This article originally appeared in the November 2012 issue of INTERNET TELEPHONY.

Is your organization at risk when it comes to providing E911 protection to your employees and visitors? What are the liability implications of not actively managing E911 location information?

If you don’t know the answer to these questions, your organization may be subject to regulatory fines and risk large damages from civil and criminal litigation.

If you’ve read this column before, you likely know that some states – 17 at last count – have laws requiring enterprises over a certain size or those purchasing a new PBX (News - Alert) or call server to implement E911 to protect employees, vendors and visitors while on their premises.

At least one other state, New Hampshire, has related laws on the books that effectively require multi-line telephone system operators to maintain E911 location information.

While the need to comply with state E911 legislation is a prime motivator for adding E911 protection, it shouldn't be the only consideration. Estimates based on Department of Labor statistics indicate that more than 60 million Americans working in or visiting office buildings, office campuses, hospitals and government buildings do not have the same 911 protection they have at home.

Regardless of legislation, the facts are clear that E911 saves lives and is an important component of a comprehensive safety plan.

There are many options available in the market to help an organization assess its E911 liability risk. Consultants or law firms can be retained to conduct comprehensive enterprise compliance audits. E911 solution providers are typically willing to share their experience as part of the sales process.   

Our company, RedSky (News - Alert) Technologies, offers a free, online E911 Risk Assessment that has helped hundreds of organizations quickly determine if they have an E911 location management issue. The algorithms for this online diagnostic tool were recently updated to take into account the accelerated adoption of SIP and other mobility-enabling technologies.

The E911 Risk Assessment takes three minutes to complete and generates a custom report that identifies specific areas of risk across four critical dimensions: network configuration, workforce mobility and infrastructure, legislation and location complexity, and 911 call completion and notification.

If your organization is at risk, the report will recommend specific actions to mitigate your exposure and is a valuable tool to help management understand the issues.

The E911 Risk Assessment is available at http://www.e911-risk-assessment.com.

Nick Maier is senior vice president of RedSky Technologies (www.redskyE911.com).