INside INdigital: Preparing Your PSAP for the Unexpected

Guest blog written by
Holly Peacock - Alabama Service Manager | INdigital

When you think about the word "preparedness," what comes to mind? What types of things do you prepare for most? A child starting school for the very first time, a marriage proposal, purchasing your first car, or a new home? What about your safety as you walk into a grocery store, exercising at your local park, getting behind the wheel to start your day? As public safety personnel, there are a few other things we need to prepare for every day we walk into work - inclement weather, are you prepared for it?

Telecommunicators in 911 centers must be prepared for all types of events, even if it doesn't directly impact them. The definition of preparedness means "a state of readiness, especially for war." In the life of a telecommunicator, preparedness is what makes them tick, helps them get through the day's events, whatever they might be. Yes, they are trained on how to answer a 911 call with a short phrase, "911, where is your emergency," but that is just the beginning. 

Telecommunicators are prepared to handle any emergency thrown at them even through the short end of a telephone. They are trained to handle every call through basic telecommunicator skills and emergency medical dispatching, but what happens when it's not a criminal or civil event? What if it is a natural event that the telecommunicator has no control over? Your Public Safety Answering Point (PSAP) should have a plan in place, so the reaction of the telecommunicator comes naturally, just like answering the telephone became natural.

Each PSAP should develop a written plan and exercise it periodically so those working in the center know what to do when the actual event occurs. Creating a plan that works takes a team. All of us at INdigital are here to back you up and provide you with the tools needed to be successful because we understand the difficulty of the profession you have chosen. We know that technology is constantly evolving, but we also know that it can fail. A big focus for us at INdigital is redundancy. We strive to provide multiple options for telecommunicators so that they can do their job without failure. Not only do we have redundant paths for 911 calls to be carried on, but we provide telecommunicators with a backup plan. If the call handling equipment fails, telecommunicators turn to their MEVO so they can continue to answer calls. (We will get to what MEVO is in a second!)

There are two different types of MEVO's we provide PSAPs with: MEVO Core and MEVO Anywhere. MEVO Core is tied to INdigital's core network. It directly accesses our Next-Gen Core Services (NGCS) call processing elements controlling 911 service delivery to PSAPs with INdigital as the 911 System Service Provider (SSP). The phone sits near the PSAP's primary answering positions. Anywhere is a "mobile" deployment kit that provides PSAPs with the ability to connect to the ESiNet securely through any location with access to the internet. After being connected, 911 and administrative call handling are available via the MEVO telephone contained within the kit. It can serve as a backup and/or remote 911 call handling system.

During a weather event, 911 centers can be overloaded with call volume, and calls may route to neighboring counties. Routing of calls may go unanswered or drop just due to overload, but with MEVO telephones placed in a 9-1-1 center, this allows failover to be handled by the agency they are intended for. For example, suppose the regular 911 system is not working correctly or totally out of service. In that case, the telecommunicator still can answer calls through the MEVO phone right there at their fingertips. 

Understanding the functionality of the MEVO is where "preparedness" comes in.  Having a plan in place and knowing how to move from the normal call handling platform to MEVO operations is essential. On the screen of the MEVO telephone, there are two buttons; one says "transfer 911" and the other "abandoned PSAP". Each PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point) is assigned a 6 digit password that enables the buttons to perform the function. When you press the "transfer 911" button, it will allow you to manually move from regular 911 call handling to receiving your 9-1-1 calls on your MEVO telephone. All calls then routed to the MEVO will still deliver ANI (Automatic Number Identifier) and ALI (Automatic Location Identifier). 

With inclement weather, you never know where it is going to hit. A dispatch center may be in the path of an oncoming tornado, and Telecommunicators may need to "abandon PSAP." This function is accessible through the MEVO telephone and can be completed with a 6-digit password. This button will manually route the calls to a neighboring district. Only use this function IF time allows you. Do not put employees in danger. You can also call the National Service Operations Center (NSOC) to complete this request. 

Being prepared and communicating the plan are key factors for unexpected situations. Telecommunicators need to be trained on the unexpected. Weather events are not "planned events," but having a plan for inclement weather can be planned. Set a plan, communicate it to your team, and test it.