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Federal Aviation Administration Selects Spok's Enhanced 9-1-1 Solution for Facilities Across the U.S.Spok, Inc. announced today that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has selected Spok's enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) solution for a number of its facilities. The E9-1-1 software will enable the FAA's emergency response teams to pinpoint a 9-1-1 caller's exact location, notify appropriate onsite personnel, and maintain the safety of FAA employees and visitors. The Spok solution has already been implemented at the FAA's William J. Hughes (News - Alert) Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J. Additional rollouts are ongoing at regional FAA facilities in Alaska and Hawaii, and are planned for the FAA HQ in Washington D.C. as well as the Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, one of the Department of Transportation's largest complexes outside the Washington, D.C., area with more than 7,500 employees. "The campus environment of FAA facilities is similar to an Air Force Base with a perimeter gate, so it's vital that personnel know emergency details, including where the caller is located and whether emergency responders will arrive from off campus," said Eric Rambo, FAA project manager for General Dynamics (News - Alert), who introduced Spok to the FAA. Before installing E9-1-1 technology from Spok, the FAA's Atlantic City facility lacked caller location information and robust monitoring capabilities, which contributed to a number of communication problems at the facility. As a result, General Dynamics, which has maintained the FAA's administrative voice system for the past six years, proposed Spok E9-1-1 software to the FAA staff. Since the software was installed in December 2014, FAA personnel report significant improvement to their emergency response capabilities. The Atlantic City facility relies on the county's public safety answering point (PSAP) to field 9-1-1 calls, but Spok's system automatically provides additional information on a caller's exact location and other vital details. The system also notifies the appropriate onsite personnel that an emergency call is in progress with the exact location of an emergency, allowing for a faster response. FAA security staff receive notifications via passive monitoring phone calls, emails, and pop-up alerts on screens at the gate, visitor center, and main building. The teams then coordinate their internal emergency response via radio after they review the information on the 9-1-1 call. They also use the E9-1-1 software to keep track of the types of calls they receive. Rambo said the implementation went smoothly with Spok's technicians and support team.
About Spok Spok is a trademark of Spok Holdings, Inc. View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150528005129/en/ |
