TABLE OF CONTENTS

Table of Contents

Introduction Page3

Executive Summary Page3

Forces for Change Page6LegalandRegulatoryEnvironment Page6RapidlyAdvancingTechnology Page6NextGeneration9-1-1 Page7StressedNationalEconomy Page8PSAPConsolidation Page9LiabilityRisk Page10

Key Performance Indicators Page10

Quality Assurance Page12WhyyouNeedaQAProgram Page12MethodsforConductingQA Page13WhoShouldbeMonitoredandHowOften Page14WhichCallsShouldbeMonitored Page14WhoShouldPerformtheEvaluations Page15ConstructingtheRatingForm Page15ImplementingaQAProgram Page18

Coaching and Learning Page18

Technology Infrastructure Page20

Classes of Recording Systems Page20BasicLoggers Page21AdvancedLoggers Page21PerformanceMonitoringandManagementSystems Page21

Investment Considerations Page22

About VPI Page24

About the Author Page24

Introduction Withrareexception,the240millionemergencycallsreceivedeachyeararehandledflawlessly.Butwhenthingsgowrong,theycangobadlywrong.Theexceptionsattractfarmoreattentionthanthesometimesheroiceffortsoftrainedcalltakerscalmlywalkinganguishedcallersthroughhealth,criminalandfireemergencies.

InOctober2009Reader’sDigest rana feature story, “9-1-1CallsGoneTragicallyWrong,”citingmanytragicexamples.With24-hourcablenewsnetworksandviralmedialikeYouTube,itdoesnottakelongfornewsaboutabadincidenttoreachthousandsandevenmillionsofpeopleandshapetheirviewsaboutthequalityandcompetenceoftheemergencycommunicationssystem.

Poorlyhandledcallsarecertainlytherareexceptionbuttheaimhastobezerodefects.Theintentofthishandbookistosharesomebestpracticesandtechnologysolutionsthatcanhelpeliminatemistakesandassureconsistentcallquality.WewillalsoexaminethechanginglandscapethataffectsPSAPresourcesandplanningandpointtosolutionsavailabletodaythatcanhelpPSAPdirectorsrunmoreeffectiveorganizationswhileatthesamepreparingforthemajorchangesthatlieaheadwiththeadventofanewnationalemergencycommunicationsnetwork.Whereappropriate,wewilldrawcomparisonsbetweencommercialcontactcentersandpublicsafetycommunicationscenters.Whiletherearestarkdifferencesinmission,funding,management,andresources,therearesomevaluablelessonsfromcommercialcontactcentersthatcanbeappliedtothepublicsafetyarena.

Thehandbookisintendedtobevaluabletopublicsafetydirectorsandsupervisorstaskedwithmanagingtheday-to-dayoperationsofthePSAP(PublicSafetyAnsweringPoints)andpublicofficialsthathavefinalresponsibilityfordetermininghowthepublicsafetycommunicationssystemwillbedeployedintheirlocalitiesandforallocatingthenecessarybudgettofundpersonnelandequipment.

Executive Summary

Today’s Public Safety Environment

Theadventofmobiletextmessages,mobilevideo,

automaticcrashnotificationsystems,geographic

positioningsystemsandothercommunicationschannelsprovidean

excitingopportunitytoprovidefasterandbetter

emergencyservices.Leveragingthesenew

technologiesisjustoneofmanyreasonsforthe

federalgovernment-sponsorednextgeneration

(NG)9-1-1initiative.

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Riskcanbereducedbyimplementingaquality

assuranceprogram.Themonitoringandevaluation

processcanhelpspotpotentialbreachesofprotocolorpoorcall

handlingpracticesbeforeatragicsituationdevelops.

PSAPs today are driven to comply with a growing number of federal and state laws andregulations.ThemostrecentfederallegislationistheNewandEmergingTechnologies9-1-1ImprovementActOf2008.TheintentistopromoteandenhancepublicsafetybyfacilitatingtherapiddeploymentofIPenabled9-1-1andE–9-1-1services,encouragethenation’stransitiontoanationalIP-enabledemergencynetwork,andimprove9-1-1andE–9-1-1accesstothosewithdisabilities.Onthestatelevel,changestothePublicSafetyEmergencyTelephoneActrequiredthe Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency to establish standards for the conduct ofperformancereviewandqualityassuranceprograms.PEMAsubsequentlyimplementedarulethat,amongotherthings,requiredauditsofcallshandledbycalltakersanddispatchers.

The ways we communicate today are very different from the analog wired telephony worldof 1968, when the nation’s first PSAP began serving the public. The advent of mobile textmessages,mobilevideo,automaticcrashnotificationsystems,geographicpositioningsystemsandothercommunicationschannelsprovideanexcitingopportunitytoprovidefasterandbetteremergencyservices.Leveragingthesenewtechnologiesisjustoneofmanyreasonsforthefederalgovernment-sponsorednextgeneration(NG)9-1-1initiative.NG9-1-1envisionsanewnationalemergencynetworkbasedonasecurenetworkcommunicatingviadatapacketsusingInternetProtocol.PSAPswillrequireinfrastructurethatisreadilyadaptabletoIPcommunications.

Rising unemployment and falling property values have taken their toll on state and countyrevenues. Many communities are layingoff teachers, public safetyofficers, even9-1-1 calltakers in order to meet drastically reduced budgets. In some states, funds that have beenreservedfor9-1-1operationsandinvestmentsarebeingdivertedforotherpurposes.

AtrendthatisgainingmomentumisthepracticeofconsolidatingmunicipalPSAPsintoonelargecentralizedagency.Proponentscitemanyeconomicandefficiencybenefits.LatestgenerationCAD,recording,anddigitalradiosystemscanbeinstalledandadministeredcentrallyoverasecureprivatenetwork.Scalabilityandextensibilityareimportantconsiderationswhenmakingmajorinfrastructuretechnologypurchases.

PSAP managers and elected officials must be concerned about liability exposure. Lawsuitsdrain management resources and weaken public confidence in emergency communicationsservices.Riskcanbereducedbyimplementingaqualityassuranceprogram.Themonitoringand evaluation process can help spot potential breaches of protocol or poor call handlingpracticesbeforeatragicsituationdevelops.

Key Performance Indicators (KPI’s)

Quality Assurance

Coaching and Learning

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KPIsarequantitativemeasuresthattrackaPSAP’sperformanceinaccomplishingitscoremissionandmeetingitsstatedobjectives.

CommercialcontactcentershavereliedonKPIsfordecades,butwithafewexceptionssuchasanswertimeandresponsetime,theyarerarelyusedinthePSAPenvironment

Fewactivitiescanbeeffectivelymanagedwithoutpertinentmetrics.Themetricsmustbeclearlydefined,widelyunderstood,measurable,anddirectlyrelevanttoperformance.

KPIsaremostvaluablewhentheyaretrackedovertimeandbyindividual.Averagehandletime(AHT)isanexample.Whilethereshouldneverbeatimelimitonhowlongittakestoaidacitizenincrisis,anindividualthatconsistentlytakeslongerthanthenormtoprocesscallsmayhaveaproblemwithcallcontrolordifficultyusingtheCADandsupportingsoftware.Drillingdownintospecificvoiceandscreenrecordingswillrevealrootcauses.

Manyusefulmetricsaregeneratedbythecallserver,recorder,andothertechnologysolutionspresentinthePSAP.However,thevastmajorityofthesemetricsarenotappropriateforPSAPs,wherethemissionistosavelivesandproperty,notprocessthemaximumnumberofcallsintheshortestpossibletime,whichisoneofthecommercialcontactcenterobjectives.Thatcautionnotwithstanding, therearemanymetrics thatareapplicable. Someof thesewill have tobecalculatedindependentlyofthecallserver.

The primary reason PSAPs should conduct quality assurance evaluations is very simple – toassurethatcitizensareconsistentlyreceivingthequalityofservicetheyexpectanddeserveformtheir9-1-1-centers.Morespecifically,PSAPsneedadisciplinedQAprocess;

-Toassurethatproperprotocolsandproceduresarebeingfollowed-Toassess”softskills”suchascallcontrol,calmnessunderpressure,voiceclarity,andcommunicationsskills-Toassesstheeffectivenessoftrainingandcoachingefforts-Tocomplywithlawsandregulations-Toprovideadefenseagainstliabilitysuits

Thesimplestmethodistolive-monitorthecallfromaremotetelephone.Whilethiswouldseemeasyandcost-effective,therearesomesignificantshortcomingstothisapproach.Supervisorsdonothavethetimetositbyaphonewaitingfora“coachable”calltoarrive,thanmanuallyfilloutanevaluationform.Secondly,thereisnoclearlogicaboutwhichcallsareselected.Insomejurisdictionsupto80%ofcallsarenotforrealemergencies.Evaluatingthesetypesofcallsinisolationprovideslittleinsightaboutcallquality.Itisalsoverydifficulttoevaluateentireemergencyincidentsinthismanner.

Modern quality monitoring software allows high-value calls to be selected for review andevaluationbasedonpre-determinedcriteria.Forexample,itismandatoryinsomeregionstoreviewallcalls thatpertain todomesticviolence,heartattacks,homicide,andother typesofincidents.Oncetheselectionofrecordingsismade,thesupervisorcanconducttheevaluationsatatimeofhisorherchoosing.AuthoringtoolsembeddedintheQAsoftwareallowsupervisorstocreatemultipleevaluationformstoobjectivelyevaluatecalltakersanddispatchers,aswellasentireemergencyincidents.Ratingsareperformedfromaworkstation,notmanually.Integratedreporting packages point to weaknesses and show trends over time, making it easy to spotdeficienciesinskillsorknowledgethatrequiremanagementattention.

InformedestimatesindicatethatfarfewerthanhalfofPSAPstodayhaveaformalqualityassuranceprogram. When implementingaprogram for the first time,managementmust takecare toexplainthepurposesandmethodsoftheQAprogramandsolicitfeedbackfromstakeholders.Theprogram shouldnot beperceivedasa “gotcha,”but asa tool toprovidepersonalizedsupporttocalltakersanddispatchersaccordingtotheirneeds.

EffectivecoachingisoneofthemostimportantresponsibilitiesofPSAPdirectorsandsupervisors.

AutomatedcoachingandlearningtoolsarewidelyusedincommercialcallcentersbutrarelyinPSAPs.Theconceptis”justintime”learning.Coachingandlearningmodulescanberequested

TheprimaryreasonPSAPsshouldconductquality

assuranceevaluationsisverysimple–toassurethat

citizensareconsistentlyreceivingthequalityofservicetheyexpectand

deserveformtheir9-1-1-centers.

Whenimplementingaprogramforthefirst

time,managementmusttakecaretoexplainthepurposesandmethodsoftheQAprogramand

solicitfeedbackfromstakeholders.Theprogramshouldnotbeperceivedasa“gotcha,”butasatooltoprovidepersonalized

supporttocalltakersanddispatchersaccordingto

theirneeds.

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Classes of Recording Systems

Console Screen Analytics

Speech Analytics

Investment Considerations

bythecall taker,sent to thecall taker’sworkstationora trainingroomat thediscretionof thesupervisor,ortimedtocoincidewithnormallyslowcallvolume.

Examplesofelectroniccoachingandtrainingtoolsincludemodelcallsextractedfromtherecordingsystem, annotated evaluation forms from supervisors, new policies or procedures, diagrams,illustrated instructions for medical procedures, information-gathering scripts, maps, photos,PowerPointpresentations,andpre-packagedcontentfromthirdpartyvendorsandagencies.

