$500K program a "crystal ball" for emergency dispatchers?

[Niftymedi911]

http://www.nbc-2.com/Global/story.asp?S=11743716

Watch the video that goes with it too.....

What do you all think?

[streethealer535]

This seems quite interesting... My question of course is how well will this actually work... and what is the data that is used is it just location of calls from the past 4 years or does it take into account weather and other outside information?

If this works like they seem to think it will I think we might be looking at a pretty useful tool!

[Mario1105]

its taking in all data from the past thats a great tool espcially if one area has more crime then the other but that should already been known

[fiznat]

System Status Management is a good idea on paper, too.

[Richard B the EMT]

I think it's a similar program, updated every now and again, used by the FDNY EMS Command, in it's placement of ambulances on street corners, in presumption of where the next call is going to come in. I know it also takes into account population volume, time of day, and possibly weather conditions.

[46Young]

Nowhere in the article did I see how this program improves employee satisfaction or working conditions. SSM gives no consideration whatsoever to these important issues, just what's best for the agency/dept above all else.

Instead of trying to predict the future aka gambling, put more units on the road to cover any spikes in call volume effectively, and also reduce call volume to lessen burnout and also to increase employee satisfaction. A happy employee is more likely to remain motivated and excel in their profession, rather than move on to other occupations. One can only be relocated so many times at night for coverage when trying to sleep (to maintain readiness to perform well), have so many meals interrupted, be mandated for forced OT so many times, be dispatched repeatedly in the ED while attempting to complete a report, one can only work so many shifts all the way through without any break whatsoever, etc. etc. until they burn out, which results in poorer and poorer job performance/attitude, and inevitable attrition.

Any place that holds fast the attitude of "whatever is ultimately in the best interests of the dept" would make me extremely wary. That company line lets you know exactly where you stand woth them. Having a strong work ethic is important, but being asked to give more (while already performing at a high level) without receiving any improvements to employee compensation/benefits is wrong. Just to make up arbritrary numbers, if the company saves 15% by squeezing maximum productivity out of the employees, shouldn't they be rewarded with an extra 2-3% (or whatever)? Motivate your employees to be more productive, make it worth their while, in this case to do more with less, rather than create new ways to add to an already overworked employee's work load. Performance based merit increases along with bonuses for going above and beyond (however that may be quantified) would go a long way in increasing employee satisfaction and productivity.

Just curious, how many of you out there that work for an agency that has adopted a form of SSM report greater job satisaction post implementation and why? All it does is make you busier, make you constantly relocate whan you're trying to eat/study/rest, and add to fatigue, with no observable benefit on the employee's side. Maybe it would save layoffs, but how many EMS agencies out there have actually implemented a reduction in force? I haven't heard of any.

I'm not saying that we should all remain largely idle for our shifts, but rather that there should be enough units available to allow for an "off the radio" meal break (Nassau County PD EMS does it), enough time to complete a PCR at the ED before the next assignment, enough downtime for station duties and vehicle cleaning/maintenance. It's not cool when you're so busy that you're finally finishing a rig check 10 hours into your shift or later, or eating breakfast (or rather inhaling it, choking it down) at dinnertime. Too much Mickey D's and 7-11 will make you a heavy hitter over time. Some accept these things as a matter of course, as a coping mechanism. Coping mechanisms are used to deal with things that shouldn't be.

Edited December 31, 2009 by 46Young

[stcommodore]

Sounds interesting, I wish my city had an extra 500k to throw around like that. I see where Dynamic deployment can be rough, but my system doesn't even have enough units to meet the demand let alone shift units around. Our day "peak" units just barly help meet the demand in the day as it is. I say take half that money and put it towards inventing a more comfortable seat in the cab, and the second for safer trucks.

[Niftymedi911]

It's funny how all you have to do is watch that news clip and get what everyone else is thinking. I'm just curious now to watch and see how things pan out. I've seen this program in action already (during training) And can quite honestly say, that every time I would move a truck to a location, 20 min later that truck was in the worst possible area. This computer system looks 20 min ahead. If there are going to be 4 calls in one particular area within the next 20 min. 4 trucks will be sent to the outer ridge of the response time requirement to meet that requirement. We're right now 92% <8:59. To its full potential, this program can run 95-96%. And if this program keeps the private agencies out of our county, which is one of the reasons why it was purchased. I'm all for it.

And to answer you 46Young, our agency is slated to be in the top 30 in the nation. We're very progressive and highly regarded. (We placed 3rd at CLINCON international EMS competition in July of 09) To the point where for 9 positions, we had 368 applicants (that was back in Aug). What your referring to now with the employee satisfaction and working conditions. We have 37 stations and 37 trucks. Everyone has a bed to sleep in at night. We are a busy system (nowhere as busy as FDNY or L.A., roughly 100,000 calls FY09) and as it stands right now, we really don't have much time to sleep (unless your at your vacation station with in your sector, 1 Sector= (4 busy and 1 slow to reduce employee burnout) 5 truck rotation, that is rotated every month. This is attributed to our "stand-by policy" or posting of trucks in other response zones during the night. We're also the top paid EMS department in Fla.

