Agenda Index City of Vancouver

ADMINISTRATIVE REPORT

TO:

Vancouver City Council

FROM:

Director Risk and Emergency Management

SUBJECT:

Status Report on E-Comm

 

RECOMMENDATION

CITY MANAGER'S COMMENTS

POLICY

Over the past three years Council has passed a number of resolutions providing funding and support to the development of the E-Comm project. The City of Vancouver is a member of the E-Comm Corporation and has a Director on the E-Comm Board.

BACKGROUND

The E-Comm initiative supports Council's goals for public safety and emergency preparedness. The E-Comm project began in May 1995, as a City of Vancouver project to replace its aging police and fire radio system and build a post-disaster Emergency Operations Centre for the City. With impetus from a Federal/Provincial Infrastructure grant, the City saw the opportunity to include other public agencies in the E-Comm concept. Through City Council's leadership the project was expanded to encompass a broad partnership across three levels of government and a vision of integrated, post-disaster communications for emergency and public services throughout southwest British Columbia. City Council provided staff to assist in the development of the E-Comm concept and financed the project in its early phases. Thanks to Council's strong support, that vision is now well on its way to being realized.

Former City Manager Ken Dobell led the project and served as the interim Chair of the E-Comm Board from October 1997 until September 1998, when the full Board was established. Mr. Clyde Hosein, Director Facilities Development, has been the Project Manager from project inception (May 1995) and continues to provide project management services to the E-Comm corporation. Patti Marfleet, Director Risk and Emergency Management served initially (from May 1995) as project coordinator and later (October 1997 to July 1998) as Acting General Manager of the E-Comm Corporation. With Ken Dobell's retirement, Council appointed Patti Marfleet as its 1998-99 Director on the E-Comm Board.

On September 25th, 1997 Council authorized City membership in the E-Comm corporation and subscribed, as a Class A shareholder for Fire services and a Class B shareholder for other municipal services. The Vancouver Police Board subscribed as a Class A member for Police services.

This report will update Council on the status of E-Comm and its components.

SUMMARY

E-Comm is a successful initiative which supports Council's goals for public safety and emergency preparedness. This report, from the City's Director on the E-Comm Board provides a summary of the current status of E-Comm.

E-Comm is an independent provincial corporation with public sector members. It has developed a governance structure and policies which ensure accountability and professionalism in its activities. E-Comm has stayed reasonably within 1997 cost estimates and, as a result, annual charges to members are within or below estimates. The Budget office has been analyzing the impact of the E-Comm budget on the City budget and is preparing a separate report. Implementation of the Vancouver phase of the E-Comm radio system is nearing completion. Vancouver Police will begin utilizing the system this month, followed by Vancouver Fire in July. The E-Comm building was completed on-time, on-budget and has been the recipient of two significant design awards. The E-Comm dispatch centre will "go live" in June when the GVRD 9-1-1 call answer centre, currently located at 312 Main Street, is transferred to E-Comm. E-Comm will then begin dispatching Vancouver Police, followed by Vancouver Fire and a number of small Fire departments currently dispatched by Vancouver. In October RCMP units serving UBC, the Freeway Patrols, the Federal Units, and the Sunshine Coast will be dispatched by E-Comm, followed in December by Richmond Fire and Port Moody Fire. Work has been underway, through E-Comm, to develop a Records Management/ Mobile Reporting solution for police throughout British Columbia.

This would ensure that police could share criminal history information seamlessly across jurisdictions and could electronically complete reports and file information. The Police Department will report separately to Council to obtain support for this initiative. The Vancouver Emergency Operations centre is operational and planning and training has been underway to ensure that City staff and volunteers can make full use of the facility for emergency coordination and response.

DISCUSSION

E-COMM GOVERNANCE

The E-Comm Corporation was incorporated under the BC Companies Act and is supported by special provincial legislation, the Emergency Communications Corporations Act. Its Board of Directors comprises representatives from the members (shareholders) as well as two independent directors, one of whom chairs the Board. The Chair of the Board is currently Mr. Tung Chan , Vice President Asian Banking with the TD Bank and former Vancouver City Councillor. Vancouver is entitled to one Director and the Vancouver Police Board is similarly entitled to one Director.

