CHAPTER 3
WIDE AREA MNS
3-1 SCOPE. Wide area MNS are intended to provide real-time information to
outdoor areas of a DOD installation. Small facilities that are exempted by UFC 4-010-01
from providing individual building MNS could be covered by a wide area MNS. These
facilities could include buildings such as single-family and duplex military family housing,
individual lodging buildings housing 10 occupants or less, shopettes, automobile service
stations, storage buildings with very low density of occupancy, and military family
campgrounds. The requirements to install wide area MNS are specific to each DOD
component. A general DOD requirement to install these systems on all DOD
installations has not been established.
3-2 REQUIREMENTS FOR SYSTEM DESIGNERS
3-2.1 Designer Qualifications. The wide area MNS shall be designed under the
supervision of a registered professional engineer with a minimum of 4 years’ current
work experience in fire protection, electrical, and communication-electronics engineering
areas specific to wide area MNS. Alternately, the wide area MNS may be designed by
an engineering technologist verified by the National Institute for Certification in
Engineering Technologies (NICET) as certified at Level IV in low voltage electroniccommunications
systems or Level IV in fire alarm systems, plus this engineering
technologist shall possess a minimum of 4 years’ current work experience specific to
wide area MNS communications-electronics. Alternately, the wide area MNS may be
designed by an engineering technologist that possesses a minimum of 10 years’
documented current work experience specific to wide area MNS
communications-electronics. The speaker array supporting structure shall be designed
by a registered professional structural engineer to resist all environmental loads,
including site-specific wind and seismic forces. The individual’s name, signature, and
professional engineer number or NICET certification number (when applicable) shall be
included on all final design documents.
3-2.2 System Integrators and Contractors. Use system integrators and
contractors that can demonstrate a full knowledge and understanding of systems used
for mass notification, and that have factory-trained personnel to perform system design,
installation, testing, training, and maintenance.
Note: The MNS designer should have demonstrated expertise in audio system design,
sound pressure and intelligibility measurement and evaluation, radio communications
systems, audible and visual notification appliances, and central control station designs.
3-3 SYSTEM SIGNALS. Wide area MNS shall include an outdoor speaker and
siren system providing voice signals, music, and alarm tones.
3-3.1 Voice Signals. Wide area MNS shall be capable of providing intelligible live
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and pre-recorded voice signals.
3-3.2 Music. Wide area MNS shall be capable of providing music such as the
national anthem and other musical signals such as Attention to Colors, Reveille, and
Taps.
3-3.3 Tones. Wide area MNS shall be provided with standard Federal Emergency
Management Agency (FEMA) weather warning tones. Military-specific warning tones
shall be provided as specified by the DOD installation, and should include tones for
conventional attack warning, non-conventional attack warning, all clear, and a system
test tone. Such tones should be similar to Civil Defense tones originally developed
during World War II and the Cold War era.
3-4 SUBSYSTEMS. Wide area MNS includes several subsystems: central control
stations; high power speaker arrays (HPSA); communication links; and ancillary
equipment.
3-4.1 Central Control Stations. These stations operate and control the system.
3-4.2 HPSA. The speakers are used to provide the sound signals to the outdoor
locations on the DOD installation.
3-4.3 Communications Links. Communications links are used for sending signals
between the central control stations and the HPSA, and between the central control
stations and regional or national command centers. A redundant (backup) means of
communication shall be provided unless the primary means of communication is highly
reliable, well protected, and constantly monitored by the central control station for
operational status.
Note: See Appendix C for a discussion of requirements for Internet-based
communication systems (under development).
3-4.4 Ancillary Equipment. This equipment includes items such as aircraft
obstruction lights, anti-nesting spikes, and meters to meet local DOD installation
requirements.
3-5 CENTRAL CONTROL STATIONS. The wide area MNS shall be provided
with at least one primary and one redundant central control station.
