HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution - 3419 - Contract - Hicks & Ragland Inc - Communication System Evaluation - 07/12/1990DGV:dw
RESOLUTION
Resolution #3419
July 1.2, 1.990
Item #11
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LUBBOCK:
THAT the Mayor of the City of Lubbock BE and is hereby authorized and
directed to execute for and on behalf of the City of Lubbock a Special
Services Contract by and between the City of Lubbock and Hicks & Ragland
Engineering Co., Inc., attached herewith, which shall be spread upon the
minutes of the Council and as spread upon the minutes of this Council shall
constitute and be a part of this Resolution as if fully copied herein in
detail.
Passed by the City Council this
12th day of July , 1990.
�� C . - zytt��
6. C. McM NN, MAYOR
nelte Boyd, city Secre
APPROVE AS T ONTENT:
Bi Payne, irector of Communications
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
U9.nid u. Vandiver, f Irst Asslstan
City Attorney
SPECIAL SERVICES CONTRACT
CITY OF LUBBOCK
COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS ENGINEERING STUDY
SPECIAL SERVICE CONTRACT
AGREEMENT made as of July 12, , 192_Q between
CITY OF LUBBOCK (hereinafter called the "Owner"
and HICKS & RAGLAND ENGINEERING CO.. INC. (hereinafter called the
"Engineer")
NOW, THEREFORE, in consideration of the mutual understanding herein
contained, the parties hereto agree as follows:
ARTICLE I
General
The Engineer shall render diligently and competently the engineering
services described in Article II, upon the terms and conditions herein stated.
ARTICLE II
Services
The Engineer will perform the following services.
In an expeditious manner:
Section 1 - Description of Work
A. Phase I
1. The evaluation of existing telephone facilities, radio systems,
Computer Aided Dispatch software and related elements used for
communications in City operations.
2. To provide recommendations for improvements as required to update
elements of the system, including a breakdown of cost estimates for
the recommendations.
3. It is anticipated that the man-hours required to complete work
required in Phase I are as follows:
CITY OF LUBBOCK
B. Phase II
1. The development of plans, specifications, and bid documents.
2. The radio frequency coordination, application for licensing with the
Federal Communication Commission and related tasks for system
construction, installation, and operations.
3. Assistance with the evaluation of response(s) received from the
request(s) for proposals/quotations distributed for equipment and
services required to update systems.
4. The results of the study in Phase I will further define the scope of
Phase 11.
C. Phase III
1. Inspection of construction, installation, and testing as required to
ensure compliance with the plans, specifications, and bid documents.
2. The results of the study in Phase I will further define the scope of
Phase 111.
RADIO
TELEPHONE
CLERICAL/
CAD
SYSTEM
FACILITIES
DRAFTING
Task 1
Project Initiation & Orientations
8
12
8
8
Task 2
Review Existing System
20
36
24
16
Task 3
Interview City Personnel
16
80
40
16
Task 4
Determine Requirements
24
50
80
16
Task 5
Develop Recommendations
24
72
80
24
Task 6
Define Cost Estimates
8
16
24
48
Task 7
Prepare & Present Report
12
64
40
60
112 hrs.
330 hrs.
296 hrs.
198 hrs.
B. Phase II
1. The development of plans, specifications, and bid documents.
2. The radio frequency coordination, application for licensing with the
Federal Communication Commission and related tasks for system
construction, installation, and operations.
3. Assistance with the evaluation of response(s) received from the
request(s) for proposals/quotations distributed for equipment and
services required to update systems.
4. The results of the study in Phase I will further define the scope of
Phase 11.
C. Phase III
1. Inspection of construction, installation, and testing as required to
ensure compliance with the plans, specifications, and bid documents.
2. The results of the study in Phase I will further define the scope of
Phase 111.
D. Related Issues
1. Provide technical assistance to the City on communication issues as
requested by the City.
Section 2 - Property of Owner
It is agreed, without limiting the generality of the foregoing, that all
drawings, designs, specifications and other incidental engineering work or
materials, furnished by the Engineer hereunder shall be and remain the property
of the Owner.
All services to be rendered hereunder shall be subject to the direction and
approval of the Owner.
ARTICLE III
Compensation
Section 1 - Charges
A. The Owner shall pay the Engineer for services performed as described in
Article II, Section 1, Paragraph A - Phase I A - Lump sum of $87,000 ,
payable in four (4) equal payments of $21,750 , due on September 1,
October 1, November 1, (all in 1990) and upon completion of the study.
B. The Owner shall pay the Engineer for services performed as described in
Article II, Section 1, Paragraph B - Phase II and Paragraph C - Phase III
an amount to be agreed upon at a later date.
C. The Owner shall pay the Engineer for services performed as described in
Article II, Section 1, Paragraph D - Related Issues a sum equal to the
Time and Expense charges of the Engineer. The hourly rates and
expenses which make up the Time and Expense charges of the Engineer
are shown in Table I.
Section 2 - Payments
The sum billed by the Engineer shall be due and payable ten (1) days
after approval by the Owner of the services performed hereunder and the invoice
of the Engineer therefore, including a breakdown of services performed. The
Engineer shall submit monthly invoices to the Owner.
ARTICLE IV
Miscellaneous
Section 1. License: The Engineer shall comply with all applicable statutes
pertaining to engineering and warrants that he possesses License Number 41663
issued to him by the State of Texas on June 30, , 1977.
Section 2. Insurance: The Engineer shall take out and maintain
workmen's compensation insurance, public liability insurance, and automobile
liability insurance as prescribed by the latest revisions of 7 -CFR Part 1788.
Compliance with future revisions of 7 -CFR Part 1788 will be made within 90
days after date of insurance of the revision.
Section 3. Qualified Personnel: The obligations and duties to be
performed by the Engineer under this Agreement shall be performed by persons
qualified to perform such duties efficiently. The Engineer, if the Owner shall so
direct, shall replace any engineer or other person employed by the Engineer in
connection with the work.
Section 4. Terms of Agreement: This Agreement shall become effective
as of the date hereof and shall remain in effect until terminated by either party
giving thirty days notice to the other party of its intention to terminate.
Section 5. Assignment: The obligations of the Engineer under the
Agreement shall not be assigned without the approval of the Owner.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the parties hereto have caused this Agreement to be
duly executed.
City of Lubbock
Owner
BY
C r ..
761C. "Peck' McMinn
EST:
Mayor
)
Secretary
ATTEST:
Assistant Secre ary
HICKS & RAGLAND ENGINEERING CO.. INC.
Engineer
BY
_ AdW4 1'4'4AW-
President
K '5v 15
DATE: June 13, 1990
1. Time Rates.
Job Classification & Employee Name, If Known
Clerical
Drafting (Includes CAD equipment usage)
Technician
Engineer, Sr. Technician
Professional Engineer
Hourly Billing Rate
25
30
50
75
90
2. Expenses: These will include reasonable transportation cost of employees,
cost of prints, mailing, and telephone expenses.
DECEMBER, 1990
'The future belongs to those who prepare for it.
*+ HICKS & RAGLAND Cooppers
ENWEERM CO- M.
&Lybrand`
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CITY OF LUBBOCK
Public Safety and Related Systems Needs Assessment Report
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Page
L EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .. ... ... ........
5
. ....
A.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY ....................... ......
5
B.
MAJOR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS .............
6
C.
EXHIBITS ..... . ........................ .. ......
8
II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION ........... .... .........
11
A.
OBJECTIVES ... ... ........ .... ... ........
11
B.
OUR APPROACH ....
12
C.
REPORT STRUCTURE............ ....... .....
12
III. RADIO COMMUNICATIONS ...... ................ ...
14
A.
CURRENT SYSTEM ENVIRONMENT .................... .
14
1. Communications Environment ......................
14
2. System Costs .......................... ........ .
15
77
3. System Strengths & Weaknesses
16
,...
B.
REQUIREMENTS AND NEEDS ..........................
22
1. Fire Department ..... .............. ...... ...
22
2. Police Department .................................
24
3. Other Departments ...... ........ .... .... .... ... .
26
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1
CITY OF LUBBOCK
Public Safety and Related Systems Needs Assessment Report
TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT)
Page
C.
IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES .......................
27
1.
Overview of Approach ..............................
27
2.
Alternatives Considered .... . ........... .. ... ..
28
3.
Description of Recommended Strategies ... .. .. .. ..
28
D.
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN .. ....... ................ ..
33
1.
Overall System Design .. .............. ............
33
2.
General Hardware Requirements ........................
34
3.
System Software Requirements ..........................
35
4.
Facility Requirements ..............................
35
5.
Staffing, Organization and Training Requirements .............
35
E.
EXPECTED COSTS.... ........... ...............37
1.
Estimated Costs ....................................
37
2.
Key Assumptions ....................... .....
41
F.
EXHIBITS ................. ............. .....
42
IV. COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCH ............................
53
A.
CURRENT ENVIRONMENT ............................
53
1.
System Concerns ...... ... ....... ... ........
54
2.
Observations ....................................
58
3.
Recommendations ... .......... ....... ...........
59
2
3
CITY OF LUBBOCK
Public Safetv and Related Systems Needs. Assessment Report
TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT)
Page
B.
COMPUTER SYSTEM PERFORMANCE AND ABILITY ..........
61
1. Observations .. .. .......... ... ............
61
2. Recommendations . ............
64
.......... . ....
C.
OTHER ISSUES ......................... . .......
65
1. Organization and Operations ..........................
65
2. Administration and Maintenance ........................
66
3. Lubbock County EMS ..............................
67
D.
SUMMARY .......... ............. ...... ..
68
1. Observations . .............. . ......... .....
68
2. Recommendations .. ..... ............... ......
68
E.
EXPECTED COSTS ..................................
70
F.
EXHIBITS ..................... ... ........ ....
71
V. SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITIONS SYSTEMS ....
73
A.
CURRENT SYSTEMS DESCRIPTIONS .....................
73
1. Communications Hardware/Software Configuration and Devises ....
73
2. Communication Costs ............................
75
3. Strengths and Weaknesses .......... ............ ...
75
3
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CITY OF LUBBOCK
Public Safety and Related Svstems Needs Assessment Report
TABLE OF CONTENTS (CONT)
Page
B.
REQUIREMENTS AND NEEDS ... ... . ...... ......
76
1. Water Department ............................
76
2. Lubbock Power and Light .......... ............ ...
77
'�.
3. Traffic Department ...... .......... ......... ....
78
C.
CONCEPTUAL DESIGN ..............................
78
D.
EXPECTED COST .. ... .................. ... ...
80
1. Estimated Cost ........ ................ .....
80
f
E.
EXHIBITS ............. ... ........... ..... .
83
VI. CONSOLIDATION OPPORTUNITIES .........................
88
A.
RADIO COMMUNICATIONS ........ .... ..
88
B.
SCADA COMMUNICATIONS ............. ............
88
C.
INFORMATION SERVICES ............ ..... .......
89
'
D.
MOBILE DATA AND PAGING SYSTEMS ..................
89
GLOSSARY.. ................ ...........
90
,�.
4
I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
A. INTRODUCTION
Hicks & Ragland and Coopers & Lybrand were retained in August, 1990, to
assess the needs for telecommunications services and equipment required to serve
the City of Lubbock, both now and for thenext20 years. At the City's request,
the City's telephone system, station equipment and public network connections
were excluded from the scope of this engineering project. Under the direction of
the City's Communications Department, we have accomplished the following
tasks in behalf of the City of Lubbock: F
- Analyzed the existing two-way radio, Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition systems (SCADA), and Computer -Aided Dispatch (CAD)
systems.
- Interviewed designated staff members of the City departments
recommended by the Communications Department.
Recognized a commonality of needs among many City departments.
- Developed communications requirements based on previous history and
forecasted City growth:
- Analyzed available technology to develop the most cost-effective means
of meeting these requirements.
Developed conceptual system designs utilizing proven technology.
- Developed budgetary cost estimates based on pricing of the conceptual
design by reputable vendors.
- Prepared recommended actions to meet current and future
telecommunication needs of the City of Lubbock.
In support of our major findings and recommendations, a separate binder has
been provided to the Communications Department containing the Summaries of
Interviews, a Summary of Problems and Observations obtained during the
interview process and block diagrams of each of the City's existing two-way
radio systems. Copies of this detailed information are on file in the City's
Communications Department.
B.
MAJOR FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
The City of Lubbock has grown at a rate of approximately 1% annually and is
expected to continue in this growth pattern for some time in the future. To
continue providing necessary City services, an improved telecommunications
network will be required. Fortunately, vast improvements in communications
technology have occurred in recent years, which will allow the city to develop an
improved network without pioneering any new technology.
Without implementing the recommended improvements for telecommunications
services, the following problems are likely to occur:
- Obsolete radios (over 51% of existing) will fail at a more rapid rate,
creating major increases in maintenance cost.
- The already overloaded radio frequencies will become congested to the
point of blockage of radio communications during peak , times or
emergency situations.
- Insufficient radio coverage within buildings will place Police Officers and
Firefighters at greater risk, as the systems continue to age and calls for
service increase.
- Over the next five to ten years, it will cost the City more to operate and
maintain its nine existing radio systems than it will cost to implement a
single new consolidated network with superior capabilities.
Unless the city is able to proactively manage the communications
networks and their cost, it will be extremely difficult to provide essential
services to the citizens of Lubbock on a timely basis..
Currently, the city leases a rnajor portion of its two-way radio and SCADA
networks frorn Southwestern Bell. The leased facilities consist of leased control
circuits that link portions of the various systems together.
The city does not currently have direct control of its communications network or
cost. By relying so heavily on Southwestern Bell, the city is subject to
telephone company equipment outages and tariffed rate increases. Over the next
10 years, the city's leased circuit cost will exceed 2.6 million dollars, excluding
any rate increases that will occur. By implementing a more modern system,
these recurring leased circuit costs can be eliminated entirely.
In summary, degradation to the point of virtual loss of communications capability
to support required City services will occur in the future if remedial actions are
not initiated.
6
The following outlines our findings and .recommendations for the three major
areas studied during our Phase I, Needs Assessment project.