Electronicaidsshouldneverbeusedascompletesubstitutesforone-on-onecoachingandtraining,buttheycanbeveryvaluableadjunctsthatsavetimeandmoneyintheprocess.Theyarealsoveryeffectiveforpersonalizationoftrainingcontentassignmentstotargeteachemployee’sweaknesses.

PSAPvoiceanddatarecorderscanberoughlyclassifiedintothreegroups;basicvoiceloggers,advancedvoiceanddataloggers,andperformancemonitoringandmanagementsystems.

Thelattercategoryincludesthemostadvancedsystems.Thesesystemsuseanopen-architecturedesign,leveragingcommercialofftheshelf(COTS)hardwarecomponents.Theycanbereadilyexpandedtomeettheneedsofconsolidationorgrowth.

Performancemonitoringandmanagementsystems(alsoreferredtoasworkforceoptimizationsolutions) provide a host of add-on modules such as quality monitoring, built-in analytics,coaching,workforcescheduling,andevencitizensurveys.Theapplicationsaretightlyintegratedtoprovideaunifiedsolution.

ScreenanalyticsisanadvancedapplicationthatmonitorsPSAPconsoleapplicationscreensandpullsvaluesandeventsthatarerelevanttoincidents,includingincidentIDandincidenttype,directlyfromCADandotherconsoleapplicationsandtagsthisdatatorecordedcalls.

Armedwithincident IDstaggedtorecordedcommunications,youcanmorequicklyfindandreconstruct entire emergency incidents, regardless of the number of call takers, dispatchers,recordingservers,orsitesinvolved.

Withincidenttypes(i.e.medical,fire,domesticviolence,etc.)taggedtorecordedcommunications,youcaneffectivelyfocusandprioritizeyourqualityassuranceeffortsonthemostimportantcalltypes.

Speechanalytics isanadvancedapplication that electronically searches through thousandsofhoursofrecordingstouncoverkeywordsorphrases,theirrelationships,andhiddenmeanings.

Speechanalyticscanbeespeciallyhelpfulforrespondingtopolice,attorney,andcourtrequests.Searchesthatmayhavetakenhoursordayscanbedoneinminutes.

Besides crime-fighting, PSAP management can use speech analytics to identify breeches ofprotocol,useofinappropriatelanguage,evenescalationsinvoicevolume.Bettertocatchtheseincidentsbeforetheyresultinmishandledcallsorevenlawsuits.

Itisimportantthattherecordingsystemusedinyouroperationforliabilityandqualitymanagementisideallysuitedtoyourcurrentandfutureneeds.Inourdiscussionswithvendorsandresellers,itwassurprisingtolearnhowoftenthisvitalcomponenttothepublicsafetyemergencyservicedeliverysystemispurchasedonthebasisoflowbid.

Many,perhapsmost,oftherecordingsystemsboughttodaydonothaveopeninterfaces(thatarerecommendedbyNENAandUSDOTunderNG9-1-1initiatives)andsocannotseamlesslyintegratewith theotherPSAPsystemsthatare(orwillbe)built toopenstandards.ExamplesincludethenewdatabaseformatsspecifiedforNG9-1-1infrastructure,toincludeCADsystems,mappingsoftware,andmore.

The next recording solution you buy should have an open-architecture design and provideadvancedqualitymonitoringcapability. The vendor shouldhavecapabilitiesandaproductroadmapthatgivesyouconfidencethatthesolutionyoubuytodaywillnothavetobereplacedwhenyouarereadytomoveforwardwithNG9-1-1.

PSAPvoiceanddatarecorderscanberoughly

classifiedintothreegroups;basicvoice

loggers,advancedvoiceanddataloggers,and

performancemonitoringandmanagementsystems.

Thelattercategoryincludesthemostadvancedsystems.

Thenextrecordingsolutionyoubuyshouldhaveanopen-architecturedesignandprovideadvanced

qualitymonitoringcapability.Thevendor

shouldhavecapabilitiesandaproductroadmapthatgivesyouconfidencethatthesolutionyoubuytodaywillnothavetobereplacedwhenyouare

readytomoveforwardwithNG9-1-1.

Forces for Change The 9-1-1 national emergency number has served America well since its humble inception inHaleyville,Alabamain1968.Sincethattimethenumberofpublicsafetyansweringpoints(PSAPs)hasgrownto6,189,accordingtoNENA(NationalEmergencyNumberAssociation).9-1-1callingservicenowextendsto99percentof theU.S.populationand96percentof the landmass. Thesizeof theseorganizationsvarieswiththepopulationserved.Mostareverysmall. TheNationalEmergencyNumberAssociation(NENA)estimatedthatin2003,1300PSAPswerestaffedbyasingledispatcherandmosthadfewerthanfiveemployees.Inlargemetropolitanareastheremaybeover100calltakersonashift.

Thesocio-economicandtechnologyenvironmentsinwhichpublicsafetyorganizationsfunctionhavechangeddramaticallyinrecentyearsandtheycontinuetoevolve.Thishasproducedbothchallengesandopportunities.

Legal and Regulatory Environment

Publicsafetycommunicationsdepartmentsoperatewithinalabyrinthoffederal,state,andlocallawsandregulations.AshortlistoffederalgovernmententitiesthatregulatePSAPsandeffectfundinginclude:

TheU.S.Congresspasseslawsthatreflectthepublicinterestinsecureandreliablecommunications.Someofthemostimportantpubliclawsare;

Inaddition,21stateshaveenactedlawsandregulations.Statelawstypicallyaddresspolicyissues,suchascodifying9-1-1astheofficialemergencynumber,enumeratingtheresponsibilitiesofemergencycenters,establishingastateemergencyoffice,addressingspecificproblems(likenon-emergencycallsto9-1-1)andspecifyingfundingsources.Rarelydotheymandatespecificpracticesfornon-EMSemergencycalls.TheCommonwealthofPennsylvaniaisanexception.ChangestothePublicSafetyEmergencyTelephoneAct required thePennsylvaniaEmergencyManagementAgency (PEMA) toestablish standards for theconductofperformancereviewandqualityassuranceprograms.PEMAsubsequentlyimplementedarulethat,amongotherthings,requiredauditsofcallshandledbycalltakersanddispatchers.

Rapidly Advancing Technology

Thelegacy9-1-1infrastructurewasinitiallydesignedforaworldwhenpublictelephonecompaniesdominated the telecommunications world and the only practical and affordable means ofcommunicationswastraditionalcircuit-switchedwiredtelephones.Inthepastdecadewehaveseenamazingchangesinthewaywecommunicate.

6

FederalCommunicationsCommission

DepartmentofAgriculture

DepartmentofJustice(CALEA)

DepartmentofHomelandSecurity

DepartmentofTransportation

NationalTelecommunicationsandInformationAdministration

NationalHighwayTrafficSafetyAdministration

‘‘Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act of 1999’’AmendedtheCommunicationsActof1934todesignate9-1-1astheuniversalemergencynumberoftheUnitedStatesandmandatedwirelesscarrierstoprovidecalllocationinformationforwirelessphones.

‘‘Enhance 9-1-1 Act of 2004’’ToprovidegrantsandotherwisefacilitatethenationalimplementationofphaseIandphaseIIenhanced9-1-1services.

‘‘New and Emerging Technologies 9-1-1 Improvement Act Of 2008’’TopromoteandenhancepublicsafetybyfacilitatingtherapiddeploymentofIPenabled9-1-1andE–9-1-1services,encouragetheNation’stransitiontoanationalIP-enabledemergencynetwork,andimprove9-1-1andE–9-1-1accesstothosewithdisabilities.

Thesocio-economicandtechnologyenvironments

inwhichpublicsafetyorganizationsfunction

havechangeddramaticallyinrecentyearsand

theycontinuetoevolve.Thishasproduced

bothchallengesandopportunities.

Thelegacy9-1-1infrastructurewasinitially

designedforaworldwhenpublictelephone

companiesdominatedthetelecommunicationsworld

andtheonlypracticalandaffordablemeans

ofcommunicationswastraditionalcircuit-switchedwiredtelephones.Inthe

pastdecadewehaveseenamazingchangesinthewaywecommunicate.

7

Federalandstate regulatorshaveworkedhard tokeepupwithadvancing technology. LawsandregulationshavebeenpassedtoprovidePSAPswithmorepreciselocationinformationforhomes,businesses,andvehicles.Thegrowingpopularityoflow-costcommunicationsservicesthatpassvoiceintheformofdatatransmittedinInternetProtocolproducesspecialproblemswithregardtoAutomaticLocationIdentification.WithVoIPservices,subscribersareidentifiedbythedevicetheyareusing.Theaddressassociatedwiththedeviceistheaddressgivenwhenthecustomeroriginallysubscribedtotheservice.ThesubscribermaymovetoanewaddressbuttheoldaddressremainsassociatedwiththeVoIPphonenumber.IntheUnitedStatestheNewandEmergingTechnologies9-1-1ImprovementActof2008mandates thatVoIPserviceprovidersprovide9-1-1serviceandenhanced9-1-1servicetoitssubscribers.InCalgary,Canada,wheresimilar federal legislationdoesnot exist, an18-month-oldbabydiedafterhisparents called9-1-1throughaVoIPPhone.TheALIaddressassociatedwiththenumberwasforapreviousresidenceinToronto.

Adjustingtorapidlychangingtechnology isacontinuingchallengeforPSAPs,particularly thoseinsmallercommunitiesthatstruggletomaintainevenbasicservices.Substantialinvestmentsarerequiredtocapturewirelesslocationidentifiersandmaintainanup-to-datedatabaseofphysicaladdressesassociatedwithcallingnumbers.

UnitedStatesregulatoryauthoritiesandleadingtradeassociationshaverecognizedforyears thattoday’slargelyanalogvoice-centricemergencycommunicationsofficesarenotequippedtorespondtothewaypeoplecommunicatetoday,noristhedatedtechnologyequippedtotakeadvantageofthepromiseofnewandevolvingcommunicationstechnologies.

Next Generation 9-1-1

In 2000 NENA first identified the need for an advanced, fully integrated national public safetynetwork.ThiscametobeknownasNextGeneration9-1-1(NG9-1-1forshort).Since2006,theUSDepartmentofTransportation(DOT)hasbeenleadingthewaywithitsIntelligentTransportationSystemsinitiativeandwiththesupportandinvolvementofNENAandover30otherorganizations.A great deal of progress has been made in defining the functional and technical requirements.Proof-of-Concept (POC) testingwasconducted in2008and involvedamixofactualPSAPsandlaboratories.BasedontestresultstheDOTpublishedafinalsystemdesigninFebruary2009.AtleastonePSAPhasalreadyimplementedfully-complianttechnologies.Moregeneralimplementationisexpectedtobeginin2010andacceleratein2011andbeyond.

NG 9-1-1 promises a very different public safety infrastructure than what we have today. Allcommunications,bothexternalandinternal,aretobefunneledthroughasecurededicatednetworkbasedonInternetProtocolsignaling.EmergencycallswillbeintelligentlyroutedtothenearestPSAPthatisequippedtohandletheincident,regardlessofjurisdiction.KeygoalsandbenefitsofNG9-1-1arelistedinFigure2

Therearenowover270millioncellphonesinusetodayintheUnitedSates

Oneoutoffivehouseholdsrelyexclusivelyonwirelesscommunications

110billiontextmessagesaretransmittedeverymonth-roughly14perdaypercellularcustomer.

Anestimated20millionhouseholdsnowusevoice-overtheInternetservicesratherthanTelco-suppliedlandlines.

