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The National Electrical Manufacturers Association (NEMA) has published SB 40-2008 Communications Systems for Life Safety in Schools. This new standard covers the application, installation, location, performance, and maintenance of school communications systems and their components. It establishes minimum required levels of performance, extent of redun-dancy, and quality of installation but does not limit the methods by which these requirements are to be achieved.
According to Bob Boyer, a member of the 3SB Committee that prepared the publication, educational facilities from elementary schools to university campuses present unique design challenges for life safety communications systems.
“Communications Systems for Life Safety in Schools identifies minimum levels of performance, redundancy and installation re-quirements designed to assist designers, specifiers, and school administrators plan and maintain life safety communication sys-tems,” Boyer said. “The standard applies to single-building schools, multibuilding campuses, and multischool districts.”
The contents and scope of the standard may be viewed or purchased at www.nema.org.
