Client Reference Story
Dickenson County, Virginia
Dickenson County Situation
When a caller dials 9-1-1 and their address is incorrect or not available, there is a problem. The time needed to ask a distressed caller what their address is and then attempt to locate them within the county limits the possibility for immediate response. Dickenson County faced that scenario if the addressing and databases for the county were not updated.
In 2001, Dickenson County implemented a state mandated 9-1-1 addressing project to address all residences and businesses in the county. The project was not fully completed.
For 9-1-1 call locations to be easily found, the following primary project goals needed to be met.
- Structures needed to be assigned an accurate locatable 9-1-1 address
- Property owners needed to be notified of their new address
- The telephone database needed to be updated with new addresses that corresponded to the address assigned to the structure
- The new 9-1-1 addresses needed to replace the United States Postal Service’s (USPS) Rural Route (RR) and Highway Contract (HC) addresses as these new 9-1-1 addresses doubled as some residents and businesses mailing address
These goals needed to be met in a short time frame. With the amount of new addresses assigned and the turnaround time to update the necessary elements being quite lengthy the goals were not met. This resulted in some property owners using incorrect 9-1-1 addresses or not having locatable 9-1-1 addresses to use and, in some instances, using the wrong mailing address. With residents using incorrect information, telephone and USPS records became inaccurate.
The only way inaccuracies could be discovered was by
calling 9-1-1. Understandable, for Dickenson County and the Commonwealth of
Virginia, this was not an acceptable method. The logical option was to hire
a contractor to assist in the process given the amount of work required to
correct the issues.
Critical Issue
Locatable 9-1-1 addresses assigned seven years ago were not accurately or completely distributed throughout the county. In addition, telephone and post office records were not 100 percent updated with the proper addresses. There are over 9,000 telephone lines in the county capable of dialing 9-1-1. It is too late to find out that you cannot locate a caller because the telephone record does not have a valid address. At this point, lives are at risk.
Reason
Providing locatable addresses is a service for public safety. Locatable
addresses are critical for prompt emergency response to incident locations. The state funded project is a continuation of being compliant with having an accurate 9-1-1 addressing system throughout the county.
Capability
Dickenson County partnered with GeoComm for an address re-verification project. Dickenson County worked with GeoComm staff to visit each habitable structure in the county to inform residents and business owners of their accurate 9-1-1 address. Then, working with Verizon and the USPS, GeoComm and the county ensured all correct and 9-1-1 valid telephone numbers and corresponding addresses were added to the 9-1-1 system and all valid physical addresses were updated for mail delivery.
Project
The timeframe for completion was critical to the success of the project. With a project completion goal of one year, GeoComm set up six primary phases to be completed. Knowing the steps needed for completing the project required GeoComm to set an aggressive timeline of less than four months for the first two phases: preparation and address notification and verification. By setting this completion goal and with the cooperation of Dickenson County and county residents, GeoComm accomplished field verification in only three months which enabled all remaining phases to be completed on time and on budget.
Throughout each of the six phases GeoComm’s project management services also helped to ensure the entire team was fully aware of the status of the project. Using regular conference calls, status reports, and a Web portal configured and customized by GeoComm for this project, all involved participants were aware of the project’s progress, the elements completed, and anticipated completion dates.
This Web portal proved to be one of the most beneficial project management tools. The Web portal served as a gateway for the county, GeoComm, and other outside agencies to:
- Exchange information and data efficiently
- Stay informed of the current status of each phase of the project
- Communicate regularly regarding all project phases
- Tracking the status of field verification throughout the county
Phase One: Preparation
Prior to hand delivering addresses to residents and businesses, GeoComm staff worked with Dickenson County on a public awareness campaign that was essential to the success of the project. Public awareness consisted of many avenues and included radio broadcasts, newspaper articles, television news stories, local Web site Blogs, and informational flyers that were sent out by the local school district. The success of the public awareness campaign was very evident as GeoComm was able to successfully deliver and verify addresses for over 70 percent of households and businesses during the first field verification trip.
Phase Two: Address Notification and Verification
GeoComm completed two field verification passes to attempt to verify addresses in person with as many residents and businesses as possible within three months.
