Overview - Association of Local Government Auditors
Association of Local Government Auditors Tuesday May 6, 2014
Stephanie Jackson, JD, CGAP Performance Audit Manager City of Atlanta
Christopher Armstead, JD, CIA Senior IT and Compliance Auditor City of Atlanta
Overview Reason for audit Impact of staffing on call processing time Methodology for analyses
2
E911 Processing Time Above Benchmark
Source: EMBRS data, calendar years 2008 through 2010
3
Audit Objectives How long does E911 take to answer and dispatch emergency calls? Does E911 have enough staff to cover current workload?
4
Overview of E911 Center Center answered over 1 million 911 calls and dispatched public safety personnel to 223,080 police incidents and 49,721 fire incidents Center spent $1.1 million on overtime in fiscal year 2012, about 8% of its overall budget
5
Performance Standards Call Answer Time: 90% of Calls Answered Within 10 Seconds Time to Process Fire Calls: 90% Processed Within 60 Seconds
6
What We Found Overall staffing level is sufficient Center should better align staffing with workload
7
Recommendations Develop shift schedules that align staff with call workload Require staff to record status in the Positron system Implementation should reduce overtime
8
Staffing and Workload Analyses Tools (SQL, R [statistical software package], Excel) The Center captures call and staffing data using Positron, an
emergency communications management system Positron Records: Call data Staff logins Call taker status
9
What Do Incoming Calls Look Like?
10
Challenge Timesheets are handwritten and would require
significant amount of effort for data entry
11
Solution Positron records
call taker login and status activity as events Ran script to
count how many call takers are logged in every half-hour 12
Staffing Levels Did Not Match Workload Throughout the Day
13
Call Takers’ Activities Call takers spent the
same amount of time on call as they spent ready to take next call
Positron tracks status
of call takers logged into the system
Positron does not
route calls to call takers with an unavailable status
Source: Positron records July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012.
14
Call Taker Activity by Time of Day
15
Median Performance and Ready Time Analysis of 90% NENA
standard
We selected 33% as
our optimal ready time
16
Shifting Staff Could Improve Performance and Reduce Overtime
17
Potential Overtime Savings Optimizing call taker staff could reduce overtime Total Median Weekly Actual Hours
2282
2282
2282
Total Median Weekly Model Hours
2157
1977
1740
Difference
125
305
542
Ready Time % Goal
35%
33%
30%
Potential Overtime Savings
155,921
381,349
678,163
18
Questions?
19
Stephanie Jackson, JD, CGAP Performance Audit Manager City of Atlanta
Christopher Armstead, JD, CIA Senior IT and Compliance Auditor City of Atlanta
Overview Reason for audit Impact of staffing on call processing time Methodology for analyses
2
E911 Processing Time Above Benchmark
Source: EMBRS data, calendar years 2008 through 2010
3
Audit Objectives How long does E911 take to answer and dispatch emergency calls? Does E911 have enough staff to cover current workload?
4
Overview of E911 Center Center answered over 1 million 911 calls and dispatched public safety personnel to 223,080 police incidents and 49,721 fire incidents Center spent $1.1 million on overtime in fiscal year 2012, about 8% of its overall budget
5
Performance Standards Call Answer Time: 90% of Calls Answered Within 10 Seconds Time to Process Fire Calls: 90% Processed Within 60 Seconds
6
What We Found Overall staffing level is sufficient Center should better align staffing with workload
7
Recommendations Develop shift schedules that align staff with call workload Require staff to record status in the Positron system Implementation should reduce overtime
8
Staffing and Workload Analyses Tools (SQL, R [statistical software package], Excel) The Center captures call and staffing data using Positron, an
emergency communications management system Positron Records: Call data Staff logins Call taker status
9
What Do Incoming Calls Look Like?
10
Challenge Timesheets are handwritten and would require
significant amount of effort for data entry
11
Solution Positron records
call taker login and status activity as events Ran script to
count how many call takers are logged in every half-hour 12
Staffing Levels Did Not Match Workload Throughout the Day
13
Call Takers’ Activities Call takers spent the
same amount of time on call as they spent ready to take next call
Positron tracks status
of call takers logged into the system
Positron does not
route calls to call takers with an unavailable status
Source: Positron records July 1, 2011, through June 30, 2012.
14
Call Taker Activity by Time of Day
15
Median Performance and Ready Time Analysis of 90% NENA
standard
We selected 33% as
our optimal ready time
16
Shifting Staff Could Improve Performance and Reduce Overtime
17
Potential Overtime Savings Optimizing call taker staff could reduce overtime Total Median Weekly Actual Hours
2282
2282
2282
Total Median Weekly Model Hours
2157
1977
1740
Difference
125
305
542
Ready Time % Goal
35%
33%
30%
Potential Overtime Savings
155,921
381,349
678,163
18
Questions?
19