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Through timely approval to initiate Phase II of this program, necessary
telecommunications services and equipment will be available to meet City needs
.�
within the required time frame. The second and third phases of effort includes
detail design of systems, selection of equipment/vendors, contract negotiations,
and implementation of the overall system(s).
We have acquired budgetary cost estimates for the recommended improvements
from appropriate vendors. Total estimated project costs are as follows:
Equipment cost and project
management:
Radio system $5,869,439.00
SCADA system $ 180,036.00
CAD system $ 226,248.00
Total $6,275,723.00
7
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II. BACKGROUND INFORMATION
A. OBJECTIVES
The primary objective of this study was to assess the needs for
telecommunications service and equipment which will be required to serve the
City of Lubbock, Texas, for the next 20 years. In concert with this assessment,
we have developed a profile of existing systems and services, thereby allowing a
comparison of the capabilities of existing facilities to meet forecasted growth
requirements.
The end result is to provide information to the leaders of Lubbock's government
for future planning purposes. In order to improve city and departmental
effectiveness, City officials must have reliable and timely information. This
information can then; serve as a basis for identifying and prioritizing
improvement opportunities within the telecommunications systems which serve
the city of. Lubbock. Accordingly, the immediate objectives of this study were
to:
- Identify and evaluate the city's existing radio systems, data
communications systems, and applications on both a city-wide and
departmental basis.
Evaluate the city's existing Computer -Aided Dispatch system (CAD).
- Identify needed enhancements to existing systems in the areas of Radio
Communications, Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA)
systems, and Computer -Aided Dispatch (CAD).
- Identify those telecommunication areas in which inter -relationships exist
and where compatibility of function is required.
- Develop recommendations for system improvements and an estimate of
costs to implement the program.
These objectives have been accomplished within the time frame specified by the
City of Lubbock. Through utilization of a detailed project work plan and
utilizing a sound approach and methodology for managing this type of project,
we have met the objectives originally set forth by the city's management.
""
11
B. OUR APPROACH
Our approach to this project was divided into three phases,. as suggested by the
City in the original Request for Proposal These were Phase I: In -Depth Needs
Assessment; Phase II: Selection and Procurement of System Enhancements; and
Phase III: System Implementation.
Having completed Phase I, this report contains our findings and
recommendations. This phased approach to your project creates logical
breakpoints to allow management review and utilization of the information
provided to reach informed decisions.
C. REPORT STRUCTURE
As we progressed through the Phase I work effort, we recognized a commonality
of needs among many of the city departments. In an effort to address these
telecommunication needs in the most comprehensive fashion, we have divided
our report structure into three major categories, each of which encompasses the
recognized communities of interest between various City departments.
In addition, we have developed an improvement plan summarizing the
recommendations for improvements and their associated costs.
The three major areas covered within this report are:
- Radio Communications
This section addresses the radio communications requirements for various
City departments. It describes the existing systems and the proposed
methodology and associated cost to improve current functionality and provide
for the future growth of the city radio systems.
- Computer -Aided Dispatch
The findings of Computer -Aided Dispatch used by the Police and Fire
departments are detailed in this section.
- Supervisory Control and Data Application (SCADA) Systems
This section addresses the alarm and control system requirements for the city
Water Department and Lubbock Power and Light. It describes the existing
systems, identifies areas of concern, and provides alternatives to improve
functionality and prepare for future growth.
12
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The details of our findings in each of these major categories combined with a
strategy for implementation of new systems, the conceptual design of the system,
�- and the expected cost for service and equipment, are detailed in the following
pages of this report.
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M. RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
A. CURRENT SYSTEM ENVIRONMENT
i
1. Communications Environment
The City of Lubbock currently operates the following two-way radio
communications systems:
.,
Department Type of System
-Lubbock Police Department 4 Channel UHF Repeater System
,..,
-Lubbock Fire Department 3 Channel UHF Repeater System
-City Administration 1 Channel VHF Repeater System.
•Citibus 2 Channel UHF Repeater System
-Lubbock International Airport 2 Channel VHF Repeater System
-Lubbock Power & Light 1 Channel VHF Repeater System
-Shared System 1 1 Channel VHF Simplex System
- Water Utilities Billing, Collections,
Sales and Service
- . Health/Animal Control
Traffic Signals
- City Garage
-Shared System 2 1 Channel VHF Simplex System
- Building Inspections
- Solid Waste
- Codes Enforcement
- Engineering
- Parks and Recreation
-Streets and Water 1 Channel VHF Simplex System
Each system, with the exception of Citibus, is maintained by the City's own
in-house maintenance facility. The City's Radio Shop is staffed by four
technicians who maintain a wide variety of electronic equipment from radios
*—
to sirens and emergency lighting systems.
The City's radio systems have each evolved over a period of years, some of
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which have been in service for over 20 years. The most recent system
upgrade was conducted by the Fire Department ten years ago.
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Up until 1975, all City radio systems operated in the VHF Hi -Band (150
MHz). At that time, the Police Department installed a new UHF (450 MHz)
communication system. which was followed by the Fire Department's move to
a UHF system in 1980.
The Police and Fire systems are based upon four main tower sites within the
City. One of the four sites is located in each corner of the City as follows:
302 Municipal Drive; 300' city -owned guyed tower
• 3601 S. E. Loop 289; 250' county -owned guyed tower
7828 Slide Road; 300' city -owned guyed tower
• 3918 Clovis Road; 300' DPS -owned guyed tower
A fifth site, used for receiving only, is located on the Water tower at 35th
S treet and Avenue W.
2. System Costs
There are three primary recurring costs associated with these systems. The
first is the cost of actually maintaining the equipment and keeping the
systems in working condition. The Radio Shop tracks these costs and has
provided the following information:
Replacement .
Parts and Shop
Year Equipment Labor Overhead Total
1986 $249,240 $107,402 $112,494 $469,136
1987 $ 65,540 $107,535 $118,037 $291,116
1988 $254,426 $137,354 $125,122 $516,902
1989 $562,884 $126,208 $140,428 $829,520
1990 $265,492 $139,507 $149,355 $544,354
Total five year maintenance cost $2,661,028
The second major recurring cost results from the monthly rental of radio
control circuits from Southwestern Bell. These circuits are used to link the
various nodes of each system together. For example, the linking of a
dispatcher's console at 916 Texas Avenue to a transmitter site located on
Slide Road. Leased circuits are cost effective in small radio systems,
however, as a system grows in complexity, the cost of leased circuits become
prohibitive. In all, the city leases 59 radio control circuits at an annual cost
of approximately $140,000.00 at today's rates. Over the next five years,
these circuits will cost the city over $700,000.00, excluding Southwestern
Bell rate increases.
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The third majorcost results from the monthly rental of pocket pagers from the
local common carriers. Many city departments rely on pocket pagers to contact
field personnel when they are away from their office: Some departments own
their own pagers and paging equipment, others lease pagers from local companies
,., with the monthly cost ranging from $12.00 to $28.00 per unit. In total, the City
currently leases 123 pagers at an annual cost of approximately $26,000.00. Over
the next five years, the City will spend $130,000.00 leasing pagers, assuming no
more pagers are added, and there are no rate increases for the pagers.
3. System Strengths & Weaknesses
System Strengths
'^ Radio Shop
One common strength shared by all of the City's exiting systems is the
"~ City's Radio Shop. The City's four technicians can be summoned for
assistance 24 hours a day, seven days per week. Since the shop is dedicated
to supporting City's networks, it can provide a level of response that would
be difficult for a commercial provider to match.
Diversification of Equipment
Several of the City's radio systems including:
• Police
• Fire
• Citibus
• Streets & Water
have been developed using site diversity, which means that radio equipment
has been located at more than one tower site within the City. This helps
reduce the chance of having a complete system outage due to equipment
failure at any one location. For example, both the Police and Fire systems
operate on several communication channels. In these systems, each of the
four quadrant tower sites supports one repeater, with the exception of the
Clovis Road site which does not include a Fire repeater. By placing
equipment at multiple locations, the Communications Department has reduced
the chance of an outage due to a single point of failure. A block diagram of
each existing radio system appears in Part II, Section F.
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New Dispatch Consoles
r- The Public Safety Communication Center has recently been equipped with
five new Motorola Centracom H dispatch consoles which are supported by an
auxiliary power generator and an uninterruptible power system (U.P.S.).
These new consoles can be fully utilized in any radio system upgrade
undertaken by the City, protecting the City's investment in the new consoles.
Svstem Weaknesses
Over the years, the City of Lubbock's radio communications systems have
evolved much like those in other cities, using techniques and technology
from the past two decades. Vast improvements in both technology and
systems planning have been accomplished in the past five to ten years.. The
City's Communications Department has recognized the need to develop a
consolidated communications plan to address the needs of the departments
both today and in the future.
The weaknesses in the current systems manifest themselves as problems
experienced by the City departments, such as:
• Little or No Interdepartmental Radio Communications
Even though the various city departments are all part of the City
organization, many are unable to communicate with each other by radio
on a routine or emergency basis. For example, the Police and Fire
departments cannot communicate with each other by radio, even though
they both operate UHF (450 MHz) radio systems. Similarly, City Police
cannot communicate with Lubbock International Airport Security by
radio, and . the Fie department cannot communicate with the Water
department. Non -Public Safety agencies such as Streets, Engineering and
Traffic cannot communicate with Fire or Police units unless a dispatcher
sets up a cumbersome patch between the systems.
•
Insufficient Radio Coverage
All departments experience significant "dead" areas within the City where
radio communication to the dispatcher or between vehicles is weak,
garbled, or non-existent. In other cities, there have been recent cases
where Police and Fire personnel have been injured while operating with
less than adequate communications. support. In some of these cases, the
cost of litigation has far exceeded the cost of upgrading the
communication systems.
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• Channel Conoestion
Too many users (radios) attempting to communicate at the same time on
a channel. As a result, they frequently "step on" or override each other's
communications making it difficult to distinguish individual conversations.
Channel congestion actually places Police officers and Fire fighters at
risk since it may prevent them from calling for assistance during an
emergency situation.
The Police Department currently operates four radio channels:
- Channel 1 Patrol Dispatch
Serves the entire City
- Channel 2 Car to Car
Used for special operations
- Channel 3 Secondary Channel
Used for support activities
- Channel 4 TLETS
Used for wants and warrants
record checks
All dispatching for the Police department occurs on Channel 1 which can
become easily overloaded since they dispatch 350 calls for service on a
typical Friday evening.
In other cases, several City departments have to share a single radio channel.
Water utilities, Billing, Collections, Sales, Service, Health/Animal Control,
Traffic Signals and the City's Garage all contend for airtime on their one
shared channel. Similarly, Code Enforcement, Engineering and Parks &
Recreation collectively operate approximately 120 radios on their one
channel.
Hundreds of City employees are wasting time each day waiting on their radio
channel to clear so they can communicate with their office to request
assistance, or their next assignment.
• Lack of Backup Capabilitv
Although several of 'the City's radio systems, have equipment distributed
around the City, there are several critical areas in, which they have little
or no backup capabilities.
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For example, neither the Police or Fire departments have a backup
communications center outside of the 916 Texas facility. If this building
becomes disabled for any reason, fire, tornado, etc., there is no place for
A backu-P communications center must be developed and implemented
It should be pointed out that the old dispatch consoles have been
installed in the Emergency Operations Center (E.O.C.) next to the Police
and Fire communication center. These provide limited capability in the
event of a new console failure. However, they do not provide adequate
backup for a city the size of Lubbock.
In other areas, almost all City radio systems rely heavily on leased
circuits from Southwestern Bell to form a working system. All City
departments cited numerous cases where their radio systems were
disabled due to circuit outages.
Several departments do not have backup base stations or repeaters, which
means that when a failure occurs, their radio system is disabled. The
departments that operate under these conditions include:
- City Administration
- City Garage
- Code Enforcement
Engineering
Health/Animal Control
Parks & Recreation
- Traffic Signals
- Water Utilities Billing, Collections, Sales & Service
Although the Police and Fire departments do have repeaters at several
sites in town, they only operate one repeater channel at each location.
This means that if the Police dispatch repeater at the Municipal Drive
site fails, operation of the other three channels are disrupted since they
now have to handle dispatch traffic.
Some City radio systems have little or no backup electrical power.
When commercial power fails, the sites become inoperative. The Police
and Fire departments have backup power at four of their five tower sites.
,,.. Channel Interference
i
The Airport and the City's two large shared systems experience severe
interference from other users outside of the city. At times, interference
completely blocks a department's ability to communicate with field units
or its dispatcher. Such interference is fairly common in the frequency
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band in which these departments operate (VHF Hi -band).
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• Old or Worn Out Radio Equipment
The City's radio shop has undertaken an annual replacement program in
which it replaces some of the older equipment each year. However, one
half of all city radios are still over ten years old and should be replaced.
• Frequent Equipment Outages
Many of the departments have frequent failures of existing equipment.
Old and outdated equipment is in constant need of repair. Repeaters fail
on a monthly basis.
• ShortaQe of User Equipment
Several City departments have a shortage of radio equipment. For
example:
Lubbock International Airport needs additional radios in the Parking
and Security section.
- Building Maintenance has a shortage of units for supervisors'
vehicles.
- Parks and Recreation has less than 50% of its vehicles equipped with
a two-way radio. Foremen, supervisors and maintenance leaders do
not have portable radios and are out of contact for hours at a time.
- Streets personnel need portable radios when working outside vehicles.
None are available at this time.
- The Police and Fire Departments both have a shortage of radio
equipment.
The City does not currently have a suitably equipped mobile
communications command post for use in tactical or disaster situations.
Such a vehicle would facilitate the on -scene command of City resources
during emergency situations such as a tornado or aircraft disaster. A
mobile command post should be seriously considered as part of the
City's communications system upgrade.
OU
• Insufflcient Security at Tower Sites
Several of the tower sites used by the City are not fenced to prevent
climbing or. vandalism. The Slide Road site, in particular, represents a
considerable liability for the City. The 300' tower is located next to
Irons Jr. High School, where students can freely climb on it. Also, one
of the guy anchors that supports the tower is only a few feet from Slide
road, but is not protected in any way from an auto impact. Loss of this
anchor would allow the 300' tower to fall on the school parking lot.
