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STATEWIDE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS BOARD NG911 Committee
Wednesday, January 18, 2017 1:00 p.m. HSEM State EOC, 445 Minnesota Street Suite223, St. Paul
Conference Call* Dial‐in: 1‐888‐742‐5095 Code: 4898249110#
Chair: Darlene Pankonie Video Conference I.D. 801968
AGENDA
Call to Order Approval of Agenda Approval of Previous Meeting’s Minutes Announcements
• Introduction of Kelli Peters, ECN 9‐1‐1 Program Analyst Action Items ECN Reports
• NG911 GIS Project Report (Adam Iten) • NG911 Firewall RFP Report (Dan Craigie) • Text-to-9-1-1 Update (Sherri Griffith Powell/Mission Critical Partners) • Text-to-9-1-1 Experiences Shared by Early Adopters (Dustin Leslie) • Text-to-9-1-1 Experiences in North Dakota (Dan Craigie, on behalf of Mary Phillippi) • WERM and County 9-1-1 Plans (Dustin Leslie) • StatusBoard (Cathy Anderson) • Laaser 9-1-1 App (Kelli Peters)
Old Business
• Interoperability Conference (Dustin Leslie and Mike Beagles) o The following topics have been submitted under the NG911 Track
NG911Update 2017 Initiatives and Status Dispatcher Regional Training/Best Practices Roadmap and Status Text‐to‐9‐1‐1 Overview for MN and Implementation Experiences from
Other States NG911 Firewall Implementation, Management, Maintenance and
Monitoring PSAP Cybersecurity—Benefits of Dynamic Drawing and Asset Management
Services GIS Role in NG911 Implementation Critical Incident for PSAP Personnel
New Business • 2016 Attendance
Regional Reports • Northwest (Shafer/Olson) • Northeast (Olson/Erickson) • Central (Diehl/Norstegard) • South Central (Wallace/Reimers) • Southeast (Betcher/Evers) • Southwest (Westfield/Ebert) • Metro (McPherson/Bowler)
Standing Committee Reports
• NG911 Best Practices Subcommittee (Dustin Leslie) • GIS Subcommittee (Iten)
Adjourn
NG911 Committee October 2016 Page 1
STATEWIDE EMERGENCY COMMUNICATIONS BOARD NG911 COMMITTEE
December 22, 2016
MEETING MINUTES Attendance Member/Alternate Darlene Pankonie, Chair/ Capt. Kathy Hughes, MN SHERIFFS ASSN Nancy Shafer/ Beryl Wernberg, NORTHWEST MINNESOTA Steve Olson/ Patrice Erickson, NORTHEAST MINNESOTA Judy Diehl/ Jody Norstegard, CENTRAL MINNESOTA Wayne Betcher/ Faith Evers, SOUTHEAST MINNESOTA Pat Wallace/Peggy Reimers, SOUTH CENTRAL MINNESOTA Joe Reith/Bonnie Westfield, SOUTHWEST MINNESOTA Mary Borst, Vice Chair/Marion Larson, MAA Ross Tiegs/Vacant, MN CHIEFS OF POLICE Tim Boyer/vacant, STATE PATROL Matt Goodman/vacant, GIS Dana Wahlberg/Adam Iten, ECN Deb Harmon/ Vacant, TRIBAL PSAP Christine McPherson /Susan Bowler, METRO MINNESOTA Ward Parker/Vacant, MN FIRE CHIEFS *Members attending are marked with yellow highlight. Guests reporting: Dustin Leslie, ECN Cathy Anderson, ECN Caitlin Christenson, Stevens County Mary Phillippi, Red River Regional Dispatch Nancie Pass, Ramsey County Judy Siggerud, Otter Tail County Pete Eggimann, MESB Jill Bondhus, Rice/Steel County
CALL TO ORDER
Chair Pankonie calls the meeting to order at 1:02 p.m.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
Judy Diehl makes a motion to approve the agenda. Kathy Hughes seconds the motion. The motion carries.
APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MEETING’S MINUTES
Judy Diehl pointed out that her name had been spelled incorrectly. Kathy Hughes makes a motion to approve the October minutes with correction as noted. Judy Diehl seconds the motion.
NG911 Committee October 2016 Page 2
Motion carries. (Minutes were approved after the Webinar presentation)
WEBINAR PRESENTATION FROM RAPIDSOS (REINHARD EKL)
Reinhard Ekl and Tracy Eldridge from RapidSoS gives a presentation on the company and its services. The PowerPoint slides will be available after the meeting. Ekl says they are tech nerds as opposed to public safety veterans and have employees who have worked for companies such as Google and Microsoft. They have emerged as a new player in public safety. Eldridge recently retired from working on the 9-1-1 side and wanted to do something to help improve 9-1-1. She added that in a PSAP, you get used to working with what you have, so you don’t always embrace change. After she did some testing and talked with Ekl, she became more receptive became excited because of better location technology. RapidSoS is in business because smartphones are powerful devices with amazing capabilities. They already have the capability for accurate location and possibly to pull health and medical information in the future. RapidSoS is a smartphone app that can help get accurate data to the PSAP. Because it is an app, the public has to download it. The app takes handset location from all smartphone sensors and provisions the location into ALI database. PSAPs get 9-1-1 calls with better information. When it gets to the PSAP on a 9-1-1 line, dispatch will already have an address. Other features allow text-to-speech information. Ekl said there is a lot more that can be done because of smartphone location services that can triangulate between Wi-Fi access points. The rebid process is time-consuming, and location should be more accurate and updated automatically. Rather than triangulating off towers that may be farther away from you, you might be triangulating off Wi-Fi access points within feet of you. Ekl says the apps know exactly where you are – data proves that devices with your location are more accurate than what you get today. 80% within 50 meters of radius-within one month of deployment in UK. They did their own testing, and outdoor locations of carriers were consistent with smartphone carriers. However, indoor locations were much more accurate, with 9 of 10 calls being within 50 meters or less. Ekl says that for device sensors, you don’t need an app. One concept is Advanced Mobile Location (AML) which has been rolled out in England with great results. It is not yet enabled in US – there is no central location clearing house that can receive the information. He explains the mapping application which is able to get additional supplemental location information via the device and not the carrier. In the future, it will be able to do multimedia and more. They don’t sell software to PSAPs or public safety but are providing software integration to vendors so PSAPs can get more accurate information. Questions about data privacy and how this will work with the clearing house. Currently, PSAPs do not have the ability to access location for someone who hasn’t called in and can’t trace calls. The answer depends on the smartphone or vendor. In England location is pushed from a device when an emergency call is placed whether or not the user has location enabled. Emergency location service integrated into smartphone firmware, assumed as part of normal terms and service. This would not be 100% of devices at the start but we hope to make it universally acceptable. The idea is to say no app required and location would be pushed. When the address is sent can it be updated in real time if the call is moving? Yes, that is configurable. If interested in getting early deployment, talk to your vendor – for more info contact Ekl Reinhard at [email protected].
