RCC Consultants, Inc.
Knowledge and Experience Guiding the Way
Case Study: New River Valley Public Safety Communications Center ConsolidationGovernance, Staffing, Technology and Transition Plan for a New Consolidated Facility
The Client
Montgomery County, Virginia, for the New River Valley 9-1-1 Authority.
The Project
Following the April 16, 2007 shootings on the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) campus, After Action Reports pointed to the need for improved interoperability among emergency responders. Montgomery County, the towns of Blacksburg and Christiansburg, and Virginia Tech came together as a team and formed the New River Valley Emergency Communications Working Group to improve interoperability and situational awareness in the region.
One of the first projects the Working Group undertook was conducting a study to assess the feasibility of consolidating the three Public Safety Answering Points (PSAPS) and four public safety communications centers in the region. The feasibility study recommended consolidation and the Working Group overwhelming endorsed the study and committed to consolidating these separate centers into a single public safety communications center. After a careful review of eight consulting firms, the Working Group awarded a contract to RCC to develop the governance structure, prepare a technology plan, and develop a transition plan to the new consolidated center.
RCC's Role
Our project team will use a focused, six-step process to build a governance structure to support consolidated public safety communications centers and shared communications systems. This process is based on a proven methodology for bringing together the varied interests and requirements of the partner agencies for the common purpose of making the decisions on how consolidation will proceed.
In addition to developing the governance structure, the project team is responsible for developing a technology plan and staffing requirements for the consolidated center. The focus of the technology plan will be to identify which technologies (e.g., communications consoles, CAD/RMS systems, recording systems) will have to be replaced or migrated to the new consolidated center. Staffing requirements for the new consolidated center will include determining the optimal number of call-takers, dispatchers, supervisions and administrative staff. Policies and procedures from four different departments and government entities will have to be combined into a single manual for the new center.