubles the array count for the same ground, which is why the level is set from the site's measured ambient rather than from the array's rated output. {note}
+
+## Array Communication Link {toc}
+
+### The communication link between each array site and the autonomous control unit shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Array Site Communication Link
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Supervised wired link on fiber or copper"
+ - "Supervised radio link"
+ - "Supervised wired link with a supervised radio link as the second path"
+```
+
+### A wired link rides the campus fiber or copper plant where one reaches the array site, and is immune to radio interference and licensing at the cost of a trench or a duct to every pole. A radio link reaches a pole at the edge of a parking field with no cable at all, needs a licensed or license-exempt channel with a documented path margin, and is the arrangement most sites with scattered arrays use. Two paths keep an array announcing after a cable is cut by excavation or a radio path is blocked by new construction, and are selected where the risk analysis assigns the arrays a survivability requirement a single path cannot meet. {note}
+
+### Each communication link shall be supervised so that loss of the link produces a trouble signal at the autonomous control unit within the interval NFPA 72 Chapter 24 allows.
+
+### Where a radio link is used, the Contractor shall measure the received signal margin at each array site before acceptance and shall record it in the acceptance test report.
+
+### Where a radio link is used, the radio channel and any license it requires shall be obtained in the Owner's name before the equipment is ordered.
+
+## Wide-Area Signal Content {toc}
+
+### The content of a wide-area message shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Wide-Area Signal Content
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Alert tone followed by an intelligible voice message"
+ - "Intelligible voice message with no preceding tone"
+ - "Alert tone or siren with no voice message"
+default: "Alert tone followed by an intelligible voice message"
+```
+
+### An alert tone turns heads before the words start, and outdoors, where the listener is walking away from the array or talking, the first sentence of a message with no tone is lost. Voice with no tone is selected where the emergency response plan uses the arrays for routine announcements a tone would make alarming. Tone or siren alone is selected where the risk analysis finds that a single conditioned response, such as take cover on a siren that means tornado and nothing else, serves the population better than words it does not hear clearly, and it is the arrangement a civil warning siren already on the site uses. {note}
+
+### Where the risk analysis requires a voice instruction outdoors, a tone or siren shall not be substituted for it.
+
+### Where a wide-area tone is also used by a civil warning siren audible on the site, the wide-area tone shall be distinct from it unless the emergency response plan intends the two to mean the same thing.
+
+## Array Site Power {toc}
+
+### Each array site shall have its own primary power connection and its own secondary power sized for the standby and emergency operation durations of this standard.
+
+### Where an array site is beyond the reach of the site's primary power distribution, it shall be powered by a photovoltaic charging system sized for the site's solar resource with a battery capacity that holds the standby and emergency operation durations through the number of consecutive days without recharge indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Photovoltaic Array Site Autonomy
+type: range
+unit: days
+options:
+ min: 3
+ max: 14
+ step: 1
+default: 5
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### An array on a remote pole fails on the cloudy week, not the sunny one, and the autonomy is the number of such days the battery carries the site. Five days covers most of the continental United States outside the Pacific Northwest and the northern tier in winter, where the array count and the battery cost are traded against a longer autonomy or a primary power extension. {note}
+
+# Distributed-Recipient Mass Notification {toc}
+
+## Platform and Integration {toc}
+
+### A distributed-recipient system delivers a message to a list of named recipients over public telecommunications and data networks, by text message, email, telephone call, mobile application, and desktop alert. It reaches people who are off site, in transit, or in a space no speaker covers, and it reaches no one who is not on the list, which is why it supplements the in-building and wide-area systems rather than replacing them. {note}
+
+### The source of the distributed-recipient platform shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Distributed-Recipient Platform Furnishing
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "New platform furnished under this standard"
+ - "Owner's existing platform, integration furnished under this standard"
+ - "Not applicable, no distributed-recipient mass notification provided"
+```
+
+### A new platform is furnished where the Owner has none, and it is specified by the channels, enrollment model, and reporting it provides rather than by a product. Integration to an existing platform applies to a campus or an enterprise that already runs one, where a second platform would split the recipient roster and the operator's attention. Not applicable fits a single building whose risk analysis finds no off-site or mobile population to reach. {note}
+
+### The method by which the distributed-recipient platform is initiated shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Distributed-Recipient Platform Initiation
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Initiated by the autonomous control unit through a listed supervised interface"
+ - "Initiated by the same authorized personnel from the platform's own console, with no interface to the control unit"
+ - "Initiated both by the control unit through a listed interface and from the platform's own console"
+```
+
+### An interface from the control unit releases the text message with the same action that releases the voice message, which is the one-action arrangement the risk analysis usually asks for, and it is supervised and tested like any other output. A platform operated separately from its own console has no listed interface to build or supervise and is the arrangement an Owner's existing hosted platform most often allows, at the cost of a second operator action in every emergency. Both paths keep the text message available from the platform console when the control unit is the thing that has failed. {note}
+
+### Where the platform is initiated by the autonomous control unit, the interface shall be supervised so that loss of connection to the platform produces a trouble signal at the control unit.