Telematicsishereandgrowing.OnStarnowhasover4millionsubscribersfortelematicsservices.TheOnStarserviceisbecomingastandardfeatureonmanynewcars.Inaddition,personalnavigationdevices(PND’s)soldasstandalonesorembeddedinhigh-endcellphonesarebecomingverypopularwithconsumers.

VonagestartedthemovetoVoIPforthehomein2001.Theynowhaveover2.6millionsubscribers,secondonlytoComcast.Virtuallyallmajorcablecompaniesarenowoffering“digital”voice.LeadinganalystspredictacontinuingsurgetoVoIP.

ThegrowthofVoIPandwireless-onlyhouseholdshascontributedtoadeclineof10percentintraditionalwirelineservices

Adjustingtorapidlychangingtechnologyisacontinuingchallengefor

PSAPs,particularlythoseinsmallercommunitiesthatstruggletomaintainevenbasicservices.Substantialinvestmentsarerequiredtocapturewirelesslocationidentifiersandmaintainanup-to-datedatabase

ofphysicaladdressesassociatedwithcalling

numbers.

NG9-1-1promisesaverydifferentpublic

safetyinfrastructurethanwhatwehavetoday.Allcommunications,both

externalandinternal,aretobefunneledthroughasecurededicatednetworkbasedonInternetProtocolsignaling.EmergencycallswillbeintelligentlyroutedtothenearestPSAPthat

isequippedtohandletheincident,regardlessof

jurisdiction.

Today’s Communications Environment (Figure1)

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Sources: DOT, NENA

Achievinganationalmulti-channelemergencynetworkbasedonasecureIPnetworkwilltakemanyyearsandrequirebillionsofdollarsinnewinvestment.NENAhassummarizedfundingalternativesinitsreportFunding9-1-1intotheNextGeneration:AnOverviewofNG9-1-1FundingModelOptionsforConsiderationInaddition,theCongressionalE9-1-1CaucushasintroducedlegislationtoupgradeAmerica’s9-1-1callcentertechnologynationwide.TheNextGeneration9-1-1PreservationActof2010reauthorizeskeygrantsandprogramstoensurecontinuedfundingforthenation’s6,0009-1-1centersandprograms.ItalsointroducesimprovementstothenationalE9-1-1ImplementationCoordinationOffice,whichhelpsstatesupgradetechnologyandcoordinateservicesbetweencallcenters.

Themost importantpoint for localPSAPs today is that theyneed tobemakingplansand takingactionstoprepareforNG9-1-1.Agoodplacetostart,andonethathasalreadybeentakenbymanyprogressivepublicsafetyoffices,istoconsiderNG9-1-1inpurchasingdecisions.Askvendorswhat theyhavealreadydoneorplantodotoconformto thepublishedspecifications. Carefullyreview the extensive information already available trough NENA, APCO, the DOT’s IntelligentTransportationSystemsDivision,andtrademagazines.ReviewRFQrequirementstohelpassurethatyouaremakinginvestmentsforthefutureaswellasfortoday.WorkwithvendorsthatareactiveonthecommitteesthatareworkingonNG9-1-1detailsandcanprovidevaluableguidance.

Stressed National Economy

Nooneneeds tobe reminded that thepast threeyearshavebeenverydifficult for theU.S.andglobaleconomies.Risingunemploymentandfallingpropertyvalueshavetakentheirtollonstateandcountyrevenues.Manycommunitiesarelayingoffteachers,publicsafetyofficers,even9-1-1calltakersinordertomeetdrasticallyreducedbudgets.

WhilefederalgrantsareasourceofPSAPfunding,stateandlocaljurisdictionsprovidethelargestshareofneededoperatingandcapitalrevenues.Statescollectfeesfromserviceprovidersthataresupposedtobesetasideexclusivelyforemergencycommunicationsservices.Unfortunately,statepoliticianssometimesraidthePSAPpiggybanktofundotherprojects.AccordingtoPatrickHalley,governmentaffairsdirectorofNENA,9-1-1fundstotaling“tensofmillionsofdollars”weresiphonedoffbythestatesofArizona,Delaware,Maryland,NebraskaandWisconsinin2009.

SmallPSAPshavelittlewiggleroomforcuttingexpenses.Reducingsalariesisnoanswer–PSAPcalltakersalreadyearnaboutthesameascommercialcallcenteragents-andwithaddedstressandthe

StandardizeservicecapabilitiesacrosstheUSandCanada

CreateaNorthAmericanIP-basedemergencynetworkbylinkingtogethercurrentlocal,regional,andnationalnetworks.

Provideemergencyservicesfromthenearestcapableproviderregardlessoflocalorstateboundaries.

Quicklyandefficientlyaccessexternalknowledgebasesthatmayprovidevaluableinformationtofirstresponders.

Receivedatafrommultiplechannelsanddevices,includingradio,cellphones,PDA’s,PND’s,VoIP,aswellastraditionallandlines.

Abilitytoreceivetelematicsinformationdirectlyfromthevehicle

Quickerreceiptofmorerobustinformationdeliveredtoresponders

AchievecommunicationsinteroperabilityamongPSAPsandotheremergencyresourceslikehospitals,transportationagencies,utilities,military,andothers.

Acquireandintegrateadditionaldatausefultocallroutingandhandling

Helpreducemultiplereportsofthesameincidents

Standardizeinterfacesfromcallandmessageservices

Plug-and-playintegrationcapability

Provideasecureenvironmentforemergencycommunications

Leveragenewproductsandservicesthatcanhelppinpointincidentlocationsandnatureoftheemergencytohelpassurethatthecorrectemergencyserviceisdispatched.

ProvideatechnologyframeworkthatwouldallowPSAPstoquicklyincreasestaffbychannelingemergencycallstohomeworkers.

ThemostimportantpointforlocalPSAPstodayisthat

theyneedtobemakingplansandtakingactionstodaytoprepareforNG9-1-1.Agoodplacetostart,andonethathasalreadybeentakenby

manyprogressivepublicsafetyoffices,istoconsider

NG9-1-1inpurchasingdecisions.

TheNextGeneration9-1-1PreservationActof2010reauthorizeskeygrantsandprogramstoensurecontinuedfundingfor

thenation’s6,0009-1-1centersandprograms.

Goals and Benefits of NG 9-1-1 (Figure2)

9

needforcertifications.LargePSAPscouldbenefitfrommoreefficientworkforcescheduling.SchedulingatPSAPstodayislargelyamanualprocess.Workforcemanagementsoftwareshouldbeconsideredbytheseorganizations–itusessophisticatedmathematicalmodelstomatchemployeecoveragetoprojectedcallflow.Thesesystemscanalsotakeintoaccountthecoveragerequirementsforcalltakerswithspecialskillslikeunderstandingthedifferentlanguagesspokeninagivenservicearea.

PSAP Consolidation

Onewaypublicsafetyadministrationscansavemoneyaswellasachieveotherefficienciesistoconsolidateandcentralize9-1-1emergencycallingservices.Therearetwomodels.Themostambitiousistoconsolidateallemergencyservices, including9-1-1callingcenters,underacentralizedadministration. Theotherapproachistocontinuewithmunicipality-basedfire,police,andotheremergencyservicesbutconsolidatethe9-1-1centers.Inbothcasestheaimsaretoreduceexpendituresandimprovequalityofservice.

Consolidationismost-commonlyeffectedonacounty-widebasis.Thereareexceptionswheretwoadjacentormoreadjacentmunicipalitiespoolthereresourcesintoacentralizedfacility.Anexampleisthe2007consolidationofPSAPsinPortlandandSouthPortlandinMaine,wherethestatelegislaturedirectedthePublicUtilitiesCommissiontoreducethenumberofPSAPsfrom48toarangeof16to24.InNewJersey,statelawS-45conditionstheallocationofstatemoniesforenhanced9-1-1supportonthemergingandsharingofPSAPfunctionsbymunicipalities,countiesandthestatepolice.Inaddition,thestatetreasurermayestablisha9-1-1callvolumeminimumthatmaybeutilizedasafactorindeterminingwhichPSAPfunctionsaretobeconsolidatedundertheStatePlan.

Advocatesofconsolidationcitemanypotentialeconomicandefficiencybenefits

ProponentsmaintainthatbyhousingthePSAPfunctionunderoneroofthecountyorothergoverningentityacquiresandmaintainsonlyonefacilityratherthanmultiplesmalloffices.Bypoolingfundingand resources, it ismore feasible to invest in state-of-theart equipment and justify the hiringoffull-time trainers, IT specialists,andadministrators. Fewercall takerswouldbe requiredand theworkloadcouldbemoreequitablydistributed.Anintangiblebenefitwouldbegreatercooperationamongthevariousemergencyserviceprovidersbyvirtueofworkingcloselytogetherandsharingthesameinformation.Insomecasesthestateprovidesadditionalfundingtohelprelievetheburdenofstart-upcosts.Federalgrantsarealsoavailable.

Doesitwork?AnanalysisperformedforCharlestonCounty,SCthatinvolvedtheconsolidationofsixPSAPsandfourdispatch-onlycentersprojectedcumulativesavingsof$4.3millionoveraseven-yearperiodaftertransition.AconsultantreportforSussexCounty,NJprojectedthataninitialinvestmentofanew$2.3millioncentralizedfacilitywithadvancedtechnologywouldbreakevenduringthethirdyearofoperation.Theprimarysourceofsavingswasaprojected22percentdecreaseinthenumberoftelecommunicatorpersonnel,resultinginannualsavingsof$695,000peryear.

Analternativeapproachthathasgottensomeattentionisthenotionof“virtual”consolidation.Itisnowpossibletocentralizetelephony,CAD,recording,andothermajorsystemsinonelocationwhileextendingfunctionalitytosatelliteofficesoverasecureprivatenetwork.AllcommunicationswouldbeindataformatusingInternetprotocol.

Economic Benefits Efficiency Benefits

Lower rent and facilities costs Improved communications as all personnel are under one roof

Elimination of redundant personnel Eliminates delays and risk of loss during inter-office transfers

Elimination of redundant hardware and software Common radio language and frequency

Fewer service contracts to administer Better interoperability of voice and data communications equipment

Economies of scale – lower cost per event Consistent grade of service

Pooled funding allows for more advanced equipment

Able to justify IT experts, trainers, and other specialists

County government absorbs common administration costs

Common employee hiring standards and training programs

Benefits of PSAP Consolidation (Figure3)

Onewaypublicsafetyadministrationscansavemoneyaswellasachieve

otherefficienciesistoconsolidateandcentralize9-1-1emergencycallingservices...Proponents

maintainthatbyhousingthePSAPfunctionunder

oneroofthecountyorothergoverningentityacquiresand

maintainsonlyonefacilityratherthanmultiplesmall

offices.Bypoolingfundingandresources,itismorefeasibletoinvestinstate-of-theartequipmentand

justifythehiringoffull-timetrainers,ITspecialists,and

administrators.

Consolidationisatrendthatiscertaintocontinue.Theprocesscanbecontentiousandevendivisive.Themostsuccessfulconsolidationsbeginwithacarefullythoughtoutplanandbudget.Ahigh-levelcoordinatingcommittee isestablishedand inputsare sought fromall stakeholders. PSAPmanagementandcounty-leveladministratorsshouldlookatconsolidationasanopportunitytopoolresourcestoprovidecitizenswiththehighestlevelofemergencycarepossible,staffedbyexpertsintheirfieldsandbackedbystate-of-thearttechnology.

