This means that in addition to providing public-safety services for its year-round residents, Monroe County must also be equipped to provide these services to area visitors.

By 2006, however, the demand for services was beginning to overwhelm the area’s main public safety answering point (PSAP), the Monroe County Control Center. So when funding became available, Control Center administrators decided the time was right to replace their existing communications systems with new, updated equipment that would support their continued growth and expansion.

Thanks to a highly collaborative effort between the customer, reseller TuWay Communications, and Zetron, the Monroe County Control Center’s new systems were installed during the latter half of 2006 and finalized in early 2007.

The installation has been a resounding success. And because the dispatching system is based on Zetron’s flexible Acom Advanced Communication System, it will be able to accommodate Monroe County’s variable and changing needs into the foreseeable future.

The Monroe County Control Center
As the main PSAP for the area, it is the Monroe County Control Center’s mission to provide both dispatching and emergency call-taking services to Monroe County and Lehman Township in Pike County, Pennsylvania. It also provides dispatching for 21 volunteer fire departments, 10 EMS agencies, 15 additional governmental agencies, and 5 local police departments—two of which are among the largest regional departments in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.

"Our goal," says Control Center Director, Gary Hoffman, "is to provide prompt, professional dispatching services for all of the calls we receive."

This can be a challenge given that the population, which is typically 140 thousand, spikes to half a million during the summer months and when the area’s two annual NASCAR events are underway.

Responding to changing demands
Prior to the recent project, the Monroe County Control Center had been using Zetron’s button-based Series 3200 E9-1-1 Call-Taking System and Zetron’s Series 2100 Paging Terminal; they used another manufacturer’s console system for their radio dispatching.

Although this setup had served them well for years, the Center’s circumstances were changing. And even as the demands on their dispatching system were increasing, the system was already functioning at maximum capacity. In addition, the manufacturer was going to stop supporting it.

So when funding became available, Control Center administrators jumped at the chance to obtain the new equipment they so sorely needed. This would include a new, more flexible radio dispatch console system; a new paging system; and an updated call-taking system that would be FCC Phase-II compliant.

The Control Center put out a Request for Proposals for the extensive project. TuWay Communications won the contract by presenting a cost-effective, all-Zetron solution that included Zetron’s Acom Advanced Communication dispatching system; an updated, PC-based version of the Series 3200 E9-1-1; and Zetron’s Model 2200 Paging Terminal.

TuWay Communications
Based in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, TuWay Communications has been installing and supporting communication solutions for over 50 years. Their customers include those in the fields of public safety, education, health care, and business.

The solution that TuWay proposed and Monroe County accepted included:

• Two Zetron Acom Advanced Communications Systems, one for the main center and one for their overflow operations.
• 24 combined Acom dispatch and Zetron Series 3200 E9-1-1 Call-Taking positions.
• Four additional call-taking positions for their overflow operations.
• One Zetron Model 2200 Paging Terminal to work in tandem with the Center’s existing Model 2100.

Why Acom?
When asked why Acom was chosen as this project’s dispatching solution, Monroe Control Center Director, Gary Hoffman, says that the system’s capacity and flexibility were key. "We had used another manufacturer’s products for over 30 years. But for this project, we needed options they couldn’t provide. We were moving from an 11-position dispatching system to a 24-position system. Acom offered the capacity, functionality, future expansion capabilities, and advancements we were looking for. The other manufacturers’ consoles couldn’t touch what Acom could provide."

Implementation requirements
For this implementation, the technicians had to completely remove the existing radio console infrastructure and replace it with the Acom console. And they had to do so without causing the Control Center any downtime.

The reseller also set up the Series 2200 paging functionality so endusers would be able to send pages without having to go through the dispatch center. And they built a custom circuit so voice messages would be given priority on the paging system.

Once the system was in place, the transition to the Acom consoles was made easier for operators because the console screens were configured to mimic the old ones. "This gave operators a new system that looked familiar," says Hoffman, "but it was actually better. And expandable."

"Any implementation of this magnitude poses some challenges," says Hoffman. "But both the reseller and Zetron’s technical engineers stayed with the issues until they were resolved."

TuWay and Zetron deliver
The implementation was completed in early 2007, and has been running successfully ever since.

"I attribute the success of this project to the cooperative efforts among my staff, TuWay Communications, and the Zetron engineers who were involved," says Hoffman. "We ended up with an excellent system that has the functionality and flexibility we need, but is also highly consolidated and fits within our space limitations."