September 2011 System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER)

TechNote

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security

(DHS) established the System Assessment and

Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER)

Program to assist emergency responders

making procurement decisions.

Located within the Science and Technology

Directorate (S&T) of DHS, the SAVER Program

equipment that falls within the categories listed

in the DHS Authorized Equipment List (AEL).

The SAVER Program is supported by a network

of technical agents who perform assessment

and validation activities. Further, SAVER

focuses primarily on two main questions for the

emergency responder community: “What

equipment is available?” and “How does it

perform?”

For more information on this and other

was prepared by the

Space and Naval Warfare

Systems Center Atlantic

for the SAVER Program.

Reference herein to any specific commercial

products, processes, or services by trade name,

trademark, manufacturer, or otherwise does not

constitute or imply its endorsement,

recommendation, or favoring by the United

States Government. Neither the United States

Computer Aided Dispatch Systems

Computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems are utilized by dispatchers, call-

takers, and 911 operators to prioritize and record incident calls, identify the

status and location of responders in the field, and effectively dispatch

responder personnel. Emergency responders in the field can receive

messages initiated by CAD systems via their mobile data terminals

(MDTs), radios, and cell phones. CAD systems may also interface with a

geographic information system (GIS), an automatic vehicle location (AVL)

system, a caller identification (ID) system, logging recorders, and various

databases. A unified CAD (UCAD) system interfaces with multiple

responder systems to optimize

the dispatch of responder

personnel. The size and

complexity of the CAD system

are determined by the needs

and requirements of the agency

and the existing systems that

the agency would like to

integrate. CAD

implementation involves

(PSAP). With the support of dispatchers, CAD servers communicate with

call center computers/phones, cell phones, MDTs installed in vehicles, two

-way radios, and fax servers. This provides dispatchers and field personnel

multiple communication options.

The majority of CAD systems can incorporate information from the

following systems: records management systems (RMSs), GIS, AVL, and

caller ID. RMS provides data relevant to the current service call. GIS

provides numerous types of geographical and geospatial data; AVL

pinpoints the location of response vehicles, which allows the CAD system

to help determine the most suitable unit for response; and caller ID verifies

CAD system software advancements may include

touch-screen monitors, multi-color displays, computer

icons, and more in-depth and accurate information.

This information may include detailed maps, incident

history reports, proximity incident reports, and

database queries. Newer systems can continuously

update and verify information and make

recommendations to the dispatcher on the closest

available and most qualified responder (e.g., sending a

HAZMAT responder to an environmental incident or

Various local, state, and Federal criminal justice

databases can interface with CAD systems for

relevancy to response and may include data from: a

system displays the location of the caller, and the

dispatcher can log additional information relevant to

the incident. The dispatcher contacts the appropriate

agency and closest available personnel to respond via

two-way radio, phone, and/or MDT. The response

status to the call is logged by the dispatcher from start

to finish. Logging recorders can store information

such as call time and duration for later retrieval.

A CAD system also provides information to the

dispatch center, including:

System Advancements

vendor with the assistance of agency employees who

are familiar with the agency’s infrastructure, network,

and systems’ configuration. The complexity of the

CAD system and the level of integration with existing

systems determine the time required for installation.

Maintenance

Maintaining a CAD system usually requires a trained

systems administrator and a CAD administrator. The

systems administrator is typically responsible for

maintaining the network, servers, databases, and

software patches at an agency. Responsibilities of the

CAD administrator may include maintaining the

response plans, incident types, and paging

jurisdictional responses, such as when natural

disasters occur. For example, during Hurricane

Charley in 2004, the Orange County Fire and Rescue

Department (OCFRD) Communications Center

employed a CAD system with GIS, AVL, and RMS

integration capabilities. By utilizing this CAD

system, the OCFRD was able to “sort by station” and

categorize waiting calls into groups assigned to an

individual fire station’s response area. This process

allowed dispatchers to quickly review all calls in a