Vandals armed with a bolt cutter or hacksaw could easily disable critical
City radio communications by cutting a tower guy wire or the coaxial
antenna cables.
• Outdated Equipment Shelters
The City's communication equipment shelters are of lightweight metal
construction and do not include an ice shield to protect the roof or
coaxial cables from falling objects such as a technician's tools or ice.
Ice falling from a 300' tower can penetrate the metal roof and do
considerable damage to radio equipment and personnel. None of the
shelters have any fire detection or suppression devices. Only one shelter
had a working air conditioner operating., During the summer months, the
other shelters are very hot and humid. In all cases, the shelters exposed
the radio equipment inside to extreme amounts of dust and dirt. Most
are leaking rain water.
Two of the tower sites supporting the Police and Fire systems, Clovis
Road and S. E. Loop 289, have numerous bullet holes through the
equipment shelters. Fortunately, none of the Police and Fire equipment
has been damaged yet.
• Insufficient Grounding and Lack of Surge Suppression faidmen
Insufficient grounding of towers, guy cables, shelters and coaxial cables
connecting antennas, exists at virtually every site. As a result, some of
the equipment has recently been damaged by lightning at the DPS tower
site.
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No surge suppressors have been installed on coaxial antenna cables
leading to radio equipment. There are no surge suppressors on the AC
power, the tower lights, or the leased circuits entering the shelters. A
lightning surge on any of these circuits can enter the radio equipment
and do considerable damage to equipment and can endanger the life of
anyone in the shelter. Much advancement has been made in the
development of lightning protection devices in the past five years. The
system upgrade definitely should take advantage of recent improvements
in this area.
B. REQUIREMENTS AND NEEDS
1. Fire Department
k
Improved Interdepartmental Communications
The Lubbock Fire Department (LFD) provides fire suppression for. the City
of Lubbock, covering approximately 104 square miles. It currently handles
approximately 3,600 calls per year. In addition, the department has mutual
aid agreements with all surrounding cities in the County (approximately
seven) and Reese Air Force Base. LFD does not have direct radio contact
with any of the mutual aid partners. Most of these are small departments
dispatched by the county Sheriff's office. In addition, the LFD does not
have radio communications with any of the non -Public Safety city
departments. Only a few Fire radios have the ability to communicate on the
Police channels. The Fire Department needs direct radio communications
with the Police, Lubbock Power & Light, Aviation, Streets and Water
departments at a minimum, and with other city departments, if possible.
Improved Fire Station Alerting
The Fire Department currently operates 15 fire stations, one of which is
located at Lubbock International Airport. This station supports two crews,
one for aircraft fires and one for structure fires. The structure crew can
leave the airport, but the crew supporting aircraft fires must remain on site.
Fire station alerting is handled by Southwestern Bell leased circuits, with
AT&T provided equipment. Each Fire station has a leased circuit linking it
with the Fire dispatcher's console at 916 Texas Avenue. The department
also uses this network for other administrative voice traffic. For backup
purposes, each station is also equipped with a GE Porta Mobil II radio with'
AC power supply and two-tone sequential decoder. Although the leased
circuit arrangement has supported the department for a number of years, the
system is old, lacks documentation, and according to the radio shop has been
difficult to maintain and is costly. The Fire Department is currently
spending approximately $1,900.00 per month to lease these facilities from
Southwestern Bell.
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-Fire station alerting can be efficiently accomplished by utilizing a radio
communication network, completely eliminating the need for the leased
circuits. A much more efficient method would be to transmit the dispatch
message including street address, nature of the call, hazardous materials
information, etc., to the station by radio in digital form where it would be
-- received and printed. It is also possible to have the incoming message turn
on the station lights and open the garage doors.
Improved Radio Coverage
There are numerous buildings within the City in which the Fire Department's
handheld radios will not work. The handheld radio is literally a Fire
Fighter's lifeline when inside a burning structure. Improved coverage within
structures is needed. Similarly, the department needs reliable mobile radio
(vehicular radio) coverage throughout Lubbock County to maintain reliable
communications to and from a mutual aid response.
Improved Svstem Reliabili
Like other city radio networks, the Fire system relies on leased circuits to
link the dispatch center with the various tower sites. The department reports
frequent circuit outages which result in the loss of operational capabilities,
such as the ability to communicate in a particular area of the City.
The department suffers a significant number of equipment failures each year.
Additional preventative maintenance is needed to improve equipment
reliability.
Improved System Redundancy
The Fire Department needs a fully operational backup communication center
capable of sustaining Fire dispatch operations for an extended period. The
center should be configured to both receive and dispatch calls for service and
should provide interdepartmental communications capability. The backup
center should be independent and not rely on any equipment within the
primary Fire communication facility.
When equipment failures occur within the Fire Department's fixed network
(repeaters, towers, etc.,), they disrupt Fire operations. Redundant capabilities
should be developed and implemented to allow continued response during
equipment outages.
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Reduced Channel Congestion
The department is finding it increasingly difficult to conduct all of its
business on only three radio channels. Fire Fighters working a fire have a
real need for local on -scene or "fireground" communications. The
department frequently works simultaneous fires in various parts of the City
which heavily tax the capabilities of the current system.
Mobile Data Terminals (MDT's
Mobile Data Terminals (in -vehicle computer terminals) will improve response
capabilities and provide an added margin of safety for Fire personnel. This
is accomplished by providing Fire Fighters direct access to the City's existing
computer-aided dispatch and records management systems. While en -route to
a fire, they could have immediate access to call information such as premise
history, ingress, egress, location of fire hydrants, standpipes and hazardous
materials information.
In addition, the mobile data terminal provides user definable function keys
much like a personal computer. These keys can be programmed to send pre-
defined messages such as en -route to scene, arrived on scene and completed
last assignment, to the Public Safety Communication Center. Messages of
this type are sent over a digital radio channel in a fraction of a -second,
which reduces air time demands on the voice radio system.
Mobile Command Post
The Fire Department should participate in the development and
implementation of a mobile command post.
2. Police Department
The Police Department's four channel UHF radio network shares the same
five tower sites used by the Fire Department. In fact, with the exception of
having one more channel, the Police Department's fixed network, consisting
of towers, repeaters and dispatch consoles, is virtually identical to the Fire
Department's. Consequently, Police experiences many of the same problems
and has similar needs including:
Reduced Channel Congestion
Channel congestion is a real problem on Channel 1 since it handles all
dispatch information. About 10-12 years ago, the department divided the
patrol dispatch area into two sections. The City was divided east and
west at Avenue Q for approximately 6 months. Due to radio equipment
limitations at the time, the change was deemed unsuccessful. Today, if
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dispatch area was divided, the department would prefer a north -south
split at either 19th - or 34th Street. An updated communication system
would support a dual zone dispatch arrangement. The department should
reconsider splitting Dispatch into two zones again.
Improved Radio Coverage
In -building radio coverage " with handheld radios is poor in some areas.
The problem seems to occur in both the talkout and talkback modes.
Coverage on the street is good since the department replaced its 1 watt
handheld radios with 5 watt units.
Additional Radios for Field Personnel
The department experiences a shortage of mobile radios. Provisioning of
radios sometimes lags behind implementation of new personnel.
Improved Svstem Reliability
The system does not have dedicated backup repeaters for use when an
equipment problem occurs. If Channel 1 fails, all traffic from it has to
be moved to one of the other channels, which worsens the channel
congestion problem.
Interdepartmental Communications
The Police Department needs improved interdepartmental radio
communication with other city departments. The County Sheriff's Office
provides law enforcement outside of the city. limits. The City assists the
Sheriff's Office on incidents approximately 3-4 times per week. The
only way City Police units can communicate with Sheriff's units is by
citizens bands radios the officers have purchased for themselves.
A^ Mobile Data Terminals
Although the Police Department has an excellent computer aided dispatch
r-, system, its full capability is not directly available to the officers on the
street. In order to run a records check on a driver's license or vehicle
license, the Police Officer has to switch to the records radio channel and
,.- verbally request. the information from a radio operator in the dispatch
center. The radio operator then has to manually enter the request into
the computer, wait for a response, and then call the officer back and read
the response over the radio. On a Friday evening (3 p.m. 11 p.m.) the
department handles over 350 calls, many of which require records
checking. Because of the backlog of requests that occur, citizens are
r., detained longer than necessary and often times officers are unable to
obtain a response in a reasonable time -frame.
""" 25
A-.
Mobile Data Terminals (MDT's) are in -car computer terminals linked to
the City's CAD system by a radio network. MDT's would. allow officers
?^ to run their own records and warrants checks directly without assistance
from the dispatcher. Several Police units could request and review
information almost simultaneously, which would ensure a timely response,
thus they get needed information before they approach a suspect vehicle.
MDT's also allow police officers to send text messages via the keyboard
to the dispatch center or to other patrol units. Because this information
,... is sent in digital form, it cannot be understood by criminals using a
scanner to monitor the radio channel.
,.., MDT's help reduce response time, improve the number of recovered
stolen vehicles and improve the overall productivity of Public Safety
providers.
Most major Police and Fire Departments have either already implemented
MDT's or are doing so. In Texas, these cities include:
• The City of Midland
• The City of Houston
• The City of Dallas
The City of Arlington
• The City of Fort Worth
• The City of Grand Prairie
• The City of Mesquite
• The City of Richardson
• The City of San Antonio
• The City of Austin
3. Other Departments
The majority of the remaining City departments rely on old outdated systems
that do not meet their needs now and unless significant changes occur, will
have no chance of meeting future demands.
These departments are in need of:
• Reduced channel congestion
• Improved coverage throughout the city
• Improved system reliability
• Interdepartmental communications capability to better coordinate city
resources
• Additional radio equipment
26
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It is often difficult to appreciate how much these old systems actually cost
the City each year in terms of employee productivity. Here is a simple
example:
If on any day, only one out of three of the City's radio users has to wait for
a channel to "clear" before it is available, there are approximately 360
employees waiting. If over an eight hour shift, each person waits a total of
only 10 minutes, this equals 3600 minutes of waiting time per day or 60
manhours each day. If an average hourly cost of $10.00 is used, this
represents a loss of employee productivity amounting to "$600.00 per work
day or $780,000.00 over a five year period. Some departments have stated
that their people wait much of the day for a chance to get "on the air".
There are similar costs associated with each system short fall. The loss in
employee productivity could easily run into the millions of dollars over a
period of five years.
C. IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGIES
1. Overview of Approach
The approach taken in this Needs Assessment has been structured in the
following manner:
The project team members dedicated the first month of the project to the
interviewing of key personnel from the various departments. The purpose of
these interviews was to develop a firsthand working knowledge of City
operations. Written interview summaries were prepared and returned to each
interviewee for approval to ensure that the information recorded was accurate.
With the assistance of the Radio Shop, our staff conducted an on-site
inspection of the City tower sites to help determine the adequacy and
capabilities of existing systems.
With the interviewing process and on-site visits completed and having
developed a strong working knowledge of the "system", the team developed a
block diagram of each radio system and a Problem/Observation Matrix. The
purpose of this document was to outline various problems and department
concerns which had been observed by the project team members. A copy of
this information has been provided to the Communications Department.
�-. 27
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2. Alternatives Considered
Three alternative approaches have been considered:
• Replace aging equipment with new, and add additional UHF and
..
VHF channels to the 9 existing systems, if available.
• Replace aging equipment and move the non -Public Safety
,..
departments to the UHF frequency band with Police and Fire.
• Develop a single consolidated 800 MHz trunked radio system capable
of supporting all City departments.
In order for radio communication systems to be effective, they must meet
three basic criteria:
• The system must be functional and fulfill the needs of the using
departments.
• The system must be expandable for future organizational growth. It
should provide the City with information necessary for management
to make informed decisions. As to when this expansion is necessary.
• The system must be cost effective.
r --
Simply adding channels and replacing old radios does little to address the
systems' fundamental weaknesses such as coverage, lack of interdepartmental
communications, lack of redundancy and high operational cost..
Over the past ten years, advances in communications technology make it
�-
possible to develop and implement a single consolidated radio network
capable of meeting all of the needs of all City departments, both now and in
the future.
3. Description of Recommended Strategies
We recommend that the City develop and implement the following
communications systems:
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• A new consolidated 800 MHz trunked radio system capable of
supporting all city departments, with built in priority for Police and
Fire. Because of a trunked system's modularity and ability to be
easily expanded, the implementation of the system can be
accomplished in two phases. Phase I would include implementation
of the radio system infrastructure and the installation of the Police
and Fire departments. The remainder of the City departments can be
added in Phase II.
• A Public Safety Mobile Data System to support the Police and Fire
departments.
• A city wide RF paging system capable of supporting the paging
needs of all departments.
800 MHz Trunking
The communication needs of a large number of users can be provided for by
efficiently sharing a number of radio channels or trunks. The essence of
trunking is the automatic sharing of a group of communication paths among
a large number of users.
The Bell System has been using trunking techniques for almost 100 years.
When a telephone user establishes a call, he or she is automatically assigned
a channel or trunk for the duration of that call. ' Once the user hangs up, that
same trunk becomes available to other users. The sharing is managed
efficiently and automatically by the switching equipment in the telephone
company Central Office.
Trunking techniques have been successfully applied to dispatch radio
communications. A trunked radio system consists of a common pool of
radio channels that are automatically assigned and managed by a computer.
The system incorporates "frequency agile" or multi -frequency radios with
microprocessor controlled logic circuitry to accomplish channel switching
functions, all of which is totally transparent to the user.
When properly implemented, 800 MHz trunked radio systems can solve
virtually all of the City's two-way radio communications problems at a lower
�- cost than continuing with the existing systems over the next 5 to 10 years.
In addition, they can reduce or eliminate communication related losses in
employee productivity.
Here are some of the benefits and capabilities of this technology:
9
Reduced Channel Congestion
One of the main advantages of a trunked system is its ability to support
more radios per channel than conventional systems like the City currently
uses. Trunked systems are modular and can literally grow with the city
r- since they can support from three to twenty radio channels as needed. A
twenty channel system can support approximately 2000 users, and can
provide faster system access because a Police Officer or Fire Fighter has
access to the entire pool of channels rather than to just three or four
channels as in the current system. The City- currently operates
approximately 1100 two-way radios.
