Class Sessions in Chronological Order
Wednesday February 29
10:00 – 11:00 Joint Session APCO Town hall Meeting, APCO International Executive Committee
The current executive committee will discuss APCOs goals, direction and priorities. They will discuss public safety challenges, such as NG9-1-1, interoperability and staff retention. There will be a Question and answer opportunity.
11:00 – 2:00 Exhibition Floor Opening
Brown bag luncheon and exclusive vendor floor access.
1:00 – 2:00 Joint Session Update from the Alaskan Director of the Office of Emergency services, Bruce Richter and The Alaska Statewide Interoperability Coordinator, Leon Morgan
2:15 – 3:15 Joint Session Panel Discussion on LTE (Long Tern Evolution) – Paul Fitzgerald, Rohit Bhanot, and Terry Hall
LTE promises great leaps in technology in the near future. Learn what LTE is, what the future holds and when we can expect to see the technology deployed for Public Safety.
3:30-4:30 Front Line Officer Safety and the Telecommunicator , SGT Odean Hall
Public Safety Dispatchers play a vital role in the emergency response chain and often serve as a lifeline to emergency responders. Sgt Odean Hall will discuss a dispatcher’s role in improving officer safety. His presentation includes powerful video and audio footage compiled to educate telecommunicators about the risks involved in law enforcement and their own roles in improving responder safety.
3:30-4:30 General Telecomm National Public Safety Telecommunications Council (NPSTC) Current Events – David Buchanan
NPSTC’s spectrum committee chairman will update the attendees on events that will impact their communications, and inform them of actions being taken on a national level. Discussions will include: NPSTC’s future spectrum requirements report, and update on broadband activities and technical work being conducted. Aerial deployable equipment under discussion at the FCC, intrinsically safe radios, and USGPS/Light squared concerns will also be covered.
3:30-4:30 Special Interest Testing P25 Radios - Bill Nichols
The P25 protocol requires a different approach to testing. In this session the protocol will be explained and the differences in the parameters and specifications for testing and troubleshooting P25 systems.
3:30-4:30 Supervision The Road to State Certification – Panel Discussion Christine Hodges, Cindra Dunaway, Ricky Rowell
This discussion will entail the road to PST certification, with its start rooted in Florida APCO, to the story Denise Amber Lee and the creation of the Denise Amber Lee Foundation and ending with mandatory statewide certification for all 911 professionals in Florida.
3:30-4:30 Technical New FCC Rules for Signal Boosters and How They Apply To You – Jack Daniel
The acceptance and use of signal boosters is very rapidly occurring everywhere. The FCC is preparing to release new rules for signal boosters in the next few months. There will be dramatic changes. Nationwide specifications and codes are also new influences and with be outlined.
Thursday March 1
9:15-10:15 Front Line The Missing Kids and 911 Readiness Project, Ricky Rowell
Public Safety Telecommunicators are the first responders for cases of missing, abducted, and sexually exploited children. Decisions made in screening calls, providing advice to parents, collecting information for patrol officers, and NCIC entry all contribute to the swift recovery of missing children. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) provides educational materials, technical assistance, and training to help 9-1-1 Call Centers effectively respond to reports or missing and/or sexually exploited children.
9:15-10:15 General Telecomm Communications Planning for the First 4 Hours Following a Disaster, Julie Stinson and Joe Quickel
Significant investments have been made to train Communications Unit Leaders (COMLs) and other ICS-based communications positions to respond to major incidents. However, the reality is that the Dispatcher is the COML from the time an emergency begins and as it escalates to a larger event over the first 4 hours. This session will provide an overview of the tools, techniques and processes for developing scenario-based communications plans that address the highest impact, most likely scenarios during the first 4 hours and the role of the Dispatcher in creating these plans. Attendees will receive: An understanding of the challenges and need for mutli-agency deliberative communications planning across all levels of government. The role the Dispatcher plays in this planning process. An overview of processes, tools and techniques that can be used to facilitate the deliberative communications planning process will be discussed.