3-5.1 Locations. The locations of the central control stations shall be coordinated
with the first responders on each DOD installation. The primary central control station
should be located at the installation control center (ICC), command post, emergency
operations center (EOC), or similar location. The redundant central control center
should be located at a physically separate location such as a security forces building,
military police station, fire station, or director of emergency services office.
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Marine Corps primary central control stations should be located at a security forces
or military police dispatch center, and the redundant central control center should be
located at the ICC, EOC, operations center, or similar location.
3-5.2 On-Installation Control. The central control stations shall control the
operation of outdoor speakers on the DOD installation. Communications shall be
provided between the central control stations and individual building MNS. The wide
area MNS shall have the capability to communicate with other notification systems on
the DOD installation such as the telephone alerting system, paging system,
commander’s channel on public access television stations, and highway advisory radio
and sign control system (used for dynamic control of radio information and traffic signs
for emergency information and traffic management).
Communication with other notification systems is not required for Marine Corps
systems.
3-5.3 Off-Installation Interfaces. Communications between the central control
stations and regional or national command systems shall be provided. This shall include
the receipt, recording, and distributing of voice messages and alert signals received
from the Commander in Chief through the national public alert and warning system.
3-5.4 Central Control Station Requirements. The central control unit shall consist
of these components and features:
3-5.4.1 Graphical User Interface (GUI). This should be a computer interface with
sufficient capability to operate the system with easy point and click operations.
3-5.4.2 Backup Power. Each central control station shall be equipped with batteries
to supply power for a minimum of 4 hours of full-load operation when the central control
station is provided with a permanently installed backup electrical power generator. This
electrical power generator need not be dedicated solely to the central control station but
may be intended to supply other important electrical loads in addition to the central
control station. If not provided with a permanently installed backup electrical power
generator, a portable backup electrical power generator may be used if procedures are
established that ensure that the central control station is provided with electrical power
within 4 hours.
3-5.4.3 Inputs. The central control station must provide capability for at least these
features:
3-5.4.3.1 Total, zone, and single voice activations
3-5.4.3.2 Total, zone, and single tone activations
3-5.4.3.3 Total, zone, and single music activations
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3-5.4.3.4 Total, zone, and single tests
3-5.4.3.5 Total, zone, and single signal cancellations
3-5.4.3.6 Automatic status reporting for each HPSA and for all activations and the
status of the activations
3-5.4.3.7 Alarm summary report that provides a historical report for, at least, all
changes of status, including all troubles, equipment failure, power system trouble
(including normal and emergency power), unsolicited messages, tamper/supervision of
the enclosure for the HPSA electronics, amplifier status, last activation and
synchronization error, operator log on and log off, and configurable reports for
time-based events such as “report all troubles from 1/01/04 to 6/30/04.”
3-5.4.3.8 Communications logs in tabular format
3-5.4.3.9 Screen displays of the customized DOD installation maps showing the
general status of the speakers or remote equipment. This GUI shall provide for easy
uploading of DOD installation-specific plan changes and for interactive operation.
Note: The DOD installation should specify the source of maps used by the GUI.
Note: Automatic recognition and display of new speakers, new remote equipment, and
newly connected individual building MNS is available for some digital control systems.
This feature, if provided, can significantly reduce system maintenance costs for the
DOD installation.
3-5.4.3.10 Global Positioning System (GPS) coordinates of HPSA and facilities
provided with an individual building MNS
3-5.4.3.11 Multiple levels of password protection, including levels for system
operators, maintainers, supervisors, and military commanders, at a minimum
3-5.4.3.12 The ability to record and send digital messages to the HPSA via the
primary (and redundant, if provided) communication link and to receive confirmation that
the messages were received and stored at the HPSA. Alternately, the DOD installation
may authorize use of fixed, pre-recorded emergency messages that are physically
installed in each HPSA (typically by installing an erasable programmable read-only
memory (EPROM) or flash memory device).
3-5.4.3.13 The capability to connect to and control message signs to direct