Best Practices for E9-1-1 Database Management

Best Practices for
E9-1-1 Database Management
Rolf Preuss, ENP FPEM
Project Manager
Sunday, August 13, 2016

• What is the E9-1-1 Database
• What goes into the E9-1-1 Database
• Some Possible Issues
• What can I do – 12 Best Practices
Best Practices for E9-1-1 Database Management

What is the E9-1-1 Database
A database is a collection of pieces of information that is
organized and used on a computer
(Merriam-Webster Dictionary)
A large amount of information stored in a computer system
in such a way that it can be easily looked at or changed
(Cambridge Dictionary)

Master Street Address Guide (MSAG):
“A data base of street names and house number ranges within
their associated communities defining Emergency Service
Zones (ESZs) and their associated Emergency Service Numbers
(ESNs) to enable proper routing of 9-1-1 calls.”
(NENA Master Glossary of 9-1-1 Terminology)

ESZ (Emergency Service Zone)
• A geographical area that represents a unique combination of
emergency service agencies (e.g., Law Enforcement, Fire and
Emergency Medical Service) that are within a specified
9-1-1 governing authority's jurisdiction.
• An ESZ can be represented by an Emergency Service Number (ESN) to
identify the ESZ.

ESN (Emergency Service Number):
• A 3-5 digit number that represents one or more Emergency Service
Zones (ESZs).

What goes into the E9-1-1 Database
• Location Information
• Response Information
• Technical Information

Master Street Address Guide (MSAG) Address
• Address recognized by Public Safety for the dispatch of emergency first
responders.
– It is an absolute and unique address in that variants for directions, street
spelling, street suffixes, and community names are not allowed.
– It is preferred that MSAG Addresses be in Civic Address format.
• MSAG addresses are used to route 9-1-1 calls and for ALI display.

Definition: Civic Address
• Any city-style address that includes a house number and a
street name is considered a Civic Address
• Civic Addresses include a community name that may or
may not be recognized by the USPS or be MSAG valid

• Location Information – Civic Address
» House Number
» Street name
» Community
• Response Information

» House Number
» Street name
» Community
• Response Information – ESZ/ESN

» House Number
» Street name
» Community
• Technical Information – Call Routing

Now that we know what goes into our database,
let’s have a look at some possible issues
that we may encounter.

Some Possible Issues
• 9-1-1 calls received from Multi-Line Telephone Systems or
Private Branch Exchanges can pose some unique challenges
that test the limitations of the traditional 9-1-1 database.
• Many MLTS/PBX systems currently in operation do not
provide precise enough location information with a 9-1-1 call
to fully allow responders to know the location of the caller on
campus.

• For example, a call from the upper floors or from another building
on campus will only provide the street address of the main
building.
– Sometimes a 9-1-1 call may be received in a local jurisdiction from a
MLTS/PBX that originated in a branch office in a different town.
• In many cases, features like direct access to 9-1-1 or notification of
9-1-1 calls to an on-site security office may have been left turned
off during installation.

Only about half of the states have 9-1-1 specific legislation enacted or
pending that requires organizations over a certain size or installing
a new MLTS/PBX to implement enhanced 9-1-1 location accuracy
for the safety of their visitors, employees or students.
Bills currently in the federal legislature would require manufacturers
and installers to eliminate any prefixes and suffixes required to dial
any 9-1-1 calls and to be configured to provide on-site notification
to a central facility when a 9-1-1 call is being made.

The evolution of the telephone technology over the years
also poses some challenges to the 9-1-1 database.

Current 9-1-1 Systems
were designed to work
with wireline technology

Soon someone had a great
idea…

How do we track the location of these devices?
With the network allowing location capture,
we need to enter wireless infrastructure information
into the database.

» House Number
» Street name
» Community
• Technical Information – Call Routing
(We need to enter information for every sector of a wireless site)
of Wireless site
of Wireless site
of Wireless site

When adding wireless infrastructure information to our
database, wireless calls will display as:
• Location of tower and
• Sector orientation or
• Lat/Long location (for Wireless Phase II calls)

• The evolution of the telephone technology did not
stop with Wireless telephony
• We also encountered Voice over Internet Protocol
(VoIP) calls
• VoIP users are added to the database once service
is requested

VoIP service is advertised with many advantages:
• Calls are routed over the internet and
bypass parts or all of the traditional phone system
• This can result in significant cost savings
• If you are traveling, you can take your phone,
but you are asked to self register your new location

• A typical VoIP service allows you to pack your
phone and take it to Florida for the winter
• Your phone works as soon as it is connected
• If you do not self register your new address,
a 9-1-1 call placed in Florida will go to a PSAP
in the jurisdiction where you initially registered

• We are now seeing the implementation
of Text To 9-1-1 capabilities

• Text To 9-1-1 is delivered through the wireless
service providers.
• The technology does not provide for same
accuracy as Phase II wireless calls.
• Commercial location accuracy is utilized.

