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ELIMINATING RISKS & TRANSFORMING SHIFT FILLING FOR FRANKLIN FIRE DEPARTMENT
Franklin Fire Department was founded in 1872 and now consists of 56 fulltime firefighter/paramedic personnel, all responding to 5,000+ calls per year, alongside providing prevention services to help educate and support their community. Franklin’s mission is to have a positive impact in the lives of citizens and visitors of Franklin in their time of crisis by providing compassionate, contemporary, community driven services.
With such a wide-range of community services being provided, managing the department’s shift-scheduling is an intricate process that needs to be handled correctly, efficiently and timely. Like other fire departments, Franklin used to rely on paper and spreadsheets to do the job, but this became too cumbersome and time-consuming.
They knew it was time for a change if they were to maintain their level of care and service to the community. They provide a superior level of support, but don’t always receive that same level of support from their suppliers. Finding a solution that met the unique needs of the department was important, and from a vendor that would provides the same level of service and care they provide to their community.
The issue they faced was that no solution catered for their problem, rather they had to cater what they did in order to fit within the limitations of the software’s design. Ultimately, they needed a quick way to callback members, fill shifts automatically, according to their union rules and generate recalls.
It was time to bring Franklin into the new age
“Firehouse247 was not just the logical step for them, but the emotional step as we ticked so many boxes and reduced so many issues,” says Battalion Chief Darling.
Franklin fire department were relying on paper and spreadsheets to respond to 5000+ calls per year along with a wide range of community services they need to put personnel in places for.
Challenge
The Firehouse247 scheduling, shift filling, and work management solution made scheduling and filling shift and details simple and predictable. This improved moral and allowed the firefighters to focus on what was truly important, protecting and serving their community.
Solution
“With Firehouse 24/7, I get industry-specific, customized scheduling that meets all union rules and local policies; everyone else comes up short. They can’t do what Firehouse 24/7 can do.” - Keith Darling, Battalion Chief, Franklin Fire Department, MA
Outcome
Firehouse247 worked closely with the senior management team of Franklin Fire Department to understand their complex filling rules in order toenable the system to seamlessly replace their pencil and paper methods. Within a short span of time Franklin’s firefighters shift commanders were experiencing the power of having an automated schedule which they can fill shirts with a click of a button.
In addition to helping the Franklin Fire Department save costs and time, Firehouse247 has also improved the department’s operational efficiency. “Using paper meant that there was always the risk of lost or misplaced records, without backup. Now my officers can access shift schedules and reporting online. This has eliminated the risks posed by paper-based records”, says Battalion Chief Darling.
With the Firehouse247 solution, Franklin Fire Department was able to:
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Address all their complex rules: Franklin needed the system to work exactly how they wanted, which is why they failed incorporating other systems. “We’ve thrown some pretty big curveballs at them in terms of what we’ve wanted the tool to be able to do,” acknowledged Battalion Chief Darling, “but all our requests have been attainable and done quickly.”
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Eliminate risk of records being lost: “Using paper meant that there was always the risk of lost or misplaced records, without backup. Now my officers can access shift schedules and reporting online. This has eliminated the risks posed by paper-based records,” Battalion Chief Darling reiterates.
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Receive exceptional support: “Firehouse247's customer support has been excellent. All it’s taken is a phone call or a text message, and the customer service team is on it,” exclaims Battalion Chief Keith Darlington.
Overtime shifts, details and callbacks are filled automatically in Firehouse 24/7’s online software. Firefighters can log in from anywhere and receive texts, emails or push notifications that help them manage their shifts. In addition, accepting and declining shifts is easy and fast using the Firehouse 24/7 smartphone app.
About Firehouse247
Built by firefighters, for firefighters. With first-hand experience of the biggest administrative challenges facing Fire Departments today, Firehouse247 delivers a comprehensive solution that focuses on ease of use to make daily administrative tasks simple and immediate. Issues with scheduling, shift filling and payroll are now a thing of the past.
Fill overtime shifts, details and callbacks automatically whilst adhering to your unique department policies and union rules. Easy integration with your existing systems for CAD, RMS (inspections, pre-planning, inventory, training, etc.) NFIRS, payroll and dashboarding. First-class customer service experience from the Firehouse247 team.
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