PSAP Design Requires Specialized Planning

By Nathan D. McClure III, MPA, ENP and Steven E. Loomis, AIA

Public safety communications centers, also known as public safety answering points or emergency communications centres, are a focal point for a community’s public safety. These facilities serve as the access point for those needing assistance and coordinate the efforts of the public
safety responders. Ideally, public safety communication systems should survive whatever occurs and remain functional under all conditions. As communities work to provide the best possible public safety services to their constituencies, reliance on technology is increasing. A modern public safety communications centre is an amalgamation of systems. Virtually all components are computerized, including the emergency
telephone system answering equipment, the radio consoles, computer-aided dispatch, and computerized mapping systems. The integration of all of these systems has created new challenges for those trying to provide adequate space and support for the center. The highly reliable communications centre requires personnel with specialized knowledge in order to bring all the pieces together. After all, if a centre only operated 99% of the time, it would be out-of-service almost four days a year.

Reliability begins with the facility itself.

One of the first steps in the planning process for a new facility or a review of an existing facility is a threat and risk analysis. The analysis process examines the various threats that a community faces, determines the likelihood of the threat occurring, and what the resulting impact would be on the community and the facility. This information is then used to help determine what steps should be taken to mitigate that
threat. In today’s world, critical facilities need to provide a level of protection against planned attacks.

Once the threat and risk analysis is completed, the next step is to determine what steps will be taken to protect the facility. There are numerous
options. One is always to do nothing and hope that it doesn’t happen. While this alternative has the lowest cost, it also carries the greatest risk. At the other extreme is to provide maximum protection for all conceivable threats. While this reduces the risks the most, the costs are the highest. Most communities opt for something in between. They take steps to reduce the risks, but also to moderate the costs.

The centre must function under all conditions.

Consequently, there needs to be reliable power. An emergency generator with an adequate fuel supply is a standard item. The general recommendation is a 24-hour fuel supply, but the experiences of the past several years suggest that three days to a week may be more appropriate.

Once the design basis have been determined, the capacity needed in the facility must be considered. Since the facility is usually expected
to meet the needs of the community for at least the next 25 years, projections must be made about the future of the community and what the
impact of that future will be on the emergency communications centre. Is the population expected to increase in size and, if so, by how
much? And if yes, as a result, how many more positions will be needed? Is the nature of the community changing? For example, is the community changing from an industrial community to a retirement area? What will that mean with regards to the demand for public safety services over time?

The trend to utilize multiple computer servers has created new requirements for equipment space and heightened requirements for
conditioned power and adequate cooling and humidification. A full rack of servers can generate as much heat as one hundred 100-Watt light
bulbs in a space the size of a refrigerator. If adequate cooling is not supplied, the reliability of the equipment decreases significantly. If adequate
humidification is not provided, static electricity can be a problem.

The design of public safety communications centres is a highly specialized field. Typically, there may only be one such facility in the community. Local architects and planners may have limited expertise in the programming, planning, and design of such facilities. Many agencies have learned that it is advantageous to add an experienced specialized firm to the design team. After all, most of agency personnel will only do this once in their career.

Steven E. Loomis, AIA, is an assistant vice president and the Justice and Public Safety Design Director with HSMM AECOM (Virginia Beach, VA), has more than 20 years of professional architectural practice and has promoted programming, planning, and design focused
on public safety issues. He can be reached at steve.loomis@aecom.com.

Nathan McClure III, MPA, ENP is an associate and public safety consultant at CTA Communications, a subsidiary of HSMM AECOM
(Lynchburg, VA), has more than 40 years of public safety communications experience and is a past-president of APCO International. He can be reached at nathan.mcclure@aecom.com.