Improving Emergency Response & Employee Wellness in Iredell County

In Summary:

• Emergency services in Iredell County, N.C., were faced with disparate, small facilities, aging technology and less-than-ideal working conditions.
• To overcome these challenges, the County made the decision to pursue a new facility that would house the emergency communications center, Emergency Management/Fire Services department, Iredell County Emergency Medical Services and the the Statesville EMS base under one roof, in a state-of-the-art facility.
• Today, the new Iredell County Emergency Communications Center is part of a larger complex that houses additional county agencies and departments, allowing for increased collaboration within public safety and the County at large. The new facility also offers improved working conditions for more than 200 public safety employees.

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Memphis Police and 911 Communications Enjoys a Rebirth with MCP's Support

In Summary: 

• Memphis Police and 911 Communications was challenged by aging infrastructure, antiquated systems and an understaffed 911 center.
• To help overcome these challenges, the Shelby County 911 District completed two 911 center staffing studies, built a new state-of-the-art 911 center, and an upgraded computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system.
• Today, the situation in Memphis has taken a 180-degree turn. The District has decreased their average time to answer a call from 90 seconds to 6 seconds.

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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.

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:

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.

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.

911 Call-Handling System Procurement and Implementation Support in San Francisco

In Summary:

• The San Francisco Department of Emergency Management sought a robust, modern call-handling solution and needed guidance defining requirements, as well as during the procurement and implementation process.

• In 2017, they hired Mission Critical Partners to help them build requirements, and to support the agency's implementation efforts.

• The new call-handling solution has played a role helping 911 call-answering times improve.

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"MCP's guidance during the procurement stage was invaluable. Their familiarity working with 911 call-handling system vendors and their knowledge of the newest technology and vendors available played an essential role helping us feel more comfortable with the requirements-gathering and RFP process."

Jun Chen, PMO Manager, City and County of San Francisco

Overview and Agency Challenge

The city of San Franscisco Department of Emergency Management (DEM) sought a robust, modern call-handling system that would support its 42 call-taking positions. A second requirement was a path to a National Emergency Number Association (NENA) i3-compliant system and meeting public safety standards for performance and reliability. They looked for a partner that could provide guidance defining requirements, as well as during the procurement and implementation process.

MCP Helps the Imperial Valley Pursue PSAP Regionalization

In Summary:

• Imperial County, CA is served by four public safety answering points (PSAPs) that provide call-taking and dispatching services for the Imperial Valley.
• In 2017, they hired Mission Critical Partners to help them determine if physical regionalization made sense.
• MCP provided a comprehensive feasibility study that made a recommendation to transition its four PSAPs into two mutually supporting PSAPs.

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"With MCP's help, we've identified the issues and challenges that stand between us and a successful regionalization effort. Now that we know it could work for us, we need to determine how to make it a reality and execute on that plan."

Mark Schmidt, Emergency Communications Project Coordinator, Imperial County Communication Authority, Imperial County, California

Overview and Agency Challenge

Imperial Valley, California, is served by four public safety answering points (PSAPs) that provide call-taking and dispatching services for the Imperial Valley. The Imperial Valley Communications Authority (IVECA), in conjunction with the San Diego County Regional Communications System , provides public safety voice and data communications to more than 200 local, state and federal agencies in San Diego and Imperial counties.

The County’s PSAPs were already sharing technology resources, but wanted to figure out if sharing services also made sense in terms of staffing and maintenance costs.

MCP Provides Vendor Support Services in Cobb County, GA to Drive Service Excellence and Cost-Savings

In Summary:

• Cobb County, Georgia public safety officials wanted to assure they were paying a fair price for support of their land mobile radio (LMR) system.

• Working alongside MCP, they completed a fair market pricing assessment and data-driven analysis for the LMR system maintenance costs.

• Armed with this information, the partnership was able to negotiate more favorable cost targets, enhanced system performance reports and significant savings on costs.

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Overview and Agency Challenge

Looking to lower expenses without sacrificing support, Cobb County, Georgia, began exploring the possibilities of renegotiating their Project 25 (P25) land mobile radio system maintenance agreement with the vendor. They wanted to better understand the services, terms and conditions, and the associated costs included with the maintenance contract. With limited knowledge of how their fees compared to similar-sized systems in the public safety sector, they sought assurance they were paying a fair price for the support provided.

MCP Lends Expertise to Implement and Manage Automatic License Plate Reader System in Southeastern PA

Automatic License Plate Reader System Plays a Key Role in Criminal Investigations Across the Region, Making it a Safer Place

In Summary:

• The Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force (SEPARTF)–which serves the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan region–received a UASI grant to implement an automatic license plate reader (ALPR) system that would support public safety agencies throughout the region. They needed an expert partner to turn their ALPR vision into a reality and maximize their ALPR system investment.

• MCP acted as a program manager for the initiative and led deployment efforts for 130 ALPR tag-reading units throughout the region.

• More than 41 million tags are scanned annually, and numerous examples of how the PALPRN has played a role positively impacting key criminal investigations across the region.

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Overview and Agency Challenge

In 2014, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Regional Task Force (SEPARTF)—which serves the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan region—received a UASI grant to implement an automatic license plate reader (ALPR) system that would support public safety agencies throughout the region. These systems typically cost upwards of $16K to procure, and install, per vehicle. And, to make an automatic license plate reader system successful, a number of ancillary factors must be consider including

• implementing servers, and securing and maintaining massive amounts of data
• data integration and analysis from numerous hotlists
• training of first responders and 911 telecommunicators on how to leverage the technology.

SEPARTF knew that in order to take advantage of the enormous upside offered by an ALPR system, they needed an expert partner to turn their vision into their reality and maximize the return on their automatic license plate system investment.