Project Kickoff Presentation

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Sussex County, New JerseyPhase I PSAP
Consolidation Feasibility StudyReport Findings
June 29, 2007
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Todays Agenda

• Corporate Overview
• Project Goals/Scope
• Current Environment
• Alternatives Analyzed
• Call Volumes
• Staffing Analysis
• Budgetary Costs
• Advantages Disadvantages
• Recommendations
• Questions Discussion

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RCC AttendeesPublic Safety Information Systems

• Mr. Michael Weins, P.M.P., Director
• Mr. Clint Hugghins, P.E., Senior Project Engineer

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Corporate Overview

• Established in 1983
• National International Presence
• Headquarters in Woodbridge, NJ
• Offices Nationwide
• 125 Full-Time Staff
• Focused on Communications and Information
  Technology
• Wireless and Wireline Voice and Data
  Communications Systems
• Public Safety Information Technology
• Serving Private Public Sector Critical Services
  Industries
• Business Planning and Analysis
• Systems Consulting Engineering
• System Integration
• Communications Planning, Engineering, and
  Management Software

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Selected Comm. Center Studies

• Lake County, IL
• Greater Orlando Aviation Authority, FL
• Genesee County, MI
• Caddo Parish, LA
• Henrico County, VA
• Seminole County, FL
• Prince William County ,VA
• Miami,, FL
• Cayuga County, NY (Consolidated Center)
• Lafayette Parish, LA
• Oswego County, NY (47 Agencies)
• Chesterfield County, VA
• Stafford County, VA (Co-located SO, FD EMS
• Hillsborough County Sheriffs Dispatch Center, FL
• Walt Disney World, FL
• St. Clair County, MI
• Orlando , FL
• Lakeland Police And Fire, FL
• City/County of Kalamazoo, MI

• City of Atlanta, GA
• Fairfax County, VA
• Sacramento, CA PD
• Long Beach, CA (PM for Fluor Daniel Motorola)
• Johnson County, KS (50k Sq. Ft. Consolidated
  Center
• Tucson, AZ (90 Position Consolidated Center)
• City of Raleigh Wake CO, NC (Remodel 22 Pos.
  Center While in Operation)
• Winston-Salem, NC
• Bellevue, WA
• Hialeah Public Safety, FL

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Goals of the Study

• Analyze savings by reduction of duplicative
  systems and facilities and reducing inefficient
  trunking or human resource pools.
• Quantify improvements in quality of service.
• Interoperability
• Better performance
• Redundancy or back up
• Eliminate single point of failure
• Meet standards set by OETS

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Initial Scope of Work

• Conduct a high level feasibility study of
  analyzing risks and benefits of consolidating six
  Public Safety Answering Point operations into one
  or more Countywide PSAPs.

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Initial Scope of Work

• Conduct a high level analysis of the following
  systems and subsystems as it relates to their
  viability in a consolidated communications center
  environment
• Radio Systems
• Computer Aided Dispatch Systems
• Records Management Systems
• Mobile Data Computer Systems
• E 9-1-1 Emergency Telephone Number Systems
• Fire Station Alerting Systems
• Non-Emergency, Administrative Telephone Systems

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Initial Scope of Work

• Factors evaluated
• Call Volumes existing and future growth.
• Wireless call volumes, and their potential impact
  on operations
• Personnel requirements associated with current
  and future call volumes
• Technology existing, current upgrading and
  future requirements economies of scale
• Non-dispatch duties performed, their costs, the
  alternatives

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Statewide PSAPs
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Current Environment

• 6 PSAPs located throughout County
• Service to 24 towns and municipalities
• Staffing varies from 1-3 call taker/dispatch
  positions (depending on facility and time of day)
• All agencies use Enforsys (Munipol) and InfoCop
  for CAD/RMS and MDC

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Current Environment
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Data Collection Process

• Site Visits (physical facilities and systems)
• Interviews and Focus Groups
• Data Collection Surveys
• Call Volume Analysis based on calls for service
  and projected growth (using Erlang-C, Grade of
  Service .01 for 9-1-1 calls, .15 for Admin calls)

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Alternatives Analyzed

• Baseline (No Change to Current Configuration)
• Fully Consolidated PSAP (Single Facility)
• Partially Consolidated PSAP
• Two PSAPs (Single Fire/EMS Dispatch)

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Baseline Configuration
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Consolidated PSAP
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Partially Consolidated PSAP
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Two PSAPs, Single Fire/EMS Dispatch
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Staffing Considerations
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Staffing Considerations