9:15-10:15 Special Interest Getting NG911 Right: Next Generation Incident Recording and Quality Assurance Best Practices – Jeff Visger
Momentum is building and PSAPs worldwide are working on migration plans and budgets effectively transition of their emergency communications processes and technologies to New Generation 9-1-1 (NG 9-1-1) standards. With the roll-out of new NG 9-1-1 initiatives, emergency communications are being held to higher standards and subjected to more scrutiny than ever before. Will your recording, case evidence management and quality control measure up? Attend the interactive training session to learn how to: Prepare for Recording from Wide Range of Communication Channels, Centralize your Multimedia Incident Information Management, Guard the Security of your Case Evidence, Formalize your Quality Assurance and Coaching Program. Attendees are guaranteed to learn about: Defined standards, best practices and available technology options for NG9-1-1 ready recording and management of case evidence across multimedia channels, new security challenges and solutions for individual as well as consolidated multi-location communication centers, how to implement and effective quality assurance program to get better insights in less time and meet the latest APCO/NENA standards.
9:15-10:15 Supervision Verbal Judo - Effectively Dealing with Confrontational People - Greg Russell
Verbal Judo is a tactical communication training course, teaching principles and tactics to enable practitioners to use "Presence and Words" to calm difficult people who may be under severe emotional or other influences, redirect the behavior of hostile people, diffuse potentially dangerous situations, perform professionally under all conditions, and achieve the desired outcome in the encounter.
NOTE: This class runs from 0900am to 1200pm. The course is certified by the Alaska Police Standards Council, and qualifies for continuing education training.
09:15-10:15 Technical P25 Standard – Basics and Overview - Ben Pearce
The course will cover all aspects of the current P25 Phase 1 standard, including the 7 key interfaces, analog to digital transition, Phase 2 updates, how P25 works, common non-standard issues and pitfalls every agency needs to be aware of when buying a new P25 product.
10:30 – 11:30 Front Line Emergency communications: the bridge between mental health consumers and CIT first responders, Wendi Shackleford, Anchorage Police Dept.
Emergency Communicators are a vital link between citizens requesting police assistance with mental-health related circumstances and the Crisis Intervention Program (CIT) officers who respond to the calls. There are several ways fully-trained CIT communications personnel can be a “better bridge” between the consumer and the police officer. CIT call takers can identify cues that indicate a higher degree of danger for officers. They have more specific techniques and strategies for “de-escalating” a consumer in crisis. They are better able to prepare consumers, and consumers’ families and friends, for officer contact. This provides better continuity of service and better overall service to the community.
10:30-11:30 General Telecomm 9-1-1 CallTakers/Dispatchers … it all begins with You! Steve Souder and Kimberly Burdick
The need for and importance of training, certification, recognition and awareness of the public safety communicators vital role in the delivery of public safety services as part of the public safety first responder community.
10:30-11:30 Special Interest Satellite Backhaul – the growing choice of many mission critical networks in operation today - Greg Heifner
For operations that are mission critical in remote locations and need voice/video and data for emergency responders, quite often the best (and only) choice for network backhaul is satellite technology. ODN Inc will discuss seamless implementation of the first ever mesh satellite technology custom-designed for LMR networks in operation today, a T1 Link Protection system intended to solve T1-based system risks, current applications in use today (LADPS, St of IL, Hennepin Co MN, MDOT, others), and much more.
10:30-11:30 Technical Deployable Tactical Communication Solution Design – Ben Pearce
The course will cover all aspects an agency must consider when designing a deployable communication system such as a tactical repeater or deployable trunked system. This will include fundamental aspects of RF communications and how these affect the various choices available to a responding agency and their deployable system. A variety of example scenarios and their appropriate solutions will be examined to give students firsthand knowledge in addressing the wide range of issues that are faced by first-responders in areas poorly covered by their fixed infrastructure.
2:00-3:00 Front Line Stress: The By-Product of Life, James Ferguson
We all have a perception of stress and we all deal with it in our own way. This presentation brings focus to three common stress disorders. Burnout, Critical Incident Stress, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Recognition of the different disorders and their signs and symptoms will be discussed. When it comes to stress an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Common personal care will be discussed to best prevent stress from hitting and sticking. Some easy methods for self reflection and positive thinking will be discussed. Early recognition of stress and how the individual and the employer can best address the problem will be discussed.
2:00-3:00 General Telecomm Expanding the Emergency Communication Center – Designing for Growth and Change – Michael Smith
Due to the limited and sporadic nature of funding for public safety facilities we need to look ahead to how our facilities will change over time. Properly designed facilities can make possible the inclusion of other communities and future population growth that we may not be able to build for initially. This presentation will identify strategies to use and pitfalls to avoid in designing an Emergency Communications Center for growth and change. Areas covered will include: Need vs. Want; Form vs. Function (or Architects are rumored to have big egos); Site Utilities; Internal Expansion vs. External Expansion; Hardening vs. Expandability; Electrical; Low Voltage Systems; Mechanical Systems; Plumbing Fixtures; Summary; Question and Answer Period.