Interdepartmental Communications
A trunked system provides total interdepartmental communication between
City departments. Put simply, any radio user on the system can
communicate directly with any other. This means that the Police
Department can communicate with Fire, Fire can communicate with
Water and so on. The interdepartmental communication barriers are
completely eliminated.
At the same time, however, this capability is under the control of the
system manager in the Public Safety Communication Center. If, under
normal circumstances, the Water Department does not want its personnel
to be able to -listen to Police or Fire business, this capability can be
restricted - by the system manager as desired.
Further, instead of several City departments having to share a single
radio channel, each department can be provided with its own "private"
communications. This means that Water Utilities no longer has to listen
to Traffic Signals' radio traffic and vice versa. Instead of having to
sort through conversations to listen for messages from their dispatcher,
employees can focus their attention on the job at hand.
Here is how this system would work. The various city departments
would be assigned to the trunked system in "Fleets" i.e., the Police
Departmentmightbe Fleet 1, the Fire Department might be Fleet 2, etc.
When a Police Officer keys the microphone, the radio automatically
requests a channel from the central repeater site. One of the available
repeaters is automatically assigned and the rest of the fleet is
automatically switched to that assigned channel. All of this happens in
less than one half second. At that point, normal voice communications
can take place. Radio equipped vehicles in the other city fleets i.e.:
Fleet 2, 3, 4, 5, etc. would not have been switched to the channel
assigned to Fleet 1 and therefore, do not hear their conversation.
Similarly, a fleet can be subdivided into sub -fleets to allow for various
groups within a department. For example, the Police Department Fleet
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could be subdivided into Dispatch Zone 1, Dispatch Zone 2,
Administrative and CID sub -fleets. The Fire fleet could be subdivided
into Fire Dispatch, Fire Group 1, Fire Group 2, Fire Group 3, Inspection
and training. Each subfleet can conduct its radio communications
without having to listen to the other group's traffic. At the same time,
individuals can have access to all fleets or sub -fleets as needed.
Interdepartmental communication can be provided at the touch of a
button.
Improved Reliability and Performance
By developing a more modern system using proven technology, the City
can achieve a simpler, but far superior radio communication system. By
developing a single consolidated system for all City departments, fewer
tower sites are required and the need for leasing radio control circuits
can be eliminated entirely.
System Management Capabilities
A trunked radio system is a computer controlled network. As such,
virtually all traffic data is monitored and saved for review and analysis.
For example, each radio on the system is assigned a unique ID or
number. Each time a user uses the radio, the system logs the air time
used, by user and by department. This allows the system to produce
management reports that show how busy the system has been, is now,
and is likely to, be in the future. Further, it can also show how much of
the system's capacity each City department is actually using. Some cities
use this capability to allocate costs back to the various users.
Since the system individually recognizes each individual radio, it
R^ automatically provides the Police and Fire dispatchers with the name or
unit number of the radio user each time they push the push -to -talk button
on the radio. This feature, called Unit ID, can be a life saver for field
personnel since the dispatcher knows who is calling even if the user is
unable to speak. This also helps eliminate occasional horseplay on the
radio since there is little question of where it came. from. Trunked
r- radios also incorporate an "emergency" button that sends an emergency
alert to the dispatcher if depressed. The emergency message is sent by
the radio until it is acknowledged by the system ensuring that the
�., message was received.
31
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Mobile Data System
With the advent of computer-aided dispatch technology, mobile data
systems have become very popular. Some Fire Departments find them so
helpful that if the MDT fails, they list the entire fire apparatus (truck,
pumper, etc.) out. of service.
In addition to extending the power of the CAD system to field personnel,
a mobile data system can also be used for Fire Station alerting. By
installing a MDT and a printer at each Fire Station, fire calls can be
automatically transmitted to the station by the CAD system and printed
on a printer. Since the mobile data network has a free text capability,
Fire Stations can also send messages to one another or to the Fire
dispatchers.
The MDT system is an acknowledged system, which means the MDT at
the station sends the dispatcher an acknowledgement upon successful
receipt of the message. The City of Arlington is currently using this
type of system.
The MDT alerting system would replace the existing leased fire alerting
network. By eliminating the recurring circuit costs, the MDT approach
would pay for itself in less than three years, and over a period of ten
years, would save the Fire Department approximately $120,000.00. If,
over the 10 year period Southwestern Bell's rates increase, the savings
for the City would be even greater.
32
Within the past five years, many Texas
cities have purchasedand
implemented 800 MHz trunked radio systems because of their ability to
�- provide a superior level of communication
. support. Further, trunking
allows the city to have control of the communication system and its cost.
It provides the tools to proactively manage the communications operation.
a-. The Texas cities who have implemented a
trunked system or currently
have one under development include:
r.. The City of Midland •
The City of Denton
• The City of Dallas •
The City of McKinney
• The City of Houston •
The City of Fort Worth
,., • The City of Corpus Christi •
The City of Lewisville
• The City of Arlington
• The City of Grand Prairie
0 The City of Mesquite
• The City of Plano
• The City of San Antonio
Mobile Data System
With the advent of computer-aided dispatch technology, mobile data
systems have become very popular. Some Fire Departments find them so
helpful that if the MDT fails, they list the entire fire apparatus (truck,
pumper, etc.) out. of service.
In addition to extending the power of the CAD system to field personnel,
a mobile data system can also be used for Fire Station alerting. By
installing a MDT and a printer at each Fire Station, fire calls can be
automatically transmitted to the station by the CAD system and printed
on a printer. Since the mobile data network has a free text capability,
Fire Stations can also send messages to one another or to the Fire
dispatchers.
The MDT system is an acknowledged system, which means the MDT at
the station sends the dispatcher an acknowledgement upon successful
receipt of the message. The City of Arlington is currently using this
type of system.
The MDT alerting system would replace the existing leased fire alerting
network. By eliminating the recurring circuit costs, the MDT approach
would pay for itself in less than three years, and over a period of ten
years, would save the Fire Department approximately $120,000.00. If,
over the 10 year period Southwestern Bell's rates increase, the savings
for the City would be even greater.
32
RF Pang System
By implementing its own dial-up paging system, the city can provide
4 alpha -numeric paging for all city departments. The city currently spends
$26,000.00 per year leasing 126 pagers. The city can implement its own
system for a one time cost of $86,000.00 for 130 pagers. Once again,
the City's system would pay out in less than three years. Over a ten
year period the City can save $159,000.00 by operating its own paging
.— system.
,.., D. CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
1. Overall System Design
800 MHz Trunkin
There are many ways to implement the recommended systems and the actual
detailed system design will occur in Phase II. However, for the purpose of
this Needs Assessment, we have developed a conceptual approach capable of
meeting the City's requirements. A diagram of the conceptual approach
appears in Part 111, Section F. Budgetary pricing has been provided by
vendors. The competitive bidding process may reduce the estimated costs
somewhat.
The conceptual system design incorporates two new repeater sites within the
city. The best approach for the city, would be to develop a main radio site
located near the center of the city and a secondary site which would be
located at 302 Municipal Drive and utilize the City's existing tower facility.
The secondary site would serve as a backup to the main site and would also
facilitate in building communications at Lubbock International Airport. Both
sites would be linked to the primary Public Safety Communication Center by
a City owned microwave or optical fiber systema
In the event that building a new tower in the center of the City is not
feasible, a second approach would allow the use of two of the City's
existing 300 foot towers, at 302 Municipal Drive and 7828 Slide Road.
Under this approach, the two sites would be linked together to operate as a
single system. The two sites would operate on different frequencies,
avoiding the pitfalls and expense of "simulcast" systems. Simulcast systems
consist of multiple sites operating on the same frequency. They require
extremely tight equipment tolerances and would be costly to maintain.
The new system would incorporate an independent backup communications
center for Police, Fire and other departments as required. The location of.
the backup center will be finalized in Phase II.
33
i
r
i
Mobile Data and PaQine Svstems
The Mobile Data and Paging systems' equipment would be co -located with
the trunked equipment at the two selected tower sites. These networks
r-
would share the microwave or optical fiber network to eliminate the need for
leased radio circuits.
The Mobile Data System can be implemented using its own dedicated radio
channel, or it can utilize the trunked system for data transmission. By using
the trunked system, only one radio is required in each vehicle. Currently,
one major vendor prefers the dedicated channel approach, while another
i
prefers using the trunked system to transport data.
2. General Hardware Requirements
The City's improved communication system would require to following basic
hardware:
Phase I (Police and Fire)
'^
163 Trunked Mobile Radios
294 Trunked Handheld Radios
5 Primary Dispatch Consoles
(Note: The 5 existing consoles would become backup consoles)
10 800 MHz trunked repeaters
1 Single hop microwave system
1 Optical fiber link (916 Texas to 302 Municipal)
- 30 Trunked Control Stations
1 Lot of 800 MHz test equipment
07
60 Mobile Data Terminals
1 Mobile Data base station & controller
^^
Phase II (All Other City Departments)
353 Non -Public Safety Trunked Mobile Radios
180 Non -Public Safety Trunked Handheld Radios
35 Trunked Control Stations
90 Desktop remote control units
3 Multichannel desktop dispatch consoles
130 RF Pagers
1 Dial up paging encoder and base station
r
.-�
34
r-
3. System Software Requirements
800 MHz trunked systems are driven by proprietary software developed by
the equipment manufacturers. Three of these manufacturers are Ericsson,
General Electric Mobile Radio, E. F. Johnson and Motorola. Communications
and Electronics. The cost of this software is included in the selling price of
the equipment. Software development by the City of Lubbock will not be
necessary.
In the Mobile Data area, a software interface module that links the CAD
system to the MDT system will be required. This software would be
purchased from and installed by the CAD vendor, Command Data Systems.
The cost of this software is approximately $40,000.00, and has been included
in the costs listed for the CAD system improvements.
4. Facility Requirements
The two main facility requirements for the consolidated trunked system are
the locations of the tower sites and the locations of the primary and backup
Public Safety Communication Centers.
Initial planning suggests that the 916 Texas facility may continue to be the
location of the primary dispatch center. The City's facilities at 1625 13th
Street are under consideration for the backup center.
Phase II of the project will pinpoint the tower site locations and , determine
tower requirements. The budgetary cost estimate does not include the cost of
land required to support a new tower in the center of the City. Initial
planning indicates that such a facility would require a site size of
approximately 650 feet x 650 feet.
5. Staffing, Organization and Training Requirements
The recommended communication system improvements do not require the
City to make any significant staffing or organizational changes.
The City should however, appoint a radio communications system manager to
oversee the operation of the trunked and mobile data systems. Both systems
provide internal diagnostics and management information reporting that will
help the Communications Department manage the system and prevent
problems before they occur. The City's Radio shop personnel can easily
provide the needed resources in this area.
35
r�
As in any new system, there will be some training required in the operation
and maintenance of the new equipment. Field users will find the trunked
,.,
system easy to use. They usually require two, two hour training sessions,
and a few days of actual use to fully utilize the systema
Radio Shop personnel will require more extensive training because the
trunked system operates in a different frequency band and uses different
radios than the existing systems. The required technical training would be
provided by the equipment provider. A typical technician can expect to
spend approximately two months in training.
On the positive side however, the city currently operates many different
I
models of radio equipment purchased from several manufacturers. The radio
shop has to be capable of servicing the various makes and models and at the
same time has to maintain a broad inventory of spare parts.
By implementing a trunked system the Radio shop will be able to improve
and streamline its operations as follows:
r.
• By utilizing a consolidated network, the city will be able to operate in a
single vendor environment eliminating the need to stock parts for several
models of radios from several vendors.
• The city will standardize on two types of radios, a Public Safety radio
�^
used by Police and Fire and a less expensive non -Public Safety radio for
all other City departments. This will allow Radio Shop technicians to
specialize in the installation and repair of a few standardized radios
r
rather than having to keep current on a dozen different models. This
specialization will help the technicians improve their turn around time on
new installations and repairs.
• A single consolidated network will actually be simpler and have fewer
tower sites to maintain than the nine systems currently in use.
d
--
36
E. EXPECTED COSTS
^^
1.
Estimated Costs
LUBBOCK TRUNKED SYSTEM BUDGETARY COST
ESTIMATE
►-
PHASE I - POLICE AND
FIRE ONLY
Unit
Extended
r -Quantity
Equipment Description
Cost
Cost
163
Mobile Radios
$ 2,900
$ 472,700
,..
294
Handheld Radios
$ 2,800
$ 823,200
0
Vehicular Charger/MIC
$ 650
$ 0
30
Vehicular Charger
$ 200
$ 6,000
5
Main dispatch Consoles
$ 20,000
$ 100,000
1
Console Electronics (Redundant)
$115,000
$ 115,000
10
Trunked Repeaters, (5 per site)
$ 13,000
$ 130,000
1
Fire Mutual Aid Base
$ 7,000
$ 7,000
2
800 MHz Antenna -System
$ 40,000
$ 80,000
2
Trunking Controllers
$ 60,000
$ 120,000
1
2 GHz Microwave System
$120,000
$ 120,000
l
Optical Fiber System
$180,000
$ 180,000
4
Surge Suppressors (AC Power)
$ 5,000
$ 20,000
2
Equipment Shelter (12' x 28') Slab, Fence $ 50,000
$ 100,000
3
A/C Generators (40 KW)
$ 20,000
$ 60,000
1
Tower Modifications
$ 60,000
$ 60,000
4
UPS (Consoles & Controllers)
$ 10,000
$ 40,000
1
Backup Site Switching
$ 32,000
$ 32,000
2
Police & Fire backup Consoles
$ 10,000
$ 20,000
20
Bank Chargers (6 Radios/Bank)
$ 450
$ 9,000
!"
