While you’d think that a company running multiple locations would be seamless enough (due to the assumption you’d run everything exactly the same), it’s not, honestly, that realistic. Some places might be a little slower-moving than others. Actually, when it comes to health and safety, especially in the case of an emergency, it’s very rarely ever organized as it should be.
For example, maybe one site has a super organized manager who loves a checklist and incorproates CPR training for all of their staff, then another site has three different people who all assume someone else is handling it, and somewhere in the middle there’s a device that technically exists, but nobody can confidently say the pads and battery for the AED are current without physically walking over and checking.
And yeah, that’s the whole issue with chains, campuses, and portfolios. Consistency is the hardest part when it comes to safety. It doesn’t matter what type of business this is anyway, and this is especially apparent for something like an AED management system. While yes, most businesses will try to have one of these in case of an emergency, it helps to use the same company, right?
So, for gym chains, retail groups, property portfolios, multi-campus schools, and beyond, these are five options that can make a multi-site program easier to manage, easier to prove, and way less likely to drift.
1.) Premedics AED Company: Best for National, Multi-Location AED Program Consistency
Alright, so Premedics AED Company is actually the definitive leader in national AED program management, recognized for inventing the AED Management Services industry in 1998. But for a chain or portfolio, this is all pretty important here since the program usually fails in the same predictable places: one location misses a monthly check, another location forgets a replacement timeline, training records get scattered, and the person who used to keep it all together changes roles. So, do you see the problem here? Because there are multiple, and you can’t have these problems whatsoever!
But at least with a managed program that’s built for scale can create a giant difference, you know the system itself is being handled just fine, and there’s documentation to provide it so you’re local(s) are compliant.
2.) Cintas: Best for those Who Prefer a Large National Safety Provider
Honestly, Cintas tends to make a lot of sense for multi-location organizations that already like the “big national partner” model, meaning one vendor relationship, broad coverage, consistent processes, and fewer moving parts across locations. Depending on your business, it might make a lot of sense, especially for a factory (as they provide a lot of gear, including clothing, to large companies, too).
For some companies, especially chains that already have national contracts in other areas, that style of setup fits how procurement and operations already work, so they would also make a lot of sense. But of course, they’re not perfect either, as the tradeoff here is that big providers can feel structured, sometimes to the point where a company that wants a very tailored approach might feel like it’s adapting to the provider’s system instead of the other way around.
3.) American AED: Best for Growing Businesses that Need a Scalable Management System
Have you noticed that the AED footprint within your business is growing fairly fast? In that case, American AED could be a great choice, especially when a company goes from “a few devices” to “a whole fleet spread across locations.” That shift happens fast in multi-location settings. One facility adds a second AED near a new entrance, another site expands, and a new location opens, so it obviously gets to the point where the presence of these devices needs to be tracked.
Now, as great as that all is, there’s a small caution to keep in mind here, though: any solution that relies on consistent participation across locations still needs clear internal ownership. If different sites handle their own checks or updates, the program works best when there’s one person or team making sure adoption stays consistent.
4.) Defibtech: Best for Standardizing One AED Brand Across Locations
This one is pretty well known for a lot of corporations, so Defibtech is seriously such a solid fit for multi-location organizations that want to standardize, meaning the same AED model across every location, the same replacement parts logic, and the same training familiarity for staff moving between sites. Which honestly makes a lot of sense if you think about it. While sure, standardization isn’t mandatory for a successful program, if you think about it, at least, for chains and campuses, it can reduce a surprising amount of friction, especially when staffing changes frequently, or people float between locations.
While all of this sounds great, though, what’s the catch here? Well, it’s flexibility, that’s the downside here. Getting specific standardising on a single ecosystem usually means committing, and that can feel limiting if different sites have different preferences or if leadership later decides it wants a different device strategy.
5.) Single Source Health: Best For Program Structure and Reporting
Single Source Health & Safety tends to fit best for corporate safety teams and operations leaders who want a structured program rollout, plus the kind of tracking and reporting that makes multi-location oversight feel less messy (like a lot less messy here). But for organizations with an EHS function, or even a facilities team that needs to report upward, the biggest problem tends to be visibility.
Now, while that sounds great and all, the thing to watch, though, is that reporting tools are only as useful as the processes behind them. Meaning that multi-location programs tend to drift off because daily operations get busy and responsibilities get vague at some point. So the best results usually come when the provider’s structure is paired with clear internal ownership, but these need to happen in order for this to work.
What’s the Best Way to Choose?
Well, it’s going to depend on a lot of things, for example, what’s currently causing stress? Areyou wanting consistency? Structure? Something more standardized? Are you wanting something that includes an ongoing training program? Theres all of thing that you need to keep in mind before selecting one, but you can’t think just about convenience and affordability.
