Project Description:

The City of Tallahassee has issued a request for proposal (RFP) to install a city wide integrated communications and control system to facilitate the business needs for all city field personnel:  regional police departments, emergency services, utilities, public transportation.  Upon awarding a contract, the consulting company will be responsible for delivering all necessary project documentation to facilitate the implementation of this system.  Actual implementation of this system will be controlled through a second contracting process.  Included within this RFP is a basic description for the minimum set of functional components.  Valid responses to this RFP will contain the following set of documents for each functional component:

1.      Project plan with scheduled implementation for each major functional component.

2.      A detailed set of requirements.

3.      High level design documents detailing:

a.       system architecture (software and hardware)

b.      system interfaces

                                                                           i.      internal system interfaces to software/hardware components

                                                                         ii.      system interfaces to 3rd party systems

c.       necessary documentation to accurately capture the system behavior

4.      A system test plan that includes:

a.       Approach to verify system functionality

b.      Descriptions for the individual test scenarios

5.      User Acceptance Test Plan

 

I. System communications:
This system is to provide the ability for concurrent and private full-duplex voice and data communications for individual city personnel working across the Tallahassee region.  Personnel will be organized into groups (possible organizational structure listed below) and equipped with a handheld device (Pocket PC) that supports the necessary information flow during typical business operations.  Due to a limited number of assigned FCC frequencies, this system should efficiently and dynamically manage the frequency assignments based upon current need. This system shall support but not be limited to the following agencies currently operating in the Tallahassee area:

1. City of Tallahassee Police Department

- Patrol officer

- Investigation Units (Detectives)

- SWAT Team(s)

            2. Leon County Sheriff’s Department

            3. Florida Highway Patrol

            4. Capital Police Department

            5. Florida State University (FSU) Police Department

            6. Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU) Police Department

            7. Tallahassee Community College Police Department

            8. All emergency service personnel:

- Paramedic

- Fire Response Teams

- Ambulance

            9. City Utility Services

            10. Metro Transportation Services (City Buses)

            11. Visiting task force (Example:  US Presidential Secret Service)



This system shall support the following types of voice communication:

    1. Person to Person
      A person shall be able to initiate a private communication with another member of his agency.  When initiating this private call, the receiving unit will generate a unique audio sound and uniquely identify the calling person. The sending unit should generate the necessary (unique) alerts to indicate any communication failure, should one occur.
    2. Subgroup :
      Any member of a subgroup shall be able to initiate a group call to all members of his group.  The initiating device will be referred to as the sending unit while all other units within this group will be identified as the receiving units. When initiating this group call, all available receiving units within this subgroup will immediately unmute and verbalize the audio from the sending unit. 
    3. Agency
      Any member of an agency shall be able to initiate a group call to all members of this group.  The initiating device will be referred to as the sending unit while all other units within this group will be identified as the receiving units. When initiating this group call, all available receiving units within this group will immediately unmute and verbalize the audio from the sending unit.
    4. Temporary Agency
      Unique situations will generate the need for a specialized task force dedicated to a common purpose.  This system shall allow the dynamic creation of a temporary group to support the same type of communications detailed above.

This system shall provide unique audio alerts to a sending unit whenever  communications are not available (e.g. “system not available”, “all circuits busy”).

 

Text Messaging:  A sending unit shall have the ability to issue a text message of variable length to one or more receiving units within the same group/subgroup.

 

Emergency:  Any sending unit belonging to a law enforcement agency shall have the capability of issuing a predetermined emergency broadcast indicating imminent physical danger.  This emergency broadcast should be distributed to all law enforcement personnel in addition to the Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) system.

 

Computer Assisted Dispatch (CAD) System:

This system shall provide computerized system to assist in maximizing the city’s response to the various demands and events encountered during the 24x7 operations.  This system shall provide a graphical system which has the capabilities described below.  System 508 compliance to the American Disabilities Act (enacted 1990) is a concern but not an immediate requirement for this system.