50
Single Unit Chargers
$ 100
$ 5,000
294
Spare Batteries
$ 110
$ 32,340
10
Desktop Remote Consoles
$ 1,100
$ 11,000
--•
30
Control Stations (20 Fire, 10 Police)
$ 5,000
$ 150,000
30
Control Station Antenna Systems
$ 200
$ 6,000
1
System Software License
$120,000
$ 120,000
1
WWVB Time Synchronization Receiver
$ 10,000
$ 10,000
1
Multisite/AMSS Computer
$100,000
$ 100,000
2
Battery Analyzers
$ 1,500
$ 3,000
.-
1
Test Equipment (Radio Shop)
$ 75,000
$ 75,000
1
800 MHz Spare Parts
$ 50,000
$ 50,000
...
Est. Equipment/software Cost Phase I
3 057 240
Engineering Cost 10%
$ 305,724
Contingency of 10%
336,297
�.
Installation
250,000
Total Estimated, Cost For Phase I*
$3,949,261
r-
37
r-
38
LUBBOCK TRUNKED SYSTEM BUDGETARY COST ESTIMATE
PHASE II - INSTALL REMAINDER OF CITY ON 800 MHZ SYSTEM
Unit
Extended
Quantity Equipment Description Cost
Cost
10
Trunked Repeaters $ 13,000
$ 130,000
353
Non -Public Safety Mobile Radio $ 1,800
$ 635,400
180
Non -Public Safety Handheld Radio $ 1,800
$ 324,000
180
Spare Batteries $ 110
$ 19,800
104
Vehicular Charger/MIC $ 650
$ 76,600
35
Control Stations, 800 MHz $ 4,400
$ 154,000
3
Multi -Channel Desktop Console $ 1,600
144,000
Estimated Equipment Cost for Phase II
$1, 501,800
Engineering Cost 10%
150,180
Contingency of 10%
165,198
Installation
130,000
Total Estimated Cost For Phase it**
$1,947,178
Total Estimated Cost For Phase I & II, Lubbock
$5,896,439
*Based On Vendor Pricing As Of November, 1990
NOTE: The City's existing radio systems have an
estimated resale value of
$250,000.
38
MOBILE DATA SYSTEM COST ESTIMATE
9M
Unit
Extended
Ouantity
Equipment Description
Cost
Cost
60
Mobile Data Terminals
$
3,500
$ 21.0,000
(30 Police and 30 Fire)
1
Mobile Data Fixed Network
$100,000
$ 100,000
(Controller, Repeater, etc.)
1
CAD Interface Software
(Included in CAD Section)
Estimated Equipment Cost
$ 310,000
Engineering Cost
$ 31,000
Contingency of 10%
$ 34,100
Installation
20,000
Total Estimated MDT Cost
395,100
CITY-WIDE RF PAGING SYSTEM COST ESTIMATE
Unit
Extended
Quantity
Equipment Description
Cost
Cost
130
Display Pagers (450 MHz)
$
300
$ 39,000
1
Paging Transmitter
$
10,000
$ 10,000
1
Dial-up Pager Encoder
$
10,000
$ 10,000
130
Chargers
$
75
$ 9,750
Estimated Equipment Cost
$ 68,750
Engineering Cost
$ 6875
Contingency of 10%
$ 7,563
Installation
2,000
Total Estimated Paging Costs
$ 85,188
9M
ESTIMATED COST OF CONTINUING WITH EXISTING RADIO SYSTEMS
5 Year 10 Year
Maintenance Cost: $3,701,700 $8,611,600
Radio Control Circuit Cost: $ 705,000 $1,420,500
Fire Station Altering Circuit Cost: $ 115,000 $ 230,000
Leased Pager Cost: 130,000 260,000
Total: $4,651,700 $10,522,100
Note: These costs do not reflect the required additions to the existing radio
systems to meet the growth needs for the City.
Paging cost above represents 123 pagers, leased over 5 and 10 year
periods.
40
2. Kev Assumations
A number of assumptions have been made regarding quantities of equipment
for each department. These assumptions are based upon information
provided by the various City Departments. All reasonable efforts have been
made to help ensure that the quantities used are valid.
In the budgetary pricing section, some line items may include a number of
components grouped together in an effort to make the equipment list easier
to read.
For cost comparison purposes, we assumed that, the radio shop cost will
increase at a 5% per year rate, based upon a review of the last 5 years of
operation. Due to the highly competitive nature of the pager market place,
we have assumed that paging costs will only increase at 1% per year. If
pager costs increase at more than 1% per year, it makes the city's case for
developing its own systems even stronger.
41
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n
IV. COMPUTER-AIDED DISPATCH
A. CURRENT ENVIRONMENT
The City of Lubbock has had an automated method of dispatching its public
safety vehicles since 1985, when the current system was obtained through Texas
Logic, a company headquartered in McAllen, Texas. Originally intended to serve
as a court system, the requirement for computer-aided dispatch (CAD) was added
to the system requirements and Texas Logic sub -contracted with Command Data
Systems (COS) of Dublin, California to provide the CAD system
The system was developed to serve both the Police and Fire Departments in the
City of Lubbock. Although the system is capable of also supporting emergency
medical services (EMS) dispatching, this function is provided by the Lubbock
County Hospital District on a manual basis. EMS calls received in the City's
Dispatch Center are immediately transferred to the Hospital District's Public
Safety Answering Point (PSAP) for handling.
The City of Lubbock's public safety and court systems are composed of a
number of modules, including:
- A Police and Fire CAD system operating on a Digital Equipment
Corporation (DEC) VAX 11/780 computer.
A Police Records system operating on a DEC VAX 3600 computer
which shares an Ethernet LAN network with the CAD system.
A Municipal Court system operating on a DEC Micro VAX II computer,
also supported by the Ethernet LAN network.
Lubbock does not operate with a redundant CAD environment, whereby a backup
computer takes over CAD operation if the primary system the. DEC 11/780
malfunctions. Uninterruptible power to the computer systems is currently limited
to 15 minutes to allow for an orderly shutdown of the computer environment in
the event of a lengthy power outage. The City must revert to manual
dispatching during such a prolonged outage because the CAD system is not
supported by the axillary power generator at 916 Texas.
f.., Numerous terminals are attached to the Ethernet LAN for access to the CAD and
Police Records systems, most of which are within the Police Department in the
same building as the Public Safety Communications Center. The City does not
have an established back-up center for CAD operations, although it is considering
an Emergency Operations Center (EOC) in the new City Hall.
53
r-*
Since the system has been operational for five years, the City has had an
opportunity to implement and significantly refine the CAD and Police Records
�- systems. Communications Services now manages the Dispatch Center and
maintains certain functions in the CAD system. The Police Department has
invested significant resources in implementing the Integrated Case Narrative, the
Criminal Investigation, and the Crime Analysis modules of the Records System.
Interfaces to both Southwestern Bell's E911 data bases and to the Texas
Department of Public Safety's TLETS I and TLETS II networks have been
implemented. Extensive refinement of the CAD system's geographic file
(geofile) has been made based on the use of the. City's planning units as defined
by the Planning Department.
In summary, Lubbock operates in a mature environment for automated
dispatching and Police records functions. However, some users have voiced
concerns that should be addressed, including the Lubbock Fire Department, about
CAD functionality, and the Information Services Department about reliability.
1. System Concerns
CAD systems were still in their infancy in 1985, and many system modules
contained operational deficiencies.
An attempt was made to implement Command Data System's Fire
Management Information System (FMIS) during the early stages of the
system. However, the product simply did not work and was withdrawn from
the market by the vendor. It has subsequently been reintroduced, but
Lubbock Fire had invested numerous resources in systems that CDS could
A not satisfactorily provide.
The Fire Department has a number of concerns regarding the functionality of
the CAD system. Most of these concerns center around the following:
• The ability of the CAD system to handle large, multi -alarm fires in a
city of Lubbock's size.
• A deficiency in the CAD system's ability to move up units into selected
fire stations and consider such units available for dispatch.
• A need to have better reporting of fire CAD statistics to the
,.. Department's management.
54
Dispatching Multiple Alarm Fires
The Fire Department requires the CAD system to provide a pre -arranged and
structured response to all fire calls. The Department determined that the.
CAD system in the past could only dispatch up to seven fire units for a
,., single incident. In Lubbock's environment, this will only handle a response
into a second alarm situation. Lubbock has prepared pre -plans for handling
fires of up to six alarms in the City.
To facilitate multi -alarm responses, the Fire Department has prepared
approximately 60 manual response cards for fire response patterns. Like the
geographic file in the CAD system, these response cards are based on
geographical territories in the City. When multiple alarm status is reached in
a fire incident, the Fire dispatcher and each fire station must revert to the
r--
use of the manual response cards due to the deficienncies in the CAD
system.
After reviewing these shortcomings with the system provider, we have found
the following:
The CAD product does have the capability of dispatching up to 7 fire units
per alarm in a single fire incident. However, the Fire Department was not
informed of this capability. The newest version of CAD is being tested in
Oklahoma City and will be generally available for all users in January or
February, 1991. At that time, the CAD system (Version 3.0) will have the
capability of dispatching up to 14 fire units per alarm.
By using a specific table known as the Activity Type table in the CAD
system, multiple alarms may be handled through supplements to a single
incident with a separate Fire Response Card established for each alarm in the
-- response district. Call outs, mutual aid, and special instructions may be
handled in the remarks of each Fire Response Card. There is no limit to the
number of fire alarms for a single incident and all alarms can be linked to
.- the single incident. The Fire department was not notified of the revised
capability for addressing this in the CAD system.
Fire Move -Up Requirements
One of the important features of any modern CAD system is to have
constant knowledge of all unit locations and status so that it can recommend
appropriate resources for specific incidents. The Fire Department determined
that its existing CAD system was deficient in the past in its ability to handle
move -ups, and that it required extensive manual attention to track this
dynamic environment.
55
A-^
r^
Lubbock has mutual aid agreements with New Deal, Abernathy,Idalou,
Buffalo Springs Lake, Slaton, Wolfforth, Shallowater, and Reese AFB. The
r- City may ask for assistance from these departments during a fire, or may
dispatch units to assist these departments if required on very rare occasion.
The CAD system should have the capability of tracking its resources,
regardless of their location.
Since these move -up and mutual aid requirements are not necessarily unique
to Lubbock and are generally required in larger municipalities, we explored
the newest capabilities of the Command Data System, which is now owned
by US West, and found the following:
• Up to 5 units may be moved -up to stations on a single Fire Response
Card. Using separate Activity Type tables for multiple alarm fires, a
total of 30 units may be moved -up for a six alarm fire in the city.
• The CAD system has a move -up command [MU,(unit),(station)] that
allows a Fire Dispatcher to dynamically move -up any assigned unit to
any station. This command is addressed in the current user
documentation.
• Mutual aid districts may be established as a separate response districts in
a different jurisdiction. Unit recommendations and assignments may be
made by establishing Fire Run Cards for these special response districts.
Units dispatched from Lubbock to these mutual aid towns may be
tracked by the CAD system at all times.
7 Fire Management Information
The Fire Department has noted deficiencies in the types of fire incident
.�- information available from the -CAD system. According to the Fire
Department, accurate management information regarding dispatch times and
response times are not readily available on a summary basis except on an
individual incident basis. The CAD system should provide accurate, easily
available management information such as:
r.. Average response times in various parts of the City for Engine
Companies, Truck Companies and District Chiefs.
• Which companies are arriving first in various parts of the City.
• Accurate information regarding the amount of time from receipt of a call
to dispatch, and from dispatch to arrival, and from arrival to time of
control. These need to be accessible for individual runs as well as for
area or City-wide averages.
56
f
After reviewing the CAD system capabilities, we find that the following
reports are currently available:
CF01
Activity by Type/Hour/Day
CF02
Activity by Hour/Day
CF03
Activity by Type/Hour
CF04
Activity by Reporting District/Hour
CF05
Activity by Disposition/Reporting
CF06
District
CF07
Activity by Type/Day
CF08
Response Time Summary
CF09
Daily Summary
CFO10
Incident Number Log
CF0ll
Unit Activity
CF012
Unit Activity by Station
CF013
Unit Activity by Unit
CF014
Assigned Time Summary
CF015
Daily Summary by Type
CFO 17'
Daily Summary by Reporting District
Fire Incidents Responded to by District (Mutual Aid -Outside District):
CFO1R Activity by Hour/Day
CF02R Activity by Type/Hour/Day
CF06R Activity by Type/bay
CF07R Response Time Summary
CF08R Daily Summary
CF13R Assigned Time Summary
CF17R Response Summary by Reporting District
In addition, a Response Time by Dispatcher (CC06) report is available as a
part of the CAD Communications Reports.
Although these reports are available to the Fire Department for use in daily
operations, there are few terminals and printers deployed within the
department to provide access to this information because terminals were
eliminated in the past due to the failure of the CDS FMIS system.
Consequently, much of the data gathering and reporting within the Fire
Department is generated on stand-alone personal computers. PC's allow the
users to generate their information in a manner suitable for their own use, in
tabular or graphical form. Recognizing that free form reports on PC's might
be desirable from a centralized data base of information (the Datatriever
Query Language from DEC for CAD reports and Police Records), US West
Public Safety Group now offers a data analysis and reports package
developed by Cognos, Inc. The product, called Inquisitive, allows a terminal
accessing the data base to view data by "zooming" up and down to graphical
WA
displays, focusing as narrowly or as broadly as the underlying data in the
database permits. However, live data in the CAD and records data base
�- cannot be manipulated by the terminal user. Cognos' Inquisitive is currently
offered and supported by US West Public Safety Group. A newer Cognos
product, PowerPlay, is designed to provide similar capabilities to MS DOS-
based PC users for viewing data and generating ad hoc reports. Although
this product is not currently supported by US West, they will consider a
request for support by the City.
Due to the failure of previous CDS products, the Fire Department has never
reinstalled the Fire Management Information System (FMIS) from US West.
It has developed alternative systems to perform reporting functions. The
department uses a product called CAMEO implemented on an Apple
Macintosh to track hazardous materials in the City. The Fire Marshall
prepares NFIRS reports on a PC product from Firesoft. Data is collected via
facsimile from the fire stations to prepare the reports. While Lubbock has
implemented the NFIRS 4 format for report preparation, TXFIRS currently
uses the obsolete NFIRS 3 format.