+
+### The distributed-recipient platform shall be hosted on infrastructure outside the protected premises so that an emergency that disables the site does not disable the platform.
+
+## Delivery Channels {toc}
+
+### The channels on which the distributed-recipient platform delivers messages shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Distributed-Recipient Delivery Channels
+type: checkbox
+options:
+ - "Text message"
+ - "Email"
+ - "Automated telephone call"
+ - "Mobile application push notification"
+ - "Desktop alert on networked workstations"
+ - "Owner's website and social media accounts"
+ - "Owner's digital signage"
+default:
+ - "Text message"
+ - "Email"
+constraint: all_of
+```
+
+### The platform shall deliver one message to every selected channel from one operator action.
+
+### The platform shall report, for each message, the number of recipients addressed, delivered, and confirmed on each channel that supports confirmation, within the interval indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Delivery Reporting Interval
+type: range
+unit: minutes
+options:
+ min: 1
+ max: 60
+ step: 1
+default: 15
+constraint: max
+```
+
+### Each message delivered on a channel that supports it shall carry the same instruction the voice message and the textual signs carry for the same event.
+
+## Recipient Enrollment {toc}
+
+### The model by which recipients are enrolled on the distributed-recipient platform shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Recipient Enrollment Model
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Owner-maintained roster imported from the Owner's directory"
+ - "Self-registration by recipients"
+ - "Owner-maintained roster with self-registration for recipients outside the directory"
+```
+
+### A roster imported from the Owner's directory reaches every employee, student, or resident the directory holds, on the day they are added to it, and reaches nobody the directory does not know. Self-registration reaches visitors, contractors, and family members who opt in, and reaches only those who did. The combined model is what a campus with a population of both kinds uses, at the cost of two enrollment paths to maintain and a roster that is never entirely clean. {note}
+
+### Where a roster is imported from the Owner's directory, the platform shall synchronize with the directory at an interval not exceeding 24 hours and shall report each synchronization failure.
+
+### The platform shall support recipient groups by building, department, role, and response team, and a message shall be addressable to any group or combination of groups.
+
+## Public Alerting Interface {toc}
+
+### Whether the system interfaces to the public alerting infrastructure shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Public Alerting Interface
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Interface to the Integrated Public Alert and Warning System through the Owner's designated alerting authority"
+ - "Not provided"
+default: "Not provided"
+```
+
+### The Integrated Public Alert and Warning System, operated by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, distributes one authenticated Common Alerting Protocol message to Wireless Emergency Alerts on every capable mobile device in a drawn area and to the Emergency Alert System on broadcast radio and television. It reaches visitors and passers-by whom no roster holds, and origination through it is reserved to a designated alerting authority, which is a government body rather than a building owner. A facility interfaces to it where it is itself such an authority or where its emergency response plan has an agreement with one. {note}
+
+### Where a public alerting interface is provided, the system shall originate alerts only through a Federal Emergency Management Agency approved alert origination tool, under the credentials and the approval workflow of the Owner's designated alerting authority.
+
+### Where a public alerting interface is provided, the interface shall be arranged so that no test, drill, or routine message can be released to the public alerting infrastructure.
