Case Study

Great Manchester Fire and Rescue Service

Overview

There were two clearly identified performance needs within Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS), which formed part of the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA):

1. Consolidation of disparate and ageing systems coupled with largely manual reporting strategies

2. Encourage increased retention of skills within currency periods rather than skills lapsing out of currency

GMFRS had a requirement to consolidate existing systems into a solution which could provide detailed reporting at various levels without requiring specialist knowledge to generate this information.

Reporting is incredibly important to GMFRS, particularly as it undertakes high-risk activities, such as use of breathing apparatus, and rescues from moving water. Whilst dashboards were available for on-station training adherence, these were always at least 24-hours old, and firefighters were ‘chasing the red’ – waiting for the skills to fall out of currency before they retrained (to turn them green again). Watch Officers had limited visibility of training needs in order to effectively plan, and often scheduled training ‘just-intime’ rather than proactively avoid a loss of competency.

GMFRS required a solution to ‘push’ forthcoming training needs out to end users and provide a platform that effectively allows Watch Officers to plan their training in advance to ensure everyone is in-date for training 100% of the time, whilst also allowing an easy ‘booking-up’ process to record that training has taken place.

Approach

After a competitive procurement process considering all LMS vendors available on the public sector procurement platform, G-Cloud, and based on requirements gathered from key stakeholders all levels, across the Combined Authority, Cornerstone’s (CSX) Learning and Performance suites were unanimously chosen by the stakeholder group as the LMS of choice. A strategic partnership with SQEPtech was developed to utilise SQEPtech’s eSQEP Training Matrix to monitor and book-up competencies whilst retaining all data within the Cornerstone (CSX) LMS.

The solution allows GMFRS to lower the overall number of metrics staff have to achieve over time, whilst increasing the granularity of the achievement, using observation checklists by Watch Officers to indicate behaviours and skills observed to the required level. The complexity of this data will be hidden from the end-user in a simple traffic light format.

Through the partnership with SQEPtech, the solution has been developed using the benefit of industry standard, tried-and-tested technology without the view that ‘one-size-fits-all’. The solution is easy to manage at the back end, which can often be inordinately complex in some systems, whilst presenting simplicity to the end user. Different users within the Combined Authority have a tailored view of what they need to do, and when, with management being able to effectively monitor progress without having to rely on additional systems.

Key to the solution is the simplicity for end users. The benefit of being able to book-up practical training in two-clicks within eSQEP (which immediately records as complete on
the training record) enables a streamlined process of completing training for Watch Officers, removing the ‘systems’ hurdle from their everyday experience.

Benefits

The project has made an impact in terms of individual and organisational performance.

Providing a visual dashboard, within eSQEP’s training and competency matrix, of training that is outstanding and requiring attention increases adherence as the system has become bedded-in on station. One key area of training relates to the use of breathing apparatus. We have seen evidence of quarterly breathing apparatus training increasing from 76% when first launched, to 98% in this years’ reports. Adherence to breathing apparatus training is crucial for the safety of crews.

Through the use of leading-edge eLearning for knowledge-based training, we expect the satisfaction in learning will convey a marked increase over time, and the number of candidates eligible for the promotion gateway, where 100% compliance is a requirement for training due every six-months, will continue to increase markedly.

Organisationally, GMFRS is likely to move from requiring 80% adherence in training across all frequencies (three, six and 12-month) to 100% as there will be the capability to push outstanding training out to learners and provide this data in a live environment. This is an organisationally acknowledged commitment to the safety of crews and the public.

Conclusion

The project displayed innovation and originality that was applied to positive effect. The implementation of eSQEP and Cornerstone allows us to capitalise on the benefits of a modern learning management system that can deal with knowledge, practical and instructor-led training, whilst providing that data in an easily consumable form.

Working with eSQEP and CSX, GMFRS is harnessing the Key Performance Indicators set for staff and can present them back to them in a way that indicates where they could improve and enhance their competencies, and meet those KPIs, whilst avoiding a heavy-handed performance management culture. All the data is retained in reports and dashboards, with an easy reporting function, giving GMFRS a single-point-of-truth for training achievements.