2. Observations
Dispatching Multiple Alarm Fires
The Fire Department has not been provided the full capability of the system
when handling multiple alarm fires that proceed beyond the second alarm
level. The Fire Department has developed pre -arranged responses for all
levels of emergencies at all locations in the City. The CAD system needs to
be developed to process and utilize these pre -arranged responses in all fire
dispatch operations.
Fire Move -Up Reauirements
Although unavailable in the past, the capability resides in the current CAD
system to handle Lubbock's move -up requirements. Since move -ups are not
activated until fires reach multi -alarm status, the :building of multiple
response Fire Run Cards, in the CAD system, can resolve most issues. Each
Fire Run Card can handle the logia to move -up as many as 5 fire units into
alternative stations. Therefore, with six run cards per response district
accessible, up to 30 units may be moved -up. In addition, the Fire * Dispatcher
may move -up equipment at any time on an ad hoc basis using the move -up
(MU) command line entry.
A
r-.
Mutual aid response can be automated by establishing special response
districts for mutual aid municipalities to track Lubbock's fire_ units. Mutual
aid units can be entered and tracked in the CAD system and Lubbock units
dispatched to outlying communities can also be tracked through CAD.
Fire Management Information
A variety of reports are currently available from the CAD system. However,
access to such reports appears to be limited, with few terminals and printers
deployed within Fire Administration. Since the Fire Department does not
have a records system integrated with the CAD system, it has developed
alternative systems on stand-alone personal computers for reporting purposes.
Since the original FMIS did not work, the Cognos product may provide an
advantage that can provide an interface to the CAD system from the PC's.
Fire Alerting System
The current fire alerting system as provided by AT&T has reached the end
of its useful life. Because of recurring maintenance problems and a lack of
spare parts, it no longer provides the reliable service for which it was
intended.
There are many cost effective ways to alert fire stations of incoming calls for
service. Some of these are discussed in the Radio section. In addition to
those methods, a new fire alerting system from Zetron, Inc., the Model 6/26,
will be available in the late second quarter of 1991 to serve the fire alerting
needs of cities the size of Lubbock. This system is much more capable than
the current AT&T fire alerting system and is capable of interfacing with the
city's current CAD system to support increased time -stamping capabilities on
all fire calls.
3. Recommendations
We make the following recommendations:
Dispatching Multiple Alarm Fires
CAD operations should implement multiple Fire Run Cards for each alarm
response up to six alarms in the CAD system. Each alarm Fire Run Card is
accessed using a supplement to the Activity Type file entry (STI, ST2, ST3,
etc.). For such multiple alarm fires, the Response Districts should align with
the currently utilized planning unit approach. An example of six Fire Run
Cards supporting the current manual response card number 013 is included in
Appendix A of this report. Beginning with Release 3.0 of the CAD system,
up to 14 fire units may be dispatched per alarm for fire incidents.
59
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Fire Move -up Requirements
By expanding the Fire Run Cards to handle as many as six alarms (or more,
if needed), the move -up logic in the CAD system may be utilized to handle
as many as 5 fire units for each alarm. Units that are moved -up are not
�-- available for primary dispatch until all like units in the station are
unavailable. US West claims that Release 3.1 of CAD will allow move -up
units to be available as primary units immediately.
For the automation of mutual aid, pseudo response districts can be
established and tracked for each of the municipalities for which Lubbock has
mutual aid agreements. Such response districts do not have entries in the
geographical file for street address block ranges and have jurisdiction entries
for the supporting town (Idalou-ID, Slanton-SL, etc.). As an option, mutual
aid units may be entered in unit tables and tracked when supporting Lubbock
incidents. Alternatively, Lubbock units supporting incidents in mutual aid
towns may be tracked.
Fire Management Information
The key to the use of management information in the CAD system does not
appear to be an all new set of reports, but rather access to the reports in a
timely manner. This can be accomplished by reviewing the use of the few
installed terminals in the Fire Department and which determining reports can
currently answer the needs of the department.
In addition to the current reports available from the US West CAD product,
the installation of the Cognos product, also supported by US West, will allow
more flexible report generation for both Police and Fire, with the added
benefit of data manipulation and presentation using personal computer
systems.
Fire Alerting System
The Fire Department should update its current fire alerting system. There
are a number of ways to accomplish this function, some of which are
described in the radio section. Several companies currently offer alerting
products. Zetron Inc. is one such vender with a value-added product and
installed client base. Their product interfaces with the US West CAD system
to track and time -stamp critical functions during a fire call.
The Zetron system can operate over voice grade data circuits to the fire
stations, or it can utilize a dedicated radio frequency. Since the City
currently utilizes dedicated circuits to each of the fire stations provided by
Southwestern Bell, these circuits can support station alerting with only a
slight modification. Still, the high circuit cost makes this approach less
attractive than some of the radio based solutions.
7
The following budgetary pricing is provided for a new Zetron system to
support 15 fire stations:
• Fire alerting interface to CAD $ 5,000.00
• Zetron Model 26 console for Fire Dispatcher $ 4,700.00
Tellabs communications bridge for circuits $ 4,000.00
• 15 Zetron Model 6 transponders in stations $30,750.00
Total Estimated Costs (excluding circuit cost.) $44,450.00
B. COMPUTER SYSTEM PERFORMANCE AND AVAILABILITY
This section discusses the reliability, availability and capacity of the computer
systems serving Lubbock's computer-aided dispatch and Police records systems.
1. Observations
The Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) 11/780 computer system has served
the City of Lubbock since the first installation in 1985. It was originally
intended to support the municipal courts, computer-aided dispatch, and the
Police/Fire records systems. Over time, the computer center has evolved to a
cluster of DEC VAX computers including the 11/780, a DEC VAX 3600
computer for the Police records system, and a DEC Micro VAX computer for
municipal courts. All computers reside on an Ethernet LAN which also connects
all, terminals in the building to these multiple systems.
External systems connected to the VAX cluster of computer systems include:
• Several remote terminals and printers.
• An IBM gateway into the City's Mainframe system for access to the
electronic mail system of the city and to access LP&L customer files
from Police records.
• An interface for the Texas Department of Public Safety's TLETS I
network in Austin and a separate interface, now under test, for the DPS
TLETS II network.
• An interface to Southwestern Bell's E911 ANI/ALI cabinets for transfer
of 911 information into the CAD system at the time each call is received
in the Dispatch Center.
61
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As the City of Lubbock has grown and use of these systems- has increased, the
capacity and utilization of the CPU processor in the DEC 11/780 and Micro
VAX processors have been pushed to their upper limits. The DEC 11/780 CPU
utilization regularly approaches 75% of utilization during peak periods. The
DEC Micro VAX approaches 80% of utilization and regularly uses100% of its
available memory. Computer systems normally require a certain fixed amount of
processor utilization overhead (typically 20-30%) to perform monitoring and
operational functions in the computer system itself.
Realizing that computer utilization was approaching capacity, Information
Services submitted a Capital Funds Project request in 1989 to upgrade the DEC
11/780 and the Micro VAX II systems to a more powerful DEC 3900 computer
system. However, no changes were approved by the City.
Continued growth and new applications will place additional loads on the VAX
computer systems. Response times to dispatchers on the CAD system are
already receding to unacceptable limits between 3PM and 6PM on weekdays. It
is anticipated that the Courts System will increase traffic to the TLETS network
in Austin for warrant information from the State's data bases. With 214 Police
vehicles currently, the implementation of a mobile data terminal (MDT) system
in the Police Department could eventually add the potential for up to 200 to 300
MDT's in vehicles, placing significant additional demands on the CAD system
for. access to the Police Records System and for access to the TLETS H network.
The heaviest use of MDT's by Police is usually to access the DPS systems in
Austin for license plate checks. This message switching function is usually
accommodated by the CAD system.
Since the Police Department continues to add new records modules to the DEC
VAX 3600 system, access to these records and the load on the computer system
will increase. The Police Department is currently in the process of building
warrant, bicycle, and pawn files into the Records System. Police is now
maintaining its officer training records in the system. Someday, technology will
be available for the Police Department to scan all of its microfilm records into
the system and store them on optical disks.
While the City maintains its CAD, records, and courts systems on three separate
computers, there is no redundancy provided in the event that one of the systems
fails. Of these three systems, the public safety CAD system must have the
highest availability and fastest response times. Time is a critical factor in public
-- safety dispatching services. The only back-up available to Dispatch Center
personnel in the event of CAD system failure is manual dispatching. In lieu of
any redundant systems, the Information Services Department does maintain a 24
hour/7 day per week maintenance contract with Digital Equipment.
Systems supporting the computers must also be highly reliable. While lights,
radios, and telephones in the Dispatch Center are on diesel generator power as a
,.. back-up for a commercial power failure, the public safety computer system has
only 15 minutes of uninterruptible power available. This is only enough time to
'" 62
perform an organized shutdown of the systems during a prolonged commercial
power outage. Manual dispatching must be utilized once the CAD system has
powered down.
There are several alternatives possible to increase the availability of the computer
r- systems, Digital Equipment and US West Public Safety Group can both provide
configurations for high availability and redundancy. These include:
• A CAD computer may be backed -up by a separate records computer that,
in the event of a CAD system failure, will take over operation of the
CAD function, with records relegated to a background function. Disk
storage is mirrored and shared between the two computer systems.
• Multiple CAD computers may be installed to back-up each other along
r with a separate records computer. Again, disk mirroring and sharing is
utilized.
I A completely fault tolerant CAD system with duplexed processors,
components, - and simultaneously updated data bases to realize
uninterrupted service can be installed.
In any of these alternatives, CAD terminal users are connected to the Ethernet
LAN and can logically log onto the back-up system. A large physical switching
of terminals from one system to the back-up system is not required.
Data processing power on the Digital Equipment product line has increased
dramatically over the past several years, as have other manufacturer's system.
The VAX 1ln80 was designed and introduced by DEC in the late 1970's.
Using a DEC measurement of processing power, it had a rating of 1 VUP (VAX
Unit of Processing). The VAX 3600 system installed last year to handle the
records system for Police is almost three times more powerful than the VAX
11/780 (2.7 VUP's). A newer version of the VAX processor family, the VAX
4000, is eight times more powerful than the VAX lln80 (8 VUP's). These
newer processors are fully capable of providing the power to meet Lubbock's
needs for fast response times, especially on the CAD system in the Dispatch
Center.
Based on the findings of the current system loads and the projected new
applications on the public safety computer systems, upgrades to these systems are
in order for the City. If newer, more powerful computer systems can be
obtained, then the consolidation and/or movement of some of the public safety
applications onto different DEC computing platforms may be required.
Both DEC and US West Public Safety Group have provided configurations and
budgetary pricing for more powerful computer systems to serve Lubbock well
into the future. In addition, we have asked them to provided a reliable and
highly available computer configuration whereby redundancy for the CAD
63
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function can be provided for the city. When specifying the requirements for a
new computer-aided dispatching system, most cities request a redundant CAD
capability to maximize its availability in the critical public safety environment.
In the case of multiple computers, the sharing between computers of the disk
storage devices is required, as well as the duplication of data onto multiple disk
units for back-up in case of a disk failure.
The configuration provided by US West Public Safety Group and DEC suggest
an upgrade to a VAX 4000 processor to replace the VAX 11/780. Based on
vendor list pricing, the total upgrade cost is $167,438.00 to provide a fully
redundant configuration of processors. The additional redundancy software from
US West Public Safety Group is $10,000.00. To add mobile data terminal
(MDT) support within the CAD system for public safety applications, the
budgetary pricing quoted by US West is $40,000.00 With this configuration, the
CAD system resides on the currently installed VAX 3600 processor. A
redundant CAD module, the Police Records module, and the Municipal Courts
system would reside on the upgraded VAX 4000 processor.
An additional consideration for having a redundant, CAD system configuration, is
that Lubbock may be able to reduce its maintenance contract with DEC to a
level less than the current 24 hour/7 day per week agreement. In the event that
the primary . CAD system fails late at night, the redundant CAD processor can
assume operations until DEC maintenance personnel respond on the next business
day.
A commercial power outage may occur during a time when public safety services
are required at their highest level, as in a severe storm or tornado. The
availability of the CAD system cannot be assured today during such an
occurrence. The lack of sustained emergency power for the CAD system
increases the chance that the system may have to be shut down when . it is
needed. most. Under a redundant CAD configuration, 5 KVA of uninterruptible
power is required to keep the CAD computer and its dispatch terminals
operational. An axillary generator capable of meeting this requirement was
included in the radio section.
2. Recommendations
• The City should upgrade the VAX 11/780 computer to a more powerful
and current DEC system, the VAX 4000 processor, which has eight times
the speed and processing power of the installed system. In a public
safety environment, processing speed and response times cannot be
compromised. Projected budgetary pricing for such an upgrade is
$167,438.00. Additional discounts to meet the State of Texas' General
Purchasing contract pricing from DEC can be negotiated. It is
anticipated that Lubbock will soon have its TLETS II interface to Austin
fully operational, thereby allowing the latest release of the VAX
operating system (Release 5.3) to be installed on this new processor.
• The City should implement a high availability configuration for CAD,
with one processor providing a back-up CAD capability to the primary
.-, CAD computer system. A fault tolerant system is not recommended
because of excessive costs and the relative high degree of availability
provided by a redundant system. Data should be accessible from both
the primary and back-up CAD processors. CAD can reside on the
current VAX 3600 system and a redundant CAD computer systems.
Police Records, and Municipal Courts can reside on the upgraded VAX
4000 processor. The budgetary pricing from US West to provide
redundancy software for the configuration is $10,000.00.
A properly sized uninterruptible power supply, and a diesel generator of
sufficient power to handle extended commercial power outages, should be
installed.
C. OTHER ISSUES
1. Organization and Operations
The responsibility for managing the City of Lubbock's CAD and Records
systems is divided functionally among several Departments in the City,
including:
• The Information Services Department manages the computer systems
resources and networked terminals making up then CAD, records, and
municipal courts systems.' It manages the vendor relationship . with
Digital Equipment Corp., including equipment installation and
maintenance, it manages network interfaces and installation to the
computer systems, and it performs operations management associated with
maintaining system integrity and data back-ups on an on-going basis.
