Kingsport GIS employees honored for achieving rare 100 percent accuracy on 911 database
KINGSPORT – Kingsports Geographic Information System, which provides digital mapping and addressing that supports the 911 Emergency Communications system, has achieved a 100 percent accuracy rate on its caller identification system, a mark which only three of 100 districts in Tennessee has achieved.
As a result of the effort, both the Kingsport Emergency Communications District and Mayor Dennis Phillips have honored GIS Manager Jake White and GIS Analyst Bunny Campbell with commendations.
This is one of the many critical areas where our City employees perform above and beyond expectations, and I find it appropriate that the Board of Mayor and Aldermen take a moment to recognize Jake and Bunny, as well as the many outstanding employees of the City, Phillips said Thursday after hosting White and Campbell for lunch. The Board and the City deeply appreciate the fact that many of our employees go above and beyond the call of duty every single day.
Tennessee is moving rapidly to meet Next Generation 9-1-1 standards, moving from an analog system to a fully digital system that interfaces with the plethora of modern digital technologies, increasing the flexibility and effectiveness of emergency communication systems.
Tennessee is a national leader in 911, and we are under taking a project to modernize the entire states 911 infrastructure, said Lynn Questell, Executive Director of the Tennessee Emergency Communications Board. As part of that effort we are creating a state-wide, uniform GIS mapping system that all 911 districts will have access to.
Obviously, mapping and addressing is an ongoing process that is always evolving, but we maintain a statewide goal of getting everyone up to 98 percent accuracy. Kingsports staff has gone above and beyond that with 100 percent accuracy, which is fantastic, and shows a serious effort on your Citys part to serve the people.
The state and local efforts dovetail with Next Generation 9-1-1 criteria designed to create flexible and interconnected 911 call centers. With interconnectivity, overflow 911 calls can be re-routed to neighboring jurisdictions as they assist in responding in times of major emergencies or catastrophe.
In addition, the interconnected system allows those at the state level to provide accurate data and plotting as the state directs its resources to respond to major emergency events, such as tornadoes or flooding.
Further, NG911 will eventually grow to accept advanced information from citizens, including video, photos and text messages, although the system is not yet to that point. In addition, NG 911 will eventually interconnect with private services, such as telematics providers, to handle automatic crash notification, while even being able to provide medical information and re-route calls to provide for those with language barriers.
NG 911 is already providing advances as the older analog 911 system could only provide general location information for those calling from a cell phone.
Today, much more precise caller location information is available, thanks to the digital plotting of road center-lines, current residential and commercial addressing information and other data provided by GIS, according to Lt. Jerry Mowl, Kingsport Police Department Communications Manager and Executive Director of the Kingsport Emergency Communications District.
It doesnt mean wireless location will always work, but this generally gets us much closer to a callers location, Mowl said. Jake and Bunny worked tirelessly to get us up and past the standard desired by the state. They generally know if there is an issue before I do, and are already working on it. They understand how important this is and really stay on top of it. Their group is just wonderful to work with.