Protecting Real Estate Properties & Tenants with Mobile Risk Intelligence

Protecting Real Estate Properties & Tenants with Mobile Risk Intelligence
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June 30, 2021

Resource: Blog Industry: Commercial Enterprise
Tags: Real Estate, Risk Management, Vector LiveSafe

Commercial real estate properties and tenants face a number of safety and security risks such as property damage, vacancy, facilities hazards, and cybersecurity breaches. Mobile risk intelligence communications platforms such as Vector LiveSafe are a valuable tool for identifying, preventing, and addressing these safety and security incidents.

Brookfield Properties, a global leader in real estate management, has engaged LiveSafe’s risk management and safety communications functionality at their properties across the United States. Here, we call upon Brookfield’s experience with LiveSafe to demonstrate how mobile risk intelligence communications platforms can help commercial real estate properties protect their properties, tenants, and security teams.

Brookfield Properties Overview

Brookfield Properties manages over three hundred million square feet at over 675 properties across the world, including office buildings, hospitality and retail space, development properties, and more. In the U.S. alone, Brookfield manages properties in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland, Denver, Houston, Knoxville, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

LaNile Dalcour, the Director of Security and Life Safety at Brookfield Properties, was recently featured on a Vector Solutions webinar, How to Protect Your Organization with an Emergency Mass Notification System (EMNS). He discussed Brookfield’s experience using LiveSafe both during routine safety communications as well as higher-severity incidents such as the inauguration protests across Washington, D.C. in 2017. 

With LaNile’s expertise in mind, here we discuss ways that mobile risk intelligence communications platforms can facilitate incident prevention and response at commercial real estate locations, regardless of the type of property, as well as provide tips for platform deployment and user engagement.

Mass Notifications

One key function of mobile risk intelligence communications platforms is emergency mass notification system (EMNS) capability. LiveSafe’s EMNS features allow clients such as Brookfield to send mass alerts to keep their entire organization, or subsets of tenants or employees, informed of relevant safety information. When used effectively, EMNS platforms become a trusted source of information of users and are a critical tool during emergency situations.

“[After deploying LiveSafe] we immediately had a huge population [of users],” LaNile said. “With our previous system, in the DC region, we probably had a 25% tenant population that had signed up for the mass communication system. Within six months of having LiveSafe, that was easily 50%. And I believe that at our highest peak we had about 75% of our tenants signed up for the app. That is unheard of.” LaNile also notes that LiveSafe is also popular with tenant staff, which was not the case with Brookfield’s prior system.

With Vector LiveSafe, mass notifications can be sent to targeted groups of audiences to ensure that users only receive relevant messages. For commercial real estate properties, examples of audience groups may be all tenants, all employees, everyone in a specific building, or security teams. Once mass notifications are sent, organizations can use built-in reporting and analytics to ensure that all messages were delivered. 

"[After deploying LiveSafe] we immediately had a huge population [of users]. And I believe that at our highest peak, we had about 75% of our tenants signed up for the app. That is unheard of."

- LaNile Dalcour, Director of Security and Life Safety at Brookfield Properties

Routine Safety Communications

With two-way messaging and mass notification functionality, mobile risk platforms like Vector LiveSafe can be used to share both critical and routine safety and security information with tenants and security team members. Research has shown that regular, routine broadcast messages build platform trust and familiarity and ensure that employers know how to use these platforms in the event of an emergency.

For most organizations, routine safety information includes facility hazard warnings, reports of suspicious persons, notice of maintenance work or IT service outages, reminders about property safety measures and best practices, and more. 

At Brookfield Properties, LiveSafe is regularly used for routine safety communications and updates. Examples include information about weather hazards, evacuations, and drills. “We will use it to notify tenants of traffic situations that may affect their commute in may affect their commute out. If there’s, say, a snow storm, the next morning, we'll send a 5 or 6am LiveSafe message to our tenants informing them that the sidewalks are clear and it's safe to come to the building,” Lanile said, adding, “We certainly use [LiveSafe] for any kind of return to the property after an evacuation, whether that's a real evacuation and/or a fire drill.”

In addition to these updates, Brookfield Properties requires Department Heads to send bi-monthly Broadcasts to ensure platform familiarity. LiveSafe is also regularly marketed to tenants through initiatives such as tabling events and raffles so that they remember that they can submit questions and concerns using the mobile app. These efforts have led to impressive app engagement and have allowed Brookfield to remain aware of the risks and concerns experienced by both tenants and employees.

