We’ve started shipping our product all over the country in 2015. This means we are no longer installing the majority of our product. We are instead relying on school staff or subcontractors to install our product in schools outside of New Jersey, which has come with some challenges. During our recent, and ongoing, assessment of Florida schools, we’ve learned about these challenges and came up with a solution. Our most recent innovation is proving to be our best yet, by far.
Several of those challenges had to do with explaining how to properly install the shutter onto the door, which we were able to get past with Documents and video instruction.
One thing that was difficult for us to overcome was wood doors that need our steel adhesive plates. Schools don’t want anything screwed into their doors. So everything installs with adhesives. The adhesive used on our steel plates took a certain amount of pressure to apply and needed to be left undisturbed while curing for 24 hours. This was an issue that we have now overcome. We now have a steel plate that we apply a foam back adhesive to that takes very little pressure to properly install and has a very short cure time. In other words, they can’t fall off even if the shutter is used immediately after installation is finished. This proves how the smallest details can turn out to be the most important.
Another issue I have discovered in schools is their inability to properly lockdown in multipurpose areas, cafeterias, media centers, and gymnasium. This must be addressed. Most of these areas have large spans of glass that need to be part of lockdown or shelter in place procedures. You can’t count on a shooter having a schedule. Tragedy and strike at any time and in any place on school grounds. If the kids are all gathered in the cafeteria and the alarm sounds for lockdown, what do you do? Some schools are using rooms within these rooms to huddle the kids into. I guess that works if there’s enough space, but what if it’s a large gathering? What if everything happens too fast to hide all the kids from an assailant?
I think the answer is, create lockdown spaces everywhere on campus. These areas with large spans of glass need attention. It’s no longer just for sun protection or a little privacy. It could be a matter of life and death.
Budget is the obstacle. The best products for this situation are available but expensive. There are window shades sophisticated. They can be part of a Schools Raptor security system. All hooked together with a central monitoring and ability to lockdown an entire campus from anywhere on the campus. Most of the schools that I have visited need this system, but cannot afford it.
When budget is the main obstacle there are solutions. Hospital cubicle curtains are inexpensive, easy to install and most importantly, extremely fast and easy to operate. This is a great solution for large spans of glass and low budget. They are made from FR materials and can be made almost any width and length and draw effortlessly with a baton. A great low budget solution for locking down in areas where there are large spans of glass.