|
-
PSERN Operator is Hiring: The Operator is hiring for a Technical Operations Manager, Radio Operations Supervisor, Fiscal Specialist, and an Administrative Specialist II with a target goal of having these positions start this fall. Job postings can be found here. Please share with your network to help build the new PSERN Operator staff!
-
Project Schedule Revision in Process: The PSERN Project is convening multiple stakeholder workshops to create an updated Radio Deployment and Transition Date schedule that will be discussed at the September 22nd Project Joint Board meeting and shared broadly next month.
-
Prepare Radio Inventory for Exchange: Agencies should be actively preparing each of their radios to be exchanged based on their radio ID number. Additionally, agencies with mobile radios need to ensure that the Project has the current vehicle asset number for each mobile radio ID number. View the Radio Deployment Preparation Checklist for more information on how to prepare.
In early April, PSERN Project Director, David Mendel, was appointed as interim Chief Information Officer (CIO) for King County IT (KCIT), and most of his responsibilities were shifted to other Project staff while recruitment for a replacement was pursued. The recruitment process did not identify a successful candidate. Since it was determined unsustainable for Project staff to continue performing Director’s tasks and important to have one individual accountable for the overall Project, an alternative solution was proposed – to request that PSERN Operator Executive Director, Michael (Mike) Webb, additionally assume the role of PSERN Project Director.
Mike agreed to take on the additional responsibilities, the PSERN Project Joint Board supported the approach and on July 28th, the PSERN Operator Board of Directors approved Mike Webb to serve as both the PSERN Operator Executive Director and the PSERN Project Director. Since July, he has been familiarizing himself with the status of activities, meeting with each Project staff member, and implementing new approaches to move forward.
Also, there have been two changes to the PSERN Project Joint Board. With the departure of the KCIT CIO from the Joint Board, King County Undersheriff, Jesse Anderson has been appointed to represent King County since the Sheriff’s Office includes the most radio users of any department or division within the County. Additionally, with Chief Burns being appointed Medina City Manager, the King County Police Chiefs and Sheriff’s Association (KCPCSA) appointed Chief Jeff Sass to the Joint Board.
Developing radio templates has been an enormous challenge for the PSERN Project due to the approximately 600 template variations and the multiple stakeholders involved in the creation, testing, and programming phases for each template. The following improvements are being implemented to improve the radio template (or codeplug) development workflow and increase efficiencies:
-
Real-Time Dashboard: All codeplug development stakeholders are now fully utilizing the new tracking system by entering their task status to display in a real-time dashboard. This is allowing more streamlined coordination between parties, the ability to rapidly identify obstacles, and monitor progress based on a weekly codeplug schedule that aligns with the groupings of radios to be deployed.
-
Consolidating Codeplugs: Project staff is actively working with agencies to reduce the quantity of codeplugs (radio template variations) so that fewer codeplugs will need to be created and the codeplug development process can be expedited.
-
Reconsidering Roles in Codeplug Development: The creation and testing phases can involve multiple hand-offs between Project, Radio Shops, and Motorola resources, so the Project is considering splitting responsibilities to increase speed and efficiency.
-
Updated Testing Sequence: The Project has revised the codeplug development process so that “master” codeplugs are fully tested prior to being programmed into an end-user agency radio. This approach will expedite testing because, by the time the codeplug is programmed into a radio, testing can be focused on agency-specific elements.
Since the last newsletter in early July, there has been additional progress in Radio Deployment, but due to delays with codeplug development, deployment was temporarily stopped in August. The PSERN Project is confident that deployment will resume in mid-September because of recent progress in codeplug development and testing. The following is the general status of deployment between as of August 30th:
-
Wave 1 (SPU/Sound Transit Operations): The remaining vehicles became available and now 100% of the mobile radios have been deployed to SPU and Sound Transit Operations! Approximately 50 more portables were deployed since July resulting in 74% of total portables now deployed. In early August, deployment paused because the codeplugs for the remaining portables and control stations were not ready. As of late August, the codeplugs for portables and control stations are still in process.
-
Wave 2 (Seattle Area Agencies/Public Safety Portables): As of early August, Seattle Fire and UW Police had received all their mobile radios and in total, two-thirds of the Wave 2 mobile deployments are complete! Deployment paused in August because codeplugs for the remaining mobile, portable, and control stations were still in development. These codeplugs are now ready, so Seattle Fire and Seattle Police will start receiving their portable radios in the next couple of weeks, with mobile installations resuming September 19th. Other public safety portable deployment will be the focus next.
-
Wave 3 (South of I-90 Agencies): Mobile radio installations are now expected to begin in early October.
-
Wave 4 (North of I-90 Agencies): The timing for the commencement of Wave 4 mobile installations will be determined in the new schedule.
|
|
|
The following Project schedule is subject to change, but is accurate as of 8/25/2022*:
-
Radio Deployment & Transition: January 2022 - TBD
-
Full System Acceptance: TBD
* An updated PSERN Project schedule will be available soon.
|
|
|
The radios that agencies will be receiving during Radio Deployment have two types of warranties associated with them:
-
Initial Warranty: The new radio will be under warranty from the point of receipt until 2 years after Full System Acceptance (FSA). This warranty covers repair or replacement (unless a radio shows clear damage by the end-user).
-
Extended Warranty: After FSA, there is an extended warranty for another 7 years, which only covers repair, not replacement.
Under the current schedule of FSA in June 2023, all new radios would be covered under the Initial Warranty (repair/replacement) until June 2025 and the Extended Warranty (repair only) until June 2030. Warranty-related repair work would be provided by radio shops. Please note that warranties do not include the cost of annual radio maintenance, which is handled by the radio shops at hourly rates.
At the July PSERN Operator Board meeting, a decision was made that the rate stabilization methodology used to determine PSERN subscriber rates should result in the rate stabilization funds ($2.6M) reducing service fees for all PSERN users.
At the August PSERN Operator Board meeting, the following two scenarios were outlined in the 2023 PSERN Operating Budget and Rate Setting Staff Report (page 26):
-
Scenario 1: Rates are calculated by allocating the $2.6M in a gradually decreasing fashion of 50% in the first year, 33% in the second year, and 17% in the third year.
-
Scenario 2: Rates are calculated by allocating the $2.6M over the first three years (2024, 2025, 2026) in a manner that results in a uniform increase year to year (20%, 20%, 21%).
The PSERN Operator Board aims to decide on which subscriber rate to pursue at their September 22, 2022 meeting. Meeting information can be found here.
In addition to radio subscriber rates that end-user agencies will pay to use the PSERN radio system, there are two other expenses they should be planning for in their 2023 (and beyond) budgeting – required annual preventative radio and replacing their radios at the end of their lifespan. In the Radio End User Service Level Agreement (SLA) that each subscriber parent agency signed, there is a requirement to conduct annual preventative maintenance:
“5.3 In using the Equipment and PSERN, the End User Agency agrees to…5.3.13 Perform, or have performed, preventative maintenance of its Subscriber Radios in accordance with manufacturer’s recommendations and schedules”.
This requirement was included to ensure radios are performing optimally in the field. With the new digital technology of PSERN, the impact of a poorly maintained radio is more significant than with earlier generations of technology. Additionally, the average lifespan of radios is 10 years, so agencies are encouraged to allocate funds towards the replacement of their new radios around 2033. The radios that agencies are receiving in Radio Deployment were purchased from a 2015 tax-payer levy and the PSERN Operator subscriber rates do not include radio replacement. If end-user agencies have questions about annual preventative radio maintenance service fees or how to budget for radio replacement, they should contact their radio shop for information.
|
|
|
|
|