Unit Location:

Graphically display the current location and status of each field unit deployed from the many service groups (e.g. law enforcement, emergency services, utilities etc.)  Each type of field unit will be displayed on a 2-D graphical map with dynamic zoom capability ranging from individual street level to a city/county perspective.  On screen controls shall allow for dynamic control over:

-         the current zoom level

-         ability to scroll across the 2-D map grid to view map sections not currently displayed

-         customize the current view to display the set of field units belonging to a specific agency

 

Unit Status:

Each field unit shall have a status with corresponding color coding assigned to it at all times.  The list of possible statuses will be configurable by a system administrator and should contain the following as a minimum:

-         Available For Assignment

-         On Route to a call/event

-         Arrived On Scene at an event

-         On Duty but Not Available For Assignment

-         Off Duty


Event Priority:

Each event will be assigned a priority based upon the information received by the caller submitting the request.  While the levels of priorities shall be configurable, the system shall support as a minimum the following:

- Urgent:              Life Threatening

- Critical:             Possible damage to property

- Standard:          Assistance Needed

- Low:                 Information Gathering

 

 

 

Unit Information:

From the graphical display, the system will provide the ability to the dispatch operator to view the basic information corresponding to that field unit.  This list of information shall include as a minimum:

-         Type of Unit
For law enforcement patrol units the information must clarify the type of patrol:

o       Police Cruiser

o       Police Motor Cycle

o       Bicycle

o       Foot

o       K-9

o       DUI

o       SWAT

-         Personnel currently assigned to the unit

 

 

Call Report:

The system shall provide the capability of capturing detailed information for each call being assigned to a field unit.  Specific information to be captured should include the following:

-         Type of event (law enforcement, emergency, utility etc.)

-         Physical address (street number, street name, apartment #, building floor etc.)

System defined event code to indicate type of event
The list of event codes should be configurable by a system administrator)

Reporting:

The system shall provide the capability of generating a list of all currently active events sorted by class (e.g. “law enforcement” .vs. “utilities”) and then by priority.  For each report entry, the system shall also provide the address and listing of the units assigned to respond to the event.

 

Traffic Control System:

The system shall provide for a modern real-time traffic control device to be installed at each major intersection within the city.  The controller will provide a fully actuated intersection control mechanism for a standard intersection configuration consisting of four(4) approaches (North, East, South, West) with 3 independently controlled vehicle “phase movements” (through, right turn, left turn).  The approach for each phase movement will contain a vehicle detection device (such as a ground loop) that will indicate a vehicular presence that demands service.  The traffic controller will provide error checking on the detection device to eliminate false readings caused by failing devices:

- Locked:         Continuous vehicle presence throughout established time period.

- Absence:        Lack of any vehicle presence within established time period.

- Erratic:           Unrealistic number of vehicle detections within established time period.

 

Timing Plans:

Each controller will provide a timing plan that will contain all necessary information to control the phase sequence (signal light progression) throughout the specified time period.  This information is to include:

-         Total Cycle Length:
The time required for one full cycle of signal indications, given in seconds.

-         Cycle Splits:
A percentage of a cycle length allocated to each of the various phases in a signal cycle.  (The amount of time given to illuminate each red/yellow/green light.)

-         Phase Sequence:
The predetermined order in which the phases of a cycle occur.
(The order in which each traffic movement is serviced.)

-         Start Time:
The time of day (hour; minute) for which this timing plan begins.

-         Stop Time:
The time of day (hour; minute) for which this timing plan terminates.

 

 

The system will provide a default timing plan that will apply if no specific timing plan is configured.  While only a single timing plan may be active at one time, the system will provide the capability of configuring multiple timing plans that may be invoked throughout the day (24 hour period).  All times shall be referenced in a 24 hour format.  The system shall allow the ability to manually override the system to force a specific timing plan to become active.  The signal to manually override the system may be received from a remote location.

 

Preemption:

The traffic controller shall provide support for preemption of the intersection from various types of vehicles.  Listed in order of priority the different types of preemption shall be:

-         Train

-         Remote Preemption

-         Emergency Vehicle (e.g. Police, Fire, Paramedic, Ambulance etc.)