• Total Hrs/Year 8760 (365x24)
• Total Hrs/Employee 2080 (40x52)
• Avg. Hrs/Employee 1765 (previous slide)
• Employees/Position 4.9 (8760/1765)
• 8-hour shift FTE multiplier 1.654
• (365 days/yr x 8 hr/day / 1765 hr/yr 1.654)

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Call Volumes
1 Sparta reported 175,000 Admin Calls in 2005 (20
calls every hour). This call volume was excessive
compared to other PSAPs. After failed attempts
to confirm this number, RCC projected Admin Call
quantity for Sparta based on the other PSAPs
ratio of 9-1-1 calls to Admin Calls.
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Dispatch Type
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Call Distribution
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Current Staffing





1 Two telecommunicators during 1st and 2nd
shift, one telecommunicator during 3rd shift. 2
Two telecommunicators during 1st and 2nd shift,
one telecommunicator during 3rd shift.
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Single PSAP Staffing(2006)
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Single PSAP Staffing(2017)
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Partially Consolidated PSAP Staffing(2006)
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Partially Consolidated PSAP Staffing(2017)
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Two PSAP Staffing(2006)
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Two PSAP Staffing(2017)
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Assumptions

• 2005 call volumes escalated 5 per year
• Busy hour calls are 400 of average call volumes
  (staff to handle busy hour)
• 2nd shift has busy hour, 1st shift staffed for
  85 of busy hour calls, 3rd shift staffed for 35
  of busy hour calls
• 9-1-1 calls answered within 1 second (grade of
  service - P.01)
• Average 9-1-1 call duration 2 minutes
• Admin calls answered within 1 second (grade of
  service P.15)
• Average admin call duration 30 seconds (most
  calls transferred)

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Physical Facilities

• Space and Budgetary Considerations for
• Communications Center
• Break Rooms
• Conference Rooms
• Copy/File Room
• Equipment Room
• Equip. Maintenance Room
• Lockers/Showers
• Training Room
• Office Space

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Physical Facilities
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Baseline Staffing Costs
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Staffing Cost Comparison(Single Consolidated
PSAP)
Total telecommunicator personnel are decreased by
22 percent (11 people) in the Fully Consolidated
alternative as compared to the baseline
configuration. The resulting decrease in
telecommunicator staff payroll will be
approximately 695,132 annually.
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Staffing Cost Comparison(Partially Consolidated
PSAP)
Total telecommunicator personnel are increased by
2.0 percent (1 person) in the Partially
Consolidated alternative as compared to the
baseline configuration. The resulting increase
in telecommunicator staff payroll will be
approximately 348,078 annually.
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Staffing Cost Comparison(Two PSAPs)
Total telecommunicator personnel are increased by
60.0 percent (30 people) in the Two-PSAP
alternative as compared to the baseline
configuration. The resulting increase in
telecommunicator staff payroll will be
approximately 2,651,162 annually.
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Budgetary Comparisons
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Baseline Considerations

• Advantages
• PSAPs are geographically dispersed. In the event
  of a PSAP system failure or evacuation, other
  PSAPs in the County can backup call
  taking/dispatch operations.
• PSAP police departments are staffed 24/7
  providing continuous agency access to the public.
• Current staffing/equipment costs (as reported by
  the existing PSAPs) are less than any of the
  alternatives considered by this report.

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Baseline Considerations

• Disadvantages
• PSAPs are frequently under-staffed. In some
  cases, PSAPs only have a single telecommunicator
  on duty. This creates incidents where the single
  telecommunicator is overwhelmed by call/dispatch
  activity.
• When 9-1-1 calls go unanswered, they roll over
  to a neighboring PSAP within the County. These
  calls are then transferred back to the proper
  PSAP because the neighboring PSAP cannot dispatch
  units for the required agency. This results in
  excessive response times to incidents and long
  hold times for 9-1-1 callers.
• PSAP service is frequently disrupted by changes
  in PSAP contracts (i.e., cities changing dispatch
  contracts with PSAPs).
• Some PSAPs have outgrown their current facility
  (and radio equipment) and need to upgrade.

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Single Consolidated PSAP

• Advantages
• Staffing efficiencies are realized by sharing the
  entire Countys call taking and dispatch
  functions by one group of telecommunicators.
• Improved public safety dispatch services provided
  to the citizens of Sussex County.
  Telecommunicators are similarly trained to
  provide consistent service to the public and
  public safety response unit personnel.
• Improved multi-agency response coordination.

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Single Consolidated PSAP

• Disadvantages
• Systems and facilities would have to be
  modified/constructed to support the change to a
  single PSAP.
• Several agencies have recently invested in new
  PSAP facilities. These agencies are opposed to
  consolidation.
• Acceptable telecommunicator salaries and benefits
  would have to be negotiated/implemented.
• Common dispatch policies would have to be
  developed and implemented.