The not-so-common issues
• Calling Party Number is
000-000-0000
• VoIP Location Information
• Invalid Class of Service
• No wireless location
information
• Tower Address missing
• Calls from unlisted towers
• Calls from unlisted sectors
• No Record Found calls
• Location Anomalies
A few items that we encountered:

Calling Party Number 000-000-0000:
• Alerts with calling party number (CPN) of 000-000-
0000 only display the date and time of the calls. The
calls provide no location information or call back
number. This helped to uncover the following issue:
– Transferred calls from PSAPs in an adjacent state.
• The LEC is looking into a network between both states
to provide ANI with transferred calls.

VoIP Location Information:
• A VoIP provider made test calls to verify location information such as
apartment numbers. The test calls to multiple PSAPs failed.
• The provider tried moving the information to several different fields
but the call takers still couldn't see it.
• The provider claimed the problem was due to CPE not having a field
to display location information.
• Pulling unparsed ALI proved it was an issue with the data coming from
the provider to the LEC.

Invalid Class of Service
• Alerts were received for wireless calls with an invalid
class of service. The calls class of service displayed as
“MBL”.
• The calls provided no location information or call back
number.
• The wireless carrier found a timer associated with
ESRK call hold time that needed to be changed.

No wireless location information
• Alerts received for wireless calls with No ALI and “WRLS”
class of service. The call back number and ESRK displayed a
default ESRK.
• After providing examples to the wireless carrier, they
found a statewide translation that prevented ALI from
being delivered to the PSAP for customers dialing 9-1-1.

Tower Address missing
• Initial calls displayed a tower address but some rebids would
only show “WIRELESS CALL.”
• The wireless carrier advised the PSAP nothing could be done.
• After further investigation, the wireless carrier enabled a GSM
specific setting in their ALI nodes.

Calls received from unlisted towers:
• Alerts referred to a wireless carrier for invalid addressing.
The carrier found a line of code that was reverting tower
site address to an old unused address.

Calls received from unlisted towers:
Calls received with unlisted towers were flagged for review.
Investigation identified the following situations:
• A tower that should have been routed to a different
county.
• The correct address was overwritten with an incorrect
address.
• A tower had the wrong latitude/longitude.

No Record Found calls
• The No Record Found Calls report identified a problem
with the way some alarm and monitoring companies
contact the PSAP to report alarms.
• The report provided the information needed to identify
these companies.
• Once identified, the companies were provided the
required procedures to eliminate the no record found
condition.

Location Anomalies
Historical call mapping allows a PSAP to see where a
carrier delivers WPH2 calls with latitude and longitude
that plots directly in the center of the beam width,
and goes out from the tower site a distance of the
delivered COF in meters. Data from these calls should
be referred to the carrier for further investigation.

Let’s have a look at a few best practices that
may help us avoid some of the pitfalls.

What can I do – 12 Best Practices
1. Document your work flow
2. Perform regular updates
3. Carefully review any additions or changes
4. Work with your local resources
5. Work with your adjacent jurisdictions
6. Work with the service providers

What can I do – 12 Best Practices
7. Establish a regular review process to enhance data quality
8. Try to stay up to date with Routing Sheets
9. Investigate known trouble spots
10. Do not be afraid of readdressing
11. Take the review process one step further
12. Consider asking for help

Document your work flow
• If you had to leave suddenly, would a coworker be able to
continue your work?
– Would their work be of the same quality?
• Start by documenting your work flow. Note the steps to be
taken for specific tasks, like new address assignments in a job
aid. Clear and accessible documentation will enable others to
perform these specific tasks.

Document your work flow
• Using a job aid ensures consistency and completeness in
carrying out a task.
• Job aids can range from a simple to-do list to
a complete daily schedule.
• Having documentation available, allows all employees to
understand the work flow and perform consistently. This is a
big step towards a standardized work environment.

Perform Regular Updates
• Sometimes we may feel that we do not have time to deal
with database updates right away.
• Unfortunately, others depend on our work. Scheduling our
work flow will allow us to accomplish priority tasks
without delays.
• This schedule should allow flexibility to deal with
important short notice items:
– Have a schedule and stick to it!