When field specialists were in the field hand delivering addresses, GeoComm used a proprietary, custom built ESRI tool to validate the Verizon database and the USPS records at the same time. This tool allowed GeoComm’s GIS field specialists to quickly and efficiently verify and update addresses for both databases and provide timely submission to Dickenson County, Verizon, and USPS. The use of this tool allowed for greater efficiency and helped ensure 9-1-1 addresses were correctly tied to the telephone database and postal records.
If GeoComm field specialists were unable to speak with a resident or business representative during either field verification pass, an address notification pamphlet was left behind. The pamphlet provided information concerning the project and the address assigned to the structure. This pamphlet provided information to the recipient instructing them to contact GeoComm’s assigned Dickenson County project team by telephone to verify their address or by completing a customized on-line survey.
Using the proprietary software and developing strategic methods for field verification and address verification, there was efficiency in getting residents and businesses accurate 9-1-1 locatable addresses and updating the necessary corresponding databases.
Phase Three: GIS Map Data Layer Updates
Five primary map data layers, for use in an Enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) dispatch mapping application, were updated using ArcGIS ArcMap and GeoLynx DMS, GeoComm’s E9-1-1 GIS data management software. The layers included:
- Address point layer
- Road centerline layer
- Emergency service zone layer
- Municipality boundary layer
- Postal boundary layer
Each of these layers were updated via GPS collection, surveys, and working with local municipalities, post offices, and emergency personnel.
Phase Four: Quality Assurance
Quality GIS data layers are important for 9-1-1 emergency response. To ensure the quality of the updated map data layers, GeoComm used GeoLynx DMS, which includes automated data accuracy, data maintenance, data creation, and topology tools. GeoComm coordinated with the county, Verizon, and the USPS to ensure all data met accuracy and public safety industry standards.
Phase Five: ALI Database Coordination and Synchronization
An Automatic Location Identification (ALI) database should contain telephone numbers with corresponding valid 9-1-1 addresses for all wired telephone locations. This database should be synchronized to a county’s Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) and map data. Synchronizing these three elements help to ensure calls can accurately plot on the map data in dispatch mapping software. To ensure a high synchronization among these three elements, GeoComm completed comparisons throughout the entire project and made necessary updates. By completing updates throughout the project calls will accurately plot when GeoComm’s GeoLynx 9-1-1 software is implemented at Dickenson County in 2010.
GeoComm submitted 4,280 updates to Verizon over the course of the project and continued to work with Dickenson County and Verizon to resolve an additional 589 addresses until over 96 percent of the addresses were MSAG-valid.
Phase Six: Standard Operating Procedures and Training
A GeoComm GIS Consultant worked with Dickenson County to understand their existing processes for map data maintenance. Then pairing current processes with needed end-results and best practices, GeoComm provided recommended Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for map data maintenance. Training enabled the Dickenson County staff to fully understand and implement newly adopted procedures to accurately maintain their data after project phases one through five were complete.
The End Result
When a 9-1-1 call is made, from any one of the 9,000 possible wired telephone locations in Dickenson County, telecommunicators and emergency responders receive accurate address information which eliminates unnecessary time obtaining this information from callers. Having accurate address information results in more effective dispatching and quicker responds times.
When GeoLynx 9-1-1 Dispatch GIS software is implemented in 2010, Dickenson County will be able to see the accurate locations of a wireline telephone caller on the map using the synchronized map data, ALI database, and MSAG. In addition, with the implementation of the SOPs customized specifically for Dickenson County, the county is able to maintain their data now and into the future. All the elements involved in the project help to increase the public safety of everyone in Dickenson County.
GeoComm’s certified GIS professionals and National Emergency
Number Association instructors provide either basic or advanced training.
Training can be conducted in the familiar surroundings of your office, in
our fully equipped training room at our St. Cloud, Minnesota headquarters,
or at various locations throughout the country.
GeoComm promises to
work with you to understand and meet all of your needs, goals, requirements,
and expectations. With our years of experience developing map data for
9-1-1, conducting fieldwork, converting map data, formatting map layers, and
integrating maps into mapped ALI software, you will be at ease knowing we
are in your training corner.
