National Capital Region CAD2CAD Assessment

In Summary:

• A CAD2CAD initiative within the National Capital Region (NCR) had been successful in reducing response times, a lack of governance structure and no rules or regulations regarding growth kept the model from being sustainable long term.
• MCP helped the participating agencies lay out a detailed plan for the program's future.
• Today, the CAD2CAD program sees continued success following MCP's recommendations.

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Overview and Agency Challenge

Participants in the National Capital Region CAD2CAD initiative include the City of Alexandria, Arlington County, Fairfax County, Loudoun County and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA), which consists of Dulles International Airport, Reagan National Airport and the Dulles Toll Road. They looked to expand the CAD2CAD initiative and establish a clear vision and governance structure, as well as determine how to make the model sustainable long-term.

The Evolution of the Emergency Communications Ecosystem

In Summary:

• Emergency communications centers are not much different from what they were when they first appeared on the scene a half century ago.

• PSAPs need to jettison the legacy analog call-handling equipment that has existed for the last 50 years, and replace it with new equipment capable of processing calls and data that originates from digital devices.

• The evolution of the emergency communications ecosystem will result in PSAPs and telecommunicators that will look and behave very differently than they do today. 

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The public safety sector and emergency communications has reached an inflection point. Technology has evolved dramatically, and the needs and expectations of the public served by PSAPs have evolved as well. Data has overtaken voice in terms of importance. As a result, PSAPs need systems that are capable of leveraging the enormous amount of data is that already available, yet inaccessible today. Legacy call-handling equipment equipment that has existed for the last 50 years needs to be replaced with new equipment capable of processing calls and data originating from digital, Internet-Protocol (IP)-based devices.

Workforce Optimization: A Smarter Solution to Resolving 911's Staffing Struggle

In Summary:

• Staffing struggles have plagued public safety communications for years, and the situation is worsening because of favorable economic conditions that bring an abundance of less-stressful, better paying jobs.

• Workforce optimization is the concept of taking a more holistic approach to staffing that places equal emphasis on recruitment, hiring, training, and retention.

• The profile of the ideal telecommunicator is evolving. The next generation telecommunicator will process different skills than they do today.

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Several years ago, the National 911 Program released the Recommended Minimum Training Guidelines for the 911 Telecommunicator. The document was intended to ensure that a more consistent standard of care was provided by 911 call-takers and dispatchers to callers requesting emergency services, regardless of their location at the time of the call. A corollary benefit of the guidelines is that they might help reduce the amount of personnel churn that emergency communications centers (ECCs) experience.

MCP Helps Florida PSAP Resolve a 911 Staffing Struggle

In Summary:

• The PSAP operated by the Fort Myers Police Department in Florida was dealing with a significant staffing shortage.
• The organization turned to MCP to assess the situation and make actionable recommendations to resolve the issues.
• Today, for the first time in a decade, all call-taker and dispatcher positions are filled with fully-trained personnel.

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Overview and Agency Challenge

These are challenging times for public safety answering points (PSAPs). Many are dealing with funding shortfalls, others are wondering where they will find the money to implement Next Generation 911 (NG911) technology. Given this, it should come as no surprise that the PSAP operated by the Fort Myers Police Department in Florida has been dealing with a significant staffing shortage of its own. The PSAP operated by the police department in Fort Myers handles more than 200,000 emergency calls annually. Low employee morale and a high staff turnover rate were impacting the PSAP’s performance significantly and compounding existing 911 staffing issues. Other challenges they face included:

On-Demand Webinar: The Top Strategic Public Safety Trends for 2019

There are several significant, disruptive technology and operations trends that Mission Critical Partners feels will set the stage for the future of public safety over the next three to five years. Public safety agencies must understand these trends, begin preparing for them now, and understand how to adjust their operations in order to adapt. They are trends that cannot afford to ignored.

Whitepaper: A Smarter Approach to Resolving the 911 Hiring Struggle

In Summary: 

• Staffing and hiring struggles have plagued public safety agencies for years and the situation is worsening

• High personnel churn and attrition rates contribute to the shortage

• Workforce optimization is the right approach for 911 officials looking to resolving 911 staffing struggles instead of simply focusing on recruitment

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Staffing 911 centers has become a huge concern in the public safety communications community. In this report, we explore the concept of workforce optimization, of which training is one of four key pillars, with recruitment, hiring and retention being the others. 

