Orange County’s ECC Implements Delphini to Lower Percentage of Times Dispatchers Need Details Repeated During Radio Transmissions

Introduction

Chris Cord, director of the Orange County Emergency Communications Center (ECC) in Orange, Virginia, first heard about Delphini during a cold call from Roger Mann, Smart Response Technologies’ CEO. Timing is everything! Just weeks before their conversation, Cord’s ECC experienced a dispatcher missing the important detail that a firefighter was “down” when it was announced at the scene during the radio transmit, resulting in critical minutes being lost in responding accurately to the serious situation at hand. As Mann revealed the features and benefits of Delphini, Cord immediately recognized how having a radio speech-to-text transcription tool with keyword highlighting and auto alerting would have made a huge difference in the avoidance of important life-saving details being unheard or overlooked. He requested a demo of Delphini and invited the fire chief to join him.

It was decided that Delphini would be implemented in the Orange County ECC but used only for monitoring the fire department and EMS radios to test the success of the product. Cord said, “I’m very pleased with how well the product is working. The transcription accuracy is around 90% at this point and the supervisors and dispatchers love it. Keyword highlights and the auto-alerts are making their jobs a little easier and whole lot more efficient.” He recognizes that there is far less miscommunication and missed details by the dispatchers, and not having to use playbacks is saving them valuable time.

The next step is to roll it out to the police department and other law enforcement agencies very soon. Additionally, Cord is going to use Delphini in their rookie training program to reinforce development of the radio ear.

Cord exclaimed, “Delphini is like having another person in the room. It gives me an extra set of ears, and takes away the worry of missing details, which in turn eliminates some of the stress of the job.”

Customer Challenges/The Opportunity

Cord was aware that dispatchers on his team were occasionally asking for details to be repeated during a radio transmission due to first responders not speaking clearly or having a poor connection. “It was troubling, and frustrating,” he declared. Then, in late 2023, Orange County’s ECC experienced a dispatcher missing the important detail that a firefighter was “down” when it was announced at the scene during the radio transmit, resulting in critical minutes being lost in responding accurately to the serious situation at hand.

According to available nationwide data, dispatchers in an ECC typically need to ask for information to be repeated over the radio between 5-15% of the time depending on factors like call volume, radio quality, and caller stress levels; however, this percentage can vary significantly depending on the specific situation and agency.

Recognizing these troubling industry stats and admitting that even 1% of the time is too much, Cord wanted his team to have all the technology tools available to help decrease the percentage of missed communication during their radio interactions.

Why Delphini Was Chosen

Unlike other clients that met Smart Response Technologies (SRT) at a regional public safety conference and saw a live demonstration of Delphini at the booth, Cord received a cold call from Roger Mann, SRT’s CEO, shortly after the incident in which one of his dispatchers missed the important detail that a firefighter was “down” when it was announced at the seen during the radio transmit.

As Mann revealed the features and benefits of Delphini, Cord immediately recognized how having a radio speech-to-text transcription tool with keyword highlighting and auto alerting would have made a huge difference in the prior incident. It could have prevented that important life-saving detail being unheard or overlooked, so he requested a demo of Delphini and invited the fire chief to join him.

The features that resonated with them the most during the first demonstration were:

• Accuracy of the live radio speech-to-text transcription
• Highlighting customizable key words and phrases with the use of color codes
• Auto alerting of management during a critical situation
• Event planning

Cord noted, “Delphini is both intuitive and accurate with its transcription capabilities, and it was obvious how beneficial it would be to my dispatchers as well as to first responders and the community at large. It eliminates the worry of missing details.” He considers it “the solution to an immediate need.”

Additionally, as a smaller agency with a limited budget, Cord appreciates that Delphini is not cost prohibitive. “I think SRT’s pricing for this product is very competitive,” he said.