While E-Comm is an independent corporation, its members are government and public agencies responsible to their taxpayers for decisions and expenditures. As such, E-Comm models itself after its public members in matters of process, fiscal policies, and accountability.

As a new corporation with a new Board and management it is important to E-Comm to ensure that its governance structure and the interrelationship between the Board and management is based on a clear understanding of respective roles and responsibilities.

Under the leadership of the Board Chair Tung Chan, an E-Comm Governance Committee worked to develop a complete manual to guide the conduct and activities of the Board and E-Comm management. It establishes terms of reference for the Board, Committees, the Chair, the General Manager, Directors and E-Comm's User and Service Committees. It sets out a Code of Conduct and Conflict of Interest Guidelines for Directors. It sets out evaluation processes for the Board, the Directors, and the General Manager. It sets strategic planning and succession planning processes. It also includes a number of reference materials relative to E-Comm. This work sets the foundation for E-Comm governance to be exercised diligently, professionally, and effectively.

E-COMM COSTS

It is not unusual for large, complex technology projects like E-Comm to fail or to experience large budget overruns. In contrast, the original costs estimates for E-Comm have proven to be sound and E-Comm's total annual charges to members are within or below original estimates. The Budget office is currently analyzing the E-Comm budget and the offsets realized by the City. This will be the subject of a separate report from the Budget office.

THE E-COMM RADIO SYSTEM

Implementation of the E-Comm area wide radio system by Ericsson Communications and BMS Communications Services, is underway. Phase 0, encompassing five sites within the City of Vancouver and one site in Richmond is near completion.

Beginning on May 10th Vancouver Police units begin to migrate to the new system and will be fully on the system by June 10th. Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services will complete migration to the new system by July. In October, the BC Ambulance service will begin using the new radio system within the Vancouver area. The radio system will be implemented in the remainder of the GVRD in 2000 - 2001.

The radio system will provide seamless, integrated, post-disaster voice radio capability to police, fire, ambulance and municipal services throughout the Lower Mainland (over 13,000 square miles). Agencies committed to use of the radio system, as soon as it is available in their area, include RCMP throughout the Lower Mainland, the BC Ambulance Service, Vancouver Police, Vancouver Fire, Richmond Fire, Port Moody Police and Port Moody Fire. It is anticipated that other agencies will come onto the system, over time, as their existing systems need upgrading or replacement. This will reduce costs for all participants and expand the operational advantages of the system.

Testing of the radio system infrastructure and user equipment is underway and E-Comm staff are confident that the new system overall will provide markedly superior coverage to what has existed in the past, including good in-building coverage, fewer "dead spots" and elimination of channel congestion.

Some of the advantages of the new system are:

· voice privacy on standard radio channels will be greater because it is a digital system;

· encrypted communications will be provided for some units such as drug squads;

· automatic vehicle location offers the capability to ensure that the closest unit is dispatched and pinpoint the location of a unit that has requested assistance;

· units from different emergency services will be able to communicate and coordinate their response, while in transit and at the scene;

· a priority call system will mean that in a major disaster urgent radio traffic will get through;

· a stolen radio can be switched off remotely;

· enhanced data capability will permit the transmission of reports, photos, and fingerprints;

E-COMM BUILDING

The E-Comm building contains some 60,000 square feet of space on two stories, plus an underground parking level. It is one of the few truly post-disaster buildings in this region and includes such features as:

· high earthquake resistance (up to 8.5 on the Richter Scale);

· dual backup emergency power generators;

· on site water storage for drinking and fire suppression;

· on site refrigeration and ice storage for cooling of critical systems;

· card controlled security zones;

· connection to two telephone exchanges and the Rogers cable network;

· high capacity internal cabling and communications systems;

· remote video display capability;

· internal computer network and E-mail.

The building was completed on time, on budget and has already received two significant design awards (1996 Canadian Award of Excellence and 1999 Lieutenant Governor's Merit Award).

