About the client, Springfield Emergency Communications Center
As the designated 911 Communications center for the City of Springfield, Massachusetts, Springfield Emergency Communications (SEC) plays a crucial role in police and fire emergency response. The highly skilled and committed SEC dispatchers work tirelessly to identify the caller's location and the nature of the emergency to dispatch the appropriate resources promptly. Their core duties include providing public safety responses, coordinating and supporting communication for all public safety activities, and initiating public safety services. At SEC, they prioritize delivering the most effective emergency communications possible by attracting, training, and retaining highly qualified personnel who possess the necessary expertise to provide these critical services.
The Project, Upgrading and Centralizing Emergency Dispatch Services
The main challenge faced by SEC was the process of upgrading the radio and emergency equipment systems and centralizing Fire & Police emergency response under one roof. The Dispatch Center’s location was previously serving the Springfield Fire Emergency Services. The new centralized dispatch center renovation project included the complete teardown and rebuild of the emergency communications center and moving the Police dispatch and Fire under the same roof.
“Having both the Fire and Police dispatchers under one roof will better serve the citizens of Springfield and increase the safety of our Firefighters and Police Officers.” - Fire Commissioner Calvi
The renovation project consisted of, installing new center floors and ceilings, updated bathrooms, new lockers, upgrades to the radio and emergency equipment systems, and installing the new fully customized Dispatch Consoles. After several discussions (Phone, email, and Web) around meeting technical, comfort, and performance requirements we came to a design & budget that SEC presented to the City of Springfield Mayor for budget approval. In the review meeting with the Mayor and Procurement team, the City of Springfield decided to go to public bid and invite companies to an onsite to bid on the contract. 14 different companies showed up onsite and Sustema was the chosen vendor to build the Custom Dispatch Consoles. The evaluation was based on meeting all the technical and ergonomic requirements while respecting the budget and offering value beyond the price.
The Solution, Providing Comprehensive, Ergonomic Design Solutions with Sustema Dispatch Center Consoles
The Sustema design team met all of the technical elements and created ergonomically enhanced consoles that fit within the parameters of the room and maintain ADA compliance. No easy task but the final design resulted in a heavy-duty highly functional dispatch center with a very impressive and empowering visual aesthetic. Some of the key design elements were the future-proofed Monitor columns and arms supporting current and future needs, the soft yet durable edging, secure CPU enclosures, and personal climate control at the console.
“This was a team effort from the Mayor to 911 Dispatchers and everyone in between. Special thanks too, City Facilities, Springfield Fire Repair Division, City IT & Fire and Police IT, State911, the Men & Women of the Fire & Police Departments and Sustema, the maker of our consoles. A personal Thank You to my team, job well done!” - Deputy Chief Of Staff Services Wells
The Installation, Successful Sustema Installation Enhances Dispatch Facility, and Service Delivery
The Sustema installation partners did an excellent job with both the installation and day-to-day communication resulting in an excellent customer experience. The success of this project was very much a Sustema team effort. Starting from the initial conversation with the sales team, followed by internal design meetings to create a product to elevate Sustema over the competition to the operations team who built and tested the product to bring the designs to life.
Source* Official Facebook page of Springfield Emergency Communications (SEC), the primary public safety answering point for the City of Springfield, Massachusetts.
“The new consolidated dispatch facility will greatly enhance our SPD’s ability to respond and serve and protect our residents. I want to thank the brave and dedicated women and men in Blue for their continued efforts in making this important transition happen.” - Police Commissioner Clapprood
Contact Information
Sustema has over 25 years in the technical furniture and dispatch console furniture manufacturing industry with thousands of active installations in North America. For more information or any inquiries, please contact us at info@sustema.com.