CHICAGO - Custom cabinetry manufacturer Wood-Mode, Inc. says it added Amerilert, which allows it to communicate instant information and news to its 1,000 employees in emergency situations.

Engineered by Omnilert, the system is being shown at the Society for Human Resource Management  Annual Conference and Expo here in Chicago.

"In the past, if we had plant closings or delays, we would rely on getting the message out by contacting the various radio stations and our 24-hour information phone line," says Tom Morgensen, VP human resources at Wood-Mode. "That was probably fine in the old days, but it just didn't keep up with our employees' needs today. Some people did not get our announcements, which created problems for us."

Morgensen says Amerilert lets Wood-Mode communicate with its employees simultaneously using cell phone text messaging, email, and voice messaging. "It allows us to more effectively contact our employees with specific information about their work schedule when the need arises as a result of various incidents that affect our operations," he says.

The system was adopted after a review by Wood-Mode's IT department, and has been used to communicate during a severe weather event.