E-COMM CONSOLIDATED DISPATCH CENTRE

The upper floor of the E-Comm building supports the 9-1-1 call taking and dispatch service. It provides a high quality environment for dispatch and call-taking personnel with extensive natural light and eighteen-foot high sloped ceilings. E-Comm has the capability to provide 9-1-1 call-taking and dispatch services to Police, Fire, and Ambulance agencies throughout southwest mainland British Columbia. At capacity it will accommodate fifty-three fully functioning dispatch consoles including training consoles, as well as about fifty 9-1-1 call taking consoles. There are tactical breakout rooms to permit prolonged or large incidents to be handled by dedicated personnel, removed from the main dispatch floor area.

This consolidated service has many advantages. The biggest advantage is that a larger call centre has the resources and flexibility to address sudden surges in call volume. Where a small dispatch centre can be quickly overwhelmed by even a moderate, local emergency a large centre can seamlessly re-assign staff to ensure that all calls continue to be answered immediately. A consolidated 9-1-1 call-taking and dispatch centre also provides a more cost-effective service for all agencies.

The call taking and dispatch function is supported by a state-of-the-art computer aided dispatch system which ensures that appropriate information is instantaneously available to responding units - information such as closest route to the scene, presence of hazardous materials, previous incidents at the location etc.

The dispatch centre is targeted to go live in June, when the entire GVRD 9-1-1 call answering service will be transferred there. This will be a seamless transfer and transparent to the 9-1-1 caller. Vancouver Police will begin being dispatched from E-Comm in June and in July the E-Comm dispatch centre will begin to provide dispatch service for Vancouver Fire, Whistler Fire, Blacktusk Fire, Gibsons' Fire, Sechelt Fire, Roberts Creek Fire, Pender Harbour Fire, and Halfmoon Bay Fire. In October the RCMP units in UBC, freeway patrols, federal units and the Sunshine Coast will be dispatched by E-Comm. In December Richmond Fire and Port Moody Fire will be dispatched by E-Comm.

It is anticipated that as the E-Comm service is implemented and proves itself to be a superior service delivery model, that eventually all emergency services in the lower mainland will become participants. As that occurs, costs for all participants will likely be reduced.

RECORDS MANAGEMENT SYSTEM

One of E-Comm's primary objectives was to develop systems for seamless communications and information across emergency services. A shared radio system, for example, ensures that voice and data transmission can occur across police, ambulance, and fire field units. A shared dispatch centre, utilizing a single computer aided dispatch system, ensures that for multi-agency events or events requiring mutual aid, appropriate units are instantaneously notified and dispatched and that they respond based on common information and dispatch protocols.

From a police perspective the ability to seamlessly share criminal history information on suspects, regardless of the jurisdiction in which they are operate, is a paramount need. Currently police agencies use different systems to capture criminal history and, as a result, records are cumbersome to access and share in any effective way. The ability of the police to successfully solve serial offences, such as those associated with the infamous Paul Bernardo case, can be seriously hampered by independent information systems which, by themselves, may reveal partial or little information on a suspect who has committed offences in another jurisdiction. In addition, the current processes for collecting, updating, storing and accessing criminal history information is labour-intensive, expensive and are vulnerable to inaccuracies.

One of the most exciting and difficult challenges for E-Comm was to address this gap in police information and integrate it into the mobile reporting system so that police officers in the field can have full access to criminal history on suspect and can perform "one time" data entry from the field, saving countless hours of police time handwriting reports . This achievement would constitute a quantum leap forward in improving the effectiveness of policing and would meet the Attorney General's goal to achieve seamless information sharing across police agencies.

Under the auspices of E-Comm, a project team has set about to develop a Records Management/Mobile Reporting solution for police in British Columbia. E-Comm continues in its effort to obtain a formal commitment from the RCMP to the new records system and discussions are underway to persuade the Federal Government to support this B.C. initiative as the first phase of a national solution. A tendering process has been initiated and discussions are underway with a preferred vendor to identify costs. Vancouver Police participation in the new system will be the subject of a separate report to Council from the Police Department. It is anticipated, however, that the offsets available from moving to a records management system will mean that the cost to Vancouver will be minimal.