• The Communications Services Department manages the Dispatch Center
operations. An Assistant Director of Communications, reporting to the
Director of Communications, manages four supervisors and a staff of
civilian dispatchers that were transferred. from the Police and Fire
Departments to cover operations 24 hours/day, 7 days/week. Policies and
65
procedures for dispatch operations are set by the Dispatch Center. In
addition, the Communications Services Department must work closely
with Police, fire, and Planning to determine patrol districts, fire response
districts and other considerations to maintain and update the geographic
data file, (geofile), which forms the basis for recommending the
.. appropriate responses units in any modern computer-aided dispatch
system.
The Police and Fire Departments determine what the CAD system must
produce to support the established policies, response procedures and
operational guidelines in their respective Departments. The best
operational procedures to serve these. public safety groups should not
have to be extensively modified to conform with the way that the CAD
system works. Since the Police Department also relies heavily on the
US West product for the management of its law enforcement records, it
invests an extensive amount of time and manpower to maintain and
utilize this system. Overall, the Police Department is very pleased with
the current CAD and Records Management System.
2. Administration and Maintenance
Because Lubbock does not currently have a redundant computer-aided
dispatch system, it must depend on immediate and responsive maintenance
from its system vendors to restore service in the event of a computer failure.
For this reason, the City maintains a full service 24 hour/day, 7 day/week
maintenance contract with its hardware supplier, Digital Equipment Corp.
This vendor provides a fully stocked and well -manned repair depot in
Lubbock to serve all of West Texas.
The CAD and records application software vendor, US West Public Safety
group, headquartered in California, maintains a telephone support group to
assist the City with operational and technical problems. In addition, this
vendor has the capability of dialing into an attached modem on the
processors to analyze diagnostics and even download program changes and
new versions of software to the CAD or the records system. This is a
commonly available support feature in the information systems industry
today.
Daily operations within a public safety environment require that on-going
management and administration be properly coordinated. Dispatch Center
personnel must receive 'shift rosters from Police and Fire personnel for
updating in the CAD system. Changes to assigned units, police beats and
fire response district must be administered in these systems. New streets must
be added to the geographic data file. Lubbock has an established set of
procedures for administrating such changes. The constant requirement for
administration of these systems emphasizes the need to have properly trained
...
66
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and dedicated resources available within each of the responsible departments
to manage this complex environment. The Fire Department does not have
resources available due to its operation under a constant level minimum
staffing environment.
The City of Lubbock is considering the establishment of an Emergency
Operations Center (EOC) located at another building remote from the current
Dispatch Center. It is possible to locate remote CAD terminals from the
current system at the remote EOC operating on the CAD computer system.
It is also possible to establish a second Public Safety Answering Point
(PSAP) from Southwestern Bell for the answering of E911 calls. Costs for
establishing a second PSAP could range in excess of $50,000.00 for E911
equipment cabinets. The costs for duplicating a second CAD computer
system at the EOC is excessive. Few municipalities have justified and
committed resources to establish a fully redundant CAD computer
environment at a remote EOC location.
3. Lubbock County EMS
The Lubbock County Hospital District operates all EMS ambulance services
in the City of Lubbock. In the event that an E911 call is received in the
City's Dispatch Center requesting EMS services, the call is immediately
transferred to an alternate PSAP at the Hospital District. Other than
recording the voice transaction, no further activity is taken by the City's
Dispatch Center.
The Hospital district currently dispatches EMS calls manually. However, the
District is interested in evaluating automated dispatching and has asked the
Lubbock contract programming firm of Accounting Systems Computers
(794-1655) to look at alternatives.
The US West Public Safety Group CAD product is fully capable of
supporting EMS dispatching. With Release 3.0 of CAD, US West has
enhanced its EMS dispatching functions. The primary advantage of utilizing
a single CAD system for Police, Fire, and EMS dispatching functions is its
ability to link and track common incidents where all agencies must respond
to a single. incident. Dispatch terminals from the current CAD system could
be remotely located at the Hospital District for incident entry and tracking by
EMS personnel. The cost for EMS dispatching software from US West in
the CAD system is $14,000.00.
67
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D. SUMMARY
1. Observations
• Lubbock's management within the various departments responsible for
public safety systems has been cooperative but few forums exist for
jointly resolving problems and making major systems decisions. Each of
the departments naturally represents its own interests. While the Police
Department has committed extensive resources to developing and refining
its skills in the CAD and Police records systems, the Fire Department
has limited its commitment of the resources to the CAD system due to
its history of previous deficiencies.
• Access to management information generated by the CAD system is not
readily available to management personnel within the departments that
need it. With the exception of the Police Department, few terminals and
printers are available that can retrieve this information.
• While the movement toward a more powerful and redundant CAD
computer configuration will require a significant financial investment by
the City, it can result in reduced maintenance costs by not requiring full
24 hour/7 day maintenance contracts on the hardware with 2 hour
response guarantees. In a redundant environment, operations from a
failed primary CAD computer are assumed by the redundant computer.
Operations continue normally until the next business day when DEC
and/or US West maintenance personnel can respond and restore the
primary CAD system.
• Since EMS ambulance dispatching is coordinated by the Hospital District,
no integration of public safety services, to include EMS, has been
pursued in Lubbock. some discussions have been held in the past with
E the Hospital District, but no agreements to have them utilize the EMS
dispatching capability of Lubbock's CAD system have ever been reached.
2. Recommendations
r-
• The City should establish a CAD Steering Committee to coordinate
activities associated with this period of upgrade and expansion to CAD
functions. The four Departments responsible for public safety operations
and systems in the City (Information Systems, Communications Services,
Police and Fire) should make up the committee and meet on a regular
�- basis, probably monthly, to resolve common issues and establish. policies.
Committees may be viewed as inefficient, but they can allow for more
open discussion on important issues.
'"" 68
• Since a major advantage of a packaged CAD software system is in the
sharing of development costs, functional features, and experience. with
other municipalities using the system, Lubbock should continue to exploit
such an advantage through active participation in both the Texas and the
National User Group organizations. Lubbock's management may want to
visit another city that has implemented the same CAD system. The City
of Abilene is an easily accessible candidate. Abilene has , implemented
Police and Fire CAD, Police Records, the TLETS II interface to DPS in
Austin, and the MDT interface with designed screens. The MIS Director,
Mr. Mike McDonald, would be the appropriate contact to arrange. a visit.
• Although political and economic issues exist, the City of Lubbock should
approach the Lubbock County Hospital District to determine if there is
interest in sharing a common CAD system for also dispatching EMS
services. Since many incidents involve joint Police, Fire and EMS
services, the use of a common CAD system to dispatch, link and track
such joint incidents can. reduce response intervals and lead to efficiencies
among all of the public safety agencies serving the City,
' 69
• Public safety systems are not static and require dedicated, on-going
management to manage the changing environment: While Computer
Science degreed personnel are by no means required to manage the
operations of a packaged CAD and Records system, the commitment and
dedication of highly interested individuals in each of the responsible
r-
Departments is required. Each of the responsible departments in the City
should have a middle level manager assigned to learn, direct, and manage
activities associated with the computer-aided dispatch system for their
.-
department.
• Management reports currently available from the CAD system should be
made available to management within the appropriate Departments. This
should include not only access within Fire Department Administration,
but also access by Communications Services management to the "CC"
CAD Communications Reports. Strict security measures using password
access must be implemented. In addition, current CAD Status Screen
monitoring by selected supervisors in Police, Fire, and Communications
Services is usually desirable.
• Since the Fire Department has developed personal computer-based
systems for information, the City should investigate the capabilities of the
Cognos, Inc. Inquisitive and Powerplay products to interface with the
CAD system for developing custom ad hoc reports for use in the
Department. Such products allow the use of PC's for customizing data
and graphics without compromising the integrity of the data stored in the
centralized CAD system. The Police Department may also have an
interest in this US West -supported product for ad hoc custom reports.
• Since a major advantage of a packaged CAD software system is in the
sharing of development costs, functional features, and experience. with
other municipalities using the system, Lubbock should continue to exploit
such an advantage through active participation in both the Texas and the
National User Group organizations. Lubbock's management may want to
visit another city that has implemented the same CAD system. The City
of Abilene is an easily accessible candidate. Abilene has , implemented
Police and Fire CAD, Police Records, the TLETS II interface to DPS in
Austin, and the MDT interface with designed screens. The MIS Director,
Mr. Mike McDonald, would be the appropriate contact to arrange. a visit.
• Although political and economic issues exist, the City of Lubbock should
approach the Lubbock County Hospital District to determine if there is
interest in sharing a common CAD system for also dispatching EMS
services. Since many incidents involve joint Police, Fire and EMS
services, the use of a common CAD system to dispatch, link and track
such joint incidents can. reduce response intervals and lead to efficiencies
among all of the public safety agencies serving the City,
' 69
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E. EXPECTED COST
COMPUTER AIDED DISPATCH
BUDGETARY COSTS ESTIMATE
Acquisition Costs (Non-.Discounted):
Upgrade to DEC 4000 Computer
$167,438.00
Hardware
System Software
Installation/Integration
US West Application Software
Redundancy Software
$ 10,000.00.
CAD/MDT Interface Software
$ 40,000.00
Cognos, Inc. Inquisitive
8,810.00
Report Generator
Total
$226,248.00
OTHER OPTIONS
EMS Software (For LCHD)
$ 14,100.00
Zetron, Fire Alerting Interface
$ 5,000.00
Zentron Fire Alerting System:
,..
Model 26 Console for Fire
$ 4,700.00
Dispatcher
Tellabs Communications Bridge
$ 4,000.00
Data Circuits
15 Model 6 Transponders for Fire
$ 30,750.00
Stations
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70
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V. SUPERVISORY CONTROL AND DATA ACQUISITION SYSTEM
A. CURRENT SYSTEMS DESCRIPTIONS
1. Communications Hardware/Software Configuration and Devises
The City of Lubbock currently operates the following Supervisory Control and
Data Acquisitions Systems (SCAD):
• Water Department
• Lubbock Power and Light
Traffic Signal System
,.„
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These SCADA systems are used to control and monitor different locations,
such as; the Water Department opens and closes valves, turns pumps on and
off, and monitors water levels in storage tanks. LP&L monitors and controls
all of their substation and generating plants. The Traffic Department controls
all functions of traffic light signaling.
Each department has its own staff of technicians who maintain and install a
variety of equipment, from cable to complete Remote Terminal Units.
(RTU's).
Water
The City Water Department's present SCADA Computer (A PDP11) was
installed in 1985, and interfaces with Remote Terminal Units (RTU's) that
^�
were provided and installed by QEI. The control point for the Water
Department's SCADA system is located at 6001 North Guava with a
monitoring point at 600 Municipal Drive. The entire system is connected by
►—
a multi -drop four wire leased circuit provided by Southwestern Bell
Telephone.. The connecting points are as follows for the RTU's:
r-
6101 N. Guava
• 600 Municipal Drive
• N. E. corner Municipal Drive -Pump Station
..
3000 N. Quaker
• 3301 Loop 289
• 29th and Vicksburg
r
82nd and Memphis
• N. W. of Shallowater (Merrell)
• 2520 3rd Street
• 402 66th Street
• 9717 Avenue P
�,
73
4404 Brownfield Highway
• 2301 N. Nashville
• 7000 N. Guava
• 3202 E. 36th Street
• 601 Municipal. Drive
Each of these RTU locations rely on two wire leased circuits to connect
equipment that is to be controlled and monitored by the RTU.
Lubbock Power and Light
LP&L's SCADA system was installed in 1983 and utilizes an Advance
Control 3070A computer located at 302 Municipal Drive. The 3070A
computer's software was updated in 1987 and is scheduled for another update
in 1993 or 1994. The system is connected by four wire leased circuits
provided by Southwestern Bell.
These four wire circuits connect the following locations:
• 30th and Elgin plant
• 26th and Globe
• 2905 Erskine
• 7302 Utica
• 4900 Brownfield
• Slaton Highway
• N. Guava and Municiple Drive
• 1100 Milwaukee Avenue
• 3500 Slaton Road
• 3208 14th Street
• 400 Municipal Hills
• 2117 4th Street
• 601 E. 19th Street
• 2906 Texas Avenue
2107 Avenue X
• 1611 18th Street
• 2215 35th Street
LP&L utilizes three FDPA circuits for their SCADA system.
Traffic Signals
The City Traffic Department utilizes a Perk & Elmer 3210 processor and a
UTCS Traffic Control System installed in 1984. The software was developed
and installed by Computrand of Hackensack, New Jersey. The present
system is located at 916 Texas Avenue on the first floor.
74
The traffic signals are connected to 916 Texas by City owned and maintained
cables totaling approximately 53 miles. Traffic Signals will be adding an
additional 35 intersections into their system within the next six to eight
months. These intersections will not be placed on City owned cable, but
will be connected by voice grade circuits with dial-up modems. All future
expansions will be dial up leased circuits.
2. Communication Costs
The City Water Department and LP&L utilize leased . circuits for their
connections throughout the City. These circuits have a monthly charge and
are tariffed items subject to periodic rate increases. Today, the Water
Department is paying approximately $4,100.00 per month for leased circuits
plus an additional $250.00 in long distance charges from Muleshoe. The
Water Department's yearly cost for leased circuits for their SCADA system
is approximately $53,000.00. Lubbock Power and Light's annual cost for
leased circuits is approximately $22,000.00. The combined annual cost for
their SCADA systems communication is approximately $75,000.00 This
annual cost, with the projected growth for ' the City and periodic rate
increases, will increase to approximately $95,000.00 by the year 2000.
The Traffic Department's estimated annual cost for leased circuits, with the
addition of the 35 new intersections by year end 1990, will be $9,500.00.
This cost May rise due to rate increases.
The total estimated annual cost for all SCADA systems as of December
1990, is $84,500.00. Over the next 10 years, these circuits will cost the City
over $900,000.00.
3. Strengths and Weaknesses
Strengths
One common strength shared by all departments is their in-house
maintenance departments. This allows each department the flexibility to have
personnel available 24 hours a day, seven days per week. Since these
maintenance personnel are dedicated to supporting these networks, they can
provide a level of response that would be difficult for a commercial provider
to match.