Results

The implementation of Delphini began in early 2024 and it was fully functional with all staff trained by May. The ECC is testing it on the fire and EMS radio channels first before rolling it out to the police department/law enforcement agencies in 2025.

Cord revealed he is very pleased with the accuracy of the transcriptions, which is already at 90%.

He said, “Our dispatchers find it easy to use and believe it’s making the process more efficient and their job a little bit easier. And supervisors are loving the auto-alerts!”

Cord is seeing steady improvements in the accuracy of radio communication and response times. “I’m very relieved that the dispatchers don’t need to ask for details to be repeated often, nor do they have to use the playback, which is saving valuable seconds in our responses during critical situations. We appear to be achieving my goal of lowering the percentage of times they need something repeated, which is a relief.”

Furthermore, Cord disclosed that he has been “impressed” with the quality of SRT’s customer service. He said, “Their team is very responsive and timely in the follow-up. They listen to me and respect my feedback. As a result, our custom keywords and phrases have enabled the AI model to work efficiently and effectively.”

Moving forward, Cord wants to utilize Delphini as a training tool to help recruits develop the accuracy of the radio ear. “I want to set them up for success and give them every advantage so that they build confidence and experience less stress. Delphini is their partner on the job,” he said.

Call-to-Action

To see a live demonstration of Delphini in action and to find out more about Smart Response Technologies, email info@smartresponsetech.com to schedule an appointment with one of SRT’s experts, or visit the website: Smart Response Technologies.

Customer Overview

Orange County Emergency Communications Center
1182 Government Center Dr.
Orange, VA 22960

Contact:
Chris Cord, Director

The Orange County Emergency Communications Center provides 24-hour, 7 day-a-week 9-1-1 access and services to the citizens and user agencies in Orange County, Virginia. Their 9-1-1 services include receiving emergency and non-emergency requests for services, dispatching of EMS, fire, law enforcement and rescue squad units, transferring 9-1-1 calls to other county emergency response agencies, monitoring and providing severe weather alerts, and serving as a county point of contact for state agencies. The Communications Center is staffed by 18 full-time trained communications officers (14 dispatchers and 4 supervisors), each working 12-hour shifts on a rotating basis, and the center is equipped with 6 consoles.

Dispatch Services

Dispatch and support services are provided to the following agencies in and around Orange County.

• Orange County Sheriff’s Office
• Town of Orange Police Department
• Town of Gordonsville Policy Department
• County of Orange Fire and EMS
• Barboursville Volunteer Fire Department
• Gordonsville Volunteer Fire Department
• Orange Volunteer Fire Department
• Mine Run Volunteer Fire Department
• Lake of the Woods Volunteer Fire Department
• Lake of the Woods Volunteer Rescue Squad
• Virginia Department of Forestry

Established in 1734, Orange County is in the heart of Central Virginia, in the Piedmont region, famed for rolling hills and world-renowned wines. Its proximity to the Blue Ridge Mountain foothills lends itself to spectacular views and sunsets.

The county consists of 341 square miles (227,200 acres) with elevations ranging from 175 feet above sea level along the Rapidan River to 1,200 feet above sea level in the mountains.

Orange County is situated close to several major cities: 20 miles from Charlottesville, VA; 60 miles from Richmond, VA; and 70 miles from Washington, DC.

As of 2024, Orange County is the 47^th largest county in Virginia with an estimated population of 39,093 with a growth rate of 1.35% in the past year. The median age is 42.8 and the median household income is $87,309.