ECN REPORTS
NG911 Committee October 2016 Page 3
REPORT FROM DANA WALHBERG, NG911 PROGRAM MANAGER
NG911 NETWORK/FEATURES
TELESOFT ASSET MANAGEMENT
ECN staff is very consumed with the deployment of the Telesoft Asset and Management application. This application will manage Carrier 9-1-1 Plans, Carrier Contracts, all 9-1-1 network inventory, both on the carrier side and on the PSAP side, and all carrier invoicing. This has been a huge project. There is still some billing reconciliation left to complete. We hope to begin going live on a phased in basis before the end of the year.
MISSION CRITICAL PARTNERS
Mission Critical Partners has come back under contract. They will be supporting Text-to-9-1-1 and the Firewall projects. We will go to RFP for firewall purchase, configuration, installation, as well as ongoing maintenance and monitoring. We have received and are reviewing the initial RFP draft at this time. Anticipate this to be a pretty straight forward, thus not a real lengthy process. FIREWALL RFP AND INTRODUCTION OF DAN CRAIGIE Wahlberg introduces Dan Craigie, a new 9-1-1 Program Analyst at ECN who will work on NG911 initiatives. Craigie has many years of I.T. and network experience. He worked in communications on submarines in the Navy. Paperwork is underway for hiring an additional new person. Dave Denton and Dan Craigie are working as MA3s and Dustin Leslie and the new person will be working as MA2s. A workload distribution chart is being developed to identify each one’s primary roles and responsibilities to include cross-training for more depth in the organization. Craigie reports that he is excited to be doing this work. He comes from a technical background but not a PSAP or public safety background. He has been doing a lot of research and meeting with people within the state’s public safety community. He is working initially with a team on finalizing an RFP to select a vendor for the PSAP firewall implementation project. He is excited to think ahead to future projects such as Text-to-9-1-1, SIP conversions and others. He is always open to comments or questions and can be reached at [email protected]. Wahlberg adds that the RFP is moving along well and ECN hopes to have it open after the first of the year, with a 30-day response window and then another 60 days to review responses and enter into the contract. This will be a more predictable type of solution used to protect all types of cyber security networks – medical, banking fields – any big systems with multiple users. She doesn’t anticipate this RFP will have the challenges that the NG9-1-1 RFP presented. We are hoping the vendor will be willing to incorporate all the firewalls already purchased and installed in PSAPs. Dustin Leslie is working on a grant to help provide one-time costs for PSAPs that will have to purchase firewalls. ECN will maintain monthly recurring expenses for managed and monitoring of the firewalls moving forward. Craigie is your go-to person to ask questions about this project.
FCC RELIABILITY ORDER Wahlberg will be meeting with Commerce next Wednesday. A staff person from Commerce has been invited to sit on panel at a national meeting of NARUC (National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners) representing MN regarding the challenges we have been facing with the FCC Reliability Order requirements of carriers providing PSAPs with a notification every time they experience a hiccup. Pete Eggimann is gathering examples from the
NG911 Committee October 2016 Page 4
MESB and Wahlberg will provide some examples on behalf of greater MN. If anyone has examples of the notifications and how they impacted you, please email them to her.
STATUS BOARD (CATHY ANDERSON)
Cathy Anderson reports that there was an unplanned outage from 6:37 p.m. until 9:57 p.m. on November 14. The outage was caused by a hardware malfunction on the storage drive. MN.IT constantly monitors things like this, and fast reaction led to the issue being fixed by the vendor in just under 3.5 hours. She was told that hardware malfunctions are rare but can occur on any computer. To date, this is the only unscheduled StatusBoard outage in 2016. Dual named resources will be taken out of StatusBoard on Tuesday, January 3 between 8 and 9 a.m. An email was sent on November 14 describing the resources and another should go out the end of next week. If someone is using a resource, Anderson will not change resource names until they are done. StatusBoard will be functional, except for the dual-named resources. Anyone who has a calendar reservation scheduled after January 3 at 8 a.m. will have to re-reserve that resource after completion of the change.
COUNTY 9-1-1 PLANS (DUSTIN LESLIE)
Dustin Leslie reports that ECN is closer to having the county plans completed. He has received 55 of the 78 from Greater Minnesota. Several are still working on it.
Wahlberg adds that county plans will start to play larger role going forward and are being modeled after the ARMER participation plans. Any time a change is made within the ARMER system, it requires a county or entity to present a participation plan amendment to the Statewide Emergency Communications Board (SECB) for approval. County plans will transition to becoming NG9-1-1 participation plans and going forward any changes made will need to be submitted for approval. These changes would include such things as adding sessions, migrating to SIP or Text-to-9-1-1. As we work through each, we will craft a template letter than can be used and sent to Leslie. We are looking at having a nice clean baseline on all of the 9-1-1 plans so we have a clean slate to move forward to work with the new vendor and as we become more interoperable. We are working closely with Pete Eggimann and the team at the Metro Emergency Services Board (MESB) for the metro PSAP plans.
