CAD ANS now live

HUNTINGTON, Ala.--The City of Richmond's pilot External Alarm Interface Exchange project, which in 2008 underwent vetting by APCO and in 2009 became an American National Standard, has been put into action.

Richmond and geospatial software provider Intergraph, through its Security, Government & Infrastructure division, on June 16 announced they are the first to take advantage of the ANS and automate the transmission of alarm signals directly to a PSAP's CAD system.

Bill Hobgood, project manager, Public Safety Team for Richmond's IT department, said adoption of the CAD ANS will save time and lives. “If we can reduce the processing time ... by three minutes, then that equates to a three-minute reduction in response times … And three minutes, as you know, will make a big difference between whether someone lives or dies,” Hobgood said, noting  outreach to cities like Houston, Scottsdale, Ariz., and San Jose, Calif., has been met with interest.

Intergraph SG&I VP Larry Helms feels the standard will reduce the need for error correction. “You have the normal problems with a human being understanding another human being in terms of accents, words that are used, misunderstandings that take place,” Helms said. “Since this is a bidirectional interface, what you have now is the ability to communicate these things electronically, so ... they get the right information right the first time.”

Pam Petrow, COO of Vector Security, a key player in the pilot program, agreed adoption of CAD ANS would benefit all. “In an emergency situation, time is critical,” Petrow said in an email interview. “This standard provides the framework by which we can utilize proven technology to provide faster and more accurate data to better serve the community.”