Introduction of an Alarm Software – Information and Needs Assessment
The software is designed to provide employees with additional support, particularly in workplaces with regular public traffic or during challenging one-on-one interactions. It allows users to deliberately and manually trigger a silent alarm in the event of an acute threat or an escalating incident—for example, via their work computer or a separately installed alarm switch. This notifies colleagues in the immediate vicinity, as well as the university’s own security service, via an alarm chain previously configured in the software, so that help can be organized more quickly. The software thus complements existing security and emergency response structures.
The project is being carried out in collaboration with, among others, the Staff Council, the Data Protection Service Office, and UNIT. Aspects of employee participation, data protection, and occupational safety are being taken into account from the very beginning.
Needs Assessment
Since not all work areas are affected to the same extent, the Office of Occupational Safety, Fire Protection, and Crisis Management is asking, in particular, employees who consider their work situation to be especially high-risk (e.g., due to frequent contact with the public) to provide feedback. A form is available on the intranet for this purpose (until 31 July). There, employees can voluntarily provide information about their workplace and typical work situations.
The information will be treated confidentially, processed in compliance with data protection regulations, and used solely for the purpose of this project. To avoid security risks, the results of the analysis will not be communicated university-wide.
Once the evaluation is complete, the administrative office will contact, on a case-by-case basis, all individuals who indicated in the form that they were generally interested in using the software. However, the software will initially be rolled out on a limited scale to gather experience and assess its practical suitability. Filling out the form does not entitle you to receive the software. Furthermore, if demand exceeds the number of software licenses available centrally, it may be necessary for decentralized units to contribute to the procurement costs.