2:00-3:00 Special Interest LTE for Public Safety – Rohit Bhanot
The presentation would cover the emergence of 4G LTE as the next critical technology for Public Safety. In addition to covering the general LTE features , the presentation will also touch on the overall transformation that LTE will help influence when it comes to networks, services, devices, unified management and communications with respect to Public Safety.
2:00-3:00 Supervision ADA Requirements: A Guide for Public Safety Supervisor and Managers – Cheryl Greathouse and Nancy Botts
This session is designed to highlight the Title II requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) of 1990 and how they specifically impact 9-1-1 and PSAP operations, training and policy. The presentation is interactive and includes updated information from the ADA Amendments Act of 2008 which are all required for compliance with this important federal law.
2:00-3:00 Technical Choosing the right RF Interconnects for In-Building and Wireless Markets - Tony Fedor
A presentation will be made on the proper choices and considerations when using coaxial cables to interconnect wireless systems. Many factors must be considered both electrically as well as mechanically to insure proper performance of RF systems. Coaxial cables, connectors and the proper use of tooling will all be discussed. A brief overview of lightning protection products will also be discussed.
3:15-4:15 Front Line CISM for Dispatchers, Cindra Dunaway
Stress is an unavoidable evil in the Public Safety field, and at times may after a critical incident become unmanageable. The PST will learn how to successfully recognize and manage accumulative stress, as well as where to turn for assistance in order to promote a mentally healthy public safety community.
3:15-4:15 General Telecomm True P25 Interoperability: From Open Standard to Open Solution – Scott Skibness
This session will provide an overview of the current state of P25 interoperability. Firstly, the session will review the relevant P25 standards, interfaces and certification bodies and regimes. Secondly, the session will address implications for decision makers: interoperability is about more than just open standards. Review reasons why sometimes different manufacturers’ equipment does not work on a P25 system, and the issues encountered in implementing a multi-vendor P25 network. ISSI, CSSI, DFSI, NIST and FIPS will be discussed as examples. The significance of the P25 Compliance Assessment Program (P25 CAP) will be explained as an example of how the industry is addressing interoperability issues. Finally we will discuss practical gains and experience from agencies that have sourced terminals from multiple vendors. The attendee will learn how some P25 state-wide radio users purchasing from multiple vendors are saving up to 40% compared to those using single vendors, to understand why the Compliance Assessment Program matters to them, and why some P25 equipment still does not work with other manufacturer’s equipment.
3:15-4:15 Special Interest ASAP to the PSAP: Reducing 9-1-1 Processing Time by Minutes for Alarm Notifications between Alarm Monitoring Companies & 9-1-1 PSAPs - Bill Hobgood
Momentum continues to build following the successful implementation of the Automated Secure Alarm Protocol (ASAP) in Houston, Texas in 2011. Nlets, the CSAA and APCO joined forces to implement an ANSI-approved standard, proven to reduce 9-1-1 processing times and response times, and eliminate mistakes, miscommunications, and telephone calls between alarm monitoring companies and PSAPs. ASAP offers a likelihood of increased law enforcement apprehensions, fires more quickly extinguished, and more lives saved. A new CSAA Message Broker server will streamline the connectivity of hundreds of alarm monitoring companies offering the opportunity for additional PSAP participation. Phase II will offer video confirmation.
3:15-4:15 Supervision Public Safety Grants – Evan Halperin
This session will discuss public safety grants, specifically federal and state and local. The presentation will provide an overview of the process of grant submissions as well as tips, tricks and other suggestions as part of the process. Grants specific to those states in the Western Region will be focused on.
3:15-4:15 Technical Multicouplers and Combiners – What the Technician needs to Know, Minfei Leng
This course is an overview of best practices when designing filter products for two way radio communications public safety applications.
Friday March 2
9:15-10:15 Front Line Dispatch Danger Zones, Cheryl Greathouse and Nancy Botts
This interactive session presents information to telecommunicators about dispatch danger zones which affect calltakers and dispatchers and which could lead to serious errors in the PSAP. We will discuss solutions and tips and tricks to avoid falling victim to these very realistic and sometimes dangerous mistakes.
