These upgrades include implementation of next-generation 911 using advanced Internet protocols for 911 call delivery, data management and potentially the future integration of social media.
Question: What changes in 911 center technology have you seen in the last 20 years?
Answer: Twenty years ago we were working to solve the problem of how to route 911 calls in a complex geopolitical environment. The result was enhanced 911 that used the caller’s address as a key to route the call to the correct public safety answering point (PSAP) and as an additional lifesaving feature displayed the address with the call. Getting accurate routing on close to 100 percent of the calls with the front door address was an achieved goal. About the time the voters of Washington state agreed that Enhanced 911 should be statewide, with a tax package to make it happen, wireless cellular service hit the streets. It took years of battling with the FCC to get requirements in place that the wireless carriers would route the calls to the correct PSAP and supply the caller’s location.
In the same time frame we needed to come up with ways to integrate private phone systems and accommodate huge changes in the technology and policies of the telecommunications industry as it was to a large degree deregulated with never previously considered ideas like number portability being implemented. Setup time for a 911 call was about 15 seconds from the last number dialed to a ring at the PSAP. We redesigned the network to reduce that to about six seconds and added dual-route diversity for virtually all calls with no down time. The evolving of the communications industry saw a huge growth in Internet capabilities and when companies started selling voice over Internet protocol services this time the FCC was quick to act to require effective 911 service. We had about nine months to do what had taken 10 years for wireless.
Outside of the technology issues and maybe the biggest change in the last 20 years is how 911 has become an absolute expected service. In the minds of the public, it is anticipated, and in the minds of those who are dispatched to assist, it has become the glue that holds the system together. 911 has become a public safety discipline unto itself, a full partner with police, fire and medical. Twenty years ago the technologies of today’s PSAPs from the 911 systems, to computer-aided dispatch (CAD), to multiband trunked radio systems with radio over Internet protocol were science fiction, and today we have professionals in the PSAPs who use, and manage, them 24 hours a day.
Q: It appears that in the future technology will be driving all PSAP functions. What do you see both short term and long term for technological impacts to 911 centers?
A: The tools that you see in the hands of the public are the first clue to the future. I have an iPod that does more in the palm of my hand easier and faster than the 5-year-old computer on my desk. The iPod accepts voice commands and will take dictation, plus it is not a bad phone. 911 is moving to accommodating the deaf and hard of hearing by moving from TTYs to mobile text devices. Text-to-speech and speech-to-text will be common along with not having to move a mouse when a voice command will do. Graphic interfaces with tools like drag and drop, voice command and video from the caller to the PSAP are short term. Long term we'll see the integration of all kinds of data from associated sources ranging from the medical community to insurance companies to the response process, with the PSAP being the integration point all aimed at improving the capability to provide the best possible outcome for the caller.
Q: A great number of small 911 centers receive just a few calls each day/week. What keeps these centers from consolidating with other larger 911 centers?
A: Pride in ownership, community and some insecurity about having someone else handle what is perceived as a very important safety function. The most frequent answer is politics, but I think that skims the emotional ties for many of the centers. We all have our comfort levels when it comes to having someone else do things for us. When I hear comments from small centers like, "The big PSAP just wouldn’t know the territory." I don’t think they are referring to the layout of the roads. It goes far deeper.
Q: What three to five things would you look for to evaluate the quality of a 911 program or center?
A: Training and personnel is first. The people who take the calls must be hired using objective tools that permit them to work in the environment, and they must be trained with an ongoing program for growth in capabilities and maintain necessary certifications such as Emergency Medical System prearrival.
Management backing is second. The backing needs to be supportive in budget and recognition, but also needs to understand the role played and how critical it is to the individual calling. Every elected and appointed official in the hierarchy above the PSAP should spend a Saturday night plugged in with call takers. Management also needs to understand how the PSAP role impacts other agencies and activities with an emphasis on how effective protocols at the PSAP can make a major incident manageable for many responsible parties outside of the normal ones dispatched. That understanding can help build responsive community action plans centered on rapid activations by the PSAP.
Third is the best tools. From the 911 system being capable and responsive to technology changes, to CAD systems that are comprehensive and easy to work with, to chairs that are comfortable, to radio systems that permit understanding what was said. All the tools must work without failure. They don’t need to be gold plated, just the best fit for the system and its users.
Sense of mission is the glue. The PSAP and all those associated with it must have a clear sense of their mission as a public service where failure is not an option.
Q: Many if not all states have a taxing mechanism to support the function of their 911 systems. Some have raided these funds as the recession wrecked havoc with state budgets. What is the best strategy to protect these dedicated funds from being redirected to other uses?
A: Clearly articulate what the money is going to do, and spend it whenever possible on making 911 meet the expectations of the public. Work with the 911 community to establish support programs that get available funds into improving service rather than building a fund surplus for which there is no spending plan. Spending the money could mean entering into long-term contracts for equipment upgrades, system upgrades or other long-term commitments. If it isn’t being spent or is not clearly obligated, money in government is not needed and is therefore available for other uses.
