Grant County's 9-1-1 Communications Center First in Wash. State to Adopt NextGen Call Handling Platform

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Dec 18, 2023, 09:00 ET

MACC 911 deploys Carbyne APEX rich-media technology
to improve response, safety in 9-1-1 communications

MOSES LAKE, Wash., Dec. 18, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- The Multi Agency Communications Center (MACC 911) serving Grant County in the Columbia Basin now employs the most technologically advanced emergency communications system in Washington state, becoming the first agency in the state to launch Carbyne APEX. The Next Generation 9-1-1 call management software gives MACC 911 significantly greater communication capabilities, including GPS, live video, text-to-chat, and real-time translation.

"Seconds matter when responding to emergencies," said MACC 911 director D.T. Donaldson. "The technology that we now have with Carbyne APEX will improve safety and save lives because of our ability to answer priority calls, accurately and swiftly locate the people in need, and even view, through video, the situations that safety personnel are going to."

With the Carbyne APEX NG911 cloud native call handling platform, MACC 911 gains smartphone-friendly capabilities to respond to callers through channels they are used to using, including chat and video. The NextGen technology gives staff greater ability to pinpoint where people are calling from, assess emergencies, and even discern between callers requiring assistance and bystanders reporting an emergency. The AI-powered technology helps staff reduce call-wait times and improve situational awareness and field responder safety.

MACC 911 will also be among the first centers to deploy Carbyne's new call triage feature, which allows staff to handle a surge in calls generated by events like highway accidents or wildfires when multiple people report the same event. Such surges often force other callers with different emergencies to be placed on hold, especially during times when the center is understaffed.

Also, Carbyne's live translation feature now enables MACC 9-1-1 staff to converse in real-time with callers whose first language is something other than English. Leveraging AI-powered technology, the system automatically translates both sides of the conversation while still allowing staff to hear a caller's voice and tone to accurately assess the emergency.

Through live translation, the time to respond to callers drops by several minutes because staff no longer have to connect to a third-party translation specialist.

"Working in emergency communications can be very rewarding, but it can also be stressful, especially for centers that struggle with staffing and recruitment," said Amir Elichai, Carbyne CEO. "With this advanced technology, centers like MACC 911 can mitigate those high-stress periods so staff can do what attracts them to the profession – helping people in need."

"Carbyne's user interface has made adoption especially easy. Staff have found the system to be user-friendly, and that has made the transition to APEX efficient and smooth," Donaldson said.

In what is normally a 12- to 18-month process to install a NextGen technology platform, MACC 911 sought a faster timeline. Carbyne worked with staff to bring the system online in six months.

"As a communications center serving multiple agencies throughout Grant County, a long deployment would require more resources and attention that should be focused on other areas of emergency management," Donaldson said. "Because of Carbyne's staff, who intimately understood our needs, we deployed the new capabilities in rapid time while also making sure our staff were comfortable with the new capabilities they now have at their fingertips."

"We know that for all of the technological advances we can deploy to the field, such technology is only as good as it is easy to adopt and use," Elichai said. "9-1-1 staff provide incredible help when contacted. We're honored to work with MACC 911 staff who show such dedication and professionalism, and we are proud to help MACC 911 be a state and national leader in emergency communications."

About Carbyne

Carbyne (Headquartered in New York, NY) is a leading global provider of cloud-native, mission-critical contact center solutions. Carbyne is one of the largest rich-data providers for emergency response centers, delivering over 250M data points annually in a unified platform. Our technologies enable emergency contact centers and select enterprises to connect with callers as well as connected devices via highly secure communication channels without needing to download a consumer app. With a mission to redefine emergency collaboration and connect the dots between people, enterprises, and governments, Carbyne provides a unified cloud-native solution that provides live, actionable data that can lead to more efficient and transparent operations and ultimately improve the entire dispatch function. With Carbyne, every person counts. Learn more at www.carbyne.com

EDITOR'S NOTE: A video of MACC's new 9-1-1 rich media communications is available here.

SOURCE Carbyne