+
+# Two-Way Emergency Communications {toc}
+
+## Whether two-way emergency call stations are provided as part of the mass notification function shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Two-Way Emergency Call Stations
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Provided"
+ - "Not provided"
+drawing_ref: "the emergency communications site plan and floor plans"
+default: deferred
+```
+
+## Two-way emergency call stations shall be provided at the locations indicated on [[drawing: the emergency communications site plan and floor plans]].
+
+## Each call station shall connect, on one action by the user, to a local operating console or to the constantly attended location the emergency response plan designates, and shall identify its location to the answering party.
+
+## Each call station shall be supervised by the autonomous control unit so that a fault in the station or its path produces a trouble signal.
+
+## A call station installed outdoors shall be marked by a blue light visible from every approach and shall be rated for the site conditions of this standard.
+
+## The answering party at a local operating console shall be able to release a message to the zone from which a call originated without ending the call.
+
+## Fire fighter telephone systems are furnished under [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]], the two-way communication in elevator cars is furnished under [[sync/vertical-transportation]], and a two-way communication station at an area of refuge that is not part of a mass notification function is not furnished under this standard. {note}
+
+# Circuits, Pathways, and Survivability {toc}
+
+## Pathway Class {toc}
+
+### Every mass notification pathway shall be designated and installed in accordance with the class definitions of NFPA 72 Chapter 12.
+
+### The class of the notification circuits serving mass notification speakers, visible appliances, and textual signs shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Mass Notification Circuit Class
+type: select
+options:
+ - "Class A"
+ - "Class B"
+ - "Class X"
+drawing_ref: "the emergency communications riser diagram"
+default: deferred
+```
+
+### The class of the network pathway between the autonomous control unit, the local operating consoles, the array sites, and any remote node shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Control Network Pathway Class
+type: select
+options:
+ - "Class A"
+ - "Class B"
+ - "Class C"
+ - "Class N"
+ - "Class X"
+drawing_ref: "the emergency communications riser diagram"
+default: deferred
+```
+
+### Class A returns to the control unit so that one open or ground fault leaves every device in service, Class B is radial so that one open disconnects everything beyond it, and Class X adds short-circuit tolerance to the Class A redundancy. Class C is a network verified by end-to-end communication, and Class N is a network with a redundant path to each device, which is the class a networked console or array link falls under. The risk analysis sets which faults the system must announce through, and the class follows from that rather than from the equipment. {note}
+
+### Where a combined system is selected, the class of the shared notification circuits shall be as selected under [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]], and the class indicated above shall apply to circuits furnished under this standard.
+
+## Pathway Survivability {toc}
+
+### The pathway survivability level applied to mass notification pathways shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Pathway Survivability Level
+type: select
+options:
+ - "Level 0"
+ - "Level 1"
+ - "Level 2"
+ - "Level 3"
+ - "Level 4"
+drawing_ref: "the accepted risk analysis and the emergency communications riser diagram"
+default: deferred
+```
+
+### NFPA 72 Section 12.4 defines the levels and they are not a ladder. Level 0 imposes no provision. Level 1 relies on a fully sprinklered building with the pathway in metal raceway. Level 2 uses a 2-hour circuit integrity cable, a 2-hour rated cable system, or a 2-hour rated enclosure. Level 3 combines the Level 2 methods with a fully sprinklered building, and Level 4 applies the Level 2 methods at a 1-hour rating. A fire alarm system picks its level from the evacuation strategy; a mass notification system picks it from the risk analysis, which can ask the pathways to survive an explosion, a flood, or a structural failure that no fire rating addresses, and for those the answer is route diversity and a second path rather than a higher level. {note}
+
+### The pathway survivability level shall be determined by the risk analysis for both fire and non-fire emergencies, and where the risk analysis requires a mass notification message to reach areas not yet affected by an emergency, the pathways serving those areas shall be arranged to survive the emergency for the time the emergency response plan requires.
+
+### The Contractor shall confirm that the proposed cable type, raceway, and installation method have been evaluated as a system for the selected survivability level before any material is purchased.