Protecting the dedicated funds also requires building an enthusiastic consortium of public safety-related advocates who understand the plan to use the funds in support of activities that benefit their operations. One of the major tribulations with 911 funding is that program expenditures are often quite cyclical with low expense periods and extreme expense periods. That cyclical nature leads to creating substantial fund balances that are attractive unless there is a clear, well established program for documenting the need for the funds in the future. If the plan is well known and public, then the support groups can weigh in with some hope of protecting the funds.
Q: What are some mistakes that 911 centers make that should be avoided?
A: Playing the game of "staffing pattern over analysis." Developing complex staff rotation schedules with split shift and other tools can quickly get everybody bogged down in scheduling with a high likelihood that it will fall apart anyway when the wrong two people get ill the same day. Instead develop ongoing training and other programs that can be segmented to fully fill the slack times in the shift.
Becoming very transparent is imperative. 911 is a transparent service, and services that aren’t visible are not supported. Build an image of what great things are done daily by being sure the community knows who you are and the great things that happen.
Not recognizing others' trust is another issue. People not only trust correctly that you will go to great lengths to generate a successful outcome from the worse case scenarios, they let that trust build a sense of complacency about 911 sometimes needing help. Ask for help as a tool to build relationships so others will better know your operation and how they can play a supporting role.
Q: What can emergency managers do to better partner with their 911 centers in their community?
A: Emergency managers often plan for response around their emergency operations centers (EOC) and the actions that take place after it is staffed. That is far too late in the event. The PSAP is the authority that will first know of an event and is responsible for directing immediate response. That response will set the stage for the rest of the event, and the emergency manager’s plans should start right there.
The PSAP should have the authority to begin the call out of resources beyond what it normally handles, including getting the emergency manager and appropriate other staff to the EOC if that is warranted by the event. The emergency manager should be intimately aware of the protocols used in the PSAP and have inserted actions where appropriate to bring resources to the scene that may otherwise not be called until much later. I have seen protocols for fire response where the PSAP calls for police to manage traffic on virtually every response, and includes calling out public works/roads traffic mangers to provide roadblocks where there will be considerable time on the scene so that the police can return to patrol. The emergency manager should think of the PSAP as the incident command until relieved by the first on-scene unit. A well thought-out local emergency management plan will have the EOC appear as a supplementing force to the PSAP in many incident plans.
Plans for extended response incidents need to include the PSAP as a critical agency that will need support. In major response situations, the incident quickly becomes totally managed separate from the PSAP and the emergency management effort focuses there. However, the daily activities and responsibilities of the PSAP are often also stressed by the incident due to increased call volumes, loss of response units to the major incident, and the general higher stress levels in the community. The PSAP becomes a victim of the incident even though it is not directly involved. PSAPs are unlikely to ask for help, so there should be clearly defined actions to assure that they're included in the plan. This inclusion must acknowledge that the PSAP needs to know what is going on and can be an effective window into the community.
Q: What role will social media play in 911 calls, if any?
A: We are rebuilding the 911 systems to permit in the near future the receipt of text and video from those who dial 911. In that regard, social media becomes not only a way for someone to text to 911, it becomes another tool that requires a new way of interacting with the caller. The possibilities are virtually endless and undefined, much as the concept of social media was undefined just a few years ago. Social media has formed communities where none existed before along with cultures that even have unique language structures. Will 911 need to learn the intricacies of these cultures in order to be able to communicate with them? Will the social media concepts of sharing everything overwhelm the PSAP with information that needs to be screened for relevancy? It is clear the answers will be known only after the fact.
Q: Many people are interested in public-sector service. What type of person or personality functions best for working in a 911 center?
A: Type A personalities who absolutely love people seem to excel in PSAPs, but most centers have a variety of personalities. Direct communicators would seem to be naturals, but assertive and analytical styles may have an easier time working in the PSAP environment. One of the key elements is the ability to multitask with high information flow. Remembering a 10-digit phone number spewed to you by an excited person with a strong accent and typing a license plate into the computer for an officer while the other phone is ringing is a common skill. Most 911 centers have complex protocols that must be followed while making judgments with sometimes spotty information.
Q: If someone is interested in getting a job working in a 911 center is there anything they can do to prepare themselves and give them a leg up on others competing for limited number of job openings?
A: It is not unusual to see more than half the people hired not pass the one-year probation at PSAPs, and this has driven most to be very selective with a number of testing tools deployed to find those who will succeed. There are programs at community colleges aimed at developing the skills that have been successful. 911 centers do extensive background checks on every candidate because of the sensitive information handled every day. On a personal level, one critical item is to not have an arrest record and on the other hand to have a set of great references. For skills, learning to type well from the spoken word at a high speed including numbers will be invaluable for the likely typing and skill test, plus it makes learning the rest of the job much easier.
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Autor(en)/Author(s): Eric Holdeman
Quelle/Source: Emergency Management, 20.12.2010
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