SPRINGFIELD, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Spok, Inc. announced today that the Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) has selected Spok’s enhanced 9-1-1 (E9-1-1) solution for a number
of its facilities. The E9-1-1 software will enable the FAA’s emergency
response teams to pinpoint a 9-1-1 caller’s exact location, notify
appropriate onsite personnel, and maintain the safety of FAA employees
and visitors.
The Spok solution has already been implemented at the FAA’s William J.
Hughes Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J. Additional rollouts are
ongoing at regional FAA facilities in Alaska and Hawaii, and are planned
for the FAA HQ in Washington D.C. as well as the Mike Monroney
Aeronautical Center in Oklahoma City, one of the Department of
Transportation’s largest complexes outside the Washington, D.C., area
with more than 7,500 employees.
“The campus environment of FAA facilities is similar to an Air Force
Base with a perimeter gate, so it’s vital that personnel know emergency
details, including where the caller is located and whether emergency
responders will arrive from off campus,” said Eric Rambo, FAA project
manager for General Dynamics, who introduced Spok to the FAA.
Before installing E9-1-1 technology from Spok, the FAA’s Atlantic City
facility lacked caller location information and robust monitoring
capabilities, which contributed to a number of communication problems at
the facility. As a result, General Dynamics, which has maintained the
FAA’s administrative voice system for the past six years, proposed Spok
E9-1-1 software to the FAA staff. Since the software was installed in
December 2014, FAA personnel report significant improvement to their
emergency response capabilities.
The Atlantic City facility relies on the county’s public safety
answering point (PSAP) to field 9-1-1 calls, but Spok’s system
automatically provides additional information on a caller’s exact
location and other vital details. The system also notifies the
appropriate onsite personnel that an emergency call is in progress with
the exact location of an emergency, allowing for a faster response.
FAA security staff receive notifications via passive monitoring phone
calls, emails, and pop-up alerts on screens at the gate, visitor center,
and main building. The teams then coordinate their internal emergency
response via radio after they review the information on the 9-1-1 call.
They also use the E9-1-1 software to keep track of the types of calls
they receive.
Rambo said the implementation went smoothly with Spok’s technicians and
support team.
About Spok
Spok, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Spok
Holdings, Inc. (NASDAQ: SPOK), headquartered in Springfield, Va., is
proud to be a leader in critical communications for healthcare,
government, public safety, and other industries. We deliver smart,
reliable solutions to help protect the health, well-being, and safety of
people around the globe. Organizations worldwide rely on Spok for
workflow improvement, secure texting, paging services, contact center
optimization, and public safety response. When communications matter,
Spok delivers. Visit us at spok.com or
find us on Twitter @Spoktweets.
Spok is a trademark of Spok Holdings, Inc.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20150528005129/en/
Spok, Inc.
Jill Asby, 952-230-5363
jill.asby@spok.com
Source: Spok, Inc.