About Neyðarlínan

Role, values and vision

The role of Neyðarlínan is to provide first-class emergency and safety services and through those services assist in saving lives as well as protecting the environment, property, and infrastructure from damage. In this way, the consequences of accidents and natural disasters are reduced.

Neyðarlínan’s vision for the future is to be a leading company in the field of emergency and safety services. Neyðarlínan aspires to have skilled and well-trained staff. The company uses and develops the best technological equipment and infrastructure available at any given time. In this way, Neyðarlínan can excel and serve as a benchmark for other companies in the field.

Helpfulness

• Helpfulness involves providing all possible assistance (service) to the company’s customers.
• It involves patience and initiative.
• Helpfulness also involves supporting and working with coworkers and collaborators.

Rapid response

• Rapid response includes fast and safe response towards collaborators, coworkers, and customers.

Professionalism

• Professionalism refers to professional working methods towards customers, collaborators, and coworkers.
• Professional working methods are based on following operating plans and set processes.
• Professionalism involves quality that all staff must honour in their work.

Collaborators

112 fills an important role as the point of contact between the various parties providing emergency and response services. 112’s experience and knowledge in this field have created a broad network that stretches from emergency teams to security companies and contractors. The trust that 112 has earned through the years has made it possible for the company to expand and develop in collaboration with a growing number of companies, institutions, and organisations.

Among Neyðarlínan's collaborators are the police, fire departments all over the country, Children's services (Barnarvernd) and the Red Cross.

112’s activities

Response and mobilisation

• 112 coordinated emergency response.
• Involvement in search and rescue operations.
• Mobilisation of response workers due to accidents, violence, human trafficking, and misdemeanours.
• Monitoring services.

Telecommunications

• The operation of Tetra emergency and safety radio communications system.
• The operation of the Maritime Traffic Service.
• The operation of facilities for various telecommunications.
• The operation of law enforcement cameras.
• Universal communications service, telecommunications outside market areas.

Goals

• To provide customers with robust, first-class service.
• To enjoy public trust.
• To have well-trained, educated, and happy staff at its disposal.
• That the company’s internal operations are efficient.
• To have good communication with emergency responders.

The pillars of 112

The first pillar of 112 is people. That includes 112’s staff policy and everything involving 112’s staff or board. 112’s goal is to be a reliable workplace where quality service and rapid response go hand in hand. 112 emphasises employing exceptional staff on competitive salaries. Emphasis is placed on staff applying their strengths so they can develop on the job and thus be able to tackle new challenges.

The second pillar is safety. That includes our quality, risk, and safety policies. 112 emphasises protecting all information from internal and external threats. It also emphasises ensuring that the company’s quality of service is in accordance with 112’s legally mandated role and ensuring that the association can perform its legally mandated projects so that the safety of staff, customers, and equipment is ensured.

The third pillar is the environment. That includes the social, environmental, and procurement policies. 112 works according to an environmental policy and emphasises reducing the negative environmental impacts of its operations. Sorting waste is a part of daily operations and staff receive subsidies when they commute to and from work in environmentally-friendly ways.

Organisational chart and board

112 is owned by the State Treasury of Iceland.

The board of 112

• Guðmundur Axel Hansen, Ministry of Finance and Economics - chairman
• Ingilín Kristmannsdóttir, Ministry of Infrastructure
• Ragna Bjarnadóttir, Ministry of Justice
• Runólfur Birgir Leifsson, Ministry of Health
• Sigríður Björk Guðjónsdóttir, National Police Commissioner
• Kristinn Jónasson, Ministry of Finance and Economics - substitute
  

The History of 112

Neyðarlínan ohf. was established in October 1995 and began operating the emergency phone line 112 on January 1st, 1996. The operation of the emergency number 112 and connected services are still the company’s main focus. 112 also ran the operations centre of Securitas from the same date and until October 2008.

In the fall of 2006, Neyðarlínan (25%) and the State of Iceland (75%) established the private company Öryggisfjarskipti ehf., which owns and operates the Tetra radio communications system.

According to the service contract with the Icelandic Maritime Administration, signed on June 1st, 2004, Neyðarlínan took on the operations of the Icelandic Maritime Traffic Service (Vaktstöð siglinga), which was previously called Tilkynningarskyldan og Fjarskiptastöðin and was located in Gufunes. In this way, all maritime safety services were provided at one location.