9:15-10:15 General Telecomm APSIN – Lisa Purinton
The Alaska Public Safety Information Network (APSIN) serves federal, state and local law enforcement agencies across the state by providing access to state and federal law enforcement resources such as NCIC (National Crime Information Center), NLETS (National Law enforcement Telecommunications System), III (Interstate Identification Index), and others. APSIN also serves the Alaska law enforcement community by acting as a central repository for Alaska criminal histories, wanted persons, stolen items, missing persons, protective orders, person and address information, and others. APSIN also provides the law enforcement community with seamless direct access to information maintained by the Alaska Division of Motor Vehicles such as driving records and license and registration information. The core of APSIN services are designed to serve the federal, state and local law enforcement communities by providing a data repository and timely law enforcement information to the officer "on the street."
9:15-10:15 Special Interest Operational Continuity: Contingency Planning for Extreme Situations - Brian Davenport
Be prepared when the worst happens. You can’t schedule a natural disaster but you can prepare.
9:15-10:15 Supervision LTE Backhaul Options – TBA
Technology is changing faster too fast for Public Safety budgets to keep up with. Backhaul equipment needs to be flexible to keep up with new technologies for years to come.
9:15-10:15 Technical Planning for Your System’s Radio Coverage with Digital - Scott Skibness
Addressing radio coverage issues should be seen as a high priority in helping to improve communications, and the confidence and safety of first responders. The replacement of a trusted analog system by digital modulation system presents many unique considerations for radio communication system engineers. During and after the upgrade, various system elements will also be changing, making historical performance base lines hard to depend on. This session will offer an insight into digital modulation analysis techniques and their application to coverage planning. It will include real audio extracts and direct comparisons to analog systems. In particular, this session will illustrate how simulcast technology can be used to address coverage issues while still providing reliable communications. Participants will learn that the good news for those considering well-designed narrowband digital modulation schemes is that RF site planning, while requiring slightly different analysis approaches, will deliver quality coverage.
10:30-11:30 Front Line Customer Service – Shedding a Positive Light on Your Agency, Cindra Dunaway
The presentation defines our customers, what they need from us, how to provide customers service with a positive attitude, how to keep that positive attitude. We will learn the reasons for poor customer service and ways to develop and keep a positive attitude so that we may put our best foot forward and shed a positive light on our agency.
10:30-11:30 General Telecomm Planning the future of 9-1-1 in Alaska – John Rockwell
Today, many rural communities lack access to 9-1-1 and other emergency services, in this session we will address these and other 9-1-1 related issues.
10:30-11:30 Special Interest Locating Callers and Increasing Situational Awareness with Oblique Aerial Imagery - Russ Michel & Scott Sherwood
This
session will present the concepts of oblique imagery and will show several
examples of how it helps to locate wireless callers, resolve confusion over
call locations and increase situational awareness for first responders.
10:30-11:30 Supervision Training Marksmanship; Does Your Training Hit the Target? – Cheryl Greathouse and Nancy Botts
This interactive session is designed to facilitate discussion among trainers about designing and delivering training which promotes higher levels of critical thinking skills for 9-1-1 personnel. Some trainers believe that when a trainee fails, it is because of lack of initiative with the trainee. What if the issue is not with the trainee but rather with the trainer or training program design? This session will provide trainers with tips for improving their training programs and improving trainee performance through enhanced critical-thinking skills as a result of training.
10:30-11:30 Technical Recruitment and Retention of Communications Technicians – Doug Roberts
Advancements in technology has enabled today’s public safety professional to deal with and ever changing and complex world. From mobile data devices to multi-band radios, public safety professionals now have high=technology tools that were only a dream jest a couple of years ago. With high technology tools comes the need to maintain them, which requires highly skilled professionals with the right education and skill sets. In this presentation, we will discuss some of the challenges facing public agencies in the recruitment and retention process as well as identify some practical methods for screening applicants.
1:00-2:00 Front Line Leveraging the Computer in Your Hand – Fighting Crime with Broadband and Smartphone Applications, Mel Samples, AT&T
Criminals make full use of cell phones to run their business. Law enforcement agencies continue to deploy crime fighting applications securely on iPhones, Android Phones, and Tablets. This informative session surveys the use of mobile tools in public safety, pre-packaged solutions and devices, and example deployments by various agencies. The session is rounded out with a discussion of best practices for planning and selecting secure, relevant solutions.
