The Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) is an electronic system consisting of a microphone, amplifier, loudspeaker, call station, tone generator, interface link to the Fire & Gas (F&G) system, Distributed Control System (DCS) system, PBX, radio system, CCTV system, access control, instrumentation/control equipment, safety & security equipment, and other equipment.

The Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) increases the volume (loudness) either automatically by pre-recording or manually via a microphone for emergency broadcasts, announcements, evacuation procedure information, two-way communication, playback of sound entertainment devices, etc. safely, quickly, efficiently, and reliably for everyone in the infrastructure/facility.

The Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) sends an alarm as an alert and warning of danger, be it a fire hazard, or an attack from outside, with the type of alarm that can be pre-determined according to the operating philosophy of the infrastructure/facility or emergency alarm items owned by each infrastructure/facility.

Emergency alarms broadcast information through each loudspeaker to protect life in an emergency. Emergency communications can include alerts and warnings; directives regarding evacuation, curfews, and other self-protection measures; and information about response status, available assistance, and other matters affecting response and recovery.

Given the importance of the Public Address General Alarm (PAGA) system’s function, people often neglect to choose and determine the selection of reliable equipment or materials for emergency purposes. Many people prefer low cost but not based on proper technical standards.

The Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) with its emergency main function must continue to operate until the end of the life of the installation/infrastructure in the event of an emergency such as a fire or explosion. 

In general, and not limited to, the following are the functions of the Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) ;

• Under normal conditions, the Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) will function to convey various information, announcements, or two-way communication from each installed call station. Even for operation and maintenance.
• Provides recorded voicemail/alarm signal for emergencies. These messages can be safety/security/fire alarm messages, evacuation instructions, or general messages.
• The Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) is often linked via radio systems, PBX systems, or centralized broadcasting. Especially with a very large area and there are not always people in the work area. As an example; when an emergency occurs, the radio signal will be the priority signal for broadcast, and all other function operations will be automatically removed until there is a decision from the authority to shift broadcast priority.
• The Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) can be used as an internal communication system (intercom) – Two-way communication which can function as a two-way communication system for operations and maintenance activities
• The Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) can be integrated with any control device for safety and security reasons
• The Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) can have several zones/divisions to carry out its functions
• The Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) can make page party calls between zones or across zones
• Group calls within a zone. This Group Call is used to combine several participants into a group and finish it by pressing the live communication button. Group Calls can be defined by addressing only a selected number of call stations within a zone or different zone.
• Emergency calls, are a major concern for the industry. Emergency calls to operators, through individual call stations or group call stations, and loudspeakers.
• Priority page, which allows important messages to override normal operational communication. With different priority levels.
• Conference call for all zone
• Event-triggered announcements with assigned prerecorded voice messages or tone generator alarms can be sent to predefined loudspeaker lines, call stations, or mixtures of call stations and loudspeakers.

Following current technological developments, to accommodate emergency conditions according to the emergency level of the facilities/infrastructures, Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) proposes several configuration options as examples;

• Single unit with a redundant system for the internal amplifier
• Duplicate but non-redundant for the internal amplifier on each unit, it’s redundant for the complete unit.
• Redundant, where each duplicate unit has a redundant internal Amplifier as well as a redundant complete unit.

All system combination options can be customized depending on customer needs and still pay attention to the standard reference.

In addition, in its development the Public Address General Alarm System (PAGA) was made with 3 operating system options;

• Analog
• IP Based Network
• Hybrid, a Combination of Analog and IP

All of this can be done according to customer needs, where each of the above options has its advantages and disadvantages, both in terms of voice transmission quality, cost, efficiency, flexibility, manageability, and future upgrades.