Lehigh County Communication Case Study

• Population: 369,318
• Tyler Client Since: November 2018
• Solutions Used: New World Enterprise CAD, New World Mobile, New World CrewForce
• Profile: The Lehigh County Communication Center in Pennsylvania falls under the Office of Emergency Services in Lehigh County but operates as a separate entity. The center serves 17 police agencies, 50 fire departments, and eight EMS agencies. Some of the agencies they serve are in Allentown, the state’s third-largest city. Staffing within the department varies from 8-14 dispatchers.

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CHALLENGE

The Lehigh County Communication Center was using outdated software for their computer-aided dispatch needs. The system was unsupported and the communication center needed to upgrade to better serve their community. The version of software they were using was no longer being supported, and they needed to replace this solution with something to meet the needs of their agency and community. While the agency was in the market for a new solution, Pennsylvania legislation strongly urged regionalization of systems to reduce costs.

SOLUTION

The Lehigh County Communication Center implemented New World Enterprise CAD, a solution used by many neighboring counties. This fulfilled the state’s request for the regionalization of systems and replaced the agencies outdated software.

RESULTS

By implementing Tyler’s New World public safety solutions, the Lehigh County Communication Center experienced the following benefits:

• Improved communication and data-sharing between neighboring counties: Having a CAD solution that can integrate with neighboring counties who are also using CAD has allowed for seamless collaboration aimed at better serving the community with instant data-sharing capabilities, resulting in faster response times.
• Successfully managed double-the-call-volume during a major storm event: With their new solution, the Lehigh County Communication Center took twice as many emergency calls during Hurricane Isaias. Prior to the storm, a health check was performed to ensure dispatchers could send responses when needed.
• Used customized and flexible features, improving workflow: During Hurricane Isaias, specific call types were delegated to various dispatchers, allowing telecommunicators to focus on their assigned call type. Dispatchers used custom features within CAD to create an interface only showing what they needed to see based on whichever call type they were assigned to. This ability helped the team to improve workflow and handle calls quickly and efficiently.
• Leveraged customizable features in CAD to aid in protecting first responders from COVID-19: During the Covid-19 pandemic, the Lehigh County Communication Center created a custom questionnaire for anyone who called in for help. This allowed for better relaying of information to first responders, which helped limit exposure to the virus. This customizable questionnaire allowed for tailored questions as more information came to light about COVID-19 and its impact on the county.

CONCLUSION

The Lehigh County Communication Center operates with trust in its software when dealing with everyday situations and times of heightened call volumes. The center’s improved collaboration with neighboring agencies provides the community with faster responses and gives first responders real-time access to mission-critical data, which enables them to be better prepared en route and on scene.