1:00-2:00 General Interest Satellite Communication for Public Safety First Responders – Rich Nowakowski
The criticality of communications is never greater than during a response to public safety emergencies. This presentation will showcase the effective use of Satellite Communications in the event of a loss of terrestrial radio systems. The susceptibility of terrestrial communications to man-made or natural disasters begs the need for public safety agencies to implement backup communications in the event that their main terrestrial systems become compromised. The lack of ubiquitous coverage in rural areas creates a requirement for alternative technologies that provide a reliable and cost effective means to provide communications to rural areas, while at the same time, ensuring that they are interoperable with the existing terrestrial systems.
1:00-2:00 Special Interest The Communications Center of the Future – New Technology Trends, Juan Martinez
Every day, your public safety operations are under increasing pressure, not only to respond, but also to proactively detect and prevent incidents. Uncompromising demands and information-sharing needs require you to think beyond traditional partitioned and disparate applications. To achieve greater information access, accuracy and sharing, you need a next generation solution that breaks down the barriers that prevent the flow of information to those who need it most. This session will cover how you can transform your operations and provide you with one, real-time operational view to help maximize first responder and citizen safety.
1:00-2:00 Supervision Motivational Leadership – Christine Hodges
Motivational Leadership will draw a line in the sand between being good and being great! Learn leadership styles and skills while understanding how to motivate your personnel to achieve success. Learn team concepts, understand strengths and weaknesses. A leader is only as good as the people he leads. Be the leader your people are looking for.
1:00-2:00 Technical Planning for NextGen 9-1-1, and Other Threats to Your Career – Curt Ghormley
This is a look at the plan, the process and the pitfalls of moving from concept to implementation with a regional or statewide Next Generation 9-1-1 network. With a practical emphasis on identifying unexpected deal-killers, this is a real-world view of roadblocks and how to clear them.
2:15-3:15 Front Line Radio Training for Real World Situations, Heather Handyside, John Brooks, Don Shumate
Though many agencies have purchased new radios units, expensive new systems to support them, and state-of-the-art command vans to increase interoperability, the most often neglected and missed necessities is training. What good is the latest and greatest portable radio if the user does not know how to change zones or how activate other key features such as direct operation? During the 2003 Southern California wildfires, San Diego County learned a tough lesson as responders on the regional radio system found it difficult to perform tasks that required coordinated communication among agencies. When San Diego County faced another firestorm in 2007, radio users were better equipped to utilize their radios due to field user and dispatch training efforts, restructured fleetmaps and standardized radio feature sets. During this training, participants will learn from San Diego County's example and find out what they were able to accomplish through coordinated training.
2:15-3:15 General Telecomm Where Have All the Bullies Gone – James Ferguson
We all remember the bullies from our school days but what has happened to them once they enter the workforce. This presentation focuses on identifying what constitutes bullying and how to recognize it in the workplace. What makes a bully a bully? Time will be spent on the impact that bullying has on the employee as well as the employer. Strategies will be discussed to limit or eliminate bullying in the workplace. Attendees will be encouraged to share their stories of bullying with practical advice to reach a resolution. The presentation will be presented in a classroom format. I will need an overhead projector and copies of the power point printed. The attendee will learn to recognition of behaviors that constitute bullying, strategies to deal with bullies in the workplace and learn to understanding the bullies mind set.
2:15-3:15 Special Interest Multiband Radios and the Future of LTE - Daniel Sullivan
Technology will allow easier interoperability with less equipment for the Public Safety Professional.
2:15-3:15 Supervision Console Design and Advanced Planning – Julie Bell
Construction delays, technology integration problems, heat and wire management complications all contribute to a project gone wrong. Applying a 4 Dimensional Approach to con- sole design on the front end of project planning can head off delays that often derail center completions. These simple steps will help identify the close interactions of the facility, the infrastructure and people in the center work flow. The resulting output will aide in designing a command and control console suite which fully integrates people, with technology in the work space, enabling effect and efficient workflow. Executed correctly, the result can translate in to a high return on investment.
2:15-3:15 Technical Planning for Next Generation 911 – Lance Ahern
With NG-911 standards issued by DOT’s Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) program and advanced by the FCC, citizens equipped with smart phones are waiting to send 911 operators rich data that can improve our response. State and local public safety agencies need guidance to grow existing 911 operations to meet public expectations. This presentation will provide attendees who have command, operational management, and budgetary responsibility for Dispatch Centers with guidance on planning to upgrade existing 911 systems to new NG-911 capabilities. We will discuss issues for implementing new NG-911features without getting lost in IT jargon and acronyms and we will offer strategies to support Dispatch Center consolidation within a NG-911 deployment. Finally, guidance for NG-911 procurement and project development will be provided.
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