WERM APPLICATION (DUSTIN LESLIE)
Dustin Leslie reports that the Wireless Emergency Routing Management (WERM) project is moving into production. There will be a dry run to test it and if it goes well, the application should be ready to go live in about two weeks. He sent an email about training for the WERM app to see if people would find re-training helpful. The team is working on finalizing a voice-over training PowerPoint that will be housed on the Alex Tech training site. Wahlberg adds that Cathy Anderson created a PowerPoint with notes and Wahlberg and Leslie are fine-tuning it. It will be available as a voice-over presentation for new users or users that want to use if for training. It includes screen-shots right out of WERM and a step-by-step tutorial to provision a wireless site and sector for call routing. NG911 GIS PROJECT REPORT (ADAM ITEN) Adam Iten reports on the NG9-1-1 GIS Project, as submitted in the meeting materials. He notes that the MnGEO staff has increased by 2-3 people as well.
NG911 Committee October 2016 Page 5
The Telesoft billing system went live last week. Eight of our 100-some carriers in the system have been processed. We hope to add a least a dozen a month until they have all been loaded. Changes to the statute will be introduced in the next legislative session. Jill Rohret and Pete Eggimann from MESB and Jackie Mines met with carriers last week to socialize them on the requested changes. The changes requested are to make the statute more reflective of the technology we are using within 9-1-1 today. Eggimann adds that nothing in the proposed changes would have direct effect on PSAPs. The statute was written in the early 1980s when for the majority 9-1-1 was a telephone company product, which is now not necessarily the case. Language is being proposed to broaden it to 9-1-1 service provider as opposed to 9-1-1 telephone service provider. The reality is that we have eight 9-1-1 service providers all involved in delivery of 9-1-1 to the PSAPs. The statute didn’t anticipate that when it was written. Another addition may be what the 9-1-1 fees could be used for, possibly calling out GIS preparation and location database work specifically as defined use of eligibility for 9-1-1 fees. Discussion about carriers’ concern over language describing standards or requirements. This is being further reviewed. Wahlberg adds that a point of opening it up was that we want to make sure there is collection of fees from all types of devices that have capability of reaching / accessing 9-1-1. To some degree there are those who continue to say it doesn’t apply to them because of how the original statute was written. We are working with the Department of Commerce to try to find additional information on the carriers that provide services in Minnesota and what type of service they claim to be (ILEC, over-the-top, VoIP, etc.). If they are reporting quarterly to the FCC that they are operating in Minnesota, but we are not receiving fees from them on behalf of their customers, then we need to try and work with them to find out why they are not remitting fees. Commerce has interest in this because they receive TAP and TAM as we receive the 9-1-1 fees.
2016 ACCOMPLISHMENTS (DANA WAHLBERG)
Wahlberg reports on the accomplishments for the NG9-1-1 initiatives as presented in the SECB Strategic Plan. This report is prepared for the Steering Committee, the SECB, and the DPS Commissioner. The SECB Strategic Plan and the SECB Board Goals and Outcome Measures documents are both available upon request. A key strategy was to implement a statewide interoperable Text-to-9-1-1 solution. In November, ECN along with MESB, awarded a contract to CenturyLink and West Safety Services. It was expected that the contract would have been awarded in the first quarter of 2016 but happened in the last quarter. As a result, most initiatives contingent upon that contract have been pushed back. We had hoped to identify one PSAP in each region to accept texts for the region but with the unknowns, that was pushed back to quarter 1 of 2017. We have asked the two primary CPE vendors – Airbus and West—to provide us with documents that specify exactly what a Vesta CPE or a Viper CPE owner needs and what requirements need to happen, cost, timelines, etc. We have received some responses and are reviewing them. We are working on a checklist for PSAPs about what would need to be done to have the ability to receive texts. We will need these to be filled out and returned to us. MCP is creating the checklist and it will be used to help us determine which PSAPs are ready to deploy Text-to-9-1-1. The State Patrol is willing to accept texts on behalf of PSAPs not interested immediately or in the long term. Before we make decisions, we want to understand on the checklist responses from each PSAP what their interest is, their expectations and how they’ll be prepared to meet those expectations. PSAPs that purchased the new Airbus CPEs are tending to be surprised by the cost associated with becoming SMS integrated ready. The understanding was that there would be no hardware or software upgrade costs but there are engineering costs. We are working with vendors and PSAPs to discuss the high cost and ways to mitigate it. We are
NG911 Committee October 2016 Page 6
looking at hosted-type solutions or possibly even a software as a service solution. As we receive additional Text-to-9-1-1 questions, we can update and redistribute the FAQ sheet you received. DISCUSSION ABOUT AN OUTAGE NOTIFICATION SENT LAST WEEK BY SPRINT Some PSAPs received notification last week from Sprint that described an outage in Omaha, Nebraska that might be effecting service. It turned out that Sprint was working off of a very old document in providing notification in Minnesota. There is a new contact at Sprint and we hope to have this cleared up. They received updated reports but were using a very old document. The information contained in the notification did not clearly identify the scope of the problem. Neither was it timely. There were 37 PSAPs that were potentially affected intermittently. Employees who worked for Sprint in the metro were performing test calls and some were getting thru. Committee members report testing and not getting through.
More discussion is needed on the FCC notification process on carrier outages. Chair Pankonie advises each region to have a discussion about this. Let’s have more discussions in this committee and at the national level. Network providers need to get it together how their providers will notify PSAPs. Usually find out after the problem is resolved. No PSAP received an email from Sprint when it happened in Omaha. They started calling PSAPs about 3 p.m. and then a lot of us became aware of it.
OLD BUSINESS
Interoperability Conference. No report or discussion.
NEW BUSINESS
2016 Attendance Rescheduled for January 2017 meeting.
REGIONAL REPORTS
Northwest No report. Need to get us a new alternate. Northeast No report. Central Judy Diel reports that the region had a meeting on December 8th. There was a good turnout. They discussed best practices for tele-communicators and came up with draft version. They have started GIS kickoff meetings, which were held last week in Stevens and Douglas counties. South Central Pat Wallace reports that the next meeting will be on January 4. They will talk about the information received today and continue discussions on minimum training standards. Southeast No report.
