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A new multimillion-dollar radio system plagued by bugs is scheduled to be implemented across the City of Ottawa this year, spurring staff to fix the errors before the police and fire departments hit the airwaves.
“We have work to do,” according to Pierre Poirier, head of security and emergency management.
“When we deal with first responder agencies, there’s another level of importance to make sure everything operates as intended.”
The problems with the city’s new radio system go beyond the “leap second” snafu on New Year’s Eve, when workers with OC Transpo and public works lost radio service.
There has been a problem at Transpo in recent months where the radio system crashes when several users switch over to one channel.
The city wants to have all 5,900 radios across multiple departments on the new system in 2017. Ottawa Fire Services is scheduled to switch to the new radio system this spring, followed by the Ottawa Police Service.
“We will ensure it is ready before it goes live, but at the same time, there’s a bit of urgency,” Poirier said.
That’s because the existing radio system for police and fire services has come to the end of its lifecycle.
The Ottawa Paramedic Service is on a separate radio system through the province, although the city is investigating if it should move some functions to the new system.
An incredible amount of work is happening behind the scenes to get the new city radio system bug-free, Poirier said.
“It’s part of the growing process of an implementation of a really complicated system,” Poirier said. “Are there growing pains? Absolutely.”
It’s not just a few thousand walkie-talkies. The entire network includes handheld equipment, towers, computers, servers and recorders.
The city’s radio users have unique requirements and it’s been a challenge for the city’s contractor, Bell, to roll out the new system.
The transit department is one of those unique users.
Transpo uses an “iCall” feature that creates an instant talk group on the radio system. It can allow bus drivers communicate with the control centre on a specific channel. However, the system has been crashing when hundreds of users switch to that channel at once.
The city’s new radio network is volatile and it’s a big problem for bus drivers if they can’t quickly contact a control centre, the transit union says.
Clint Crabtree, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, said there have been multiple complaints by workers about the new radio system. Transit operators have been using their personal cell phones for communication when the radio system goes down.
“Potentially it could be a safety issue,” Crabtree said.
The union has a committee actively addressing the matter.
Crabtree said he understands there could be some “hiccups” implementing new technology, “but these hiccups can’t get in the way of being safe on the road.”
The “radio modernization” project dates back to 2009 when the city learned the old system would be declared end-of-life in 2015. From there, the city began investigating new technology using the most up-to-date communications standards in North America.
In 2013, the city selected Bell (in partnership with Cassidian, which is now Airbus DS) to be the system provider for 10 years. The deal came with five one-year options.
The city is paying Bell $5.5 million annually over the 10 years and has purchased more than $10 million worth of equipment, such as radios, voice recorders and consoles.
Poirier estimates that the city has so far spent at least 80 per cent of the total capital budget for the necessary equipment.
The city started implementing the new Bell system in 2015, starting with environmental services and public works. There were 1,800 users on the new radio system that year with few issues.
Ottawa Public Health, the 311 centre and emergency management have since transitioned their radios to the new system. The Canadian Border Services Agency and some of the RCMP are also on the new system, according to Poirier.
Transpo switched to the new system in late September 2016.
Poirier said the main challenge at Transpo has been integrating the radio system with the dispatch centres. In fact, it’s a potential problem for any department that runs radio calls through a dispatch centre.
“It is absolutely Bell’s responsibility to also have known all these issues and to solve them,” Poirier said, noting the city did a “rigorous” vetting process to find a radio system supplier before council approved the Bell deal.
There are penalty provisions in the contract and “at this time we’re reviewing that,” Poirier said.
A Bell spokeswoman said the company doesn’t discuss specifics of its contracts.
“But we are working closely with the city to address any concerns and are fully confident they can be resolved,” Jacqueline Michelis said in an e-mail.
Poirier said the city has an agreement with Bell to make sure the old radio system remains operational while transitioning to the new system.
