We rely on our emergency services during our greatest times of need, whether that’s police, fire, or emergency medical services. Today, requesting these services can vary depending on the systems in use.
As more and more communities implement NG112/911/999 technology, the same access to emergency services is possible, regardless of where you are when you need help.
In our first article of this three-part series, we discussed why the transition to NG112 is so important. In this article, we will highlight the fundamental elements to consider in order to make the transition. Our final article will discuss what organisations can be doing right now to prepare for the transition.
As organisations consider transitioning to NG112, it may be tempting to focus on the final destination – a fully deployed NG112 system. Don’t. In order to successfully implement NG112, you first need to understand where you are, where you want to go, and what resources and technologies are available to support the journey.
Successfully implementing NG112 is a journey, and no single A-to-Z roadmap exists. Instead, your NG112 roadmap will depend on resources and constraints specific to your PSAP — technical, political, cultural, etc. However, there are basic roadmap components and big themes of work that will help you translate your aspirations into reality.
Key roadmap planning activities include:
- Internal alignment on vision and data collection. Agree on the desired NG112 end state; determine the data that should be gathered in order to identify your current 112 state of affairs.
• Assessment of key systems. Complete a thorough assessment of existing 112 systems. These include, but are not limited to:
• Geographical Information Systems (GIS)
• PSAP technology and operational needs
• Emergency services IP network (ESInet)
• Regulatory and legislative framework
• Budget and resources.
- Pre-tender deliverable. Integrate all the data gathered from the prior two steps into a document that clearly defines what ‘success’ looks like for your NG112 project.
- Develop tender/RFP (request for proposal). Developing a good NG112 tender is the key to a successful NG112 implementation. Consider if your deployment should be phased. And if so, how the phases will be deployed, and whether it will require multiple vendors and so on.
Key elements of a good NG112 tender should include:
1. Identify roles and responsibilities for those developing the tender.
2. Develop a schedule with key milestones - desired deliverables and, if necessary, KPIs, and delivery dates.
3. Stretch but be realistic. Try to avoid limiting the solution with legacy functionality. Instead, if you have to, ensure that the solution can incorporate key features/data from legacy functionality, until you're able to completely migrate to NG112.
4. Develop a draft tender and review/sanity check with several trusted vendor partners. Adjust based on feedback.
5. Write clear service level agreements that establish a common understanding of performance metrics. Include them with the statement of work (SOW), which becomes the contract.
6. Limit qualifications and criteria to those essential to your and your stakeholders’ definition of project success.
7. Focus technical requirements on the desired output and functionality, not necessarily on how that's accomplished. Make sure to build in flexibility that enables technology developments to be integrated/supported in the next three to four years.
8. Prequalify bidders by disclosing and agreeing on terms first.
9. Ensure SOW is clear, yet is flexible to support technology innovation.
After developing the tender, it will typically take six to 12 months to complete the process of selecting vendor partner(s) through tender evaluation activities. Remember, you are selecting a partner that will help design, implement, and maintain a critical system for your community. It is therefore important to dedicate the time and resources needed to select the best vendor partner.
At this point on your journey to NG112, it will be important to develop key milestones for your roadmap (we’ll cover this in our third article), and begin to develop and implement stakeholder engagement and feedback opportunities.
As you transition to a modern technology, the details of how the technology works; improvements and differences; and important cyber security aspects may be new to some of your stakeholders. You will need frequent communication between the implementation team and the stakeholders as you develop the solution.
There are several activities that should be considered at this point in the process. We have divided these activities into four categories. Each of these can be worked on independently, and when completed will ensure that you are considering the key points that should be addressed in your NG112 transition.
These include public safety answering point (PSAP) activities, emergency service IP network activities, Geographical Information System (GIS) and routing activities, and next generation core service (NGCS) activities.
It is also important to remember that help is available. You can begin by talking to your neighbouring communities or countries. There is also help available through many sources such as EENA, ETSI, NENA, as well as reliable experts and consultants. You are not on this journey by yourself.