This program can literally show you what the county will look like in 20 min. So if you have two trucks out of a response zone (which is the requirement for a stand-by) but the computer software isn't showing a call dropping in that area before one of those trucks becomes available, You don't roll to the stand-by station. We do not post on street corners when we're on stand-by. Our stand-by's are at other EMS stations, so we can have down time while till covering the zone.

Regarding PCR finishing in the ED before leaving. We're EPCR based with WiFi, air cards and Zoll data cards which automatically import all of our ECG's, B/P's, 12 Leads, ETCO2 into our PCR. We do everything in our trucks en route, during, and after pt offload, unless we have a P1. For P1's we're then OSS at the ED until the PCR is completed and uploaded. Heck, even our truck checks are electronic now.

Richard, the system that FDNY uses is I think what's called MARVLUS. It's designed by Motorola which I know is the cities main technology company for CAD and radios. SIREN was orginally designed as a pilot scheduler for airlines. It was developed in New Zeland and London for their EMS programs. It is currently in use in Toronto and London. The software was then redesigned for EMS use after the success of it was proven in those two cities. We're now the first organization (In the US) to utilize the redesign, in a complete EMS deployment. The one factor that SIREN has over all of the other CAD programs, is its unique ability to see 20 mins into the day. Thus preparing the system to get smacked.

We are not transitioning to SSM. Our union won't allow it. With our new contract, the county can't touch any 12 or 24 hr trucks (closing it), they can't split the 24 hr trucks, and they can't make our system true SSM. Everyone has a hybrid form of SSM, regardless if they want to believe it or not.

Edited December 31, 2009 by Niftymedi911

[46Young]

It's funny how all you have to do is watch that news clip and get what everyone else is thinking. I'm just curious now to watch and see how things pan out. I've seen this program in action already (during training) And can quite honestly say, that every time I would move a truck to a location, 20 min later that truck was in the worst possible area. This computer system looks 20 min ahead. If there are going to be 4 calls in one particular area within the next 20 min. 4 trucks will be sent to the outer ridge of the response time requirement to meet that requirement. We're right now 92% <8:59. To its full potential, this program can run 95-96%. And if this program keeps the private agencies out of our county, which is one of the reasons why it was purchased. I'm all for it.

And to answer you 46Young, our agency is slated to be in the top 30 in the nation. We're very progressive and highly regarded. (We placed 3rd at CLINCON international EMS competition in July of 09) To the point where for 9 positions, we had 368 applicants (that was back in Aug). What your referring to now with the employee satisfaction and working conditions. We have 37 stations and 37 trucks. Everyone has a bed to sleep in at night. We are a busy system (nowhere as busy as FDNY or L.A., roughly 100,000 calls FY09) and as it stands right now, we really don't have much time to sleep (unless your at your vacation station with in your sector, 1 Sector= (4 busy and 1 slow to reduce employee burnout) 5 truck rotation, that is rotated every month. This is attributed to our "stand-by policy" or posting of trucks in other response zones during the night. We're also the top paid EMS department in Fla.

This program can literally show you what the county will look like in 20 min. So if you have two trucks out of a response zone (which is the requirement for a stand-by) but the computer software isn't showing a call dropping in that area before one of those trucks becomes available, You don't roll to the stand-by station. We do not post on street corners when we're on stand-by. Our stand-by's are at other EMS stations, so we can have down time while till covering the zone.

Regarding PCR finishing in the ED before leaving. We're EPCR based with WiFi, air cards and Zoll data cards which automatically import all of our ECG's, B/P's, 12 Leads, ETCO2 into our PCR. We do everything in our trucks en route, during, and after pt offload, unless we have a P1. For P1's we're then OSS at the ED until the PCR is completed and uploaded. Heck, even our truck checks are electronic now.

Richard, the system that FDNY uses is I think what's called MARVLUS. It's designed by Motorola which I know is the cities main technology company for CAD and radios. SIREN was orginally designed as a pilot scheduler for airlines. It was developed in New Zeland and London for their EMS programs. It is currently in use in Toronto and London. The software was then redesigned for EMS use after the success of it was proven in those two cities. We're now the first organization (In the US) to utilize the redesign, in a complete EMS deployment. The one factor that SIREN has over all of the other CAD programs, is its unique ability to see 20 mins into the day. Thus preparing the system to get smacked.

We are not transitioning to SSM. Our union won't allow it. With our new contract, the county can't touch any 12 or 24 hr trucks (closing it), they can't split the 24 hr trucks, and they can't make our system true SSM. Everyone has a hybrid form of SSM, regardless if they want to believe it or not.

Your dept is a rare example of what a progressive EMS agency can be when it also considers employee satisfaction. Union too. I love it. A few people from North Shore LIJ went down there back in '07. You may know them.

[Niftymedi911]

Evidence Based Medicine..... the name of the game. And if your referring to the bunch of Jersey medics from 2005-2007, I know each and everyone of them, as I also am from NJ (Bricktown).