Objective

National Emergency Helpline – 999, was initiated to provide immediate assistance to the citizen in the case of any emergency need – accident, crime, fire, or ambulance. This was a remarkable project in terms of government service automation in Bangladesh.

Background

The idea of National Emergency Services 999 was conceived by Sajeeb Wazed Joy, Honorable ICT Adviser, and the subsequent design and implementation of which was led by Zunaid Ahmed Palak, Honorable State Minister, ICT Division, Ministry of Post, and Telecommunication & Information Technology. The project was conceived as “999-National Help Desk (NHD)” in the first phase and was being operated by the ICT division. During the implementation of the first phase, Dnet took part in developing Call center CMS solutions, CRM solutions, content for the citizen, agents, and supply-side authorities, call center desk, software and hardware setup and installations, agent deployment, agent training, instant Technical support, and data management. Dnet was also the partner for operations in the first phase. Later the project was handed over to the Ministry of Home Affairs and is currently being run by Bangladesh Police.

Approach

Keeping in mind the convenience of citizens in accessing the service, the project was designed, developed, and implemented with different channels combined– a call center, a mobile app, a website, a live chat, and a Facebook messenger chatbot. The solution was a successful attempt to transform providing emergency services to citizens from manual interventions to fully automatic processes.

Through the web end of 999 Emergency Services, one can find out any information about emergency services and locations that may be beneficial to them during an emergency. This online web portal provides all the essential services expected from 999.

By the end of May 2017, a total of 2,906,583 calls landed on the 999 hotline of which 24% were test calls, prank calls, ghost calls, or purely out of scope. Out of valid cases, 2,153,059 calls were for generic information while 17,222 were for seeking Fire service, and 29,935 and 22,663 calls were for seeking Police and Ambulance services respectively. A unique count of 36521 visitors accessed the National Emergency Service Website by May 2017. The call center has been operational with 70 agents, 4 team leaders, and 6 supervisors working across shifts 24 hours and 7 days a week.

Project Highlights:

• The project combines multiple software and solutions.
• CMS solutions, CRM solutions, Dashboards, and reporting systems were designed with user-centered approaches.
• The service ran by the ICT division and was dedicated for citizens to avail of any sort of emergency service by calling 999.
• The initiative has been designed to complement the government’s objectives in e-governance and m-governance as part of the overarching Digital Bangladesh agenda.
• The portal connects citizens with the Ambulance service and their call center.
• Also connects with the police control rooms of Bangladesh.
• Integration with the fire-service control & dispatch stations and provide direct support to the citizen.
• Dnet designed a special dashboard with an overview and information on the activities of NES.