+
+### Where the risk analysis requires the control network to survive the loss of any one building, the network pathway shall be routed by diverse paths so that no single building, duct bank, or manhole carries both legs.
+
+# Power Supplies {toc}
+
+## Primary Power {toc}
+
+### The source of primary power for the mass notification control equipment shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Primary Power Source
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Normal building power distribution"
+ - "Emergency power system branch"
+ - "Legally required standby power system"
+ - "Optional standby power system"
+```
+
+### On normal power the secondary battery, rather than a generator, carries the system through an outage, and a generator fault never shows at the panel as a mass notification trouble. On a generator-backed branch the battery carries only the transfer interval and the system runs for as long as the generator has fuel, which is the arrangement a risk analysis that identifies a multi-day utility failure asks for. The emergency branch is used where the adopted codes classify the system as an emergency load, the legally required standby branch where they classify it as standby, and the optional standby branch where the Owner elects generator backing the codes do not require. {note}
+
+### The autonomous control unit, each local operating console, each amplifier and power supply, and each array site shall be supplied from a dedicated branch circuit with no other load connected.
+
+### Each branch circuit overcurrent device shall be identified MASS NOTIFICATION CIRCUIT, or FIRE ALARM AND MASS NOTIFICATION CIRCUIT where the control unit is combined, and shall be secured against unintentional operation.
+
+### Where a combined system is selected, the primary power arrangement selected under [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]] shall serve the shared control unit, and the arrangement indicated above shall apply to equipment furnished under this standard.
+
+### The Contractor shall submit the connected load calculation for every branch circuit serving mass notification equipment to the Engineer of Record.
+
+## Secondary Power {toc}
+
+### The secondary power standby duration shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Secondary Power Standby Duration
+type: range
+unit: hours
+options:
+ min: 24
+ max: 72
+ setpoints: [24, 48, 60, 72]
+default: 24
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### The secondary power emergency operation duration following the standby period shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Secondary Power Emergency Operation Duration
+type: range
+unit: minutes
+options:
+ min: 15
+ max: 120
+ setpoints: [15, 30, 60, 120]
+default: 15
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### NFPA 72 Chapter 10 sets 24 hours of standby followed by 15 minutes at maximum voice output as the floor for an emergency communications system, and Chapter 24 lets the risk analysis require more. Sixty hours is the figure some jurisdictions and UFC 4-021-01 apply where the site is not attended over a weekend, and a longer emergency operation duration is selected where the emergency response plan expects messages to repeat through a shelter-in-place lasting an hour or more rather than through a fifteen-minute evacuation. {note}
+
+### The secondary power supply shall meet or exceed the durations NFPA 72 Chapter 10 requires for an emergency communications system, regardless of the values indicated in the datasheet.
+
+### Every component of the system, including each local operating console, each amplifier, each array site, and each textual sign, shall be provided with secondary power so that the whole system continues to operate on loss of primary power.
+
+### The battery calculation shall apply not less than the safety margin NFPA 72 Chapter 10 requires and shall list every component with its standby current, its emergency operation current, the durations applied, and the resulting ampere-hour capacity.
+
+### The autonomous control unit shall supervise every battery, charger, and battery connection in the system, including those at array sites, and shall produce a trouble signal on failure of any of them.
+
+### Where a combined system is selected, the secondary power furnished under [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]] shall be sized to include the mass notification load at the durations indicated above.
+
+# Installation {toc}
+
+## Wiring Methods {toc}
+
+### Mass notification circuits shall be installed as fire alarm circuits in accordance with NFPA 70 Article 760 and the other provisions of [[parameter: adopted-electrical-code]].
+
+### Mass notification circuit conductors shall not occupy the same raceway, cable, cable tray, or enclosure as conductors of other building systems except where NFPA 70 Article 760 permits it.
+
+### Cable installed in a plenum used for environmental air, and cable installed in a vertical riser, shall be listed for that use.
+
+### Where a combined system is selected, the raceway policy and the conductor sizes selected under [[sync/fire-alarm-systems]] shall apply to the mass notification circuits.
+
+### Raceway products and installation methods shall comply with [[sync/raceways-and-conduit]].
