Greene County Advances With Updated Tech
September 29, 2020 by Kate Nadolski
It’s hard to believe some public safety agencies still rely on paper maps, but that was a reality for Greene County Emergency Services not too long ago.
In 2018, this emergency communications center located in upstate New York implemented a new computer aided dispatch (CAD) system to improve services to the community.
According to county Deputy Director of Emergency Services Randy Ormerod, with these new tools the county was better equipped to dispatch emergency services quickly and efficiently.
“Taking on a new system has been the best thing we’ve done in many, many years,” said Ormerod. “It’s a breath of fresh air to actually have a system that works.”
For their continued success dispatching for more than 83,000 CAD events yearly, Greene County 911 upgraded their CAD system to provide even more benefits to the community and surrounding area. With this upgrade, Greene County can seamlessly connect with neighboring counties.
Neil Kellegher, 911 systems administrator for the county, said the first big improvement they noticed was the officer’s ability to do their job on the go, as the updated technology allowed officers to be mobile to have access to mission-critical data whenever they may need it.
“Having that mobile environment was a game changer for a lot of first responders, and it continues to be a game changer for us,” said Kellegher.
Ormerod said this implementation made communication between dispatchers and officers a two-way street, allowing them to receive the correct information and respond accordingly. It has even allowed dispatchers to communicate sensitive information while keeping it private.
“This gives us the ability to push sensitive information that doesn’t need to be made public over the radio, and it works very well for us,” said Ormerod.
Ormerod and Kellegher said they have both seen the numerous time-saving benefits their updated CAD system has to offer, empowering first responders to serve their communities as efficiently as possible.
“Our mapping functionality has increased tenfold for us,” said Ormerod. “It's better detailed, there's more layers that were brought in, and it has everything from civil boundaries to fire department boundaries, to mile markers on the throughway.”
From this, as well as prepared response plans and a command line built into CAD, Kellegher said that dispatchers perform 5-10 less keystrokes per each radio transmission.
“It’s incredibly efficient, and it has reduced data input time for our dispatchers tenfold,” said Kellegher.
Now they’re focused on maximizing the benefits from their newly implemented data-sharing CAD system with neighboring Ulster County.
Kellegher said this transition has helped improve their department, allowing them to do their best work.
“It’s mind-blowing technology, and we have advanced so much in three years here in Greene County that I never thought I’d see anything like this,” explained Kellegher.