NG911 Committee October 2016 Page 7
Southwest Joe Reith reports that they are introducing the 911 Best Practices on January 25 at the quarterly meeting with the State Patrol. Wahlberg adds that Nobles and Lyon went live with their new hosted call handling system yesterday but Redwood, Pipestone and Rock Counties will not be connected until sometime after first of year. Metro Eggimann reports that he learned on a NENA call yesterday that the latest Apple operating system release for iPhone included TTY support, so the hearing impaired community using iPhone now has TTY capability. It could be that you’re going to start to see them use TTY software on 9-1-1 calls so he suggests you remind your call takers to query silent calls with TTY particularly if you use any kind of que or place you would hold a call before call taker answers. With penetration of iPhone in that community there will be people using it.
STANDING COMMITTEE REPORTS
NG911 BEST PRACTICES SUBCOMMITTEE ECN and the MSA are partnering for public training. The Committee has a draft of the standard. Every region has at least meeting dates. Judy Diehl reports that the Central Region discussed the training standards. There is a range from 80 hours of training to six months. The region thought that minimum training standards or best practices are a good idea. A document saying that these are the very least of the items that should be included in training. Meeting Adjourns at 2:54 p.m.
GIS Project Report to the NG911 Committee Adam Iten
January 2017 Data Collection, Assessment, and Preparation Projects We are collecting GIS data from all regions in the state. The GIS data are being compared to corresponding 911 data (MSAG, ALI, ELT) to gain a better understanding of data readiness for each County and PSAP. The results are compiled into data readiness profiles and reports, which are shared with each county and PSAP during their Data Preparation kickoff meetings. We are meeting individually with each PSAP and their GIS agencies/vendors to discuss our data readiness findings and to kickoff their Data Preparation effort. Thus far, we have completed 10 of 11 kickoff meetings in the NE region. The Central and SE region meetings are currently being scheduled and conducted. The goal is to meet with all counties by fall of 2017. Another major goal is to complete all necessary Data Preparation work in the Metro and NE regions by the end of 2017. Data Maintenance We are currently documenting requirements and workflows for the upload, normalization, and validation maintenance processes. We will begin focusing on the aggregation and provisioning process requirements this summer. We would also like to conduct 2-3 proof of concept projects related to GIS-based MSAG creation, Emergency Call Routing Function (ECRF), and Location Validation Function (LVF) in the coming year, which will include 1-2 counties in the Metro and Northeast regions. MN NG911 GIS Standards We are currently reviewing and responding to the second round of stakeholder comments/questions, similar to the initial review. We are also revising the existing sections and adding the boundary sections (PSAP, Fire, Law, EMS, Data Maintenance Authority) in preparation for the third stakeholder review. The third review period is anticipated to take place in February and from there, we will seek formal stakeholder approval of the standards. The goal is to gain formal approval of the standards by this summer. Newsletter Issue #5 of the project newsletter is currently being drafted. Issue #4 is available on the GIS Information page of the ECN website.
Next Generation 9-1-1 GIS ProjectProject UpdateNG9-1-1 Committee and SECB MeetingsJanuary 2017
Presenter: Adam Iten, Project Manager
2
Project Timeline
July 2017
January 2018
July 2018
Standards
Preparation KOs
CE SE SC SWNW
NG9-1-1 GIS Data Preparation
NG9-1-1 GIS Data Maintenance
Transition to ECRF and LVF
January 2017
Data Preparation – County Projects (2018)Data Preparation – County Projects (2017)
3
NG9-1-1 GIS Project Update
• 2017 Goals• GIS Data Preparation• GIS Data Maintenance• MN NG9-1-1 GIS Data Standards• Communication Plan
4
Data Preparation Projects• Timeline
• Metro – ongoing with MESB• NE – ongoing in 10 of 11 counties• SE – ongoing in 5 of 11 counties• Central – ongoing in 2 of 19 counties• NW, South Central, and SW – complete kickoffs Q3 2017
• General Project Tasks• Kickoff, roles/responsibilities, workflows• Community name validation• Street name validation• Address validation• Geospatial validation• Edge-matching• Emergency service boundary validation
NG9-1-1 GIS Project Update
5
NG9-1-1 GIS Project Update
GIS Data Maintenance Requirements• Data Uploads and Portal – ongoing• Normalization – ongoing• Validation – ongoing• Aggregation – begin Q2 2017• Provision
• Geospatial Commons – ongoing• PSAPs and Responders – piloting• ECRF/LVF – TBD• Legacy MSAGs/TSPs – TBD
6
MN NG9-1-1 GIS Standards
• Developing GIS data requirements for NG9-1-1 in Minnesota
• Aligning with NENA standards and validate against similar standards• Other states (IA, KS, ND, TN, TX) and MRCC
• Standards Comparison spreadsheet
• Standards Workgroup working toward Version 1.0
• Second stakeholder review – closed November 2016
7
MN NG9-1-1 GIS Standards
• Stakeholders for Third Review and Comment – Q1 2017 MN PSAP and GIS Managers
Metropolitan Emergency Services Board (MESB)
Metro Regional Centerline Collaborative (MRCC)
MetroGIS Address Point Workgroup
MN GAC Standards Committee
ECRF, LVF, and other NG9-1-1 vendors
Neighboring states
8
MN NG9-1-1 GIS Standards
• Stakeholder approval of v1.0 – Q2 2017 Metropolitan Emergency Services Board (MESB)
GIS Subcommittee
NG9-1-1 Committee
Statewide Emergency Communications Board (SECB)
MN Geospatial Advisory Council (MGAC)
MN Information Technology Agency (MNIT)
9
Standards Considerations
• Specific ECRF/LVF Vendor(s) is unknown• DRAFT NENA Standards
• NG9-1-1 GIS Data Model• Provisioning GIS to ECRF/LVF• i3 Solution
• Build once, use many times• ECRF and LVF• GIS based MSAGs• 9-1-1 and public safety mapping systems• Other uses
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Communication Plan
• ECN website• Project newsletter - Issue #4 available on ECN website
• Monthly• GIS Subcommittee meeting
• Next meeting: Thursday, February 9 at 2pm
• NG9-1-1 Committee meeting
• SECB meeting
• Quarterly• Regional PSAP/GIS meetings
• MN Geospatial Advisory Council
Status December 2016Monday, January 9, 2017 2:22 PM
StatusBoard Page 1
Summary December 2016Monday, January 9, 2017 2:21 PM
StatusBoard Page 1
Red River Regional Dispatch Center (RRRDC)-About
The RRRDC provides public safety emergency and non-emergency dispatch services for law enforcement, fire, and EMS agencies in all cities and towns in Cass County, North Dakota (including the Cities of Fargo and West Fargo) and all cities and towns in Clay County, Minnesota (including the City of Moorhead). Its unique joint powers agreement between the municipalities was the first in the nation to cross state lines to manage dispatch operations and personnel independently from the agencies it serves. Mary Phillippi has been the Director at RRRDC since 2015, having served as its Assistant Director since 2010.