+
+### Network cabling between the autonomous control unit, the local operating consoles, and the distributed-recipient interface that is installed on the Owner's structured cabling shall comply with [[sync/structured-cabling]], and the Contractor shall identify every such pathway on the riser diagram as a pathway whose class depends on that cabling.
+
+## Array Structure Installation {toc}
+
+### Array structures shall be installed at the surveyed positions accepted under the joint site survey, on foundations designed by a Professional Engineer licensed in the project jurisdiction for the loads of this standard.
+
+### Array structures shall be grounded and bonded, and provided with lightning protection, in accordance with [[sync/grounding-and-bonding]] and [[sync/lightning-protection]].
+
+### Array site cabinets shall be mounted so that their doors can be opened and their batteries replaced from grade or from a fixed platform without a lift.
+
+## Identification and Labeling {toc}
+
+### The autonomous control unit, each local operating console, each amplifier and power supply, each array site cabinet, and each interface enclosure shall be labeled with its function in permanent lettering in accordance with [[sync/equipment-labeling]].
+
+### Where the control unit is combined with the fire alarm control unit, the label shall read FIRE ALARM AND MASS NOTIFICATION CONTROL UNIT.
+
+### Each local operating console shall be labeled with the zones and the mass notification types it controls.
+
+### Mass notification circuit conductors, junction boxes, and pull boxes shall be identified in accordance with [[sync/electrical-identification]] so that a mass notification circuit is distinguishable from a fire alarm circuit at every accessible point.
+
+# Acceptance Testing {toc}
+
+## Pre-Test Readiness {toc}
+
+### The Contractor shall complete a full pre-test of the installed system, including every message on every provided mass notification type, before requesting acceptance testing.
+
+### The Contractor shall not request acceptance testing until the system is completely installed, completely programmed to the signed prioritization matrix and message library, and free of trouble conditions.
+
+### The Contractor shall bear the cost of any retest required because the system was presented for acceptance testing with an incomplete installation, an unresolved trouble condition, or missing documentation.
+
+## Test Witnessing {toc}
+
+### The parties witnessing acceptance testing shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Acceptance Test Witnesses
+type: checkbox
+options:
+ - "Authority having jurisdiction"
+ - "Engineer of Record"
+ - "Owner's emergency manager"
+ - "Owner's information technology representative"
+ - "Commissioning authority"
+ - "Fire alarm contractor"
+ - "Third-party inspection agency"
+default:
+ - "Authority having jurisdiction"
+ - "Engineer of Record"
+ - "Owner's emergency manager"
+constraint: all_of
+```
+
+### The Owner shall notify the occupants and the neighbors of the site of the date and time of every audible test before it is conducted.
+
+### A wide-area test that nobody was warned about produces calls to the public safety answering point, and a lockdown message released during a test that was not announced produces a lockdown. The notice is a test precondition rather than a courtesy. {note}
+
+## Acceptance Test Scope {toc}
+
+### The acceptance test shall exercise the items indicated in the datasheet in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 14 and Chapter 24.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Acceptance Test Scope
+type: checkbox
+options:
+ - "Every prerecorded message released from the control unit and from each console"
+ - "Live voice from each console to each zone"
+ - "Prioritization matrix verified for every contending pair of sources"
+ - "Priority over or under fire alarm signaling verified with the fire alarm contractor present"
+ - "Audibility measured in each notification zone"
+ - "Intelligibility verified per the verification method and coverage of this standard"
+ - "Visible appliances and textual signs verified in each zone"
+ - "Wide-area coverage measured at the edge of each array's assigned area"
+ - "Distributed-recipient delivery verified on each channel to a test group"
+ - "Public alerting interface verified by the agreed test procedure"
+ - "Two-way call stations verified end to end"
+ - "Secondary power operation verified with primary power disconnected"
+ - "Supervision verified by inducing a fault on each circuit, link, and interface"
+default:
+ - "Every prerecorded message released from the control unit and from each console"
+ - "Live voice from each console to each zone"
+ - "Prioritization matrix verified for every contending pair of sources"
+ - "Priority over or under fire alarm signaling verified with the fire alarm contractor present"
+ - "Audibility measured in each notification zone"
+ - "Intelligibility verified per the verification method and coverage of this standard"
+ - "Visible appliances and textual signs verified in each zone"
+ - "Secondary power operation verified with primary power disconnected"
+ - "Supervision verified by inducing a fault on each circuit, link, and interface"
+constraint: all_of
+```
+
+### Acceptance testing shall not be performed in stages on separate days unless the authority having jurisdiction accepts a staged test in advance.
