The City"s E911 Project represented a huge leap forward for the Departments involved. The Police, Fire and Emergency Communications Department (ECD) have all benefited from their participation. New or upgraded computer hardware and software, a vastly superior radio system and data infrastructure have replaced outdated or absent systems for these Departments.

The E911 systems represented the single biggest paradigmatic shift in data management in the Fire Department"s history. The transition to these automated systems required retrofits to over 50 Fire Department facilities, over 250 apparatus and the execution of the most ambitious training plan yet attempted.

While addition of many of the E911 software packages have proven to be productive for the Fire Department, there were elements of the Project and modules of software that were less than effective, and in some cases wholly unusable. The Auditor has correctly identified many of glaring deficiencies in CAD and AIS software functionality, but there are many more subtle shortcomings. It has been the mission of the Fire Department"s staff to ready those software modules for use that were functional, modify and customize modules when necessary and possible, and identify those modules that were unusable. Additionally, staff has researched the cost of replacement or modification to those pieces that are considered unusable.

The birth of the ECD has provided additional challenges for the Fire Department. In the past the Fire Department had been in complete control of its dispatch computer system (CAD). Currently, any modifications or enhancements to the Fire CAD must wind their way through an elaborate and time consuming process of safeguards established and overseen by the ECD to assure that changes do not impact Police operations. Additionally the promise of civilization, formalization of our relationship with the ECD and the marked increase in support required by the Department of Telecommunication and Information Services (DTIS) for mission critical systems have required the Fire Department to guard its interest in new and creative ways.

· Recommendation of Auditor"s report

The Fire Department and the Emergency Communications Center should:

1.11.1 Jointly develop a prioritized list of defects and desired enhancements to the CAD/AIS, and work with the Department of Telecommunications and the CAD/AIS contractors to obtain the full-required functions of those systems.

· Assessment of Department

The Department concurs with the recommendation of the audit.

A prioritized list of defects and desired enhancements to the CAD/AIS systems is a first step to increasing the functionality of the systems. In fact, the Department has been compiling this list for over two years as part of its ongoing effort to deploy AIS applications. Additionally, the Department has been working with Department of Telecommunications and Information Services (DTIS) staff assigned to supporting E911 systems and the technical support staff of the Emergency Communications Department (ECD) in the development of a list of system defects and necessary enhancements. Work on this list has been ongoing since testing of the Fire Department"s CAD / AIS functionality in 1998. Two of the most recent lists for CAD and AIS system enhancements are used as attachments to the Auditor"s report.

It has been difficult over the last six to nine months to find the appropriate forum to discuss the Department"s concerns. With momentum pointed towards formally ending the Project and the City"s relationship with TRW, the software deficiencies of both the Police and Fire Departments became casualties of the negotiating process. It was anticipated that residual project funds, at one time estimated to be $11 million dollars, would serve as the funding source to amend CAD and AIS system functionality, however the recent economic downturn created prevailing competitive fiscal priorities for the City.

In some cases, the enhanced functionality was required by system design, or agreed to by Mr. Mike Martin, Director of the E911 Project. The Department entered into a good faith agreement that allowed Director Martin to cut over the Fire Department dispatch function to the new center at 1011 Turk Street. Director Martin guaranteed that certain functionality would be in place by the end of FY 1999-2000. Unanticipated technical difficulties, multiple postponements of the Police Department"s cutover, and the abrupt departure of Director Martin all derailed project efforts to develop and employ the required functionalities.

A partial list of these functionalities includes:

· Addition of more vicinity boxes

· Reconfiguration of "move" and "cover" commands

· Reconfiguration of toning functionality for certain commands

While Fire Department staff has worked diligently and collegially with members of DTIS, it is becoming increasingly clear that funding may be the critical missing element from our plans to round out the functionality promised to the Department by the E911 Project.

Another obstacle in addressing issues of functionality with vendors were the contractual constraints that existed during the TRW / CCSF negotiating process. While both sides negotiated how to end the Project, all City agencies were prohibited from direct contact with TRW"s subcontractors, the vendors who actually provided the software products (Tiburon, UCS, KPMG, etc.). The Fire Department eagerly anticipates the finalization of the City"s extended service contract negotiations with Tiburon (the CAD/ RMS vendor), which would allow fruitful discussion regarding enhancing CAD and RMS functionality.

The Department concurs with these audit findings, and looks forward to the ability to pursue the full-required functionality in CAD and AIS systems.