The agencies served include:
• 7 City Police Departments • 2 County Sheriff’s Departments • 3 City Fire Departments • 29 Rural volunteer Fire Departments • 15 Rural EMS Providers
• F-M Ambulance Service
The area covered consists of 2,810 square miles and a population of over 220,000 people. The average monthly 911 call volume is about 7,000 calls (not including non-emergency calls) which are handled by a minimum of 6-7 dispatchers at any given time.
Pre-Implementation In 2014, the North Dakota Association of Counties and the 22 PSAPs in the state signed an MOU outlining the general structure of the text-to-911 agreement and to provide a “buy-in” for each county. Along with 2 other PSAPs, RRRDC was listed as being capable of accepting texts and provisions were placed in the MOU to handle duration of service, powers and authority, financial obligations, funding sources, and liability. Outside of keeping their equipment up to date, RRRDC had no financial obligations related to text-to-911, the North Dakota Association of Counties provided any and all funding for the program. One important provision states that once a PSAP upgraded hardware and was able to take text-to-911 messages, they were to notify the North Dakota NG911 Manager, and after appropriate testing, required to accept messages within their own jurisdiction. No sunset clause was included in this, however.
Significant research on the technical, operational, and administrative aspects of implementing and eventually taking texts was performed. This included working with CTL and Intrado, now West Safety Services, on the design and
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operation of the system and engaging/reading reports from other states and regions that have implemented text-to-911. Most reports indicated a fairly smooth process with very few texts, possibly only 1 or 2 a month.
With this information, RRRDC developed an in-depth SOP and a detailed Call Guide for their Dispatchers. As RRRDC was going to be taking texts for up to 17 PSAPs in North Dakota, guidelines were set in place on how to handle “calls” for incidents in other jurisdictions, documentation within RRRDC’s CAD system, and follow up procedures after a text-to-911 had been processed.
Implementation and Configuration The process of actually setting up text-to-911 and going live took approximately 6 months. This included hardware and software upgrades to the CPE, “behind the scenes” work by the vendor to get the routing in place, training on standards and procedures, and then testing at the PSAP with the vendor.
RRRDC uses a Viper call-handling system with an integrated text configuration and a CAD system with mapping capabilities. In addition, a customized Google map was created with PSAP boundary layers for use by the dispatchers. When receiving a text, any location information can be transferred to the custom Google map and based on the pre-set boundaries, the associated PSAP and agencies would be contacted.
For reporting purposes, RRRDC created a custom call source field for text-to-911 in their CAD to log and record information about each event. RRRDC’s CAD system, unlike many other PSAP CAD systems, is configured to allow a CAD event to be entered from an unverified address, such as any address outside of their own PSAP boundary.
The text configuration is set up to give RRRDC 30 seconds to “answer” any text message, if it isn’t answered, it automatically reroutes to the Grand Fork’s PSAP.
An abandonment plan for text-to-911 was set up for the Grand Forks PSAP to take texts if RRRDC goes down or requests abandonment routing. During preliminary testing, abandonment routing worked successfully. During a recent request for an actual abandonment incident (request for texts to be rerouted to Grand Forks during RRRDC’s UPS upgrade), RRRDC was told abandonment was not an option by West. During the UPS upgrade, however, test 9-1-1 texts placed did confirm that unanswered texts at RRRDC were in fact being rerouted to Grand Forks after 30 seconds. This occurred when all workstations at RRRDC were signed off and also when the VIPER was shut down. Texts were rerouted to Grand Forks in both scenarios. Further investigation and testing will be completed to confirm how the abandonment routing of texts will be accomplished in the future.
The ability to transfer answered texts from other VIPER text enabled PSAPs was tested and works. There are no Vesta PSAPs enabled in ND at this time, so transfers between VIPER and Vesta have not been tested. There is however, no
ability for text to be transferred within the RRRDC facility to another dispatcher workstation. Once the text is answered, it can be managed on that originating workstation only. Additionally, once the Dispatcher ends the session, there is no ability to reopen the session to send another text. The Dispatcher would need to place a voice call to the texting party or the texting party would need to text 9-1-1 again to be able to re-engage the conversation.
Soft Rollout and Going Live In September of 2016, RRRDC was ready to handle texts-to-911 from 17 PSAPs from across the state, totaling approximately 600,000 residents. They began with a soft roll out, meaning no significant marketing or outreach was initiated prior to going live. This was done intentionally in order to limit the number of texts in a live environment for 30-day period. During this initial period, only 9 texts were received. RRRDC used this time to test their SOP and Call Guide along with allowing their Dispatchers to gain experience with the system.
Once the 30 day period finished, North Dakota 911 hosted a media day to truly introduce the service and encourage residents to use the service if calling wasn’t an option. Videos were released on North Dakota’s 911 website and televised in certain markets. Key North Dakota 911 contacts promoted the new offering to newspapers and local TV stations. A noteworthy takeaway was that the number of text messages from areas that received TV marketing on text-to-911 did not show any increased traffic vs. markets that did not.
