Survey Results Rank Safety, Security as Top Priorities for Education Facilities

According to the results of a new survey from Honeywell Building Technologies, 93% of schools reported an emergency incident due to an infrastructure malfunction within the last year. Similarly, within that same timeframe, 43% reported a cybersecurity or physical site breach. A little less than half (45%) of the education facility managers surveyed said that site security (including video surveillance and access control) and fire and life safety systems were among their top priorities in the coming 12–18 months.

The report, “Rethinking Educational Facilities as Digital Entities,” discusses the assessments, challenges and priorities of education facility managers across the U.S., Germany and China. Covering school facilities from pre-kindergarten through high school, as well as colleges, universities, and trade schools, it reveals concerns about issues like physical infrastructure (such as outdated HVAC systems) and how to enhance and invest in digital infrastructure for the sake of security, safety, building health and emergency response.

“Education facility managers are tasked not only with creating an environment conducive to learning, but also with protecting the safety of their students, staff and campuses—while, at the same time, managing new challenges to address asynchronous learning,” said Michael Cavanaugh, vice president and general manager of Building Management Systems, Honeywell Building Technologies. “Physical safety tops their list of concerns as they also shift emphasis to areas like improving indoor air quality, which has been shown to positively impact student performance.”

According to a press release, the survey’s results revealed five common themes among all three countries:

First, safety and security remain top priorities. About 52% of respondents listed site security as one of their highest priorities, including 34% who said that improving site security through various means was their top priority. Concerns regarding facility security included physical security and access control (77%); communication with staff, students and parents (76%); identifying the root issues of security and intrusion (73%); and reducing air filtration and contaminants (74%).

Second, as the COVID-19 pandemic winds down, the importance of healthy buildings has gained renewed focus. About 63% of respondents said they are more willing than they were before the pandemic to invest in healthy building solutions. About 58% ranked healthy buildings as a top priority, while 60% said it will continue to be a top priority after COVID. The most important aspects of healthy buildings (according to education facility managers surveyed) are improving indoor air quality (49%) and a means of real-time access to a building’s health metrics (47%).

Third, educational institutions continue to weather infrastructure and budgeting concerns. Facility managers in the education vertical cited more challenges than those in other industries like healthcare or commercial real estate. About 23% of respondents said they’ve experienced at least one emergency related to fire, gas, smoke, overheating, or water in the past 12 months. About 56% reported similar, but less serious, infrastructure malfunctions like power or network outages. About 70% said they have faced difficulties budgeting for upgrades or replacements that would fix those infrastructure problems.

Fourth, the progress of technology has complicated the infrastructure needs of educational facilities. About 71% of respondents said they have trouble keeping up with the pace of technological change. Less than 40% of respondents said they have digitally enabled technology related to gunshot detection (15%), a means of accessing real-time building health data (27%), remote building management (35%), or aspirating smoke detection (34%).

Finally, smart building solutions appear to be a popular trend in leading to healthier and safer schools. About 64% of respondents said they are more likely to invest in smart building solutions than they were before the pandemic. 56% said a single platform that can manage all building systems and provide a single source of data is the most important facet of a smart building.

The full report, “Rethinking Education Facilities as Digital Entities,” is available online.

About the Author

Matt Jones is senior editor of Spaces4Learning and Campus Security and Life Safety. He can be reached at [email protected]

Featured

  • A.C. Camargo Cancer Center Enhances Security, Patient Care with Help from Advanced Video Surveillance

    A.C. Camargo Cancer Center, a leading oncology treatment center in São Paulo, Brazil recognized for its history of innovation, today announced that its partnership with Axis Communications has produced savings of more than $2 million over its first two years, all of which will be reinvested in patient care. A.C. Camargo has deployed more than 2,000 state-of-the-art video surveillance cameras throughout the Center’s corridors, complex care units, and parking lots, embracing a more holistic approach to security that emphasizes patient and employee safety along with improved quality of service. Read Now

  • 2025 Secure Campus Award Winners Announced

    Campus Security Today is pleased to announce the 2025 Secure Campus Award winners. Twenty companies are being recognized this year for products that help keep education and business campuses safe. Read Now

  • K-12 School Safety Trends Report Shows Training, Technology Are Saving Lives

    CENTEGIX, the industry leader and most widely adopted wearable safety technology provider for K-12 education, today released its 2025 School Safety Trends Report, the only comprehensive and data-rich analysis of school safety available in the wearable panic button market. The report identifies and outlines the top tech and legislative movements relevant to school safety in the U.S. and draws on data collected in the 2024/2025 school year through the CENTEGIX Safety Platform, including more than 265,000 incidents of CrisisAlert use. Read Now

  • Survey: Fewer Than 20 Percent of School Leaders Consider Their Main Entrance “Completely Secure”

    Singlewire Software, provider of solutions that help keep people safe and informed, releases the findings of its inaugural School Entrance Security Report, which captured responses from more than 500 school staff members across the United States. This research highlights the concerns and challenges schools are facing in securing their entrances and keeping students and staff safe from potential threats Read Now