Liability Risk

OnApril10,2006CBSandothernetworksreportedthewrenchingstoryofa5-yearoldboyinDetroitwhocalled9-1-1toaskforhelpforhisdyingmother.Accordingtothetranscript,thecalltakerrefusedtospeakwiththechildandscoldedhimfor“playingonthephone.”Noofficercametothehomeandthemotherdied.Inaprecedent-settingdecision,aDetroitjuryconvictedthe9-1-1operatorofwillfulneglectofduty.Thefamilyfiledalawsuitformorethan$1million.Thecitywasnotnamedinthelawsuitbecausestatelawprohibitsit,butplaintiff’sattorneysarguedthatthecityshouldbeliableforitsemployees.InaNorthCarolinacasea17-yearoldboyreturnedhomefromfootballpracticeandwasstrickenwithdebilitatingstomachcramps.His9-1-1callresultedinthedispatchersendingaparamedicandafourthyearmedstudenttohislocation.Asthestorygoes,theyexaminedhim,toldhimtodrinkfluids,thenleft.Thecounty’sinternalinvestigationfoundthattheparamedic(whowassuspended,thenresigned)violatedcountyprotocolintheadministrationofmedicalcare.Theparentsfiledawrongfuldeathsuit.

Shieldlawsprotectingjurisdictionsarenotasstrongastheyoncewere.Publicsafetycallcentersarelitigationtargetswhereitcanbeclaimedthatinjuryordeathresultedfromactionsorinactionsbycalltakers.Shouldacasegotocourt,thebestdefenseistoestablishthattheemergencyserviceauthorityhadstricthiring,training,andevaluationpoliciesandthatthesewereenforced.

Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) PSAPstendtodoaverygoodjobofhiringandtrainingcalltakers.Theyareveryselectiveinfindingpeoplewiththerightskillsandtemperamenttohandlethedemandsofworkingeffectivelyinahigh-stressenvironment.Certificationcoursesareoftenrequiredtoretainthepositionandadvancetogreater responsibilities. In comparison,although theyarepaidatapproximately the same level,qualificationsforcommercialcallcenteragentsareoftennomorethengoodcommunicationsskillsandmodestproficiencyinusingcomputerprograms.Callcenteragentsaremorelikely toleavetherejobsbecauseofboredomthenstress.Incommercialcallcentersamistakebythecalltakermayresultinanunhappycaller.Inthepubicsafetyenvironmentmistakesmaycostlives.

Starkdifferencesinmissionandresponsibilitynotwithstanding,therearesomeusefullessonsPSAPmanagementandstaffcanlearnfromthecommercialside.Publicservicecallcentersfocusmoreonresultsthanprocess.After,alltheparamountconcernisthehealthandsafetyofthecaller,notoptimizingthestepsinbetween.However,processisimportant.Inanyenvironment,soundpracticescanimproveperformanceandloweroperatingcostswithoutadverselyimpactingresults.

Figure4listssomemetricsthatarewidelyusedinPSAPsandsomethatcouldbe.

Metric Description

Abandonment rate The percentage of calls that are initially answered, by a voice response unit or live operator, but are not connected to a call taker because the caller dropped off. Causes for drop-offs could be failed transfers or long holding times

Answer time

This is the time from which a call arrives at the PSAP and is actually answered. NENA standard is 10 seconds during the busy hour of each day. 95 percent of all calls should be answered in 20 seconds. The reciprocal of answer time is “service level.”

Average handle time

In most cases this is the average time from which the call taker seizes the call, collects and enters critical information on the CAD, transmits the details to the dispatcher, terminates the call, and completes any wrap-up work required. For some incidents, such as domestic violence, PSAPs will require the call taker to stay on the call until help arrives.

Average talk time The average time the call taker is actually conversing with the caller.

Blocked calls This is the percentage of calls that cannot be answered because all trunks are occupied. If calls are being blocked it may signal lack of sufficient trunk capacity during busy hours.

Pertinent KPIs and Descriptions (Figure4)

10

Publicsafetycallcentersarelitigationtargetswhereitcanbeclaimedthatinjury

ordeathresultedfromactionsorinactionsbycall

takers.

Publicservicecallcentersfocusmoreonresultsthan

process.After,alltheparamountconcernisthehealthandsafetyofthecaller,notoptimizingthe

stepsinbetween.However,processisimportant.Inanyenvironment,soundpracticescanimprove

performanceandloweroperatingcostswithout

adverselyimpactingresults.

SomemetricsareproducedbythecallserverandCAD.OthersneedsomeinventivenessonthepartofPSAPmanagement.KPIsareofmostvaluewhentheyaretrackedovertime.Thiswillhelpmanagementspotfavorableorunfavorabletrendsandtoestablishnormsforeachmetric.Oncethenormisknown,itbecomesfeasibletosetobjectivesandmeasuredeviations.KPIscanbeproducedfortheorganizationasawhole,forplatoons,andforindividualcalltakersand/ordispatchers.

PSAPsmustbecautiousintheiruseofKPIs.Take,forexample,averagehandletime(AHT).IncommercialenvironmentsAHTissimplythesumoftalktime+aftercallworktime.Accountabilityisprettyeasytopinpoint.InPSAPs,wherethecalltakercollectsthecriticalinformationandthentransfersthecalltoadispatcher,thesamedefinitionholds.However,withsomeincidenttypesthecalltakerordispatcherisrequiredtostayincontactwiththecalleruntilhelparrives.Inthatcase,AHTismeasuredfromthetimethecallisseizedtothetimetheemergencyserviceproviderarrivesonthescene.Accountabilityissharedamongatleastthreeparties;thecalltaker,thedispatcher,andtheemergencyserviceprovider.DowethenconcludethatinthatcaseAHTisameaninglessmetricforcalltakerevaluation?Notnecessarily.Theserviceprovideralsohastargetsforresponsetime,whichareconsistentregardlessofthecalltaker.Inanyevent,variationsinresponsetime,natureoftheincident,anddispatcherproficiencywillevenoutoveranextendedperiodoftime.

Inthemorecommonsituationwherethecalltakerconcludesthecallorafteraconfirmedtransfertothedispatcher,trackingAHTbyindividualcanrevealwhichcalltakersareconsistentlytakingmoretimethantheteamaveragetogatherthecriticalinformation,enteritintothesoftware,andtransmitthe information to thedispatcher. Thiscould indicate that the individualhasaproblemwithcallcontrolordifficultyusingtheCADandsupportingsoftware.Drillingdownintospecificvoiceandscreenrecordingswillrevealalotabouttherootcauses.Onlyafterthecauseshavebeenspecificallyidentifiedcanmanagementdeterminewhattrainingandcoachingisrequired.

Some of the KPIs listed in Figure 4 are not automatically generated by call servers and must beconstructedinternally.Firstcallresolution(FCR)isanexample.Thismetricisthepercentageofqueriesthatwereresolveduponinitialcontact.FCRaveragesabout80percentincommercialcallcenters,butshouldbecloserto100percentinbest-of-classPSAPs.ButcallsarenotalwaysresolvedwithoutcallbacksfromthePSAPorfollow-upcallsfromthecitizen.IntheunfortunatecaseinDetroitwherethemotherdiedbecausenoonerespondedtoachild’s9-1-1call,thechildactuallycalled9-1-1twicetogethelp.TheFCRmetricmaybeconstructedfromCADdatathatshowssequential inboundorinboundandoutboundcallsfromortothesamenumber.Retrievingbothcallsfromtherecordercouldestablishwhetherornotthecallswereaboutthesameincidentandwhyafollow-upwasrequired.

CitizensatisfactionrateisanothervaluablemetricthatcannotbeproducedbyPSAPhardwareand

Cost per call This metric is calculated by dividing all operating costs by the total number of incoming calls. Overhead and depreciation should be excluded from the calculation.

Citizen satisfaction rate

Calculating this metric requires that surveys be conducted among PSAP callers. Typically, callers are asked to rate their satisfaction with the interaction on a five-point scale. Satisfaction is calculated by adding together those that were “completely satisfied” and “satisfied” and dividing the sum by the total number of people that responded to the survey.

Error rate

This is the percentage of data entries that were incorrect. For example, if all incident codes are three digits or letters and the call taker enters four digits in the CAD, then that would be deemed an error. Similarly, if the call taker left a required field in the CAD data entry system empty, that also would be calculated as an error. Error rates can be manually estimated from supervisor reviews of incident reports or automatically via advanced screen recording features that are provide by recording vendors like VPI.

First call resolution

The percentage of calls that is completely resolved with initial query. In other words, the caller was not required to call back about the same situation and the call taker was not required to place a second call to gather additional information. In the event a caller abandons the call and the call taker must call the ANI number, that would be treated as a second call as well as an abandonment.

Dispatch calls The percentage of calls that were dispatched in X seconds after the dispatcher receives notification on the CAD.

Response timeThis calculation is useful for specific classes of incidents where the call taker or dispatcher is required to stay on the call until help arrives. Response time is measured from the time the call is answered to the time help arrives on the scene.

Transfer rate This is the number of call transfers divided by the total number of calls. Each transfer involves the risk of lost calls.

TurnoverThis metric measures a PSAP’s ability to retain personnel. It is a percentage calculated by dividing the number of people who left their PSAP jobs divided by the average number of employees on staff for the preceding 12 months.

11

KPIsareofmostvaluewhentheyaretracked

overtime.Thiswillhelpmanagementspot

favorableorunfavorabletrendsandtoestablishnormsforeachmetric.

Oncethenormisknown,itbecomesfeasibletosetobjectivesandmeasure

deviations.KPIscanbeproducedforthe

organizationasawhole,forplatoons,andfor

individualcalltakersand/ordispatchers.

software.Collectingthedatawillrequireasurvey.Mailsurveystaketimeandoftenhavelowresponserates.AnoutboundcallusinganIVRtoaskthequestionsandcollecttouchtoneresponseisfasterandeasier.Attheconclusionofthecallacomputerizedvoiceasksifthecallerwouldparticipateinasurvey.Thecallerrespondsviatouchtoneentriesafterthecalliscompleted.

Citizensatisfactionsurveysprovidetheonlydirectmeasurementoftheagency’ssuccessinfulfillingitsmissionasperceivedbyitscitizen-clients.Strongscoreshelpmotivateemployeesandprovidemanagementwithusefulsupportinginformationforseekingmoreresourcesordefendingtheagencyagainstbudgetcutbacks.

Quality Assurance Theconceptofqualityassuranceisverysimple–itisadisciplinedprocessofcheckingthatprocessesandbehaviorsmeetexpectations.Manufacturersrigorouslytesttheproductstheyproducebeforetheyareshippedtothepublic.Schoolsteststudentstodeterminehowwelltheyhaveabsorbedtheknowledgeimpartedintheclassroom.Commercialcontactcentersreviewsamplesofrecordedinteractionsandgradetheresultsagainstnormsandgoals.GiventhatPSAPsinvesthundredsofhoursandthousandsofdollarsininitialandongoingtraining,itissurprisingthathalforfeweractuallytakethetimetomonitorandevaluatetheresultsoftheseefforts.

Why You Need a Quality Assurance Program

TheprimaryreasonPSAPsshouldconductqualityassuranceevaluationsisverysimple–toassurethatcitizensareconsistentlyreceivingthequalityofservicetheyexpectanddeserveformtheir9-1-1-centers.Seethefollowinglistforadditionalreasons.

Assure Adherence to Proper Protocols

EachPSAPhaswrittenproceduresforcallhandling.NENAhasissuedNENACallAnsweringStandard/ModelRecommendation(document56-006,issuedJune10,2006).AnexamplefromtheNENAstandardis“All9-1-1linesataprimarypublicsafetyansweringpointshallbeansweredwith“9-1-1”,nevernine-eleven.”Example;“9-1-1. What is theaddressof theemergency?”Thereareprocedures forcaller identification,verifying location, obtaining and verifying a callback number, determining health status, proper incidentclassification,collectingincidentdetails,workstationoperation,communicatingwithdispatchers,andmanyothers. There isnowaytoknowwithany levelofcertaintywhetherornotcall takersanddispatchersarecomplyingwiththeseprocedureswithoutsystematicallymonitoringandevaluatingthecalls.

