Dane County Public Safety Communications faced a challenge familiar to PSAPs across the country: lengthy training timelines that kept veteran dispatchers tied up as trainers while new hires waited to get on the floor.
The Challenge
Training a new telecommunicator is a significant investment. The traditional approach relies heavily on one-on-one On-the-Job Training (OJT), where experienced dispatchers step away from active consoles to coach trainees through real calls. This creates a double bottleneck:
- Veteran dispatchers are pulled from operational duties
- New hires must wait for training slots to open up
- The center operates short-staffed during the entire process
The Solution
Dane County partnered with ThisGen 911 to implement AI-powered call simulations as a core part of their training program. Trainees could now practice handling realistic emergency scenarios without requiring a live trainer for every repetition.
The simulations provided:
- Unlimited practice opportunities on demand
- Consistent scenario difficulty that could be adjusted to trainee skill level
- Immediate feedback without trainer burnout
- Safe environment to make mistakes and learn
The Results
After implementing ThisGen 911 simulations, Dane County saw dramatic improvements:
| Metric | Result |
|---|---|
| Training Time Reduction | 40% |
| OJT Hours Saved Per Hire | 174 hours |
| Cost Savings Per Hire | $6,960 |
| Faster Deployment | 1 month earlier |
The 174 hours saved per trainee translates directly into veteran dispatchers returning to active duty faster. At $40/hour fully loaded cost, that's nearly $7,000 in savings for each new hire trained.
Key Takeaways
- Simulation complements, not replaces, human training - OJT is still essential, but simulations handle the repetition-heavy skill building
- Trainees arrive at OJT more prepared - When they do work with live trainers, they're not starting from zero
- Training becomes scalable - Multiple trainees can practice simultaneously without competing for trainer time