After the official rollout, the number of texts received has remained steady at about 20 per month. One of the initial text messages the PSAP sends the texting party is to ask them to place a voice call instead if they are able to do so. Most texts have not been emergency situations-some are citizens who have already called 911, reaching their local 911 jurisdiction, but were texting to check on the arrival of services. As with any 911 call, this follow up text to RRRDC
requires the need for them to follow up with the local agency who likely had already dispatched services to the location of the texting party. Other non-emergency texts included reports of erratic drivers on the road-hopefully it wasn’t the driver texting…
With the majority being non-emergency, there were a good number of legitimate emergency situations. These included domestic disturbances and reporting drunk drivers (in one case the texting party was a passenger in the vehicle). Once the text is received, the Dispatcher follows the Call Guideline and inquires whether the person is able to call. If unable to call, they continue with the texting conversation. One drawback of the integrated text messaging on the Viper is when the Dispatcher switches to a voice call or toggles to any other screen besides the text conversation no updates to the messages are presented to the Dispatcher. The dispatcher has to switch back to the text session in order to see any new texts that came in. If dispatching emergency services, they would have to switch back and forth to provide any updated information. This led RRRDC Dispatchers to frequently “tag-team” texts; one Dispatcher stays on the text session and another dispatches emergency services to the scene or relays the incident to the jurisdictional PSAP
Any and all transcripts from text-to-911 events are logged via their reporting program (MIS & Nice records).
Lessons Learned
Overall, RRRDC is an enthusiastic supporter of their text-to-911 program. With that said, there have been some good lessons learned along the way, both good and bad, which are shared below in no particular order:
• At the end of the day, many more messages are coming in than originally planned. Although 20 messages a month doesn’t sound like a lot, the time spent navigating their complexities is real.
• They would not volunteer again to act as a hub for text messaging for so many counties. The increased work load and complexity of texts takes a toll. Adding a sunset clause in any agreement is highly recommended.
• One lesson learned during the soft rollout was to always ask the texting party if they were able to call, as it was preferred over text. On numerous occasions they were able to call and the Dispatcher continued as normal.
• Location information has been better than expected, to the block or half-block accuracy at times. • When the Dispatcher received the text, along with location information, the PSAP where the text was originating
would be displayed as well. (In the photo on page 2, the first “bubble” SYSTEM: CenCom Co is the Central Dakota Communications Center in Bismarck.)
For more information and to watch promotional videos, visit 911.nd.gov. You can also contact the following personnel at ECN with questions or comments:
Dustin Leslie Dana Wahlberg (651) 201-7552 (651) 201-7546 [email protected] [email protected]
RRRDC LAW ENFORCEMENT
CALL HANDLING GUIDE
Text to 911 call guide 112116
Text To 911 Description of Activity:
Call Type: Use Appropriate Call Type Ten Code: N/A
If no immediate indication from the caller that they are unable to make a voice call ask:
“Are you SAFELY able to make a voice call” If unable to make a voice call, proceed as follows:
MANDATORY QUESTIONS DISPATCH INFORMATION
RRRDC
1. What is the address/location of the
incident? Verify. Use the
latitude/longitude shown on the ALI screen
if caller is unable to provide.
2. Caller’s name and phone number?
It is important to confirm that the caller
can be reached at the same number the
text is originating from.
3. If the caller is in a rural area, obtain
common sense directions to the
address/location.
4. Change call source to “TEXT 911”
5. Continue line of questioning based on
appropriate call type.
Outside RRRDC area
1. What is the address/location of the
incident? Verify. Use the
latitude/longitude shown on the ALI screen
if caller is unable to provide.
Create CFS
<No Venue> in the Venue
2. Caller’s name and phone number?
It is important to confirm that the caller
can be reached at the same number the
text is originating from.
3. If the caller is in a rural area, obtain
common sense directions to the
address/location.
4. Change call source to “TEXT 911”
5. Continue line of questioning based on
appropriate call type.
*If you are unable to reach the caller via text or
phone call, create CFS for 911 Hang-up and
notify the proper jurisdiction.
*If the caller is able to SAFELY make a voice
call to 911, follow-up with the jurisdiction
immediately.
RRRDC
Dispatch according to Call Type
Do not end session until responders
are on scene and with the caller.
Outside RRRDC area
Priority Calls- Call appropriate PSAP after
address, phone number and call type have been
determined. Update them as needed as
information is gathered.
Non-Priority Calls- After all information has
been gathered call appropriate PSAP
Tell the responding agency to call
and notify RRRDC that responders
are on scene and/or the text session
can be ended.
* Assign unit NDTXT1, NDTXT2, or
NDTXT3 to all calls for service outside
RRRDC’s area.
RRRDC LAW ENFORCEMENT
CALL HANDLING GUIDE
Text to 911 call guide 112116
Text to 911 Cont’d
Informational Informational
How to use Google Earth:
Enter address in the “Search” box and
hit “Search” button. If you use Lat/Lon enter it
with a comma in between:
47.06523,- 98.04821 or
47 3 54.828N,098 2 53.556W
Click on the map to bring up the PSAP
information box.
Pictures: If a caller sends a picture message
you will receive notification on the text screen
that a picture has been sent. The only way to
access the picture is to call Intrado/West at the
number listed in the notification.
To Transfer a Text Msg to another PSAP:
#T GRANDFORKS
#T WALSH
#T WILLISTON
To Rebid for a new location:
#L
To Privately Chat with another PSAP in a
Conference after a call has been
transferred:
#P
RRRDC LAW ENFORCEMENT
CALL HANDLING GUIDE
Text to 911 call guide 112116
PSAP List
Barnes County Dispatch 701-845-8181
Central Dakota Communications Center (CenCom) 701-223-9111
(Bismarck/Burleigh Co)
Bottineau/Renville 911 701-228-2740
Cavalier County 911 701-256-2555
Lake Region 911 Center 701-662-5323
Mclean County 911 701-462-8103
Mercer/Oliver 911 701-745-3332
Mountrail County Sheriff’s Department 701-628-2975
State Radio 701-328-9921
Pembina County 701-265-4122
Pierce County 911 701-776-5245
Richland County Communications 701-642-7777
Rolette County 911 701-477-5623
Stark/Dickinson Dispatch 701-456-7762
Stutsman County Communication Center 701-252-1000
Traill/Steele 911 701-636-4511
Minot Central Dispatch (Ward Co) 701-857-1500
Agencies that are Text to 911 Enabled
Grand Forks County 911 Center 701-746-2542
Walsh County Communications 701-352-5000
Williston/Williams 911 701-577-1212
RED RIVER REGIONAL DISPATCH CENTER
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES MANUAL
DATE ISSUED: 11/2015 ORDER NUMBER: 100-015 REVISION DATE: SUBJECT: TEXT TO 911 I. PURPOSE
This SOP has been developed to standardize the method of receiving and processing Short Message Service (SMS) text to 9-1-1 calls. The purpose of text to 9-1-1 is to provide a means of communication between the caller and Red River Regional Dispatch Center when it is not feasible for callers to make a traditional voice call. Callers who find themselves in a situation where they are only able to text and individuals who are hard of hearing or unable to speak may opt to utilize text to 9-1-1. This technology is new and modifications to this policy will occur as technology advances.
