Oliver Grüter-Andrew

In September, I joined E-Comm as President and CEO and the first five months on the job have flown by. I’m reminded every day of how fortunate I am to work alongside (and for) such amazing and dedicated people.

From frontline 9-1-1 staff to technology experts and support staff working behind the scenes, to police officers, firefighters and paramedics on the ground, to the municipalities and government agencies responsible for overseeing the framework for our public safety services—we all feel a shared sense of responsibility for keeping our communities safe.

I have had the chance to visit with many of our stakeholders, including police and fire leadership and numerous municipal partners since joining the public safety community. Ride-alongs with our police dispatch partners have been especially valuable as has been sitting with our call-takers, report agents and dispatchers and other members of the E-Comm team in departments across the company. Moving forward, I am committed to continuing this outreach to keep the connection and open dialogue going. Open conversation fits perfectly with E-Comm’s values: Respect, Accountability, Integrity, Service and Collaboration. Values are crucial for an organization and all five of these align with my beliefs.

I would like to take this opportunity to announce that Erin Ramsay has been appointed our new Vice-President of Operations. Erin has been at E-Comm for more than 12 years in both operational and executive positions and has extensive knowledge of the dispatch role through her past career with the RCMP. The level of energy she brings to this role, combined with her commitment to staff and our partner agencies, leaves no doubt in my mind that under her leadership we will be able to take our communication centre into the future and address the significant change that is ahead through initiatives such as Next Generation 9-1-1.

Throughout 2018, we’ll be revitalizing our strategic plan to focus on the wellbeing of our employees and needs of our partners, along with preparing for future technology changes. We will also be wrapping up final agency transitions to the next generation radio network, with the team on track for completing this major technology initiative on time and under budget. New partnerships will also play a significant role in our work for 2018, with the Township of Langley and the City of Langley’s fire services scheduled to transition to our radio system in April and Port Coquitlam Fire & Emergency Services recently joining us on February 5. Our public safety role on southern Vancouver Island will also expand, as we continue our work on the opening of a new consolidated 9-1-1 and dispatch centre in 2019.

All things considered, 2018 is shaping up to be a busy year and I look forward to providing future updates. I feel privileged to have the opportunity to join the public safety community and to support E-Comm’s contribution to safer communities.