Sometimes things have to go a little wrong before they can go right. But then when they are made right, they exceed expectations. The Zetron call-taking solution installed recently for the 9-1-1 center in Washington County, Pennsylvania, is a case in point.

In 2007, Washington County found themselves in the market for a new VoIP-based call-taking system that would be cost effective, highly reliable, and tailored to their specific needs.

The vendor originally chosen for the project proposed a system they claimed would meet those requirements. Although the solution was expensive, it was worth the price for the functionality, redundancy, and future-readiness it offered. Or so it seemed. When the product offering and delivery were reviewed more closely, it became clear that the vendor was not going to be able to deliver on what they had promised.

This sent Washington County looking again for a new system. A resolution to this problem was not far off, however. They soon found their solution in Zetron’s Series 3300 VoIP Call-Taking System.
The installation was completed in April of 2008 with the help of Zetron reseller, Interstate Communications and Electronics. It has been garnering rave reviews ever since.
“The system is user friendly, cost effective, and puts us in a perfect position to take advantage of the next generation of 9-1-1 technology,” says Washington County 9-1-1 Operations Manager, Greg Clark.

Washington County 9-1-1
The term busy doesn’t begin to describe the daily level of activity that is typical of the Washington County 9-1-1 Center.

Located in the city of Washington, Pennsylvania, Washington County 9-1-1 is the area’ s primary public safety answering point (PSAP), serving about 200,000 residents. Washington County 9-1-1 takes all of the county’s 9-1-1 calls, and dispatches for 53 fire departments, 12 EMS agencies, 44 municipal police departments, and several other county agencies. The center receives an average of 1,000 phone calls and dispatches over 400 emergencies per day. It also monitors several Emergency Management systems 24-hours a day. 

Unplanned obsolescence
Clearly, Washington County can ill afford an ineffective call-taking system. But by 2007, their system was no longer functioning as they needed it to.

“Their system was obsolete and becoming impossible to repair, and their needs were changing,” says Interstate Communications and Electronics Operations Manager, Harold Sproul. “They needed a new system with updated functionality that could work with their computer-aided dispatching system and would also provide high availability.”

Top contender
When plans with the original vendor for Washington County’s new system fell through, Zetron quickly became the top contender.

“Other agencies nearby were using Zetron’s Series 3200 telephone system, and it was performing flawlessly,” says Greg Clark. “Then I saw the Series 3300 on Zetron’s website. It offered the reliable, proven functionality of the Series 3200 with the benefits and next-generation features of VoIP. I connected with several Zetron representatives at a tradeshow in Baltimore. And the project took off from there.”

Enter Interstate Communications and Electronics
The next step was to find a vendor that could help design and implement the new system.

“Zetron gave us the names of three authorized vendors, including Interstate Communications,” says Clark.

Based in Beaver, Pennsylvania, Interstate Communications and Electronics sells, services, and installs two-way communications systems, industrial CCTV systems, and SCADA and electronic-control systems. Their roster of clients includes public safety and municipal agencies, as well as health care, educational, and manufacturing companies.

“Interstate is a solid company with a great reputation,” says Clark. “And they are located in a neighboring county. So they were our choice.”

Zetron technical support engineer, John Scott, explains how the solution meets Washington County’s requirements for redundancy and uninterrupted call-taking.

“If power is lost to one power supply, the redundant supplies will fully power the system,” he says. “In addition, the hardware phones at each position provide redundancy to the CTI in case of a PC failure. Most important of all, the system is designed so that even if the IP connections go down, the center will be able to answer 9-1-1 calls.”

Scott says that the system also includes a remote support option that gives Zetron technical support personnel and engineers secure VPN access to the system. This allows them to troubleshoot and diagnose the system remotely if any issues arise.

The implementation
The implementation took place throughout March and April of 2008, with the final cutover occurring in April. Interstate Communications took the lead in the installation, working closely with Zetron and the customer to fine tune the details.

“The final cutover required careful coordination among our engineers, the project manager, Zetron, representatives from the PSAP, and the telephone company,” says Harold Sproul. “We had to ensure that calls would continue throughout the eight-hour switchover.”

“Both phone systems were functioning on all lines at the same time,” adds Clark. “We also had our old copper lines on both systems. When the time came, we were able to go around the room and cut over one phone at a time. And we didn’t lose a single call.”

Zetron personnel also used the remote-support feature to monitor the implementation and cutover and assist in real time. “This also contributed to the smooth cutover,” says Scott.

Results
Washington County couldn’t be more pleased with its new call-taking system.
“The system is fantastic,” says Clark. “It’s user friendly and easy to navigate through. And because the system is modular, updates are as easy as ‘plug-and-play,’ so it can grow along with us at no extra cost. Compared to other systems, the Series 3300 is more tailored to our needs, offers more options, and is still less expensive. And it prepares us for the IP future.”