II. POLICY
It is the policy of the Red River Regional Dispatch Center to establish operational procedures for answering and processing all calls received at the Center via text messaging to 9-1-1. Dispatchers are to provide the same level of service via SMS messaging as currently required on voice calls. All protocol adherence including answering the incoming call, questioning, emergency dispatch, customer service, post-dispatch instructions and scene safety processes will be performed during SMS messaging. However due to the obvious limitations of Text to 9-1-1 and for timely processing there are some instances where verbiage will be limited and the dispatcher may abbreviate and/or shorten some information without jeopardizing the safety of the callers, victim(s) and responder(s).
III. TEXT TO 911 CALL PROCESSING
A. Calls received via text messaging will come into the Center on the Positron 9-1-1 telephone system.
B. The text message screen may show the latitude and longitude of the cell tower site
(Phase 1), not the location of the caller. The call- taker can rebid the location if the caller indicates they are traveling.
C. Pre-set messages are available. The dispatcher may choose to use them as
appropriate. The dispatcher may also choose to manually type to the caller. The
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RED RIVER REGIONAL DISPATCH CENTER
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES MANUAL
use of pre-set messages is recommended, but optional. If dispatchers use free form typing, they should be aware that typing in all capital letters is considered “yelling” in text messaging.
D. Due to the nature of SMS Messaging, messages shall be limited to approximately
160 characters, before sending the message E. Employees will answer any text messages with 9-1-1 as they do all other 9-1-1
calls “9-1-1 what is the address of your emergency”? The dispatcher may ask the caller if they are able to safely call 9- 1-1 rather than text, unless this is made clear at the onset of the call.
F. If a SMS message is received and it has no communication thereafter, or if the
message is unreadable or the caller is unable to provide an address of the emergency, an attempt will be made to contact the caller via text. If there is still no answer, a callback will be made in the same manner as a voice 9-1-1 hang up, to ascertain if assistance is needed. If the initial message indicated an emergency, the Dispatcher will use other methods in an attempt to locate the caller. This includes, but not limited to: rebidding the location, contacting the carrier for pinging of the phone or subscriber information
G. Text messages are expected to be processed using the same standards for
processing emergency and non-emergency voice calls for service. The “standard ABC” questioning of dispatch (Where, What, When, Who, Why) will still be applicable. As emphasized in basic call-taking, the most important piece of information to obtain is the location of the emergency followed by the type of emergency. This procedure will be followed on text to 9-1-1 calls.
H. Dispatchers should avoid the use of “texting” lingo, shortcuts and/or acronyms.
Some of these are not universally understood and/or have multiple meanings. All correspondence from the dispatcher should be in plain language. The caller should be encouraged not to use the “texting” lingo, emojis shortcuts and/or acronyms to help eliminate any confusion on the part of both parties. However, callers are not required to oblige. In the event it becomes difficult to understand a caller’s need due to the use of these shortcuts, the dispatcher will ask the caller to explain the shortcut.
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RED RIVER REGIONAL DISPATCH CENTER
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES MANUAL
I. Addresses will need to be verified on all Text to 9-1-1 calls. To verify an address, dispatchers should ask/text one of the following questions to verify the location of the emergency. “Verifying you are at 123 Main St, Fargo, ND” OR “Confirming the address is “123 Main St in Fargo, ND”. A mistyped or auto corrected street name by the caller may provide the dispatcher with a wrong address, so every address should be verified in this type of manner. It is important that the city and state be verified in each text to 911 call.
J. When a call for service is deemed necessary for dispatch and pertinent
information is received, a CAD call for service will be initiated. Once a call is deemed ready for dispatch, the call is to be processed and dispatched according to the procedure for the specific event. Call takers will attempt to gather all necessary information needed to properly process the call, dispatch appropriate responders, and follow through with any other necessary instructions or information.
K. All other pertinent information will be asked for by the call-taker to help ensure
bystander and responder safety. All pertinent information will be added to the call for service in CAD and relayed to the responding unit(s) as appropriate. The call-taker will note that the call was received by text when creating the call in CAD. When the call is dispatched over the radio, the responders will be advised that the call is being received by text message.
L. It is important to confirm that the caller can be reached at the same number the
text is originating from. M. The call taker will inform the caller that the responders will be dispatched for the
requested assistance. Ex: “An ambulance will be dispatched to 123 Main St in Fargo, text/call back if anything changes or you have further information." A session will not be "ENDED" until responders have made contact with the caller/victim. This will leave the texting session open in case a "text-back" is needed for further information. Once the Dispatcher is sure the responder is in contact with the proper parties they can then END the text session
N. A text session does not end until the call-taker selects the “Release” button. This
allows the call-taker to remain in texting contact with the caller. Once the call is released, the call-taker will not able to send a text message to the phone. The only way to establish contact at that point is to make a voice call to the phone number or use the dispatch cell phone. Under no circumstances should the call-taker text the caller from their personal cell phone.
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RED RIVER REGIONAL DISPATCH CENTER
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES MANUAL
O. Dispatchers are authorized to make a voice call to the caller if needed. This will
need to be done if additional information is needed from the caller or if responders are having difficulty locating them. A caller should not be called back in cases where their safety, or the safety of another, is in question. If an officer is requesting that a callback be made in this situation, the dispatcher will advise the officer of the safety concern. If the officer still requests a callback at that point, the callback request will be honored.
IV. HANDLING CALLS FOR INCIDENTS IN OTHER JURISDICTIONS (without
text capabilities)
Red River Regional Dispatch is the designated text to 9-1-1 center for text messages within ND in areas in which the PSAP is not enabled to receive text to 9-1-1.