Carefully review any additions or changes
Validate the integrity of the information provided when it lands
on your desk – does it fit the:
 approved road names
 local addressing scheme
 local address ranges
 right community
 established emergency response zones

Carefully review any additions or changes
A small typo will result in incorrect locations.

Work with your local resources
• Establish a good working relationship with your local:
– Planning
– Zoning
– Engineering
– Addressing authorities
• Early awareness of any projects like new streets or subdivisions
will give you an opportunity to correct potential errors.

Work with your local resources
• Having a good working relationship with your local Postal Office
or Property Appraiser may provide you with information on
addressing errors that you may not be aware of.
• First Responders can also be a good resource in spotting any
addressing issues.
• Response agencies change their response areas
and sometimes forget to notify you.

Work with your adjacent jurisdictions
• We all are familiar with the scenario where a local caller’s
wireless call gets picked up by a cell tower in a neighboring
jurisdiction.
• The call gets routed to a PSAP in a different district/city/county
and the call taker is unfamiliar with the caller’s actual location.

x
x
Call Handling Agency’s Jurisdiction
Call Handling Agency’s Jurisdiction

Work with your adjacent jurisdictions
• By simply sharing basic mapping information with your
neighbors, we can fill in ‘blank’ areas on their map and make
their job easier.
• This can be a complete set of information or a small subset of a
few miles.
• Having a good relationship with your neighbors may also give
you a heads-up on other important issues that may affect you.

Work with the service providers
• It goes without saying that having a good working
relationship will help you get things done more efficiently.
• Having a good relationship with your service provider
contacts will go a long way –
– From performing your daily work
– Having to resolve important issues without escalations

Establish a regular review process
• To ensure a level of quality, data must be reviewed at regular
intervals.
– Establishing a scheduled review process to verify the validity of
existing data goes a long way towards enhancing the overall
quality
– A little bit of effort here will go a long way

Establish a regular review process
The data review process can be
done in house by ensuring it
follows these principles:
Controllable
Measurable
Repeatable

Try to stay up to date with Routing Sheets
The Wireless Routing Sheets contain great information and are typically given
away by Wireless Service Providers:
• Cell Site and Sector (Name, ID, Width and Radius)
• Cell Site Address (Street, City, County, Coordinates)
• Target PSAP and Wireless Emergency Services Zone
• Display Preference (Street, Intersection, Community)
• Carrier internal (Market ID, Switch ID, Technology, ESRK, Live Date, Testing
Information, Notes, etc)
• Alternate Routing Information

How much time have you spent
with your Routing Sheets lately?

Some of the information can change:
• Sectors can change orientation or geometry
• Wireless Emergency Services Number needs to be verified
• Cell sites can be turned down
(maintenance or “no longer active”)
• Cell Site Address can be wrong, stripped off or flipped
between adjoining towers
• Cell Site Coordinates wrong
– from a few hundred feet to quite some miles
• Carrier information can provide clues on site technology

Some of the information can change:
• Display Preference should fit in local scheme and be consistent
• Displayed information should be accurate and helpful to call taker
• Target PSAP might not be the one preferred
• Alternate Routing Information - review by case
(overflow, network congestion, maintenance, outage, etc.)
• Alternate Routing Information - review for accuracy
• Alternate Routing Information - review periodically
• Alternate Routing Information - coordinated regionally

Investigate known trouble spots
• Investigate suspected areas of concern before they
develop into major headaches
• Being aware of a situation allows you to easily get in front
of it and figure out how to effectively deal with it
• This ranges from items as potential addressing issues
as well cellular network performance

Investigate known trouble spots
• By investigating known trouble spots like areas of weak
cellular network performance, we can establish and
document a base line that we can use for improvement
• The base line can be used to determine mitigating actions
and, through annual remapping, used to document
achieved improvements

Do not be afraid of Re-addressing
• Investigate suspected areas of concern before they develop
into major headaches.
• If addressing errors or inconsistencies have the potential
to cause delayed response, they should be considered
a danger to the public.
• While you may not make many friends with readdressing,
most people will be fairly understanding once you explain
the reasoning.

• Venture into uncharted waters
• Verify the locations of calls, specifically the ones that
refuse to plot on the map
• Geocoding the coordinates will associate them with the
closest address. By noting and correcting discrepancies,
this process can be used to continuously increase
database accuracy
Take the review process one step further

Consider asking for help
No one can do it all themselves – consider asking for help:
• Look at your own department
• Consider other departments
• What about neighboring jurisdictions
• Consider specialized vendors
Some of these may work on simple reciprocity, while some
may require funding.

Questions?
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