The Mission-Critical Resource Center

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

---

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.

Infographic: Overcome Staffing Challenges with Workforce Optimization

According to the National Emergency Number Association (NENA), Americans make an average of 240 million 911 calls annually. Today, public safety answering points (PSAPs) around the country are faced with the challenge of finding and retaining the right staff to answer those calls. This is a critical imperative because when a 911 call goes unanswered, the results can be devastating. What steps can PSAP leaders take to begin overcoming their staffing challenges today while preparing for tomorrow?

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.

---

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

---

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.

---

"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.

---

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.

10 Facts Every PSAP Should Know About Data Integration

The future of data integration: 10 facts every public safety answering point (PSAP) should know.

Critical data is springing up everywhere. This quick read discusses the ten most important elements about data integration every public safety agency should know, ranging from precise location information, smart and safe cities, social media data usage in the PSAP, data sources, supplemental data, as well as GIS data management. 

On-Demand Webinar: Navigating the Public Safety Technology Upgrade Process

With all of the computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems and models available in today's market, how do you determine which solution will work best for your agency now, while also scaling to meet your future needs?

Public Safety Should Look Hard at Mission-Critical Push-to-Talk

In Summary:

• Push-to-talk over celluar (PTTOC) and mission-critical push-to-talk MCPTT services are provisioned over broadband wireless services and replicate the walkie-talkie functionality of traditional land mobile radio (LMR) portable radios.

• Through gateways, these services can be interfaced with LMR networks to allow audio to be transmitted from LMR channels to the broadband application, and vice versa.

• They offer a good alternative for personnel who have no need for a digital radio on a daily basis but need to be provided situational awareness and coordinated incident command.

---

This whitepaper examines push-to-talk over celluar and mission-critical push-to-talk technology, explaining why they may be a better choice than LMR in some cases, and how they provide significantly more flexibility regarding application, device and network choices. The biggest benefit of MCPTT service is that it replicates the PTT functionality of traditional LMR systems on devices that are smaller, lighter and much less expensive than portable radios traditionally carried by first responders. Also examined are important factors to consider when deciding whether to implement the technology.

On-Demand Webinar: Making the Case for 5G in Public Safety Communications

Fifth-generation (5G) wireless communications has the ability to accommodate the fast-growing demand for bandwidth required for the delivery of multimedia content, including video, images and social media, to PSAPs. During this webinar, MCP subject-matter experts discusses how 5G can help improve emergency response and what it means for communities and public safety organizations alike.

Discussion topics during this session include:

• Why 5G is critical to evolving emergency response
• The types of platforms and data 5G will support
• How implementation of 5G will impact municipalities
• Steps you can take to prepare your public safety organization

On-demand webinar length: 45 minutes