On-Demand Webinar: Social Media and Emergency Response

In 2018, Charleston County Consolidated 911 Center, Mission Critical Partners, RapidSOS, and RapidDeploy led a pilot project completed in September that tested the use of social media data in emergency response along with collaborators from the Penn State University.

Pennsylvania Region 13: A Holistic Approach to Network Management for Less

In Summary:

• Region 13 Task Force in Southwestern Pennsylvania covers a population of 3 million people and 713 public safety agencies.

• The Region needed a cost-effective, yet reliable, network maintenance solution to monitor its IP-based emergency services Internet Protocol (IP)-based network (ESInet).

• MCP's provides the region with network maintenance and monitoring services from MCP to help them realize single-sourced, proactive and reliable network monitoring and maintenance, triage and support from one partner at the fraction of the cost of working with multiple vendors.

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Overview and Agency Challenge

Region 13 designed and implemented a regional, interoperable Emergency Services Internet Protocol (IP) network (ESInet) in 2012 with the help of Mission Critical Partners (MCP). A robust and complex network constructed of dark-fiber meshed from multiple vendors and microwave hops on a Multiprotocol Label Switching (MPLS) router platform, the ESInet serves all 9-1-1 public safety answering points (PSAPs) and emergency operations centers (EOCs) in the region, as well as public safety radio and video applications. The ESInet’s mission-critical nature requires a network management and oversight solution that ensures the highest level of reliability and uptime while keeping operating costs manageable.

On-Demand Webinar: Data Integration: Moving Beyond 512 Characters of Legacy Data

Next Generation 911 and public safety broadband are opening up new opportunities for consuming and sharing data in public safety—a situation previously unimaginable in this industry. Today, we're seeing several disruptive technologies penetrate the market such as device-based hybrid location (e.g. iOS12), connected car data (Uber), and social media. Home IoT, wearables and smart city sensors are on the horizon.

New EOC Facility Improves PEMA’S Operational and Administrative Capabilities

In Summary:

• A Pennsylvania statewide EOC agency suffered from a lack of space at an aging facility that prevented them to introduce new technology and replace antiquated systems.

• MCP and its partner, SCHRADERGROUP, worked together to help PEMA build a new state-of-the-art facility and ancillary building that opened in July 2016.

• The new facility is considered a crown jewel that dramatically enhances PEMA's operational and administrative capabilities

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Overview and Agency Challenge

An Emergency Operations Center (EOC) facility located in Harrisburg, PA is home to the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA), a cabinet-level agency that is tasked with coordinating prevention, preparedness, response and recovery activities related to natural and man-made emergencies in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. Lack of space and age prevented them from serving the needs of a statewide EOC and limited their ability to introduce new technology and replace aging systems.

Butler County, PA Maximizes the Value of its P25 Radio System While Boosting Coverage, Capacity and Interoperability

In Summary:

• Butler County, PA's existing public safety land mobile radio system was facing end-of-life and had begun to experience reduced reliability.

• They County worked with MCP to develop a road-map that would replace the system with one that would meet their future needs.

• MCP provided a detailed assessment and implementation support and eventually, helped Butler County realize 43 percent cost-savings and long-term maintenance savings.

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"MCP has played a key role in helping us meet our project goals by managing multiple vendors on our behalf—holding them accountable for meeting project milestones, managing project risks and ensuring that they meet schedule deadlines and requirements."

Steve Bicehouse, director, Butler County, Butler County

Overview and Agency Challenge

Located 20 miles north of Pittsburgh, PA, Butler County serves nearly 200,000 people across 800 square miles. Their existing radio system was facing the need for end-of-life support and had begun to experience reduced reliability. The ten-site, eight channel system operated in a frequency band that had be reallocated by the Federal Communications Commission as mandated within the Middle-Class Tax Relief Act of 2012.

Florida County Gains 911 Network Visibility with MCP's Co-Managed IT Platform

In Summary:

• Lee County, Florida 911 officials were not satisfied with the network maintenance they were received from their technology vendors
• MCP provides ongoing IT support for Lee County via an online dashboard that is intended to provide a real-time network diagram and information on active alarms and ticket status, as well as reporting capabilities.

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Overview and Agency Challenge

Maintaining network up time during large-scale disasters like Hurricane Irma and during normal operations was top of mind for Lee County, Florida officials. Despite several 911 vendors providing 911 network monitoring services, Lee County officials weren’t satisfied with the level of service they were receiving. They sought greater clarity on network activity, more customization (instead of an off-the-shelf solution), and a mechanism for identifying current and historic network activities.