+
+## Prioritization Verification {toc}
+
+### The prioritization matrix shall be verified by presenting each pair of contending sources simultaneously and confirming that the system resolves the contention as the signed matrix directs, that the lower-priority message is queued or suppressed without being mixed into the higher, and that the lower-priority message is released or discarded as the matrix directs when the higher ends.
+
+### Where mass notification messages take priority over fire alarm signaling, the test shall confirm with the fire alarm contractor present that the override is annunciated at the fire alarm control unit, that detection and supervising station transmission continue during the override, and that the evacuation signal resumes as the matrix directs when the override ends.
+
+## Intelligibility Measurement Report {toc}
+
+### The intelligibility measurement report shall identify each acoustically distinguishable space, each measurement location, the measured value at each, the instrument used and its calibration date, and the pass or fail result against the criteria of this standard.
+
+### Where an acoustically distinguishable space fails, the Contractor shall correct it as the intelligibility criterion article requires and shall repeat the measurement in that space before the system is accepted.
+
+## Distributed-Recipient and Public Alerting Verification {toc}
+
+### The distributed-recipient platform shall be tested by releasing a test message to a test group on every selected channel, from the control unit where that initiation is provided and from the platform console, and the delivery report shall be included in the acceptance test report.
+
+### Where a public alerting interface is provided, it shall be tested only by the procedure agreed with the Owner's designated alerting authority, in a test mode that cannot release a live public alert, and the authority's confirmation shall be included in the acceptance test report.
+
+# Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance {toc}
+
+## The Owner shall maintain the mass notification system in accordance with NFPA 72 Chapter 14, and with UFC 4-021-01 where the project is a Department of Defense facility, after the system is accepted.
+
+## The inspection and testing program the Contractor's service agreement provides shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Inspection and Testing Program
+type: radio
+options:
+ - "Semiannual inspection with annual testing per NFPA 72 Chapter 14"
+ - "Quarterly inspection with annual testing"
+ - "Quarterly inspection with semiannual testing"
+ - "Monthly inspection with annual testing"
+default: "Semiannual inspection with annual testing per NFPA 72 Chapter 14"
+```
+
+## NFPA 72 Chapter 14 sets the semiannual inspection and annual test as the floor, and a mass notification system that is combined with the fire alarm system is inspected on the fire alarm schedule. The quarterly and monthly programs are selected where the risk analysis identifies an emergency frequent enough that a dormant fault matters within the year, such as a site in a tornado region, or where UFC 4-021-01 or the Owner's emergency management program sets a shorter interval. {note}
+
+## The interval at which a test message is released on the distributed-recipient platform to confirm delivery on every channel shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Distributed-Recipient Test Message Interval
+type: range
+unit: months
+options:
+ min: 1
+ max: 12
+ setpoints: [1, 3, 6, 12]
+constraint: max
+```
+
+## Intelligibility shall be re-verified in any acoustically distinguishable space whose finishes, partitions, ceiling, or speaker layout are changed after acceptance, and the re-verification shall be recorded against the acceptance baseline.
+
+## The Contractor shall turn over the inspection and testing schedule, the device inventory, and the test forms NFPA 72 Chapter 14 requires at closeout.
+
+# Delivery, Storage, and Handling {toc}
+
+## Equipment shall be delivered in the manufacturer's original packaging and stored in a clean, dry space within the manufacturer's published storage temperature and humidity limits until installed.
+
+## Array electronics and array site cabinets shall be stored under cover until they are mounted and energized, and the Contractor shall bear the cost of any component damaged by weather before energization.
+
+## Batteries shall be stored charged, within their rated storage temperature range, and shall be placed in service before the storage interval the manufacturer publishes is exceeded.
