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My dept is in the process of trying to get the EPD program for call taking, I, for one, think its a bad idea in a large dept, more suitable for smaller depts.
We already use the EMD and I think the repetative questions we have to ask everyone is just ridiculous.
Now, for those depts that do use the EPD, how is it??
We also use EMD at BSO. I have gotten a look at the EPD cards and the best thing about them is the standardized questions asked and in order. EMD isn't really bad if they are used right. Alot of people think the questions are repeating but actually they are not. The best thing about these card sets is that no matter who the calltaker is you should be getting the exact same information for each type of call.
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Originally Posted by guest09
My department actually uses all 3; EMD,EFD, and EPD.Let me tell you it works great for medical and fire but as far as for police it is still very shaky. I am part of a large dept and we all see so many errors. the questions are standard but for the most part they don't apply to the what the caller is stating.
Ex. a noise complaint couldn't take more then 1 minute on avg. Well with this "amazing" system we are stuck for about 5 asking then things like is your life in danger, do you know if someone is injured, do you have the descp of the homeowner. Seriously? its very repetitive. I see how it could be good, but it will be taking a long time to get there.
with epd, emd, efd, you can pre alert on all calls if necessary. If you are going to use efd or epd, it is best to go over the software with reps from both departments before committing. the best thing is that it is a nationall certified program, backed up by NAED, and they will provide legal assistance if their software was the issue. It make you ask the same questions on the same calls every time.
I know this is an old thread, but the EPD for a large call volume dept is a bad idea. Like someone posted previously, you are on 3 mins taking a call that should be less than 30 seconds, asking questions that are not relevant to the call itself.
This creates problems for old school employees who actually freelanced most of their career and used common sense.
This program EPD requires you to follow a script verbatim, if you sway away from the written questions enough, you will get dinged by QA. Alot of those and you start to get non-compliance.
You can go from a stellar call taker without writeups to a file filled with non compliances and reprimands, so now you are labled a "bad employee."
EPD will work well for small dept with extremely low call volumes where you can stay on the phone for long periods of time and not worry about picking up another line.
In my dept we are tri-credited, and I can tell you the EPD part was not earned, administration cheated to get it.