NFPA Journal - November/December 2019 - 62

Perspectives

a similar series of exit routes but doing it in real
time. This would require a fully smart, artificial
intelligence-type system that would predict where
people should go as the event is happening.
Traditional exit signs have been around for
decades and are a tried-and-true component
of building safety. Why is dynamic signage
even needed?
My position is basically that, today, we're not
concerned solely with fire. In the design of buildings, you have to be concerned with other types of
emergency events, whether it's natural disasters or
bomb threats or active shooter events.
So it's the changing landscape of threats
to safety that's driving the push toward
dynamic signage?
Yes. That and the fact that in recent years we've
done a lot in the way of communicating these
hazards in new ways. We're not just using tonal
alarms anymore. We have voice messaging. We
have targeted messaging. These new, advanced
alarm systems are becoming more common
and are now addressed in codes like NFPA 72®,
National Fire Alarm and Signaling Code®. So
we've found new ways to tell people they have to
get out and why. But, when it comes to that next
step of telling people how to get out, we're still
requiring them to look for those exit signs that
have been more or less the same since the 1960s.
And you don't think they're effective anymore?
They are certainly still effective, but I think
dynamic signage can be more effective. In talking
to people about the need for dynamic signage,
I've been introducing the concept of visual noise.
If you're walking around in a shopping mall,
for example, traditional exit signs can be hard
to find. They're like background noise. People
are faced with all sorts of signage every day in
every building, and exit signs have always been
part of that noise. By doing something as simple
as making the signs blink-which would be a
version of level-one dynamic signage-it can
make a difference.

nfpa.org/
perspectives
Read a study that
shows how dynamic
exit signage can
increase the
detectability of
egress paths.

Do you see dynamic signage as the next
logical step in improving building safety?
It's hard to predict if it will happen, but I think it
should be the next logical evolution in evacuation,
especially in large, complex buildings-even if it's
as simple as taking existing exit signs and making
them blink just to increase their visibility.

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You mentioned "large, complex buildings."
Is that where dynamic signage has the most
potential?
Absolutely. Not every building is that complex. In
a hotel, for example, you typically have a simple
exit system. It's one corridor with a set of stairs at
either end, and it's pretty intuitive. You can go one
way or the other and you'll eventually run into
a set of stairs. You don't need very complicated
directional signage there. But in a convention
center or an airport or a mall, the exits can be
quite confusing. And if one exit is blocked-
for example, there's an active shooter incident
taking place-you want to send people to another
exit. Finding that path may not be very easy in a
large, complex building and that's where dynamic
signage can really help.

We have voice messaging.
We have targeted messaging.
We've found new ways to tell
people they have to get out
and why. But, when it comes
to that next step of telling
people how to get out, we're
still requiring them to look
for those exit signs that
have been more or less the
same since the 1960s.

What's stopping the use of dynamic signage?
One of the main obstacles to getting these
systems in use is liability concerns, especially
in the United States with our litigious society.
People worry, "What happens if the dynamic
signage in my building tells people to go the
wrong way and they get hurt or die?" My counterargument to that is, "What happens if you
don't tell them where to go and they walk out
an exit path into a dangerous situation and get
hurt or die?" There is liability there, too, in my
opinion. There is liability connected to all of
our building systems, such as sprinklers or fire
alarms. I think that should not hold us back from
exploring these solutions. And I think companies realize that, and that's why there are many
companies exploring these solutions. The codes
just need to catch up.

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NFPA Journal - November/December 2019

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