MERLIN LEGEND Communications System Release 5.0
Feature Reference
555-650-110
Issue 1
June 1997
Features
Page 293
Group Calling
Using Alarm Thresholds to Monitor the
Effectiveness of Delay Announcements
2
2
In Release 5.0 and later systems, a system manager or calling group supervisor
can use a simple formula to set alarm thresholds in such a way that
Calls-in-Queue Alarm buttons can indicate whether or not delay announcements
are functioning optimally.
Generally the delay interval should be no shorter than the length (in seconds) of
the secondary announcement. Ideally, the delay interval should be a multiple of
the secondary announcement’s length and the anticipated number of calls in
queue during a busy time. For example, if the secondary announcement is 10
seconds long and 5 calls are expected in the queue, the delay interval should be
set to at least 50 seconds.
To accomplish set up alarm thresholds, follow these preliminary steps:
1.
Set up primary and secondary announcements of durations that seem
appropriate for your needs.
2.
Specify a reasonable announcement interval (for example, 30 seconds
based on the rule noted above).
3.
Refer to
and divide the announcement interval (Y) by the length of
the secondary announcement (Z). Round off this result. This determines
the maximum number of calls that can be in the queue before callers have
to wait to hear the secondary announcement again.
4.
Use the value from Step 3 for any one of the three thresholds. When the
number of calls in the queue exceeds this value, the Calls-in-Queue Alarm
button signals the overflow.
Table 23.
Checking the Effectiveness of Delay Announcements
When the number of calls waiting for a secondary announcement multiplied by the
length of that announcement is greater than the announcement interval, an alarm
is triggered. The table above illustrates situations where a programmed
Calls-in-Queue Alarm button would or would not indicate a problem.
If problems arise, use the display at the calling group supervisor DLC console to
monitor the situation while the problem is most severe. Try to adjust the
Calls Waiting for
Secondary
Announcement
(N)
Length of
Secondary
Announcement
in Seconds (Z)
Announcement
Interval in
Seconds (Y)
Queue Length
That Will Cause
Delay if
Exceeded (Y/Z)
N * Z
N * Z
> Y?
3
10
30
3
30
No
3
20
30
2
60
Yes
5
15
90
6
75
No
10
15
90
6
150
Yes
