City of Richmond, Va. and Intergraph Honored

18 August 2009, 10:22pm

HUNTSVILLE, Ala., Aug. 18, 2009 - The IJIS Institute has honored the City of Richmond, Va. and Intergraph with its inaugural 2009 Innovation Award for being the first to automate the transmission of security alarm alerts directly to the appropriate public safety answering point's (PSAP) computer-aided dispatch (CAD) system in accordance with the NIEM-based External Alarm Interface Exchange American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard. This automation has reduced response times by at least two to three minutes, saving precious time and lives.

The IJIS Institute recognized Richmond and Intergraph for the success and innovation of the two-year pilot External Alarm Interface Exchange project, a project funded by the Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance, using Intergraph public safety incident management software and reporting solutions and interoperability application for CAD information exchange with other software applications. Automating alerts has eliminated more than 6,750 telephone calls from residential and commercial security companies, resulting in more efficient utilization of 9-1-1 call-taker resources in the PSAP.

The program's success has made it an ANSI standard now recognized by the Association of Public-Safety Communications Officials-International (APCO) and the Central Station Alarm Association (CSAA). Each year across the United States, 9-1-1 call-takers manage more than 32 million incoming calls for assistance from alarm monitoring companies. This new standard dramatically reduces the number of calls that require manual processing, allowing call-takers to focus their time and energies on life-threatening emergencies.

The IJIS Institute serves as the voice of the industry by uniting the private and public sectors to improve mission-critical information sharing for those who protect and serve our communities. The IJIS Institute provides training, technical assistance, national scope issue management and program management services to help government fully realize the power of information sharing.

The IJIS Institute Innovation Award recognizes technical achievements in public safety, justice and homeland security that have contributed to the advancement of integration and interoperability. The award, sponsored by e.Republic, was presented by Paul Wormeli, executive director of the IJIS Institute and Marty Pastula, vice president of e.Republic's Emergency Management magazine.

"As part of our mission to serve and protect those who live and work in our community, the City of Richmond is honored to receive this recognition from the IJIS Institute for the External Alarm Interface Exchange Project," said Bill Hobgood, Public Safety Team project manager, City of Richmond, Va. Department of Information Technology. "Through close collaboration and cooperation with partners such as Intergraph, a new American National Standard has been created that has successfully reduced telephone call volumes between PSAPs and alarm monitoring companies, reduced mistakes in the processing of new alarm events and saved lives and property. This new standard can be easily deployed by all CAD and central station alarm monitoring software providers on behalf of 9-1-1 PSAPs and alarm monitoring companies to promote effective and efficient emergency incident response."

"Intergraph has a strong global reputation for delivering public safety and security incident management and reporting solutions that promote interoperability and are based on industry standards," said John K. Graham, president, Intergraph Security, Government & Infrastructure. "We are pleased to have partnered with the City of Richmond on this standard-setting innovation and we commend all who were involved for their vision and commitment to advancing public safety. IJIS Institutes' recognition underscores this program's significance as a public safety milestone that has shaped the industry and will continue to save lives."

Intergraph is the leading global provider of incident management software and reporting solutions. One in 12 people in the world is protected by Intergraph public safety and security solutions.

Intergraph, Inc.

IJIS Institute

Geo: International