EMERGENCY COORDINATION FUNCTIONS

A number of agencies, including the City of Vancouver, lease space on the main floor of the E-Comm building for emergency coordination and response functions. The four components on the main floor are the Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre, the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre, the Provincial Emergency Program Regional Office, and the Recovery Centre for the Vancouver and Fraser River Ports.

Individually these operations constitute an improvement to emergency coordination and response in this region. However, their real power lies in their co-location and the synergy that exists among them.

Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre

The Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre will be the focus for Vancouver's response in the event of a major emergency. The 20,000 square feet includes work stations supported by emergency management information systems, telephone, E-mail, radio, satellite and amateur radio communications capability. Up-to-the minute information on the emergency will be available through remote video feeds, media feeds, Internet, 9-1-1 access, and field units. Large screen displays can display provide emergency status information, live pictures and media coverage, digital mapping and status information from the 9-1-1 centre.

The major role of the Emergency Operations Centre is to guide and support the work that City staff and volunteers will do in the field, following any kind of disaster. Some eighty staff and volunteers will report to the Emergency Operations Centre to begin the task of gathering information, setting priorities for the response effort, distributing scarce resources, providing information and advice to the public, identifying and requesting outside assistance, opening and staffing emergency shelters, tracking costs, coordinating the restoration of roads, bridges, water and sewer and emergency services.

Training of City and Police staff and volunteers is well underway, with training programs scheduled almost daily. An orientation to the Emergency Operations Centre, its operations and systems is being provided even to those City staff who have not been assigned a role at the Emergency Operations Centre so they understand the concept and have a context for their own emergency functions. Information is being entered into the systems supporting the Emergency Operations Centre (like call-out lists and equipment lists) so that the systems are ready to use. In addition the main response departments have updated their departmental emergency plans so that each department has a clear plan of what its role will be in the first few days following a major emergency.

The Emergency Operations Centre within the E-Comm building cost about $10.4 million, including land and supporting communications systems. Of this amount, $6.6 million was

provided by the Federal and Provincial governments through the B.C. infrastructure program.
This purpose built facility is a major enhancement to the City's emergency preparedness capability. It's performance is further enhanced by its proximity to the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre and the Provincial Emergency Program Regional Office.

Regional Emergency Coordination Centre & Provincial Emergency Program Office

The Regional Emergency Coordination is adjacent to the Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre on the main floor of the E-Comm building. It consists of twenty-five work stations supported by the same technology and equipment supporting the Vancouver Emergency Operations Centre (ie. emergency management information software, E-mail, telephone, radio, satellite, amateur radio, large screen displays etc.) In an emergency representatives of utilities, municipalities, hospitals, ports, transportation agencies, emergency services, and the Provincial Emergency program will report to the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre. Their primary role is to consolidate information about the emergency, the status of each others' services and the availability of resources and to relay that information to their respective Emergency Operations Centres. The Provincial Emergency Program representative will facilitate the operation of the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre and would make decisions from a Provincial perspective, as required. The adjacent Regional Office for the Provincial Emergency Program can be used to accommodate provincial ministry representatives, as required, depending on the nature of the emergency. If the emergency escalates to major disaster the Provincial Emergency Program would eventually activate a Provincial Field Response Centre and would maintain liaison with the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre.

The City of Vancouver representative in the Regional Emergency Coordination Centre will be able to provide those in the Emergency Operations Centre with current information on the status of Utilities, Hospitals, Railways, and Provincial resources. This information will be valuable to the City in directing its response and will also be valuable information for the public. Through its Regional Emergency Coordination Centre representative the City will quickly be able to make its needs known and to coordinate outside assistance.

CONCLUSION

E-Comm is well on its way to becoming a fully operational entity providing integrated communications services to emergency services. The combination of the new radio system, new 9-1-1 dispatch service, consolidated Police records system, and new Emergency Operations Centre in conjunction with the features of the E-Comm building constitute a significant enhancement to public safety in this region.

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