New Air Methods Dispatch Center

[littona]

I thought you guys might find this interesting. This is Air Methods Communications (AirCom) new dispatch center in Omaha NE and one of our wonderful dispatchers, technically "Communications Specialists".

Dispatch Center
It took a lot of long days to move an entire dispatch center while also having no downtime.

AirCom dispatches for around 27 states? I've lost track... They control approximately 200 radios across the country. The flight programs may all have different names, but they all fall under Air Methods. It's amusing when a 911 center calls the wrong number, so they call back to the "right number" and get the same person!

 

[RescueRandy]

That’s pretty neat. Were you involved in the new dispatch center? In my previous job I did several 911 PSAPs and EOC build outs. This looks somewhat similar. Definitely not a small feat to pull off seamlessly.

 

[littona]

That’s pretty neat. Were you involved in the new dispatch center? In my previous job I did several 911 PSAPs and EOC build outs. This looks somewhat similar. Definitely not a small feat to pull off seamlessly.

Oh yeah... quite a bit. The furniture is all Xybix. Dispatch consoles are OpenScape Xpert. The building has 2 demarcation points, so every computer has 2 network connections as well as WiFi. You can't really run dual power to a PC, but there are 2 UPS and 2 generators that provide backup power.

 

[RescueRandy]

I have used Xybix consoles before. I thought they were pretty well built. You can definitely underestimate the number of cable extensions needed for the rise/lower desk installs though (not that it has ever happened to me).
If you are allowed to share info, I’d be interested in what radio system you all are using? 27 states is a pretty wide area of responsibility. I would assume it’s not a typical radio system but perhaps a widely distributed setup of remote radio/consolettes?

 

[littona]

The new Xybix stuff is pretty nice. They made a few improvements based on our experiences and added a lot more bells and whistles. The controls for the lights/fans/heat are no longer a box at the end of a cable. They're now controlled by either a tablet or PC via Bluetooth. Kinda squirrely, but those boxes got broke A LOT.

For radio systems, we use whatever is available in the coverage area or build out our own. If there's a trunked system we can hop on - great. Otherwise we might install a repeater. We rely on the local radio shops for support. There's no way we could do it all ourselves.

We typically just plop a control station at one of our bases and connect to it using a Vocality/Cubic radio over IP interface. Each Vocality is a SIP extension on our PBX. It's all magic after that!

 

[INDY72]

Not to mention you can use PoC radio, and apps for the business side as seamlessly as the EMS/Medevac side. Modern dispatch centers are almost like magic once set up. Especially huge companies like yours. You can sit at a console in NYC and flawlessly run units in LA!

 

[waynedc]

The new Xybix stuff is pretty nice. They made a few improvements based on our experiences and added a lot more bells and whistles. The controls for the lights/fans/heat are no longer a box at the end of a cable. They're now controlled by either a tablet or PC via Bluetooth. Kinda squirrely, but those boxes got broke A LOT.

For radio systems, we use whatever is available in the coverage area or build out our own. If there's a trunked system we can hop on - great. Otherwise we might install a repeater. We rely on the local radio shops for support. There's no way we could do it all ourselves.

We typically just plop a control station at one of our bases and connect to it using a Vocality/Cubic radio over IP interface. Each Vocality is a SIP extension on our PBX. It's all magic after that!

What radio consoles or console software are you using to talk over these SIP connections?