Assess Soft Skills

Callqualityismorethanfollowingwrittenprocedures.Acriticalcomponentisthequalityofthehumaninteraction.ThiscannotbemeasuredbyKPIsorpost-trainingtests.Examplesof“softskills”includecallcontrol,calmnessunderpressure,voiceclarity,pronunciation,vocabulary,empathy,problemsolvingskills,courtesy,andknowledge.Whilecalltakersshouldbeexpectedtodemonstratecommoncourtesy,thisdoesnotalwayshappen.ReadersDigestreportedthefollowingunfortunateincident-whichinvolvedalotmorethanpooretiquette.

Ratingsonsoftskillscanbetrackedovertime.Thehistoricalrecordwillpinpointareaswheremorecoachingandtrainingarerequired.Ahelpfultoolistopreserverecordingsofwell-executedcallsandaddthesetothetraininglibrary.

Toassurethatproperprotocolsandproceduresarebeingfollowed

Toassess”softskills”suchascallcontrol,calmnessunderpressure,voiceclarity,andcommunicationsskills

Toassesstheeffectivenessoftrainingandcoachingefforts

Compliancewithlawsandregulations

Defenseagainstliabilitysuits

Last January, a 9-1-1 operator fielded a call reporting that an Orlando woman, Loyta Sloley, had been kidnapped. The operator was able to reach Sloley on her cell phone, but she wouldn’t—or couldn’t—tell him where she was. He then brusquely lectured her that she was “going to be in some serious trouble” and could be charged for the expense of a manhunt if she didn’t cooperate. It took nearly a half hour for the operator to dispatch police. By the time the cops arrived, Sloley’s ex-boyfriend had shot and killed her and turned the gun on himself.

12

Theconceptofqualityassuranceisverysimple

–itisadisciplinedprocessofcheckingthatprocesses

andbehaviorsmeetexpectations.

Callqualityismorethanfollowingwrittenprocedures.Acritical

componentisthequalityofthehumaninteraction.ThiscannotbemeasuredbyKPIsorpost-trainingtests.Examplesof“soft

skills”includecallcontrol,calmnessunderpressure,

voiceclarity,pronunciation,vocabulary,empathy,problemsolvingskills,

courtesy,andknowledge.

Reasons to Implement a Quality Assurance Program (Figure5)

Assess the Effectiveness of Hiring, Training, and Coaching Efforts

Thecalltakerordispatcheronthejobistheendproductofrigorousemployeeselectionmethods,manyhoursoftraining,costlycertificationcourses,anddallycoachingbysupervisors.Managementneedstobeabletojudgetheeffectivenessoftheseeffortssoadjustmentscanbemade.

Comply with Laws and Regulations

Toourknowledge,Pennsylvaniaistheonlystateorterritorythatrequiresqualityassuranceproceduresforcalltakersanddispatchers.Theregulationsareverythorough,stipulatingthemethodforcallsampling,thepercentageofcallsthatshouldbesampled,frequencyofevaluations,andperformancestandards.Therequirementsapplytobothcalltakersanddispatchers.

The Pennsylvania statute resulted from a highly publicized incident of PSAP mishandling of anemergencyincident.Iflegislatorsfeelenoughpressurefromtheirconstituentsandthenewsmedia,theyareinclinedtotakeaction.Whilequalityassurancemaynotbemandatedinyourjurisdictionatthistime,itmaybeinthefuture.Givenalltheothergoodreasonstohaveaformalprogram,itwouldseemprudenttogetstartedbeforetheprocessismandated.

Provide a Defense Against Liability Suits

Whilethelikelihoodofsuccessfullitigationagainstastateauthoritymaybesmall,theabsenceofaqualityassuranceprogrammakesforaweakdefensetopresenttoajudgeorjury.

Methods for Conducting Quality Assurance

Incommercialorpublicsafetyenvironments,qualitymonitoringistheprocessoflisteningtorecordedcallsforthepurposeofassessinghowwelltheagenthandledthecall.Sincesupervisorscanonlylistentoasmallfractionoftotalcalls,itisimportanttoselecthigh-valuecallsthataremostlikelytopresentcoachingopportunities.Thecallsmaybemonitoredreal-time,asasupervisorlistensinonaremotephone,orbyselectingstoredcallsfromtherecordingdevice.Thelatterapproachispreferableassupervisorsorothersthatmaybetaskedwithmonitoringresponsibilityneedtheflexibilitytoconducttheevaluationsas time isavailable. Selection fromrecordedcallsalsopermits intelligent rules tobeappliedtothebulkofrecordingsfortheselectionofthehighest-valuesamplesofyourcenter’srecordedcommunications.Thisnotonlybetterutilizesthetimeofevaluationitself,butitalsoprovidesopportunitiesforvaluableinsightsintothesuccessofyourprocessesandtrainingasawhole.

Qualityassurancemonitoringshouldnotbelimitedtovoiceinteractions.Progressivecallrecordingvendorsalsorecordandarchivescreenactions.Theincidentreplayfeaturereconstructstheentireincidentandsequencesandsynchronizesscreenactionswithvoicecommunications.Youwillbeabletojudgeifdataentrieswereperformedaccuratelyandintheproperorder.YouwillalsobeabletoevaluatecompetenceinusingtheCADandmappingsoftware.

VPI QUALITY automatically presents managers with targeted evaluation forms and synchronized interaction audio and screen video (if captured) to enable efficient assessment of single calls or entire incidents. 13

Whilethelikelihoodofsuccessfullitigationagainst

astateauthoritymaybesmall,theabsenceofa

qualityassuranceprogrammakesforaweakdefense

topresenttoajudgeorjury.

Qualityassurancemonitoringshouldnotbe

limitedtovoiceinteractions.Progressivecallrecordingvendorsalsorecordandarchivescreenactions.

Theincidentreplayfeaturereconstructstheentire

incidentandsequencesandsynchronizesscreenactionswithvoicecommunications.

Who Should be Monitored and How Often?

Ideally, both call-takers anddispatchers should be periodicallymonitored and evaluated. Thismay beproblematicwithdispatchers,astheyoftenreporttotheemergencyserviceproviderratherthanthePSAPdirector.However,dispatchersareacriticalcomponentofthequalitychainandshouldnotbeexcludedfromtheQAprocess.PSAPmanagementmayneedthego-aheadfromthefireorpolicedepartmentstoperformdispatcherevaluations.ThePennsylvaniastatuterequiresthatbothcalltakeranddispatchercommunicationsmustbeperiodicallyreviewed.InsmallerPSAPs,calltakersmayalsohandlethedispatchfunction.

Thefrequencyofmonitoringdependsonobjectives.Iftheintentistodeterminetrueaveragesanddeviationsfrom thenormat the individual level.Then, it isnecessary to randomlyselectandmonitorastatisticallysignificant sampleof calls. Theactual sample requireddependson thenumberof callsprocessedpercall takerordispatcheroveradefinedperiodandhowconfidentyouwant tobeabout thereliabilityoftheresultingdata.Therearestatisticalformulasthatcalculatetherequiredsamplesize.ThePennsylvaniaregulationstipulatesthataminimumoftenrandomlyselectedcall-takingqualityassurancereviewsshallbeperformedeachweekin9-1-1centersthataverage72orlessemergencydispatchcallsperday.PSAPsthataveragemorethan72dispatchcallsperdaymustperformaweeklyqualityassurancereviewoftwopercentofthetotal9-1-1callsthattheyprocessperweek.Therequirementisanaggregateofallcalltakers.Acenterwithtencalltakersandanaverageof72orfewerdispatchcallsperdaywouldthenhavetoreviewonecallperweekforeachcall-taker.TheAlbemarleCountyEmergencyCommunicationsCenter,basedinCharlottesville,Virginiaservesapopulationareaofapproximately200,000includingAlbemarleCounty,thecityofCharlottesville,andtheUniversityofVirginia.Thequalitymonitoringprogramhasbeeninplaceforsometimenowandrequiresthatatleast2percentofcalltakercallsmustbemonitoredeachmonth.

Consideringthatitcouldeasilytake30minutestoanhourtolistentoeachsamplecall,preparetherating,andreviewtheresultswiththecall-taker,thetimedemandsonsupervisorsaresubstantial.LargePSAPswillsharetheworkloadbyinvolvingtrainers,platoonleaders,andsupervisorsintheprocess.SmallPSAPsmayhaveonlyonesupervisorpershift,whowouldhavetoattendtotheQAprocessaswellasotherduties.

Which Calls Should be Monitored?

More important than the number of calls is choosing the right calls to evaluate. If you simplyrandomlyselectcalls,youmaynotfindmanycoachingopportunities.

Figure6itemizessomeusefulcriteriaforcallselection.

Call Type Rationale

Emergency calls

The most important responsibility is to handle true emergencies – which can be defined from incident coding or whether or not the call resulted in a dispatch. In very small centers, call takers may also be required to take police calls, such as vehicle and driver checks.

Long handle time

While there should never be a limit on how much time it takes to resolve an issue, call takers that consistently take longer than the norm may need coaching in CAD skills, basic information gathering, call control, and multi-tasking ability.

Unique incidents In this age of cell phones, one highway accident may generate 20 or more calls. The most instructive calls are those that were handled end-to-end by one call taker or the call taker was among the first to take the call.

Repeat calls Short-cycle repeat calls from the same number may indicate that insufficient information was communicated during the initial call. For example, the address was entered incorrectly causing a delay in service delivery.

A mix of police, fire, and rescue

Each type of incident requires a different knowledge base and sometimes different processing methods. Police calls generally outnumber fire and rescue by four to one.

Time of day The same call taker may work different shifts. Call handling skills may be different during the quite late night hours than busy daytime hours.

Skills mix In smaller PSAPs, the call taker may also be the dispatcher. Different skill sets are required and different rating forms should be used for the different types of communications.

A mix of call origination locations

Some areas are more crime-prone than others. The call selection process must be equitable.

Non-call work Call takers have other responsibilities besides talking calls. The evaluation process should consider mastery of the applications and incident reporting.

TTY Calls Federal law requires that cal takers be able to communicate over TTY and similar devices used by the speech and/or hearing impaired

Call Types for Quality Monitoring (Figure6)

14

Moreimportantthanthenumberofcallsischoosingtherightcallstoevaluate.

Ifyousimplyrandomlyselectcalls,youmay

notfindmanycoachingopportunities.

Whileinstructive,Figure6ishelpfulonlyifyouhavetheabilitytoselectcriteria-basedcalls.MostPSAPstodaydeployolder-vintageanalogrecordersthatlackthesearchtoolsneededtoextractcallsbyagent,bytime,byincidenttypeornumber,andotherindividualorcombinationsofvariables.Theymayalsorecordonlyvoiceinteractions,makingitimpossibletoreconstructthecompleteincident,includingworkprocessanddataentryproficiency.

Thenewestsystemsprovideadvancedsearchtoolsandrecordbothdataandvoice.Theyareabletoreconstructandsavethecompletesequenceofevents,andevenexportthiscollectionofrecordingsasevidence.

Who Should Perform the Evaluations?Thisdependsonavailableresources.SincethemajorityofPSAPsarequitesmall,theevaluationsbynecessitywillbeperformedbythecalltaker’sdirectshiftsupervisor.LargePSAPsmayemployfull-timetrainingpersonnelwhocanalsoconducttheevaluations.

