Each college and department should assess their area's communication needs in times of emergencies, power failures, or hazardous incidents. In particular, those areas with laboratories or studios that incorporate potentially hazardous materials or processes should strengthen or redevelop their existing procedures and capabilities for emergency communications in anticipation of such emergencies.

In an emergency, power outage, or hazardous incident, all telephones may be limited or nonfunctional. Each department must consider their communication needs during these unusual events and ensure that appropriate procedures and backup modes of communication are in place.

Under the Unified Communications (UC) environment, a variety of phones, telephone lines, and cellular options are available (cost varies) that may allow inbound and/or outbound calls during times of emergency, power outages, or hazardous incidents, including:

• Mobile phones with cellular service.
• Emergency "blue light" phones with backup battery power that provide a direct line to 911 service (useful for hazardous labs).
• The Skype for Business mobile application with cellular service or connection to an operational network.
• Call forwarding and simultaneous ring features allow departmental and/or work phone numbers to transfer calls to a cell phone or other non-TTU phone.
• Legacy fax lines with analog phones (useful during localized or campus-wide power outages).

For information about how to reach emergency services using TTU Unified Communications, please see How to: Contact the Texas Tech Police Department or other emergency response personnel.

The UC service provides the Skype for Business mobile app, interactive voice response (IVR) prompts, voicemail, call forwarding, and other features at any time the phone device is disconnected from the system or the user does not answer an incoming call. These features may be useful for setting up automated campus and public responses or redirecting incoming calls.

The TTU Emergency Management group has reviewed the procedures for communications during campus-wide emergencies. Those departments that operate potentially hazardous laboratories or studios should work with their departmental and college safety committees to plan emergency communications. Such potential hazards may include biological, chemical, electrical, or mechanical dangers. Environmental Health & Safety provides campus consultation and can help departments mitigate risks, improve safety, and create emergency guidelines. The TTU Office of the CIO can provide expert advice about the capabilities of each level of communications technology.

Additional information about UC technology can be found by searching askIT at https://askit.ttu.edu. Contact information for additional information or assistance:

TTU Department of Environmental Health & Safety
806-742-3876

TTU Emergency Management Coordinator
806-742-2121

TTU Office of the CIO
806-742-5151

IT Help Central
Contact IT Help Central

NOTE: The TTU Office of the CIO strongly recommends downloading and installing the Skype for Business mobile application on your phone and/or tablet from the App Store (iOS) or Google Play Store (Android). We also recommend that you use it frequently so that you are familiar with the interface.