If you’re a property manager, you know the drill– a key part of your role is identifying the right vendor partnerships that can add value for you and, in cases of third-party management, for your owner as well. When assessing the vendors you have chosen, you’re wanting to see tangible benefits that demonstrate return on investment. This is especially true when it comes to items pertaining to life safety. What can you do to ensure you have chosen the right partner to help improve safety and tenant experience while mitigating risk for property management and ownership?
In most cases, evaluating the success of an existing vendor relationship requires reporting data and the necessary time in working together to gather said data. There’s no denying the importance of reporting metrics, but nothing resonates quite like real-life events that demonstrate firsthand the benefits a trade partner brings to the table – in this case in mitigating risk and liability exposure. KEARNY Real Estate experienced just that, twice in fact, soon after implementing Kings III for their elevator phone monitoring at Emerald Plaza, an iconic 30-story Class A Office Tower in San Diego (owned and managed by KEARNY Real Estate). Read on for their story.
Kings III and Emerald Plaza
Kings III and KEARNY Real Estate began our relationship in the summer of 2019 when we initiated installation and emergency monitoring for 10 elevator phones at Emerald Plaza.
Previously, Emerald Plaza utilized an intercom system, whereby the emergency elevator phones would ring to its security guard desk and security would then contacted KEARNY’s elevator service company. This setup is common for buildings with 24/7 onsite security but has several flaws including gaps in coverage during times when the security guard is on patrol or away from the desk.
Implementing Kings III professional emergency monitoring helped in a number of ways, including:
- Freeing up security’s time – Removing unnecessary burden from security guards and opening up time to focus on the responsibilities for which they were trained and hired.
- Providing an expert emergency response – Kings III operators are Advanced Emergency Medical Dispatch trained and CPR certified, with the ability to provide pre-arrival medical instruction if needed.
- Increasing reliability and accessibility for all tenants via language translation in more than 175 languages.
- Mitigating risk and liability via call recording, invaluable for incident reports, and potential litigation.
The benefits of Kings III service were evident in the initial value proposition and further proven during two planned onsite events.
Event #1: Active Shooter Drill Reveals How Kings III Helped Close Gaps In Security Under the Previous System
Almost immediately after the installation of their Kings III phones, KEARNY agreed to host and participate in a large scale Active Shooter Drill organized by BOMA San Diego and sponsored by Kings III at their Emerald Plaza Office Tower (30 stories), which included the Police Department, Fire Department, and other First Responders. Part of the drill included the shooter entering the elevator to travel up to one of the office tower floors. In the scenario, there were bystanders near the elevators who would enter them, needing to use the elevator phones to get help. This is something that Kings III had actually experienced with a customer in San Antonio, Texas, so it was definitely a key item to cover in the drill. It was then that KEARNY realized their previous system was not only inefficient, it would have been a liability in the event their Security Guard was incapacitated (which was also part of the drill script). This was no longer a concern now that Kings III monitoring was in place, demonstrated when the actors utilized the elevator phones during the drill and received the response they needed.
Unfortunately, active shooter events are becoming more frequent. Knowing that they could rely on Kings III’s expertise in emergency response during such an instance was invaluable to KEARNY.
Event #2: Emergency Avoided During Planned Building Electrical Shut Down
Just a few months after the above-mentioned training exercise, another event took place that solidified the value of Kings III for KEARNY Real Estate, and this time, it wasn’t a drill. The management company had planned an entire building electrical shut down for Emerald Plaza. Even though management had notified the tenants multiple times and weeks in advance, soon after the electricity was shut off, a tenant entered an elevator and became entrapped. She was able to reach Kings III via the elevator call button. This is an important detail because, with the building’s previously utilized intercom system, she wouldn’t have been able to reach the security desk directly due to the electricity being shut down. Our Kings III Emergency Dispatcher then notified on-site security via cell phone. Security notified the building engineer who restored power in order to bring the elevator to the ground floor – all in less than 15 minutes. Without Kings III, management expects the tenant could have been trapped for 8-10 hours. Additionally, if the caller had her cell and was able to reach 911, this could have potentially wasted valuable first responder resources to make a trip to the building.
These events further illustrated the value of Kings III’s service to KEARNY Real Estate and instilled a true appreciation for the service. Not only did Kings III’s emergency telephone solution help address unsafe conditions that arise on-site, but it also created a better overall tenant experience at the Plaza with increased attentiveness to those who frequent the building.
In the words of Sonia Miró, RPA, Director of Property Management at KEARNY,
“We believe we can now provide the highest and best service to our tenants and customers, knowing they have the ability to get immediate assistance in the event of an elevator issue, entrapment, or other emergency that may arise.”
More About Kings III
Kings III Emergency Communications has been providing complete, compliant, and affordable emergency phone solutions for elevators, poolside, stairwells, parking areas, and more for over thirty years, monitoring 100,000+ help phones across the U.S. Our all-inclusive solution includes equipment, installation, maintenance, and 24/7 monitoring at our very own Emergency Dispatch Center. We design our equipment with code compliance and caller experience in mind, staying at the forefront of code and technology changes. Our focus is on helping our customers reduce their risk, liability, and potentially even their costs by providing the best value help phone solutions and class-leading service.
Contact us to learn more about how we can increase the safety and reliability of your property.
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BENEFITS
- Closed gaps in security coverage
- Freed up security guard’s time
- Gave tenants an expert, timely emergency response
- Increased reliability and accessibility
- Mitigated risk and liability via call recording