Finding time toconduct theevaluations isaproblem forbothcommercialandpublic safety callcenters.Abigadvantageofqualitymonitoringsoftwareisthattheevaluationsarebasedonstoredorarchivedinteractionsthatcanberetrievedandevaluatedatthesupervisors’convenience.Liveremotemonitoringconsumessupervisortimewhileotherissuesmayrequiremoreimmediateattention.

Practices often found in commercial call centers are peer evaluations and self evaluations. In peerevaluationsamoreseniorcalltaker–perhapsagradeortwoabovetheindividualbeingevaluated–ischargedwithconductingtheevaluations.Self-evaluationsarelesscommonandareusuallyconductedinconcertwithsupervisorevaluations.Thetwopartieslatercomparenotesanddiscussdifferences.Itisnotuncommonforself-evaluatorstobemorecriticaloftheirperformancethentheirsupervisors.

How do you Construct the Rating Form?Constructingtheformcutstotheheartofwhyyouareimplementingaqualityassuranceprogram.Recappinganearlierdiscussion,therearefivereasonstodoqualityassurance:

Accordingly, the form needs to address three key areas; adherence to procedures, call quality, andknowledge.Asimpleyes/noratingwillworkfineforprocedures.Eithertheywerefollowedortheywerenot.Forquality,itisnotthatsimple.Therearedegreesofcompetenceonvoiceclarity,calmness,empathy,

Easily reconstruct and analyze entire incidents with VPI CAPTURE PRO. Search by any captured data, including Incident ID, Incident Type or ANI/ALI, and graphically visualize call and radio recordings to rapidly assemble, save, share

and evaluate incident evidence.

Toassurethatcitizensareconsistentlyreceivingthequalityofservicetheyexpectanddeserveformtheir9-1-1centers.

Toassurethatproperprotocolsandproceduresarebeingfollowed

Toassess“softskills”suchascallcontrol,calmnessunderpressure,voiceclarity,andcommunicationsskills

Toassesstheeffectivenessoftrainingandcoachingefforts

Defenseagainstliabilitysuits

15

MostPSAPstodaydeployolder-vintageanalogrecordersthatlackthesearchtoolsneededtoextractcallsbyagent,

bytime,byincidenttypeornumber,andother

individualorcombinationsofvariables.Theymayalsorecordonlyvoiceinteractions,makingit

impossibletoreconstructthecompleteincident,

includingworkprocessanddataentryproficiency.The

newestsystemsprovideadvancedsearchtools

andrecordbothdataandvoice.Theyareableto

reconstructandsavethecompletesequenceof

events,andevenexportthiscollectionofrecordingsas

evidence.

Abigadvantageofqualitymonitoringsoftwareisthattheevaluationsarebased

onstoredorarchivedinteractionsthatcanberetrievedandevaluated

atthesupervisors’convenience.Liveremote

monitoringconsumessupervisortimewhileotherissuesmayrequiremore

immediateattention.

knowledge,andrelatedsoftskills.Fortheseattributesaratingscaleshouldbeused.Five-pointscalesworkwell.Forcomparabilitypurposes,itisusefultoprovideavalueforeachpointonthescale.Forexample:

FollowingisatemplateprovidedbyNENA.

16

Rating PointsExcellent 5

Good 4

Average 3

Fair 2

Poor 1

Therearedegreesofcompetenceonvoice

clarity,calmness,empathy,knowledge,andrelatedsoftskills.Fortheseattributesaratingscaleshouldbeused.Five-pointscalesworkwell.

Some jurisdictions have3-1-1 or 5-1-1 call centers that operatemuch like commercial centers.Theseorganizationsarelikelyalreadyusingqualitymonitoringandmayhaveformsyoucanreview.

However,intheend,youwillhavetogreatlymodifyexistingformsorstartfromscratch.

Fortunately,someofthenewerPSAPtechnologysolutionsincludemodelformsandanauthoringtool.

VPIQUALITYPRO™simplifiesandautomatestheevaluationprocess.Inadditiontoselectingthemostcoachablecalls, theapplicationalsoassociatesthecorrect formfortheindividualcall type.Supervisorssimplyfillouttheformfromtheirworkstation.Thebuilt-inauthoringtoolmakesiteasytocreatenewformsoreditexistingones.Betteryet,thesystemautomaticallytabulatesthescoresandaddsthelatestscorestothecalltakerdatabase.Youcaneasilycreatetrendreportstoseehowperformancehaschangedovertimeandpullinindividualperformancemetricstoaddtotheprofile.Sincethesoftware is accessibleviaWebbrowser, trainersdonothavetocomeinafterhours toevaluatenight-shiftworkers.Theycandoanycall-takerevaluationfromtheirdesktopattheofficeorevenfromhomeoverpassword-protectedbroadbandtelephoneordatalines.

TheVPItoolincorporatesaweightingscheme.Youcanassignweightstospecificquestionsortoentiresections. Forexample,youmaychoose todivide the form into threesections;proceduresadherence,communicationsskills,anddomainknowledge.Eachsectionwouldhaveanaggregatescorecalculatedafter theevaluation.Thesectionscorewouldthenbeweightedbyafactor thatreflectsitsrelativeimportance.Procedureadherencemayaccountfor50percentofthescorewithcommunicationsskillsandknowledgeeachaccountingfor25percent.

Anadvantageofelectronicscoringistheabilitytoeasilycreatereports.Youcantrackprogressforindividualsandteamsovertimeandrelatechangesinscorestocausalincidentssuchastrainingandcoachingsessions.

Theauthoringtoolmakesiteasytochangetheevaluationformtoreflectnewpriorities,theacquisitionofnewtechnology,oranyotherreason.Youcanhavealibraryofforms;forexample,separateformsfordispatchandnon-dispatchcallsandnewhires,ordifferenttypesofformsfordifferentincidenttypes.Youcanalsohavealibraryofquestionsthatyoumaywanttore-useonfutureevaluationforms.

Keepinshort–nomorethan20ratingfactorsandpreferablycloserto10.

Usescaledresponsesratherthanyes-noforsubjectivemeasures.Fivepointscalesarefamiliarandeasiertoanalyzethan7or10-pointscales.

Addresseachofthekeyfunctionsandskills

Usedifferentformsfordifferentsituations

VPI QUALITY’s easy-to-use form designer lets you create custom call taker and incident quality evaluation forms in minutes without IT assistance. Choose from a library of questions

or easily create new questions.

17

VPIQUALITYPRO™simplifiesandautomates

theevaluationprocess.Inadditiontoselectingthe

mostcoachablecalls,theapplicationalsoassociates

thecorrectformfortheindividualcalltype.

Anadvantageofelectronicscoringistheabilityto

easilycreatereports.Youcantrackprogressfor

individualsandteamsovertimeandrelatechangesinscorestocausalincidents

suchastrainingandcoachingsessions.

Tips for Constructing the Rating Form (Figure7)

Perhaps thegreatestadvantageofautomating theevaluationprocess is theautomated reportingfeature.Youcantracktrendsovertime.

Implementing a Quality Assurance Program

Itisveryimportantthatcall-takersnotperceiveQAasa“gotcha”designedtocatchmistakesandpunishoffenders.Theprogramwillnotreapitsfullbenefitswithoutthesupportofallstakeholders.Employeesmustunderstandthattheevaluationsaretoolsforrecognitionandsupport–theywillrevealexcellenceaswell as areas for improvement. Software basedquality evaluationwill helpmake trainingandcoachingmorefocusedandmoreeffective.Itwillhelpcalltakersandothersbecomemoreproficientintheirjobs.Iftheprocessrevealsegregiouserrorsthatcouldcomebacktoharmthecredibilityoftheentireoperation, then it is in the interestofeveryonethat thesourcebe identifiedandrectified.Managementshouldcarefullylayouttheobjectivesoftheprogramandseekfeedbackfromcalltakers,trainers,andothersthatwillbeimpactedbytheprogram.Reviewschedulesandobjectivesofqualityratingshouldbeknownaheadoftime.Calltakersshouldbeabletolistentotherecordings,reviewtheirevaluations,andprovidefeedbackinaformofcommentsthatremainassociatedwiththeratingforms.Theprogramcanbephasedinoveraperiodoftime,withadjustmentsmadealongtheway.

Coaching and LearningThequalitymonitoringandevaluationprocesshelpsPSAPmanagementidentifyproblemareasandprovidesameasureofprogress.However,QMwithoutstructuredtrainingandcoachingprogramsislikeknowingthespeedlimitbutnotknowinghowtousetheaccelerator.Coachingandtrainingare the mechanisms that produce changes. In the commercial call center world, best practicesrecommendthatsupervisorsspendatleast75percentoftheirtimecoachinganddevelopingagents(althoughfewattainthatgoal). InthePSAPenvironment,findingtimeforcoachingisevenmoredifficult. This isall themore reason that coachingbeconducted inadisciplinedandconsistentmanner,leveragingavailabletechnologies.

TraininginPSAPstypicallyfollowsthefamiliarclassroommodel.Thisisthewaywewerealltaughtinschool–andweallknowitslimitations.Themainproblemwithclassroomtrainingisretention.ResearchonlearningretentionratesconductedbyNationalTrainingLaboratories(NTL2006)indicatesthatstudents retainas littleas5percent fromlecturesand10percent fromreading. Classroomtrainingisexpensive,sincemanytraineeshavetobepaidovertimetocomeinontheirdaysoff,andoftenrequiresadedicatedtrainer.Nightshiftcalltakersfinditespeciallydifficulttoattendsessions,asthesearetypicallyscheduledduringtheirsleepinghours.

Commercialcallcentersconductsomeclassroomtraining,butare increasinglymovingtoautomatedlearningsystems.Theconceptis”justintime”learning.Messages,procedures,policies,scripts,Q&Adocuments,andtrainingexercisesareelectronicallyfedtotheagent’sdesktopattimeswhentheschedulingsoftwareknowsthattheagentismostlikelytobeavailabletotakethetraining.Conversely,theagentmaycalluptherequiredinformationfromaweb-basedcustomknowledgebaseusingfamiliarsearchtools.

ToolsofthistypearerarelyusedinPSAPenvironments.Whenweaskedindustryofficialsaboutthis,thegeneralreactionwasthat therewasnotimeforelectroniccoachingandlearningtools. Calltakerswereeitheroncalls,doingpost-callwork,“windingdown”fromthepreviouscall,orrequiredtostayalertanduninterruptedinpreparationforthenextcall.Whilethesearegoodpoints,theyalsoapplytocommercialcallcenters,whereagentshandle4-5timesasmanycallsperday(albeitfarshortercallsunderlessstressfulconditions).Wethinkthereisaroleforelectroniccoachingtoolsinpublicsafetycallcenters.Theadvantagesaremany.

The Chester County (PA) Department of Emergency Services (Chesco) discovered through the use of automated evaluation software that after approximately 70 days on the job, new hires tend to get overly comfortable in their jobs, taking shortcuts instead of meticulously following procedures. Chesco management had suspected this all along, but lacked the data to back-up their anecdotal observa-tions. Chesco now has a standard procedure to provide remedial training and coaching to each class of new trainees after approximately 70-80 days in the job.

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Employeesmustunderstandthattheevaluationsaretoolsforrecognitionandsupport–theywillreveal

excellenceaswellasareasforimprovement.Softwarebasedqualityevaluation

willhelpmaketrainingandcoachingmorefocused

andmoreeffective.Itwillhelpcalltakersandothersbecomemoreproficientin

theirjobs.

