Emergency Preparedness by Keeping Government Devices Charged During Crises

When emergencies strike, quick response times save lives.

Whether it’s a wildfire, power outage, cyberattack, or severe storm, your mobile devices are critical for you and your constituents to stay connected, share updates, and coordinate resources.

But what happens when those devices aren’t charged — or worse, can’t be found?

In times of crisis, a dead tablet or misplaced laptop can delay critical decisions. That’s why charging government devices requires more than just sockets and outlets. If you’re in charge of keeping your office’s electronic assets ready to go at a moment’s notice, you need a solution that keeps your devices stored, charged, and monitored.

There are numerous problems that await when you’re preparing your devices for worst-case scenarios. Below, we’ll lay out each one, as well as the solutions you can incorporate for your government office’s emergency preparedness.

Problem 1: Too Many Devices and Insufficient Charging Resources or Infrastructure

Government buildings are home to dozens and sometimes hundreds of devices. Without a smart system in place, staff plug devices into any available outlet.

This isn’t necessarily a cause for concern. However, during an emergency situation, this simple act can create tangled cords, lost items, and missed charging cycles.

Worse yet, you or your team may be left scrambling during an outage where outlets won’t be much use.

Solution: Charging Carts

There are numerous charging solutions available. When in doubt, you can’t go wrong with charging carts.

Charging carts can store and power up to 36 devices in one place. These carts are mobile, so teams can roll them to key locations during an emergency. Some models even come with smart charging, which balances the power load across devices and helps protect them from damage.

In a disaster response setting like an emergency command center, charging carts can be a central base for all devices. With one as part of your emergency preparedness for government devices, you can rest easy knowing that every laptop or tablet is accounted for and ready to go.

Problem 2: Shared Devices and Confusion

Do members of your emergency preparedness team outnumber your devices? If this is the case, there’s a chance that devices are shared.

This isn’t necessarily a problem as long as you’re able to keep track of used devices. However, in an emergency, you can’t afford to waste time asking, “Who last used this iPad?” or “Where’s the charged scanner?”

Without a clear system, device access gets messy — and that is more than enough to slow your response down.

Solution: Charging Lockers

A big part of emergency preparedness for government devices is knowing where each laptop, tablet, or Chromebook is. For this, look no further than charging lockers.

Charging lockers are excellent options for when you need a charging solution with added device monitoring and accountability features. These lockers address monitoring issues by giving each user or team their own secure, powered compartment. Staff can access devices using RFID cards or PIN codes, and IT managers can track usage remotely.

In a fast-moving crisis, this setup allows staff to grab their assigned device — fully charged and ready for action.

As a bonus, charging lockers are also secure, and their authentication-enabled security helps prevent theft or loss during chaotic situations like evacuations or large-scale responses.

Problem 3: Limited Space in Command Centers

Whether your office deals with a natural calamity or a mass evacuation, people are bound to take priority over workspaces. For you and your staff, this means limited operational space, and the circumstances will force you to work in a cramped emergency operations center or mobile trailer.

With space being at a premium, traditional wall-mounted and generator-plugged charging solutions may not be the best solutions. Instead, you’ll need charging solutions that are both compact and reliable.

Solution: Charging Towers

There aren’t many solutions that can charge multiple devices and not compromise on floor space. Luckily, we at Bretford offer low-footprint charging towers designed for maximum space efficiency.

Our charging towers offer vertical storage for multiple devices. These units make it easy to keep tablets, radios, and phones charged without using up counter space. Some models like the CUBE Tower are equipped with individual bays that have LED indicators, so you always know which devices are fully charged.

Charging towers are especially useful for mobile units or satellite offices where square footage is limited.

Problem 4: Unreliable Outlets and Inconsistent Charging

Emergencies can place additional demands on your building’s electrical infrastructure. This is especially true during massive outages.

Power outages or surges can cause inconsistent charging, which can damage your devices. During emergencies where electrical availability is an issue, plugging into unreliable outlets isn’t a safe bet.

Solution: Smart Charging Stations and Hubs

When you need reliable charging, smart hubs and charging trays are excellent choices. These solutions provide you with dependable high-speed charging for smaller fleets of critical-use devices.

These compact tools are ideal for locations where you need a fast, efficient solution — like a conference room turned temporary command center.

Problem 5: Devices Go Missing When You Need Them Most

There’s always a chance of device loss during high-stress situations like evacuations and natural disasters. Without a centralized system, your valuable tools like tablets or radios may not be where they should be.

The resulting unavailability of these devices will cost your team time, momentum, and, in the worst-case scenario, the lives of the people you’re trying to save.

Solution: Centralized Management Thanks to Charging Carts, Lockers, and Hubs

Having one charging solution in place covers a lot of bases. However, for seamless and stress-free device management and tracking, you’ll need multiple solutions synced to a cloud-backed platform.

At Bretford, our charging solutions are integrated and synced to our proprietary cloud-powered platform, Bretford Connect. With this platform, you can track devices in your charging solutions from one simple interface.

Build an Emergency-Ready Government Workspace With Bretford

Seconds count in an emergency, which is why you need charging solutions that can keep your devices safe, charged, and, most importantly, as ready to dive into the action as you are.

No matter what comes your way, we have the charging solutions to support your emergency preparedness.

Contact us for a free quote on our charging solutions and make your government office ready for anything.