Overview#
The Call-First Calls Console is an alternative home for the emergency call handling application that puts the call queue at the centre of the screen. Call takers and dispatchers work from one shared queue of live calls, callbacks and briefings, pick a line, and open the context they need beside it, while supervisors get floor and quality views from the same queue.
The console is an available capability that each deployment chooses to enable. It is switched off by default, and a deployment that does not enable it keeps the existing call handling home unchanged.
For buyers, the console offers a simpler, queue-led way of working for centres that prefer it, with the same records and permissions as the rest of the platform. For operators, the queue is built to be truthful: a waiting count is shown only from a complete snapshot of the queue, and a failed read of the queue is reported as a failure, never as an empty queue.
Last Reviewed: 2026-10-28 Last Updated: 2026-10-28
Key Features#
- One Shared Queue: Live calls, due callbacks and the shift briefing sit in one queue. Callbacks are ordered by their priority within each due state, and the briefing appears as a queue row instead of a separate screen.
- Pinned Line and Preview: A call taker pins the line they are handling, which unlocks its actions, and can preview other rows read-only without losing their place.
- Selection in the Address: The selected row, preview, stage and open panel are kept in the page address, so a view can be refreshed, shared with a supervisor or reopened in another window and come back the same.
- Context Drawer: Caller details, location, the linked incident and unit assignment open in a drawer beside the line, using the same assign panel and unit ranking as the dispatch board.
- Supervisor Floor and Quality Views: Supervisors see the floor and quality views from the same queue the call takers use.
- Truthful Counts: Queue tabs do not show a count until the queue has been read in full, and the count line says when some of the queue could not be read. A failed queue read is shown as a failure on every view, whether or not the console is enabled.
- Multilingual: The console's wording is available in the platform's supported languages for emergency call handling.
- Opt-In per Deployment: The console is enabled per deployment. When it is not enabled, the existing home, links and pop-out windows keep working as before.
Use Cases#
Queue-Led Call Centre#
A regional centre that works strictly from the queue enables the console. Call takers pin each new call, open the context drawer to check location and assign a unit, and move to the next due callback without leaving the queue.
Supervising the Floor#
A supervisor watches the floor view of the same queue during a busy period, previews a long call read-only, and sees at once if the queue could not be fully read.
Audiences#
- Call takers and dispatchers who prefer a queue-first layout.
- Shift supervisors monitoring the floor.
- Centre managers evaluating different ways of working.
Integration#
The console uses the same call, callback, incident and unit records as the rest of the emergency call handling application, and shares its assign panel with the dispatch board. Permissions, audit and recording work exactly as in the standard home.
Open Standards#
- NENA i3: calls and their location arrive through the platform's standards-based call handling.
- WCAG 2.2: the console supports keyboard navigation and is built to recognised accessibility guidelines.
- ISO 8601: queue, wait and callback times use a standard date-time representation.