+
+# Warranty {toc}
+
+## Warranty Period {toc}
+
+### The equipment warranty period shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Equipment Warranty Period
+type: range
+unit: months
+options:
+ min: 12
+ max: 60
+ setpoints: [12, 24, 36, 60]
+default: 12
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### The installation warranty period shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Installation Warranty Period
+type: range
+unit: months
+options:
+ min: 12
+ max: 60
+ setpoints: [12, 24, 36, 60]
+default: 12
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### Both warranty periods shall begin at the date of system acceptance.
+
+### The equipment warranty shall cover the control unit, consoles, amplifiers, power supplies, batteries, speakers, arrays, visible appliances, textual signs, call stations, and interface modules against defects in materials and workmanship.
+
+### The installation warranty shall cover wiring, terminations, mounting, array structures, raceway, programming, and the message library against defects in workmanship, including any deficiency that causes a space to fall below the audibility or intelligibility established at acceptance.
+
+### Where a manufacturer's warranty on a component extends beyond the period indicated in the datasheet, the longer period shall apply to that component.
+
+### Where a warranty repair is made, the repaired or replaced work shall carry a new warranty of the full original term from the date of the repair, or the remainder of the original term, whichever is longer.
+
+## Warranty Service Response {toc}
+
+### The maximum time within which the Contractor responds on site to a reported system trouble during the warranty period shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Warranty Service Response Time
+type: range
+unit: hours
+options:
+ min: 2
+ max: 72
+ step: 1
+default: 24
+constraint: max
+```
+
+### The Contractor shall provide corrective service for any defect covered by the warranty at no additional cost to the Owner, including labor, parts, and travel.
+
+### Where a fault leaves any provided mass notification type unable to deliver a message to any part of its covered area, the Contractor shall restore it before leaving the site or shall provide an interim means of notification accepted by the Owner's emergency manager.
+
+## Distributed-Recipient Platform Subscription {toc}
+
+### Where a new distributed-recipient platform is furnished under this standard, the subscription term included in the installed cost shall be as indicated in the datasheet.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Included Platform Subscription Term
+type: range
+unit: months
+options:
+ min: 12
+ max: 60
+ setpoints: [12, 24, 36, 60]
+default: 12
+constraint: min
+```
+
+### The Contractor shall deliver the subscription in the Owner's name, with the Owner as the account holder, so that the service continues under the Owner's control when the included term ends.
+
+# Spare Parts {toc}
+
+## The Contractor shall deliver the spare parts indicated in the datasheet at substantial completion.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Required Spare Parts
+type: checkbox
+options:
+ - "Console microphone of each installed type"
+ - "Amplifier module of each installed rating"
+ - "Speaker of each installed type"
+ - "Array loudspeaker driver of each installed type"
+ - "Visible appliance of each installed lens color and candela rating"
+ - "Textual sign of each installed type"
+ - "Call station of each installed type"
+ - "Interface module of each installed type"
+ - "Secondary power battery of each installed size"
+ - "Radio link module of each installed type"
+ - "Enclosure and console keys"
+default:
+ - "Console microphone of each installed type"
+ - "Amplifier module of each installed rating"
+ - "Visible appliance of each installed lens color and candela rating"
+ - "Interface module of each installed type"
+ - "Enclosure and console keys"
+constraint: all_of
+```
+
+## The quantity of each spare device type shall be as indicated in the datasheet, expressed as a percentage of the installed quantity of that type.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Spare Device Quantity
+type: range
+unit: '%'
+options:
+ min: 0
+ max: 10
+ step: 1
+default: 2
+constraint: min
+```
+
+## The minimum quantity of any spare device type shall be as indicated in the datasheet regardless of the percentage calculated.
+
+```datasheet
+label: Spare Quantity Per Device Type
+type: range
+unit: devices
+options:
+ min: 0
+ max: 10
+ step: 1
+default: 1
+constraint: min
+```
+
+## Spare devices shall be of the same model and firmware revision as the installed devices, delivered in their original packaging, and turned over against a written inventory signed by the Owner's representative.
+
+## Spare devices and spare batteries shall be stored in a conditioned location identified in the closeout documentation.