Thequalitymonitoringandevaluationprocess

helpsPSAPmanagementidentifyproblemareasand

providesameasureofprogress.However,QMwithoutstructuredtrainingandcoachingprogramsis

likeknowingthespeedlimitbutnotknowinghowtousetheaccelerator.Coaching

andtrainingarethemechanismsthatproduce

changes.

Examplesofelectroniccoachingandtrainingtoolsincludemodelcallsextractedfromtherecordingsystem,annotatedevaluationformsfromsupervisors,newpoliciesorprocedures,diagrams,illustratedinstructions for medical procedures, information-gathering scripts, maps, photos, PowerPointpresentations,andpre-packagedcontentfromthirdpartyvendors.Justaboutanydocumentthatexistsinelectronicformcanbeconvertedtoatrainingaid.

Electronicaidsshouldneverbeusedascompletesubstitutesforone-on-onecoachingandtraining,buttheycanbeveryvaluableadjuncts.Theysavealotoftimeandmoneyintheprocess.

VPIQUALITYPRO™enablessupervisorstoefficientlyandeffectivelytrainandcoachdispatchersandcall takers. Theapplicationdeliversdynamic trainingcourses, tests,andquizzes. Trainingcanbeautomaticallytriggeredbyresultsofcalltakerevaluationsorinitiatedbysupervisorswhenthetimingisright.Youcandelivermultimediacoachingandtrainingtocalltakerdesktopsonaschedule-orrules-

Learningcanbedispensedatanytime–notjustwhensupervisorsortrainersareavailable.

Learningcanbetimedtocoincidewithevaluations.

Theinformationcanbepre-checkedforaccuracyandisconsistentforallcalltakers.

TheinformationcanbecustomizedtomeettheuniquerequirementsofthePSAP.

Information,viamessagesandalerts,canbedispensedimmediatelytoallemployees.Forexample,ifamajoraccidentorotheremergencyhasoccurred,everyonewillknowatonce.

Calltakersanddispatcherscancalluptheinformationtheyneedwhentheyneedit–theydonothavetorely100percentonmemory.

Ifacallcomestotheirdesktopwhiletheyareinalearningsession,thesystemcanbeprogrammedtohalttheexerciseuntiltheincidentisfullyresolved.

Testsaretakenfromtheemployee’sdesktopandthescoresarearchivedforfutureanalysis.

Coachingandlearningcanbeinitiatedbysupervisorswhenthetimingisright.

ThereisnoneedtopayOTforemployeeattendance.

Electroniclearningisconfidentialandnon-confrontational.

Electroniclearningcanbepersonalizedandtherightcontentautomaticallyselectedaccordingtospecificresultsofqualityevaluations,toassurethemostefficientutilizationofeachcalltaker’sordispatcher’stime-focusingpreciselyontheareasofweaknessesspecifictoeachperson.

Employeescanstudytheirassignedcurriculumeitherattheirworkstationsorintrainingrooms,accessingthecontentthatwasassignedtothemsimplyviapersonallogin.

VPI COACHING automatically assigns targeted coaching assignments and training quizzes based on predefined quality and performance thresholds to help call takers and dispatchers quickly bridge skill gaps.

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VPIQUALITYPRO™enablessupervisorsto

efficientlyandeffectivelytrainandcoachdispatchers

andcalltakers.Theapplicationdeliversdynamictrainingcourses,tests,andquizzes.Trainingcanbeautomaticallytriggeredbyresultsofcalltaker

evaluationsorinitiatedbysupervisorswhenthetiming

isright.

Dispatchertrainingsoftwareenablessupervisorstosetrulesthatsendtargeted

calltakertrainingtoindividualsorgroupswhenpredeterminedqualityor

performancethresholdsarereached.Youcanmeasure,track,andreport–generate

comprehensivereports,developreportcards,andtracktheeffectivenessof

yourtraining.

Benefits of Electronic Coaching & Learning Systems (Figure8)

drivenbasis.Dispatchertrainingsoftwareenablessupervisorstosetrulesthatsendtargetedcalltakertrainingtoindividualsorgroupswhenpredeterminedqualityorperformancethresholdsarereached.Youcanmeasure,track,andreport–generatecomprehensivereports,developreportcards,andtracktheeffectivenessof your training. Theembeddedauthoring toolallows trainersandsupervisors tocreatenew,feature-richmultimediatrainingmaterialsoruseyourexistingtrainingresources.

Technology InfrastructureEveryPSAPisequippedwithessentialhardwareandsoftware.Figure9summarizesthetypicalPSAPtechnologyenvironment.

These systemsare supportedbymultiple computer servers connectedovera localareanetwork.Interoperabilityandintegrationarecommonproblems;

Interoperability–Perhapsthemostsignificantissueforpublicsafetyisincompatibleradiosystems.Police,fire,ambulanceservices,andwreckerservicesmayalloperateondifferentradiosandfrequencies,complicatingtheabilityofdispatcherstocoordinatemultipleemergencyservices.OnSeptember11,2001policereceivedtheradiomessagethataTwinTowersbuildingwasgoingtocollapsebutfirefightersnever received thatmessagebecause theyuseddifferent radios. In theaftermathof theOklahomabombingofafederalofficebuilding,runnershadtocarrymessagesbetweencommandcenters.

Integration –Thenewersystemsaresoftwarebased.Theapplicationsoftwareishousedindedicatedserversanddistributedtoworkstationsandmonitorsoverthelocalareanetworkordedicatedpaths.SincetheCAD,recorder,radio,andapplicationsoftwareareallprovidedbydifferentvendors,gettingallsystemstoharmoniouslyworktogethercanbeadifficultandcostlysystemsintegrationchallenge.

Reliable and error-free integrationbetweencommunicationssystemsandtherecordingplatformisespeciallyimportantTherecordermustbeabletoreadtheANI,ALI,CLID,trunkID,calltakerID,incidentnumber,andotherdatacapturedbythecallserver,radiosystem,orCAD.Howwelldoesthatwork?ThetoprecordingvendorswillhavecertifiedintegrationswiththemajorPBX,CAD,andradiovendors.Theintegrationswillhavebeenperformancetestedandtechnicianswillhavebeentrainedbythecommunicationssystemsvendor.Therecordingvendorwillhaveaccesstotechnicaldocumentationandhotlinesupport.Lackingpre-configuredandcertifiedintegrations,therecordingvendorwillattemptacustomintegrationusingdefactoindustrystandards.Thesecanbeverycostlyandnotasefficientinaccuratelycapturingreal-timeinformationasintegrationscertifiedandtestedbythetelephonyorradiovendor.

Classes of Recording SystemsForcompliancepurposes,everyPSAPmusthaveamechanismforrecording,archiving,andretrievingvoicecommunications.Itisimportantthatthesystemusedinyouroperationisideallysuitedtoyourcurrentandfutureneeds. Inourdiscussionswithvendorsand resellers, itwassurprising to learnhowoften thisvitalcomponenttothepublicsafetyemergencyservicedeliverysystemispurchasedonthebasisoflowbid.Insomecases,municipalitiesrequirethatbidsbeawardedtothelowestbidderbutitistheagency’sresponsibilitytoprepareanRFQthatreflectsathoroughunderstandingofyouragency’scurrentandfuturerequirements.Alsoknownas“loggers,”recordershavebeenusedincallcenters,publicsafety,airtrafficcontrol

Acallservertoterminatetrunklines,readANI,ALIandotheressentialinformationtransmittedoverthe9-1-1circuits,androutecallsandcallinformationtotheappropriatecalltaker

Telephoneterminalsorheadsetsconnectedtoadesktopsoftphone

Computeraideddispatch(CAD)workstationsforeachcalltakeranddispatcherfordisplayingandenteringdata,creatingandupdatingincidentdetails,andtransmittingcriticalinformationfromthecalltakertothedispatcher.

Specializedsoftwareapplicationsforidentifyingincidentsondetailedmapsanddatabaseadministration.

Multiplemonitorsforeachcalltaker,sotheydonothavetoswitchbetweenapplications

Radiosystemforcommunicationsbetweendispatcherandemergencyserviceprovider.

Systemforrecordingandretrievinginteractionsbetweencitizens,calltakers,dispatchers,andemergencyserviceproviders.

Storagesystemsforvoiceanddata.

Emergencypowersystems

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Reliableanderror-freeintegrationbetween

communicationssystemsandtherecordingplatformisespeciallyimportantThe

recordermustbeabletoreadtheANI,ALI,CLID,trunkID,calltakerID,

incidentnumber,andotherdatacapturedbythecall

server,radiosystem,orCAD.

Forcompliancepurposes,everyPSAPmusthavea

mechanismforrecording,archiving,andretrieving

voicecommunications.Itisimportantthatthesystemused

inyouroperationisideallysuitedtoyourcurrentand

futureneeds.

PSAP Hardware and Software (Figure9)

andfinancialtradingfloorsrecordingsystemssincetheearly1980’s.Theseearlysystemsconnecteddirectlytotrunklinesatthetelephonyswitch.Tapereelsorcartridgesservedasthestoragemedia.Thetapesweremanuallylabeledandstored.Findingaspecificconversationwouldrequirehoursoflisteninguntilthecallcouldbelocated.SomePSAPsstillusetheseverybasicrecordersthatdolittlemorethancapture,store,andretrievevoicecommunications.

Today, we can classify recorders into three categories; basic loggers, advanced loggers, andperformancemonitoringandimprovementsystems.

Basic Loggers

Basicloggerscapturevoice-onlyfromanaloganddigitaltrunks,telephonydevices,andconventionalradio.TheymaybeabletorecordVoIPcalls,butareunabletotagthecallstospecificcalltakers.Theycannotidentifyspecificchannelsfromthenewertrunkedradiosystems.Basicloggersareusuallydesigned as unitized fixed capacity devices that cannot be expanded. They do not record screenactions,whichmakesitverydifficulttocreatecompleteandaccurateincidentreports.Securitymaybelimitedtopassword-only,whichmakesthemreadilyaccessibletoanyonewhoknowsthepassword.

Storagemaybe limited to thecomputerharddrive. Typically, therearenoremotediagnosticoradministration features, so every problem requires a costly site visit and inherent time delays inresolution.Basicloggershaveaverylimitedindexingcapability.Thiscomplicatestheprocessofquickly locatingspecificrecordingsforcourtpurposes.Theuser interfaceisviascreensonaPCworkstationordirectly fromkeysanddisplayson thedevice itself. Basic loggersdonotprovideanycapabilitytointelligentlyretrievecallsforqualitymonitoringpurposes.Theonlyoptionsaretoremotelylistenintoalivecallorsitside-by-sidewithacalltaker,waitingforacoachablecalltoarrive.Theevaluationprocess iscompletelymanual. Becauseof theirdesignarchitecture,basicloggerscannotbemodifiedtoacceptdataandvideocommunications,asrequiredbyNG9-1-1.

Advanced Loggers

Themoreadvancedloggingdeviceshosttheirsoftwareonindustrystandardservers.Thesystemscanbeexpandedbypurchasingadditionalsoftwarelicenses.Advancedloggersrecordaudiofromtelephonydevices,conventionalradio,trunkedradio,andscreenactions.TherearemultiplestorageoptionssuchasNAS,SAN,andRAID.Inadditiontoidentifierspassedbythe9-1-1trunksandcallserver,theremaybeuser-definablefieldssocallscanbeindexedandretrievedbyCADentries,suchasincidenttypeandnumber.Anincidentreplayapplicationisavailable.