· Department Action plan and timeline

The Department will continue to work with DTIS and ECD staff to monitor CAD / AIS functionality, develop options for enhancements, and research additional software development and vendors to satisfy functionality requirements. The Department expects to complete this project by July 2002.

Note: It is still unclear what will be the funding source for system enhancements and functionality.

· Recommendation of Auditor"s report

The Fire Department and the Emergency Communications Center should:

1.11.2 Jointly develop and execute a plan to obtain full functioning of the AVL system to assist in dispatching medical units.

· Assessment of Department

The Department concurs with the recommendation of the audit.

The Automatic Vehicle Locator (AVL) has long been considered to be an integral part of the EMS dispatch paradigm. There have been a number of technical and procedural problems that have delayed the repair and productive use of the AVL for responding ambulances. Severe problems with CAD mapping (the actual display of units on the map), calibration issues, and the inability of the radio shop to access the dispatch display have all contributed to the current non-use of the AVL system.

· Department Action plan and timeline

The Department has worked with ECD and DTIS staff to develop an action plan that will address the repair, use and maintenance of the AVL. The major steps to reinvigorate the AVL are as follows:

1. Identify display standards

2. Install dispatch (CAD) display at Rankin Street radio shop

3. Develop schedule for repair and calibration of all hardware

4. Develop maintenance agreement of ALL pieces of the AVL system with DTIS

5. Introduce ongoing maintenance of the AVL into FD / DTIS planning sessions.

This plan is currently in its first stages and we are anticipating the installation of a working dispatch terminal in the Rankin Street radio shop facility by mid-January. The Department expects to have the AVL fully functional by January 2003.

· Recommendation of Auditor"s report

The Fire Department should:

1.11-3 Adopt a plan for developing the complete operational capability of supplying Fire Prevention information to units responding to emergency incidents. The plan should be submitted to the Mayor and Board of Supervisors.

· Assessment of Department

The Department concurs with the recommendation of the audit.

When the E911 project formally ended in July, it was made clear to the Department that there was little chance of requiring vendors to provide additional functionality, Department MIS/E911 staff, in conjunction with the Fire Marshall, began to investigate the options for a working Fire Prevention / Fire Inspection module.

The original E911 / AIS software design documents required the vendors to develop a fire prevention / fire inspection module that could be used to transfer data to field units. This mandate was never fulfilled. As a consequence, Fire Prevention is struggling to maintain a WANG database that has been effectively unsupportable for many years. While supplying Fire Prevention data to units in the field is one of the "back-end" goals of this project, the "front-end" goal is to provide Fire Prevention a usable and flexible product that allows Fire Inspectors and field inspection units to capture that information.

The Auditor correctly identified the possibility of amending dispatch data using the "Premise Information Field" (PIF) located in the Tiburon CAD file directory. The Department"s research into this possibility uncovered significant shortcomings in attempting to deliver anything but the most rudimentary information using this mechanism. The major shortcomings of the PIF are:

1. Limited amount of text that can be entered

2. Desire of other agencies to enter information in that field (i.e. Department of Public Health disaster registry)

3. Tiburon design requires that all data be manually entered (no interface possible with Fire Prevention program)

4. Inability of Department members to have direct access to CAD files for maintenance (ECD and DTIS "guard" the CAD files)

The Department has focused its efforts on the development of a full Fire Prevention Data base that could be accessed wirelessly from the field to deliver "real time" current information to incident commanders. This would allow Incident Commanders to effectively look into the Fire Prevention records for any address in the City. This information would be invaluable for tactical decision making in the field. Additionally, a flexible and scalable relational database would allow all units in the field to be informed of target hazards in their jurisdiction.

· Department Action plan and timeline

The Department is currently in the process evaluating different products to ascertain what, if anything, is available on the commercial market. The 800 MHz system currently represents the best option for delivering this information to field units. The Department is working with DTIS applications group to assure that all avenues are considered and a business plan is developed. By January 2003, the Department intends to:

1. Finalize a work flow analysis of the Bureau of Fire Prevention (currently in process)

2. Identify funding mechanisms for this new product

3. Issue a Request for Qualifications (RFQ)

4. Host a bidder"s conference that will require a letter of intent

5. Issue an Request For Proposal (RFP)

Note: DTIS is continuing the possibility of developing a "home-grown" application to fulfill the requirements, but at present, the wireless infrastructure for data capture is not in place.