Automated Call Distributor Prioritization for Emergency Routing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing systems for queuing and routing emergency calls in telephone call centers, such as Emergency Response Centres, often fail to prioritize calls effectively, leading to duplication of reports and inefficient resource allocation.
Innovation Solution
A system utilizing an Automated Call Distributor (ACD) with a locating arrangement, prioritizer, and queuing module that determines the location of callers and respondents, prioritizes calls based on predefined or dynamically updated criteria, and routes them to the most appropriate agent with the necessary skills, ensuring efficient handling of emergency situations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Loss of information
If calls from known emergency locations are placed in a low-priority queue or played a pre-recorded message, then duplication of emergency reports is reduced, but response efficiency for new emergencies deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts call priority based on real-time analysis of caller location, emergency type, and current response status. Calls from locations with active emergencies are routed to a specialized queue that allows them to bypass the low-priority queue if they represent a different or escalating emergency, thus preventing duplication while maintaining response efficiency for new incidents.
Solution Approach 2:
The system implements feedback loops where call information is continuously analyzed and used to update routing decisions. By monitoring the content and location of incoming calls against known emergencies, the system can determine whether a call represents duplication or a new incident, dynamically adjusting priority and queue assignment to optimize both duplication prevention and response efficiency.
2Device complexity
If all emergency calls are treated equally without prioritization, then simplicity is maintained, but resource allocation efficiency deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary analysis of incoming calls by automatically extracting location data, emergency type, and comparing against known incidents before routing. This pre-processing enables intelligent prioritization and queue assignment without requiring complex manual evaluation, maintaining system simplicity while achieving efficient resource allocation through automated preliminary assessment.
3Speed
If calls are routed based solely on geographic location, then routing speed is improved, but accuracy of responder matching deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system applies different routing criteria to different call characteristics and locations. For routine emergencies, geographic proximity is the primary sorting criterion. For complex or specialized emergencies, the system incorporates additional filters such as responder skills, availability, and specialization, applying local quality adjustments to the routing logic based on the specific call context to optimize both speed and accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system to process communications in an automatic communication distributor is described. The method may comprise receiving a communication and identifying an originating location from which the communication originates. Thereafter, a determination is made when the originating location corresponds to a predefined high priority geographical area and a priority to the communication is assigned based on the originating location. The call may be assigned a higher priority when the originating location corresponds to the high priority geographical area than when the originating location does not correspond with the high priority geographical area. The communication is queued based on the assigned priority. A method is also provided to assign an agent using an automated call distributor based on a distance between the originating location of the communication and the determined geographical locations of the potential respondents.