Two-Way Messaging

Two-way messaging is arguably one of Vector LiveSafe’s most valuable features, as it enables users and security teams to communicate instantly. Once a LiveSafe user submits a report using the mobile app, it automatically launches a conversation with security and enables users to engage in real-time conversation. For commercial property locations, there are several ways that this feature can be used. Examples include:

  • Silent dispatch: When security team members are patrolling alone, they can submit reports if they see any facilities damage or suspicious activity and discuss next steps with leadership.
  • Emergency communication: During a fire, lockdown, protest, or other crisis, tenants or security personnel can submit questions and concerns and receive immediate support.
  • Tenant concerns: If a property tenant observed a facility hazard, a suspicious person, or another concern, they can immediately reach out for support and engage in a live conversation. This could include sharing additional information, confirming response procedures, or simply receiving acknowledgement that a concern is understood and will be addressed.

Brookfield Properties primarily uses tip submission functionality to ensure that its security team is remaining safe and to properly delegate resources. For example, many security team members submitted tips and began live conversations during the 2017 inauguration protests. These reports, which often described the location and movement of protestors, helped Brookfield properly deploy security teams to areas of protest and allowed Brookfield to prevent any security damage. 

“We had zero reports of any property damage and I 100% believe that it was due to us being able to deploy staff to the right locations, primarily because of the information we were receiving from LiveSafe.”
- LaNile Dalcour, Director of Security and Life Safety at Brookfield Properties

SafeWalk

Since commercial real estate properties often have lone security team members or tenants, SafeWalk is an effective way to facilitate personal safety and resource delegation. SafeWalk provides virtual companionship as individuals commute, whether they are walking or driving. Chosen friends or family members will receive a notification if you do not arrive at your destination on time, and, if you choose to enable location sharing, can track your location until you finish your commute. At Brookfield Properties, SafeWalk is frequently used.

“The other feature that I believe tenants really fell in love with was the ability to have the SafeWalk feature,” LaNile said. “We found that many love that because a loved one can monitor them walking, say from point A to point B. Say I have a person leaving the office at 10:00 PM and he or she's walking to the train, they may just want their spouse to be able to monitor them.”

SafeWalk also enabled Brookfield Properties security team members to stay safe during the 2017 inauguration protests in Washington, D.C.

“[During the protests], one SafeWalk request was to monitor the location of a security supervisor who was caught in a crowd control situation,” LaNile shared. “This was a very panicked, dangerous situation -  a large, pretty violent crowd, with rocks and bricks and other projectiles. We no longer had communication with [the security supervisor], but he remembered that he had the LiveSafe app and he sent us a request to the dashboard to monitor him on SafeWalk. Because he did that, we were able to pinpoint exactly where he was in the crowd and we were able to send people in to help him.”

Tips for Engagement and Deployment

Once you have chosen a mobile risk intelligence communications platform, effective deployment is key. In order for organizations to identify and address emerging risks and prevent safety incidents, their users must download and engage with the mobile platform. To facilitate ongoing engagement and platform success, Brookfield Properties has rolled out a number of adoption initiatives for its employees, senior leaders, and tenants. 

Security Teams

“[LiveSafe] is part of the security protocol. On their first day, every security officer is required to be trained on LiveSafe. We've made it part of our mandate.” LaNile explains. “You cannot work in a portfolio without being trained on the usage of LiveSafe. That includes not only knowing how to receive tips, but also how to use our preset emergency templates to reply to those tips.” Brookfield security officers undergo LiveSafe refresher training each quarter.

Management

To ensure business continuity and LiveSafe saturation, Brookfield also requires all department heads to send a LiveSafe message at least once per quarter. “This keeps them abreast of the system and how to use it,” LaNile said. “If you don't constantly practice or exercise something, you'll forget how to use it when you need it in an emergency.”

Tenants

“We constantly market the LiveSafe platform at our buildings. Even during non-emergency times, the screens in our elevator have a message reminding tenants to download the app. It’s a non-stop thing.” Brookfield also hosts regular tenant engagement events that feature a LiveSafe table and they promote the platform with initiatives such as raffles.

Engaging Mobile Solutions at Real Estate Properties

Mobile risk intelligence communications are an asset to well-rounded prevention and incident response strategies at commercial real estate properties. With features like tip submission, mass notifications, and customizable resources, tenants and security teams alike can remain informed, aware, and prepared to identify and address safety and security risks.

Real estate investment management companies, property management firms, and property owners seeking to improve incident prevention and response should consider deploying mobile risk intelligence communications platforms such as Vector LiveSafe. If you are considering LiveSafe or another mobile risk intelligence communications platform, consider our recent buyer’s guide to learn more about their value.

ALEXANDRA BRUNJES

Alexandra Brunjes has a B.S. in Neurobiology from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. with minors in Creative Writing and French. She is a published journalist and experienced health and science writer. Her expertise includes risk intelligence, healthcare and neuroscience, and technology.

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