93.51% of Orange County residents speak only English, while 6.49% speak other languages. The non-English language spoken by the largest group is Spanish, which is spoken by 3.38% of the population. (Source: https://worldpopulationreview.com/us-counties/virginia/orange-county)

Company Overview

Smart Response Technologies (SRT) is a Veteran-owned small business headquartered in the Dayton, Ohio area creating assistive AI solutions for first responders’ biggest communication challenges. SRT works side-by-side with its customers and collaborates with other cloud native companies to enable more efficient, less stressful 911 workflows. When public safety agencies are strapped for resources, trying to maintain quality of service can be difficult. SRT provides a solution with an affordable, resilient, and highly secure, cloud-based SaaS platform called Delphini. The firm’s cognitive technology quickly activates with no impact to existing systems and serves as the smart way to support efficient use of resources. Smart Response Technologies

Product Overview

Specially designed with call takers and dispatchers in mind, Delphini is an affordable ground-breaking AI subscription cloud-based SaaS platform that provides multiple channel monitoring using a simplified dashboard to deliver real-time updated information through live radio and 911 call speech-to-text transcription, customizable keyword highlights, and live mapping updates. Developed by SRT in cooperation with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base using a $5M federal investment, Delphini is the patented solution to eliminating miscommunication and missed communication, revolutionizing emergency call centers nationwide.

The platform is proven to increase audio comprehension by 70% and communications effectiveness by 55%, while enhancing accuracy in transcribing and improving the efficiency and timeliness of coordinated responses. As a result, dispatchers gain confidence and competence, which helps to dramatically reduce stress and burnout on the job.

SRT has the exclusive commercial licensing rights to Delphini and markets the product nationwide to command & control centers, correction facilities, event management, and courthouse, corporate, and campus security.

Derived from the Latin root for dolphin, the name Delphini is inspired by the collaborative nature of dolphins. These highly intelligent and conscientious sea animals look out for each other, traveling in pods with very efficient communication techniques to send important messages that ensure survival and security. Scientists believe each dolphin’s mother assigns it a unique signature whistle for identification.

Product Features

Delphini is a reliable, easy-to-use assistive AI cloud-based SaaS platform that displays on consoles, tablets, and smartphones. It provides the emergency call taker and dispatcher with improved observations and accuracy leading to more job confidence, better decisions, and quicker actions on the highest priority incidents. Faster response times enable the saving of more lives, which keeps communities safer. The patented product features are:

Customizable Keyword Highlights – alerts priority words, terms, and phrases

Live Radio and 911 Call Speech-to-Text Transcription – in both English and Spanish

Multiple Channel Monitoring at once – uses a simplified dashboard

3D Spatial Audio – increases comprehension

Pinpointing – identifies specific location of the incident

Live Mapping Updates – streamlines troubleshooting and management operations

Flag Lines – enables adding of notes for later review

Playback – enables review of past transmissions

Data Rich Symbols – verifies and enhances verbal data

Working in unison, these unique features are eliminating missed communication and miscommunication at emergency dispatch centers nationwide, while helping to solve many of the physical and mental challenges call takers incur on the job.

Implementing Delphini

Implementing Delphini is simple. The patented product does not require a software download or special hardware adjustments. It is a cloud-based platform with easy access using a login and password at each console, and it works cooperatively with existing SaaS platforms already installed or available on the call center’s systems.

Delphini is designed to work with either an analog or digital system, but a digital connection minimizes signal loss, which greatly improves the clarity of a voice, enabling Delphini to optimize performance.

Delphini is also user-friendly and takes approximately one week on average for call takers and dispatchers to come up to speed.

Once Delphini is initiated, an SRT expert provides 30-minute to one-hour virtual training sessions as needed to call center employees and gives access to online video training tutorials and printed one-page instruction guides for each user station. Additionally, SRT collaborates directly with management regularly through video chats and conference calls to ensure Delphini is meeting expectations, especially in the live speech-to-text transcription feature. SRT also provides continuous one-on-one guidance for call takers and dispatchers as requested at no additional charge.

Monitoring Delphini for accuracy and important stats at each customer site happens automatically, but to maintain quality control and to confirm that call centers are optimizing all of Delphini’s features and benefits, the customer services team proactively checks in regularly to answer any questions and make adjustments as needed.

To learn more about Delphini and see a live demonstration of the product in action, contact:

info@smartresponsetech.com