Another strength is the age of the equipment. All three departments have
recent equipment purchases or have had recent updates. Therefore, each
._ department currently uses fairly recent technology.
75
Weaknesses
The weaknesses in the current systems include:
• Utilization of Leased Circuits
The City Water Department, LP&L and several areas of the Traffic
Signals Department utilize leased circuits provided by Southwestern
�. Bell. These circuits are connected in a daisy chain configuration and
are bridged at a local Bell Central Office. If one leg of this circuit
has trouble, the end result is often a total outage of the entire
system. The City departments have no way to identify which leg is
causing the outage so they must rely totally upon the telephone
company personnel to isolate and correct the problems.. A typical
circuit outage usually lasts 2-3 hours if it occurs during the day,
while telephone Company personnel are at work. If an outage occurs
after normal business hours, it frequently requires 10-12 hours to
correct the problem.
• Backup Capability
There are no backup circuits connecting the control computers of any
of the SCADA networks to the bridge point at the local Bell Central
Office. If this link fails, the entire system it supports is out of
service.
B. REQUIREMENTS AND NEEDS
1. Water Department
- Improved Point to Point Communications
-^
The Lubbock Water Department handles water production and
distribution and waste water treatment and disposal. In the process of
handling these functions, they monitor and 'control approximately 400
�--
locations throughout the City. They keep consistent checks on water
pressure, which is vital for fire fighting as well as pressure for business
and residential use. They maintain water levels in storage tanks, monitor
�--
pump stations, lift stations, control valves, check water flow and monitor
all sewage treatment. All these functions are critical to assuring that the
city has an adequate and acceptable water supply. The City needs more
,._
reliable facilities between the Host computer and the. points being
controlled and monitored to ensure continuous operation.
�""
76
- Improved System Redundancy
The department needs an alternate circuit for backup should the primary
circuit fail. This is critical to the total system operation and should be
implemented.
Control Lease Cost
The department relies on leased circuits to link the Host processor with
various control points. Each time the department needs to add a control
point to the system, an additional cost is incurred for leased circuits.
The Water Department is currently spending approximately $4,100.00 per
month to lease these facilities from Southwestern Bell. A much more
efficient way would be to have the system connected by a radio
frequency (RF) network instead of by cable facilities. This would provide
the department better control of the system, faster implementation of new
additions and eliminate the cost of leased circuits.
2. Lubbock Power and Light
- Improved Point to Point Communications
LP&L handles the production and distribution of electrical power .for the
City of Lubbock. They currently operate three power plants, ten 12.1
KV substations and six 4.1 KV substations. Each of these locations has
a leased circuit linking it with the Host computer located at 302
Municipal drive in a daisy chain configuration. LP&L utilizes three
leased circuits for their SCADA operation, while only one is used by the
Water Department. This eliminates the possibility of the total system
being down if one section is in trouble. However, each of these circuits
have from three to ten connections. If any one of the connections has
trouble, they all have trouble. LP&L needs a more reliable connection
between the Host processor and the points being monitored.
- Improved System Redundancy
Backup leased circuits for RTU connections should also be considered for
continuous operation should a circuit be down. This is critical to
providing quality service to the citizens of Lubbock.
77
r-.
- Control Leased Cost
Leased circuits, provided by Southwestern Bell, are the primary modes
for connecting the control computer with the network. LP&L is currently
spending approximately $1,850.00 per month to lease these facilities. A
,., more efficient and economical method of control would be by RF. This
method would allow LP&L better control of their system and eliminate
the monthly cost of leased circuits. Also, LP&L would not have to rely
,.. on Southwestern Bell when new additions are needed, making for faster
installations as required.
3. Traffic Department
The Traffic Department manages the traffic signals carried over City 'owned
cables, thereby eliminating leasing costs for these facilities. A study was
made to determine if adding additional City owned facilities to handle new
locations would be feasible. The study indicated that the cost was not
justified. The City should continue to look for opportunities to consolidate
facilities within the City's organization as well as other agencies in the City.
Should these opportunities arise, the cost for adding new cable facilities may
be justified.
Commercial power outages occur frequently during storms and it may be out
for extended periods of time. To assure that the traffic signal system
continues to function during these outages, traffic computers should operate
from an uninterruptible power supply supported by a diesel generator.
C. CONCEPTUAL DESIGN
There are many ways to implement the recommended systems_ For the purpose
of this Needs Assessment, we have developed a conceptual approach capable of
meeting the City's requirements. The actual detailed system design will occur in
Phase H.
The conceptual system design that we have prepared utilizes the existing tower at
302 Municipal Drive for the Master Repeater and Antenna. There are many
methods for providing connections from the SCADA Master to the Master Radio.
Some of these include a dedicated radio link, a microwave link, a leased facility
from another utility or city owned cable facility.
To support the SCADA systems, we recommend that the City implement a
Multiple Address Radio System. The system functions in a broadcast fashion
where the Master station sends and accepts data from the SCADA Master and
broadcasts the information to all remotes. Each remote contains a radio which
will receive and transmit data in response to addressing from the Master radio.
78
R..
Some of the advantages of implementing the radio based system:
- It eliminates the high cost of leased circuits from other utilities.
- The system is easily expanded without coordination with outside parties.
- The system reaches areas where cable is not available or would be too
costly to construct.
- It is capable of expanding to meet City's future needs.
The implementation of a radio system depends upon frequency coordination and
the availability of frequency. Licensing in this frequency band is performed by
the FCC on a first come, first serve basis. Therefore, a frequency would have to
be obtained at the start of Phase II.
79
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r--
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D. EXPECTED COST
--
ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EQUIPMENT COST
RF WATER DEPARTMENT SYSTEM
1. ESTIMATED
COST
The following cost is to convert the existing RTU's from wireline
to RF control:
QUANTITY
DESCRIPTION
COST
1
Full Duplex Master Repeater
$
6,500.00
With Hot Standby
.1
Full Duplex Master Remote
$
6,500.00
With Hot Stand
16
Half Duplex Remote w/l.OAH
$
28,800.00
Battery @ $1,800.00 each
1
RF Test Set
$
1,500.00
1
lOdb Repeater Antenna
$
1,500.00
�~
16
10db YAGI Antennas @ $300.00
each
$
4,800.00
16
Transmission' Line Kits @
$400.00 each
$
6,400.00
�-
1000'
7/8" Coax Cable
$
6,500.00
Equipment Cost
$
62,500.00
Engineering 10%
$
6,250.00
.,
Contingency 10%
$
6,875.00
Installation
$
11,000.00
,,.
Total Cost
$
86,625.00
A—
80
ESTIMATED BUDGETARY EQUIPMENT COST
�^
LP&L RF SYSTEM
r-
The following cost is to convert the existing RTU's from wireline to RF control:
►�
QUANTITY
DESCRIPTION
COST
1
Full Duplex Master Repeater
$ 6,500.00
With Hot Standby
1
Full Duplex Master Remote
$ 6,500.00
With Hot Stand
18
Half Duplex Remote w/10AH
$ 32,400.00
Battery @ $1,800.00 each
1
RF Test Set
$ 1,500.00
1
1Odb Repeater Antenna
$ 1,500.00
18
lOdb YAGI Antennas @ $300.00
each
$ 4,800.00
18
Transmission Line Kits @
$400.00 each
$ 6,400.00
1100'
7/8" Coax Cable
$ 6,500.00
r
Equipment Cost
$ 68,150.00
Engineering 10°10
$ 6,815.00
Contingency 10°10
$ 7,496.00
Installation
$ 11,000.00
Total Cost
$ 93,411.00
""'
81
.-d
COST TO ADD NEW REMOTES TO SYSTEM
QUANTITY DESCRIPTION COST
�., 1 Remote Terminal Unit $ 4,500.00
1 Antenna $ 300.00
1 Transmission Line Kit $ 400.00
50' 7/8" Coax Cable $ 325.00
1 Installation 800.00
Total Cost $ 6,325.00
c
"" 82
83
r-,
REMOTE
REMOTE (
(RTU) RTU)
ANTENNA .
REMOTE
(RTU)
REMOTE MASTS
(RTU) REMOT
MASTER
RA020
PHONE LINE OR
4W CIRCUIT
MODEM
SCAOA MASTER
— MOST MASTER RADIOS ACCOMODATE 2W OR
4W INPUTS UP TO 4800 BAUD DATA
— ACTS AS BRIDGED PHONE CIRCUIT.
— ADDRESSING LIMITATION BASED ON SCAOA
MASTER AND ITS DATA RATE.
SCACA R!
(RTU
MONITOE
CONTROL L
MASTER
REMOTE
MODEM
PHONE LINE OR
4W CIRCUIT
MODEM
SCAOA REMOT
(RTU)
MONITOR G
CONTROL LINE
CITY OF LUBBOCK SCADA SYSTEM
CONCEPTUAL OESIGN
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VT. CONSOLIDATION OPPORTUNITIES
A. RADIO COMMUNICATIONS
The primary opportunity for consolidation revolves around the city's two-
way radio networks. The city is in a position to consolidate the nine
existing radio systems into a single network capable of meeting the city's
needs, both current and long term.
The trunked radio system will utilize city owned communication pipelines to
link the Public Safety Communication Centers to the two 800 MHz repeater
sites. Although the final system design will occur in Phase II, the
conceptual system employs the following:
• A New Optical fiber system from 302 Municipal to 916 Texas. Avenue.
• Existing city facilities from 916 Texas to 1625 13th Street (City Hall).
- Coaxial cable
- Optical fiber
- 400 pair copper cable
•. A new hot -standby microwave system from 1625 13th Street to the tower
facility at 7828 Slide Road.
B. SCADA COMMUNICATIONS
There is another level of consolidation that arises from the new radio
network. The city's new radio infrastructure can also help facilitate the
implementation of a point-to-point radio based SCADA communications
network.
A RF based SCADA network will require the use of two tower facilities for
its master stations. Both systems can be developed jointly to reduce
duplication of equipment while providing an ideal operational endorsement
for the SCADA equipment.
The wideband network can be utilized to link the LP&L SCADA computer
to the two tower sites, eliminating the existing leased circuits.
C. INFORMATION SERVICES
The city's mainframe computer is currently located at 916 Texas Avenue.
Information Services supports dozens of remote terminal users in several city
departments. These remote terminals are linked to the data processing center
by leased telephone company circuits.
Users that are located within facilities supported by the city's new wideband
network will be able to utilize the network for data communications. These
users will enjoy improved performance at a reduced cost.
Since the network supports 302 Municipal Drive, LP&L will be able to
utilize the network, as will users located in City Hall.
D. MOBILE DATA AND PAGING SYSTEMS
Both the mobile data network and the city-wide paging system can share the
trunked system infrastructure in terms of tower facilities and point-to-point
circuits. By consolidating city facilities and services, the Communications
Department can help the City of Lubbock prosper as it enters the twenty-
first century.
:;
CITY OF LUBBOCK
Public Safety and Related Systems Needs Assessment Report
GLOSSARY
AC
Alternating Current - Continuous variable current rising to a
maximum in one direction, falling to zero, then reversing
direction and rising to a maximum in the other direction, then
falling to zero and repeating the cycle.
AH
Ampere -Hour - When the current is one ampere, the quantity of
electricity that flows in one hour.
ALI
Automatic Location Identification - A system capability that
enables the automatic display of the calling party's name, address
and other information.
AMSS
Automatic Multiple Site Selection - A wide area coverage
trunking system configuration used to extend the coverage
area of
a single site systema
-°
ANI
Automatic Number Identification - Equipment which identifies the
telephone number of the line initiating a call.
,-.
CAD
Computer -Aided Dispatch
DEC
Digital Equipment Corporation - Manufacturer of computer
equipment
DPS
Department of Public Safety - A department of law enforcement
�.,
in the State of Texas (State Police).
EMS
Emergency Medical Services
EOC
Emergency Operations Center
FCC
Federal Communications Commission
FO
Fiber Optics - The branch of optical technology concerned with
�.
the transmission of radiant power through fibers of transparent
materials such as glass, fused silica or plastic. Communications
application of fiber employ ,flexible fibers.
90
91
CITY OF LUBBOCK
Public Safetv and Related Systems Needs Assessment Report
GLOSSARY (Continued)
Full Duplex
Simultaneous communication in both directions between two
points.
GHz
Gigahertz - One American billion (109) cycles per second, or
hertz.
Half Duplex
Communication in either direction, but only in one direction at a
time.
Hot Standby
Method of providing reliable radio service: two transmitters are
kept fully energized, if one fails, the other is readily available
and immediately carries the signal. The same principle is used
with central processors in stored program control switched.
LAN
Local Area Network - Network permitting the interconnection and
inter communication of a group of computers, primarily for the
sharing of resources such as data storage devices and printers.
Leased Circuit
Any circuit (typically supplied by and rented from a local
telecommunications administration or telephone company)
designated to be at the exclusive disposal of a given subscriber.
MDT
Mobile Data Terminal
MHz
Megahertz - One million cycles per second, or hertz
PSAP
Public Safety Answering Point - An answering location for
emergency 911 service calls originating in a given area.
Redundant
Items of equipment which are provided in duplicate or triplicate
so that a required grade of service may be reliably achieved. .
RF
Radio Frequency - Those frequencies of the electromagnetic
spectrum normally associated with radio wave propagation.
RTU
Remote Terminal Unit - A monitoring and switching unit whose
functions are wholly or partially controlled by a unit at another
location.
91
CITY. OF LUBBOCK
f--
i
Public Safetv and Related Systems Needs Assessment Report
GLOSSARY (Continued)
r
SCADA
Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition.
r
Surge Suppressor
A circuit element which redirects surges in current or voltage to
prevent damage to electrical equipment.
r
UHF
Ultra High Frequency - Any radio frequency in the band between
300 MHz and 3 GHz.
UPS
Uninterrupted Power Supply.
VHF
Very High Frequency - A radio frequency in the band 30 MHz
to 300 MHz.
r
WWVB
Call sign for Bureau of Standards short wave time stations.
WWVB broadcasts time signals from the Bureau's atomic clock,
which can be used for accurate time keeping.
t^
i
�.
92