-         Metro Bus

-         City Utility Vehicle

 

Upon detecting a preemption signal from an oncoming train, the traffic controller will abort the current phase sequence and illuminate a red signal on each phase movement (“All Red Interval).  Upon clearance of the preemption signal, the phase sequence will resume from the initial phase movement identified in the timing plan.

 

Upon receiving a vehicular preemption (e.g. Emergency vehicle, bus, utility), the traffic controller will abort the current phase sequence to provide immediate demand to the traffic approach on which the preemption signal was received.  When providing demand to the specific traffic approach, all three phase movements (through, right, left) will be given a green signal for the duration specified in the current timing plan.  Each vehicle will be issued a preemption signaling device (light) which will strobe at a unique frequency assigned to that field unit.  Each traffic approach will be fitted with a preemptor (hardware device) which will be responsible for detecting the preemption signal, reading the strobe pattern (frequency) and transmitting this data back to the traffic controller.

 

Remote Preemption:

Each traffic controller will have the ability to respond to a preemption signal originating from a remote location.  The remote preempt signal will uniquely identify the traffic approach that is to be placed into preemption.  Once the remote preempt signal is received, the preemption functionality should be as previously described.

 

Network Communication:

Each traffic controller will have the capability of communicating on a secure TCP/IP network to a central command and control station. 

 

Front Panel Display:

The traffic controller will provide a display indicating the current status on each phase movement (which light is currently being illuminated).  This information will be a real-time display accurate down to within one (1) second of the actual street devices. 

Also included in this front panel display will be an indication of the state for each vehicle detector (e.g. active with vehicles detected, active with no vehicles detected, disabled).  The front panel display will also display an indication when a particular preemption is active.

 

This set of information shall be displayed upon a LCD panel located on the controller device and when requested, relayed back to a central monitoring station.

 

Central Monitoring Station:

 

Client Server Architecture:

The system shall be implemented with a client server architecture which allows multiple client systems to independently monitor different aspects of the command system.  Each client system shall communicate with the server over a hard wired TCP/IP network with sufficient communication bandwidth to support the necessary data transfer.  The server will be responsible for core/central system functionality concerned with the communication and CAD operations.  The server shall be configured with sufficient resources to house all necessary software applications necessary for system functionality (e.g. database, GPS, mapping applications etc.).

 

Traffic Monitoring:

The system shall support the capability of one or more client stations to display the front panel display for a single traffic control device.  When displayed, the user shall have the capability of overriding the current timing plan with a specific timing plan.

 

Rapid Response Traffic Control:

The system shall integrate the services of the CAD and traffic control systems to minimize the travel time for emergency vehicles on route to urgent and or critical events.  When in route to a call, the system will remotely preempt the necessary traffic control signals to give priority to the law enforcement vehicle as it travels through the traffic system.  The system will be responsible for monitoring the position of the emergency vehicle and based upon the vehicle’s current speed and location initiate a sequence of remote preemption signal(s) to the respective traffic controllers.  The issuance of these remote preemption signals should be such that the emergency vehicle is able to maintain the posted speed limit while traversing that particular traffic arterial (roadway).

 

Security:

The system must provide a common security policy throughout the system.  Each device and user will be uniquely identified in the system.  User credentials will consist of a unique username and a valid password.  All user information shall be stored in a relational database such as MS SQL or Oracle 10g.

 

Device Assignation:

The central system shall provide for the capability of “assassinating” any field communications device.  Upon reception of this “kill” command, the application shall shut the device down and prevent use until such time that a system administrator can log onto the field device and manually clear the kill command.

 

Over the Air Updates:

The central monitoring system shall provide the capability of updating the field equipment with updated application versions as they are deemed ready for deployment to the field.  Using a scheduling based algorithm, updates will be distributed to specific, uniquely identified devices when that device has entered a low period of activity.  Any law enforcement communications device must assume an “off duty” status prior to receiving any scheduled update.