Callscanbesampledforqualitymonitoringpurposes,basedonavailablecriteria.Somevendorsincludeanauthoring tool for formdevelopment. Theuser interface isbrowser-based,permittingremoteadministrationanddeploymentinremotesites.Advancedloggersdonotprovideintegratedcoachingandlearningtoolsormoresophisticatedfunctionslikeworkforceschedulingandspeechanalytics.Whilethedesignismoreopenthanforbasicloggers,oftenusingoff-the-shelfcomponents,advanced loggersareoftennot readily re-architected toaccommodateNG9-1-1 requirements.Thereisnoprovision,andoftennoproductroadmap,tocaptureandindextextmessages,video,andVoIPcallsfromproviderslikeVonageandSkype.

Performance Monitoring and Management Systems

Alsoknownasworkforceoptimizationsystems(WFM),thisclassofPSAPrecordingproductsleveragethelatestinthin-clientWed-basedtechnologiestoprovideintegratedsolutionsfornotonlycapturingmulti-mediainteractionsbutleveragingthatinformationwithintegratedtoolstohelpPSAPsfindwaystobetterservethepublic.Inadditiontoadvancedrecordingcapability,solutionsinthisclassincludeintegratedadvancedapplicationssuchasqualitymonitoring,evaluation,coaching, learning,andWebPortaldashboards.Thesystemsconsistofthecorerecordingsystemplusasuiteofmodulesthatcanbepurchasedseparately,incrementally,orone-timeasafully-integratedsolution.Thesesystemsareonlysoldbythetopvendors,allofwhichhavecertifiedintegrationswiththemostwidelydeployedcallservers.Inaddition,themodulesarealltightlyintegratedwiththerecorderandwitheachother.Thereisnoneedforcostlyandofteninefficientcustomintegrations.

We describe this product class as “performance monitoring and management systems” becausethat isexactlywhat theydo. Therecordercapturesvoiceandscreenactions fromallconfiguredchannels. Screenentriesarerecordedin thesamesequenceas thevoicecallandsynchronized,sohandlingoftheincidentcanbereconstructedpreciselyasithappened.Supervisorscanreviewtheentiresequenceofeventstoidentifypossibledataentryerrors,shortcuts,orindicationoflackofunderstandingonhowtousethesoftware.

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Basicloggerscapturevoice-onlyfromanaloganddigital

trunks,telephonydevices,andconventionalradio.

TheymaybeabletorecordVoIPcalls,butareunabletotagthecallstospecificcalltakers.Theycannotidentify

specificchannelsfromthenewertrunkedradio

systems.

WorkforceoptimizationPSAPrecordingproducts

leveragethelatestinthin-clientWed-based

technologiestoprovideintegratedsolutionsfor

notonlycapturingmulti-mediainteractionsbut

leveragingthatinformationwithintegratedtoolstohelpPSAPsfindwaystobetterservethepublic.Inadditiontoadvanced

recordingcapability,solutionsinthisclass

includeintegratedadvancedapplications

suchasqualitymonitoring,evaluation,coaching,

learning,andWebPortaldashboards.

Thequalitymonitoringprocessishighlyautomated.Evaluationcallscanberetrievedonavarietyofuser-definedcriteria.Usingtheauthoringtool,separateformscanbecreatedforjuniorcalltakers,senior call takers,dispatchers, language specialists,andother employeecategories. Answers toquestionscanbeweightedtoreflecttheirrelativeimportancetothemissionandprioritiesofthePSAP.Evaluationsareperformedfromthesupervisor’sdesktop,astimebecomesavailable.Ratingsarearchivedandreportsgeneratedthatcanspottrendsandisolateareasforpraiseorcoaching.

Sincethesoftwareisdesignedforqualitymonitoring,supervisorscanretrievecallsbasedonmultiplecriteria–helpingtoassurefocusonproperprotocolsandproficiencywithavarietyofemergencysituations.

Onceareasforimprovementareidentified,availableelectroniclearningmodulescanbesharedwithcalltakers.Whenpairedwithintegratedworkforceforecastingandschedulingsoftware,theelectroniclearningandcoachingmaterialscanbeautomaticallydeliveredattimeswhencallactivityisexpectedtobelow.

Investment Considerations

Giventhesignificanceofrecordingandchangingconditionsofyourenvironment,itmaybetimetoreviewyourrecordingpracticesandtechnologiesinplace.Theconvergenceofvoiceanddataoverwireless,trunkedradioandIPnetworkshasputemergencycommunicationsatacrossroads.Thetremendousincreaseinuseofwirelessdevices,trunkedradio,andtherapidlygrowingVoiceoverIP(VoIP)arecreatingnewchallengesforpublicsafetyorganizations.GrowingconsolidationamongPSAPandEMScentersallowsforbetterandmoreunifiedcoverageoflargegeographicareas,butitalsobringschallengesofmeaningfullyrecording,archiving,accessingandretrievingrecordingsofallcommunicationsandrelateddatafrommultiplelocationsinacentralizedfashion.

Manyoftoday’spublicsafetycentershaveorwillsoonimplementacombinationofdigital,analog,andIPphones,conventionalandtrunkedradio,andmultipletypesofCADsystemsusedatmultiplesites. Today’s most advanced recording systems offer universal or adaptable voice and datainterfacedesignsthatallowforeasyconversionofthesamesystemforrecordingofanyoftheabovecommunicationsystems,inanycombination.Regardlessofthesource,allaudioanddatacanberecorded,stored,accessedandreportedoninaunifiedfashion.Thisisanecessaryfoundationforefficientretrievalanduseoftherecordedinformation.

With the technology that’snowcoming intouse,multi-sitepublic safetyoperations can remotelyaccess,retrieveandcopyaudioanddatafiles–individuallyorinsetsbasedoneventrecreationlogic.Thecontinuedimportanceofvoicerecordingsincourtcases,andatrendtowardtheestablishmentoflarger,centralizedcommunicationcentersthatsupportwidergeographicareas,makestheportabilityofvoiceinformationanevenmoreimportantissue.Themostadvancedrecordingsystemsmakevoiceinformationportableovervirtuallyanymedium,includingtheIntranetorInternet.Atthesametime,passwordprotection,anddigitalsignaturetechnologyensurestheauthenticityofvoicerecordings.Encryption technologyprotects the chainof custodyof recorded voiceevidence. To confirm theintegrityoftherecordinganddataaccessprocesses,PSAPsshouldalsoperiodicallyexamineAuditTrailreportsthatprovideacomprehensivereviewofalluseractivitieswithinthesystem.

Legacy recorders are largely closed systems. Consequently, PSAPs cannot use industry standardserverswithcommonoperatingsystems.Legacyrecordingsystemsdonothaveopeninterfaces–thatare recommendedbyNENAandUSDOTunderNG9-1-1 initiatives-andsocannotseamlesslyintegratewiththeotherPSAPsystemsthatare(orwillbe)builttoopenstandards.ExamplesincludethenewdatabaseformatsspecifiedforNG9-1-1infrastructure,toincludeCADsystems,mappingsoftware,andmore.Withclosedsystems,eachintegrationpointisacustomjobaddingtocostsofacquisitionandownershipandcreatingunnecessarycomplexitytothetaskofreplacinglegacysub-systems.Asnewor improvedcommunicationschannelsanddevicesareadoptedby thegeneralpublic,thePSAPneedsaflexiblearchitecturethatcanreadilyadjusttothesechanges.

Thenext recordingsolutionyoubuyshouldhaveanopen-architecturedesignandthevendorshouldhaveaproductroadmapthatwillgiveyouconfidencethatthesolutionyoubuytodaywillnothavetobereplacedwhenyouarereadytomoveforwardwithNG9-1-1standards.Agoodstaringpointistocreateachecklistofallyourcurrentandanticipatedneeds.Figure10providesahelpfulstartingpoint.

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Manyoftoday’spublicsafetycentershaveorwillsoonimplementacombinationofdigital,analog,andIPphones,

conventionalandtrunkedradio,andmultipletypesofCADsystemsusedatmultiplesites.Today’s

mostadvancedrecordingsystemsofferuniversaloradaptablevoiceand

datainterfacedesignsthatallowforeasyconversion

ofthesamesystemforrecordingofanyofthese

communicationsystems,inanycombination.

Legacyrecordersarelargelyclosedsystems.Consequently,PSAPscannotuseindustry

standardserverswithcommonoperatingsystems.Legacyrecordingsystems

donothaveopeninterfaces–thatarerecommendedbyNENAandUSDOT

underNG9-1-1initiatives-andsocannotseamlessly

integratewiththeotherPSAPsystemsthatare

(orwillbe)builttoopenstandards.

Recording System Acquisition Checklist (Figure10)

Features and Functions Available Now

Future Release

Efficiently capture any mix of analog, TDM, VoIP, radio and wireless calls in the same system

Tags VoIP calls with ANI/ALI, incident type, date stamp, call taker, and user-defined attributes

Capture and record text messages

Capture and record Instant Messages from wireless devices

Capture and record email messages

Capture and record fixed and streaming video images

Capture and record Automatic Crash Notification information (if provided)

Provide instant incident replay of all voice and data interactions, end to end

Open architecture design

Scalable to address future growth, including the possibility of consolidation

Ability to securely serve remotesites from a central location

Online or long-term storage using RAID NAS, and DVD-RAM

Assignable playback and monitoring rights

Provides playback audit trail

Tag calls with telemetric or mapping location identifiers (if transmitted)

Tag calls with vehicle identification numbers (if transmitted)

Tag calls with health information identifiers (if transmitted)

Continue to record and track the call even after transfer to another PSAP location?

Live or remote monitoring

Authenticate all voice communications

Authenticate all data communications

Watermarking of all stored voice and data communications

Encryption of all stored voice and data communications

Tabular and graphical audit logs for monitoring user access and activities within the system

Provides built-in analytics

Seamlessly integrate with leading IP call server vendors?

Allow supervisors to send instant messages and announcements to call takers and dispatchers across locations?

Intelligently selects the most coachable calls for quality evaluation

Provides embedded evaluation forms and authoring tools

Provides embedded and user-designed graphical reports

Allow for objective, form-based quality evaluation of single calls as well as entire multi-call incidents

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About the Author

DickBucci isChiefAnalystatPelorusAssociates (www.pelorusassoc.com)wherehespecializes inpublicsafetyandcontactcentertechnologies.Hehasauthoredeightin-depthreportsonworkforceoptimizationapplicationsandnumerousarticlesandwhitepapers.DickisalsomanagingdirectorofTechnologyMarketingAssociates,amarketingconsultingfirm.Hehasover30yearsofexperienceinthetelecommunicationsindustry.

About VPI

VPI (Voice Print International, Inc.) is a premier innovator andprovider ofNextGeneration9-1-1 multimedia communications recording, quality assurance andworkforce optimization solutionsfor government agencies, first responders, emergency service providers, security companies, andenterprisesworldwide.VPIisaUS-basedcompanyandadedicatedAPCOandNENANextGenerationPartnerProgrammember.Morethan1,300customersin50countriesrelyonVPI’saward-winningsuiteof communicationscenter solutions tocapture,analyze,evaluate,and share their recordedcommunications.Inadditiontosecurerecordsmanagementforevidentiarypurposes,VPIsolutionsenablefederal,state,local,andprivateagenciestoensurecompliancewithpoliciesandregulations,improvethequalityoftheirmission-criticalvoiceanddatainteractions,maximizetheperformanceandretentionoftheirstaff,anddeliverfirst-ratecustomerservice.Formoreinformation,contactusat1-800-200-5430orvisitwww.VPI-corp.com. Contact VPI at

Info@VPI-corp.com1.800.200.5430

www.VPI-corp.com

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