“We’re holding their feet to the fire to get the new system up and running and make sure it performs as per the contract for all users,” Poirier said.
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“We have work to do,” according to Pierre Poirier, head of security and emergency management.
“When we deal with first responder agencies, there’s another level of importance to make sure everything operates as intended.”
The problems with the city’s new radio system go beyond the “leap second” snafu on New Year’s Eve, when workers with OC Transpo and public works lost radio service.
There has been a problem at Transpo in recent months where the radio system crashes when several users switch over to one channel.
The city wants to have all 5,900 radios across multiple departments on the new system in 2017. Ottawa Fire Services is scheduled to switch to the new radio system this spring, followed by the Ottawa Police Service.
“We will ensure it is ready before it goes live, but at the same time, there’s a bit of urgency,” Poirier said.
That’s because the existing radio system for police and fire services has come to the end of its lifecycle.
The Ottawa Paramedic Service is on a separate radio system through the province, although the city is investigating if it should move some functions to the new system.
An incredible amount of work is happening behind the scenes to get the new city radio system bug-free, Poirier said.
“It’s part of the growing process of an implementation of a really complicated system,” Poirier said. “Are there growing pains? Absolutely.”
It’s not just a few thousand walkie-talkies. The entire network includes handheld equipment, towers, computers, servers and recorders.
The city’s radio users have unique requirements and it’s been a challenge for the city’s contractor, Bell, to roll out the new system.
The transit department is one of those unique users.
Transpo uses an “iCall” feature that creates an instant talk group on the radio system. It can allow bus drivers communicate with the control centre on a specific channel. However, the system has been crashing when hundreds of users switch to that channel at once.
The city’s new radio network is volatile and it’s a big problem for bus drivers if they can’t quickly contact a control centre, the transit union says.
Clint Crabtree, president of Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279, said there have been multiple complaints by workers about the new radio system. Transit operators have been using their personal cell phones for communication when the radio system goes down.
“Potentially it could be a safety issue,” Crabtree said.
The union has a committee actively addressing the matter.
Crabtree said he understands there could be some “hiccups” implementing new technology, “but these hiccups can’t get in the way of being safe on the road.”
The “radio modernization” project dates back to 2009 when the city learned the old system would be declared end-of-life in 2015. From there, the city began investigating new technology using the most up-to-date communications standards in North America.
In 2013, the city selected Bell (in partnership with Cassidian, which is now Airbus DS) to be the system provider for 10 years. The deal came with five one-year options.
The city is paying Bell $5.5 million annually over the 10 years and has purchased more than $10 million worth of equipment, such as radios, voice recorders and consoles.
Poirier estimates that the city has so far spent at least 80 per cent of the total capital budget for the necessary equipment.
The city started implementing the new Bell system in 2015, starting with environmental services and public works. There were 1,800 users on the new radio system that year with few issues.
Ottawa Public Health, the 311 centre and emergency management have since transitioned their radios to the new system. The Canadian Border Services Agency and some of the RCMP are also on the new system, according to Poirier.
Transpo switched to the new system in late September 2016.
Poirier said the main challenge at Transpo has been integrating the radio system with the dispatch centres. In fact, it’s a potential problem for any department that runs radio calls through a dispatch centre.
“It is absolutely Bell’s responsibility to also have known all these issues and to solve them,” Poirier said, noting the city did a “rigorous” vetting process to find a radio system supplier before council approved the Bell deal.
There are penalty provisions in the contract and “at this time we’re reviewing that,” Poirier said.
A Bell spokeswoman said the company doesn’t discuss specifics of its contracts.
“But we are working closely with the city to address any concerns and are fully confident they can be resolved,” Jacqueline Michelis said in an e-mail.
Poirier said the city has an agreement with Bell to make sure the old radio system remains operational while transitioning to the new system.
“We’re holding their feet to the fire to get the new system up and running and make sure it performs as per the contract for all users,” Poirier said.
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