As an American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited Standards Developer (ASD), APCO International is dedicated to ensuring public safety communications has a role in the development of standards that affect our industry. The integrity and inclusiveness of the process results in high quality standards that assist ECCs with operational, technical and training guidance. APCO’s standards development activities have a broad scope, ranging from the actual development of standards to the representation of public safety communications in other standards development areas.
Standards Working Group Volunteers
APCO’s standards are shaped by the expertise and collaboration of our Standards Working Groups. These dedicated teams of approximately 15 volunteers bring diverse backgrounds in training, operations and technical fields to research and develop standards that advance public safety communications.
The following working group are currently seeking members.
Public Safety Grade Site Hardening Requirements
This technical standard will define public safety communications resilience by creating comprehensive site hardening requirements to ensure first responder networks remain operational during hurricanes, wildfires and other disasters. The working group will meet on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 3:00 p.m. ET for 50-minute sessions.
Cybersecurity Training for Public Safety Communications Personnel
This revised standard will establish specific, measurable areas of communications center performance to effectively benchmark operational effectiveness and provide management with essential performance indicators. The standard will address, but not be limited to, call volume and response metrics, technology and communication channels, and overall system performance and operations.
Emergency Communications Center (ECC) Service Capability Criteria Rating Scale
This standard focuses on refining the definitive assessment tool that enables ECC managers to objectively evaluate their operational capabilities and identify clear pathways to optimal preparedness. Your expertise will directly impact the revised standard that guides how ECCs across the nation prepare for and respond to both natural disasters and complex emergencies. The working groups will meet virtually on the first and third Thursdays of each month at 11:00 a.m. ET for 50-minute sessions.
Check back often to join this important work and contribute to the future of public safety communications.
Find Standards
Locate operational, technical and training standards developed by APCO for the public safety communications profession.
Standards Review & Comment
The APCO ANS process allows anyone using APCO standards to have confidence that our standards are based on a consensus of views arrived at through a fair and open process. Anyone can participate in reviewing and commenting.
Help With Standards Development
Join the Standards Development Committee, one of the three subcommittees, or working groups to develop new standards and revise current standards.
APCO Standards Activities in Progress
The following standards are currently in development:
Operational Candidate ANS
- Non 9-1-1 Call Processing and Dispatch
- Supplemental Emergency Responder Recommendations
- Minimum Technical Requirements for Remote Support to Emergency Communication Center (ECC) Operations\
Technical Candidate ANS
- Common Computer Aided Dispatch (CAD) GIS Identifiers
Training Candidate ANS
Revisions to Current APCO ANS Standards
- Multi-Functional Multi-Discipline CAD Minimum Functional Requirements
- Public Safety Communications Incident Handling Process
- NENA/APCO Minimum Training Standard for TTY/TDD Use in the Public
- NENA/APCO Standard for Telecommunicator Emergency Response Taskforce (TERT)
- APCO/NENA Standard for the Establishment of a QA/QI Program for ECCs
- Minimum Training Standards for Public Safety Telecommunicators
- Core Competencies and Minimum Training Standards for PSC Training Coordinator
- Core Competencies and Minimum Training Standards for PSC Training Officer (CTO)
Questions and Suggestions
If you have any questions, suggestions, or need help finding a specific standard, please email [email protected] or call (386) 944-2459.
