Emergency telecommunicators and first responders face immense expectations and public scrutiny. Whenever someone calls an emergency dispatch center, they are looking for prompt, professional service. This puts pressure on call-takers, dispatchers, and field personnel to respond as quickly as possible.
The expectation of efficiency is just one reason why PSAPs must mitigate any factors affecting performance. An in-depth analysis of incident data and the Five Ws – who, what, where, when, and why – enables PSAPs to optimize response times and create a quick and reliable agency.
Common factors affecting response times
Limited staffing
Ensuring proper staffing levels during peak calls times can be difficult for agencies with budget shortfalls or limited visibility into call data.
Rise of urban development
Road construction, population growth, and more can have a curtailing effect on first responder arrival times.
Outdated, cumbersome technology
Obsolete technology can hinder call-taker and dispatcher workflows and make them inefficient. It can also negatively impact responders in the field who can’t easily access real-time information.
Incident type
The scale of a situation could slow response, especially if specialized equipment or additional medical personnel are required at the scene.
How to optimize your PSAP’s performance
Public safety systems are a data goldmine, especially computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems. The valuable information they house can provide an agency with the Five Ws of each incident. By leveraging this data, your agency can uncover response trends and patterns.
Here are four ways leveraging dispatch data can help improve your PSAP performance:
Analyze time metrics
By measuring response times, your agency can gain insights into which incidents have the slowest response times and begin addressing their expediency.
Align resources
Understanding variations and trends in situational demand, distribution, and workloads helps you deploy resources effectively and ensure employee well-being.
Manage incidents
By monitoring trends in the nature, location, and timing of incidents, you can identify hot spots and keep track of open cases.
Align staff
Most agencies have parts of their coverage area requiring more response than others. It’s crucial for patrols and units to meet demand, which means effective staffing levels and deployment of personnel.
One tool available to help analyze this data is HxGN OnCall® Analytics. The software suite provides preconfigured, out-of-the-box reports that allow agencies to gauge their performance. With visual dashboards, personnel can access live overviews of call levels, events pending dispatch, unit status and location, call-taker and dispatcher workload, and performance, and compare them against benchmarks.
Next Steps
To learn more about how your PSAP can leverage data, download our free eBook Transform Your Public Safety Agency with Analytics.