A. If a text message is received and it is determined that the emergency is occurring in another jurisdiction, all pertinent information will be gathered and relayed by phone to the appropriate PSAP for dispatch if that agency does not have text capability. The appropriate agency will be notified of the incident in a timely manner, given the nature of the situation, priority, and when the call taker has adequate information to mark the call “Ready for Dispatch” in in the CAD system. The session should be kept open until the responding jurisdiction deems it appropriate to release the call case they need additional information.
B. A call will be created in CAD for documentation purposes and closed out after contacting the appropriate agency and assigning the text unit code to the call.
C. A list of contact phone numbers to contact each ND PSAP 24/7 will be maintained
in the Text to 911 call guide.
D. At no point should the caller be advised that they have reached the wrong agency and need to dial a different number to reach the correct agency.
E. All text to 9-1-1 records will be considered the property of the agency that
responds to the call for service, and as such, RRRDC merely serves as a storage facility of the text message for the agency. RRRDC will provide records of the SMS message to the agency upon request of the agency. Requests for the content of the SMS messages from other than the responding agency will be referred to the responding agency. If subpoenaed for a text to 9-1-1 record, RRRDC will confer
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RED RIVER REGIONAL DISPATCH CENTER
STANDARD OPERATING PROCEDURES MANUAL
with the agency involved and /or the attorney for RRRDC before releasing any specific information.
V. TRANSFER OF TEXT TO 911 CALLS :
If the incident needs to be transferred to another agency that is capable of receiving SMS messages, the call taker will transfer the call. If the receiving agency does not have the capability of receiving text, the original call taker will maintain the session and relay information to the appropriate agency via voice call. If reasonable, the Dispatcher will attempt to have the caller conduct a voice call to the appropriate agency.
VI. LANGUAGE LINE
A. Call takers will attempt to determine if communication barrier is due to the use of texting lingo by asking the caller “Can you use plain English?”
B. If it is determined that Language Line services are needed, a voice call will be
placed to the caller and then connected to the Language Line.
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NASNA Text to 911 Answers
MACC: A PSAP in Grant County, Washington that takes calls just for the county. The county has a population of 95,822 and they take approximately 61,800 9-1-1 calls per year. Text to 911 was implemented on 4/21/16 and they work with West as a vendor. Here are the statistics for their text to 911 calls:
Month Text Conversations
Valid Reports
April 37 1 May 13 0 June 22 2 July 12 1 August 9 0 September 10 1 October 14 1 Totals 117 6
A ‘valid’ call is defined as a call where the caller was unable to speak to make a voice call safely. The State of Maine: last year the state of Maine had a total of 657 texts to 911 statewide. This was from 1/1/16 to 10/31/16. The 911 Coordinator for the state added that implementing text to 911 has not been overwhelming State of Indiana: Indiana has a state population of 6.5 million. Here is the breakdown of text messages received by year from across the state: 2014: 1,510 2015: 6,043 2016: 10,644 One reason why the number of texts is going up every year is because the State of Indiana has a feature unique to their state called Outbound Texting. When a PSAP in the State of Indiana has an abandoned 911 call, they are able to make contact through an outbound text rather than only being able to call back. Dispatchers have been happy about this feature as people are more likely to respond to a text than they are a phone call. State of Vermont: Between 2012 and 2015, the state of Vermont handled just over 1000 text messages. In that time, they received only one prank text to 911 call. Now the state receives between 500 and 600 texts per year. The 911 Coordinator says she has had no complaints or concerns regarding prank 911 texts. Western Washington: This is a rural PSAP that has 2-3 staff on shift at any given time. This PSAP takes between 80-120 calls a day and implemented text to 911 in August 2015. The 911 Coordinator says that
most text calls were not valid reports and that many were test messages from staff and citizens. There has been little to no impact on day to day business. Here are the amounts:
Month year Texts Conversations
Valid Reports
August 2015 2 0 September
14 0
November
14 0 December
5 2
January 2016 3 0 February
3 0
March
5 2 April
2 0
May
5 1 June
1 0
July
1 0 August
2 0
September
1 0 October
6 2
Totals 29 5 State of Michigan: a small PSAP reported that they receive about 4 to 7 texts a month. Some have been valid texts but not many at all. The dispatch supervisor says they are able to handle them without many problems. The Oakland county PSAP in another PSAP in Michigan with a population of 1.2 million. In 2015, they had a total of 1015 texts. Of these, 178 were for actual incidents. In 2016, the PSAP received 1345 texts. Of these, 156 were for actual incidents. Another smaller PSAP in Michigan state that they are taking text messages and that they have not been overwhelmed by it. They have had issues with chronic texters, but have been able to block them – this makes it so they receive a bounce back to call 911.
Sources: Hypepotamus.com (https://hypepotamus.com/companies/laaser911/) and LaaSer911.com (http://www.laaser911.com/).
What it is: LaaSer is an emergency services location determination and call routing platform that largely solves the Phase 1 routing issue and provides significantly better location information to PSAP operators. Their mission is to make 911 work the way you think it already does. How it works: LaaSer works by embedding a small piece of software on the device. When the 911 call is initiated, the software connects to sensor data on the device (GPS, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.) and sends that data to a cloud location determining and decisioning platform, which determines the most accurate dispatch location and helps route the call to the appropriate PSAP and provides accurate location of the device. If the device is in motion, the new location is transmitted to the PSAP as well.
Sources: Hypepotamus.com (https://hypepotamus.com/companies/laaser911/) and LaaSer911.com (http://www.laaser911.com/).
What’s next for LaaSer: LaaSer has entered into a partnership with West Safety Services to reach the majority of the market, and works with directly phone manufacturers and carriers to embed devices with LaaSer software. With these partnerships, LaaSer is working on a nationwide pilot plan rollout in the second quarter of 2017.
Concerns/questions about rollout in Minnesota:
• Funding post-rollout • Lack of competition/choice • Text-to-911 • Existing devices • Privacy
Links for more information http://www.laaser911.com/ https://hypepotamus.com/companies/laaser911/ **If you have any questions, or have an idea for an app/software you’d like presented at a future meeting, please contact Kelli Peters at [email protected]**