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Partially Consolidated PSAP

• Advantages
• Staffing efficiencies are realized by sharing the
  entire Countys call taking function by one group
  of telecommunicators.
• Improved multi-agency response coordination.

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Partially Consolidated PSAP

• Disadvantages
• Systems and facilities would have to be
  modified/constructed to support the change to a
  single PSAP.
• Several agencies have recently invested in new
  PSAP facilities. These agencies are opposed to
  consolidation.
• Acceptable telecommunicator salaries and benefits
  would have to be negotiated/implemented.
• This alternative may result in a more complex
  management arrangement (different dispatch
  policies for PD and FD/EMS).
• Dispatch system differences would complicate
  cross-training for all telecommunicator positions.

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Two PSAPs

• Advantages
• PSAPs are geographically dispersed. In the event
  of a PSAP system failure or evacuation, other
  PSAP in the County can backup call
  taking/dispatch operations.
• Improved multi-agency response coordination.

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Two PSAPs

• Disadvantages
• Systems and facilities would have to be
  modified/constructed to support the change to new
  PSAPs.
• Several agencies have recently invested in new
  PSAP facilities. These agencies are opposed to
  consolidation.
• Acceptable telecommunicator salaries and benefits
  would have to be negotiated/implemented.
• This alternative may result in a more complex
  management arrangement (different dispatch
  policies for PD and FD/EMS).
• Dispatch system differences would complicate
  cross-training for all telecommunicator positions
• Common dispatch policies would have to be
  developed and implemented.

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Recommendation

• Consolidation to a single PSAP will ultimately
  achieve the greatest efficiency and cost savings

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Consolidation Benefits

• Minimized 9-1-1 call transfers
• Overall operational cost savings for public
  safety communication by greater economies of
  scale.
• Improved performance inherent in a larger, more
  fully dedicated staff pool.
• Improved interoperability among agencies in
  mutual aid situations or major incidents
• More rapid and efficient migration to new
  technologies made more affordable by economies of
  scale.
• Service growth - a consolidated communications
  center will better accommodate growth in required
  public safety calls for service

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Other Considerations

• Improved Service - Consolidated call centers are
  likely to have more qualified, trained staff on
  duty and to provide more training opportunities
  for staff. (Rutgers University Consolidation
  Report)
• Legislative Changes - The State plan shall
  require the consolidation of PSAPs (Public Law
  2007, Chapter 56)
• Technology Changes Introduction of NG 9-1-1
  Technology will eventually replace the present
  E9-1-1 system, and consolidation will be
  financially advantageous (est. 200K per PSAP)

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Questions?
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Propagation Analysis

• Objective Coverage analysis for dispatch radio
  systems (VHF Low, VHF High, UHF)
• Output Computer model of predicted aggregate
  coverage and associated analysis
• Process
• On-site survey of selected sites and systems
• FCC database frequency search for license
  information
• Propagation modeling

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Propagation Analysis

• Assumptions
• Maps reflect a liberal set of requirements
  (minimal acceptable results with maximum
  coverage) including Delivered Audio Quality (DAQ)
  of 3.0 with 90 reliability (Design goals would
  include DAQ of 3.4 with 95 reliability)
• Maps reflect talk-out to mobile/portable units.
  System should be balanced for both talk-out
  and talk-in
• Maps reflect Effective Radiated Power (ERP) per
  FCC database or power/gain of antenna if known
• Maps reflect actual antenna heights or height
  from FCC database

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Propagation Analysis

• Results
• Individual and Composite maps prepared for each
  PSAP and each applicable band
• Maps indicate propagation throughout County could
  be achieved on Low Band Mobile
• 90 of County covered by Low Band Pager
• Significant shadowing in North-West ridge of
  County on composite VHF High Band due to ridge
  line
• Some shadowing on all corners of County on
  Sheriff High Band

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Propagation Analysis

• Results
• Results are depicted in several signal strength
  categories to demonstrate coverage in varying
  conditions (outdoor/indoor with varying
  noise/attenuation)
• Several sites require license updates to correct
  errors or reflect new location information
• No single site produces reliable coverage to the
  entire region and simultaneous transmission
  (Simulcast) from multiple sites would require
  extensive and costly technical enhancements to
  the present installations.
• Model predicts the large area coverage only for
  mobile operation. Communication to personal pager
  units is significantly less pervasive
• Diverse nature of the geographical area of Sussex
  County creates issues in propagation