Fire Operations in Strathclyde Fire and Rescue - Case Study Example

Project Management xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Fire and Rescue Services xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Name xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Institution xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Lecturer xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Date Introduction Strathclyde Fire and Rescue is one of the largest fire and rescue operation services in Europe. The station provides fire rescue services for a large geographic covering in south Lanark shire. Lanark shire has a mixture of market town centre and is a major tourist attraction. The rescue services cover a territorial range from a densely inhabited Glasgow all the way to island and rural communities. Its main aim is to ensure that the people of Strathclyde are served and protected 24 hours a day, 7 days a week and three sixty five days a year against any causalities. It has invested heavily in over 200 appliances which include; water rescue units, rescue pumps, heavy rescue vehicles, technical support unit and major accident units. The services are distributed in one hundred and eleven fire stations across Strathclyde (Lanark fire station, 2011). Apart from fire operations Strathclyde Fire and Rescue, extend its operations to road accidents and response to alarm systems both domestically and commercially. In order to involve the community in rescue operation, the rescue service is proactively involved in addressing causes of fire at home and forest, injuries and damage that are normally as a result of driving down the frequencies of such incidences. The organization also carry out home fire safety regular visits in trying to find out risks that may result to fire if left unattended to. These regular visits are free of charge and may include installation of smoke alarms. Partnership in Strathclyde is considered as a vital tool to success. It has partnered with local authority, local charities organization, Strathclyde Police and community groups. In the process of ensuring there is efficient service delivery, reduced causalities and fire injuries and customer satisfaction, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Services will most importantly need to come up with a strategy to reduce casualties in accidental dwelling fires (Lanark fire station, 2011). The aim of the project is to develop a strategy that integrates wider community strategy, community safety plan and South Lanark shire Area Plan so as to reduce casualties in accidental dwelling fires Objectives To equip employees with new skills and enhance competency level in service delivery by 2012. To identify training needs among employees in different working levels in Strathclyde Fire and Rescue Service by To establish a training and mentoring program for all stakeholders by August 2011 To establish an evaluation and monitoring system in Strathclyde fire and rescue service so as to evaluate employee performance and effectiveness of the new strategy. To establish an effective communication network in Strathclyde fire and rescue service in UK by December 2011. To train community members on first aid, victim evacuation, communication in case of a fire outbreak such as call and fire signals and safety precautions that must be put into consideration by November 2011. To recruit five community representatives by June 2011. Benefits of the new strategy The new strategy will ensure improved communication between the community members and Strathclyde fire and rescue service resulting to a faster response in case of a fire outbreak. Educating community members on safety precautions and the importance of sending alerts only when necessary will improve the relationship between the service providers and the communities. This will in turn reduce the number of malicious call, cases where community members willfully raise fires, unwanted or unnecessary fire signals and anti-social behaviors such as hydrant abuse and fire attacks. A lot of time and resources are wasted when Strathclyde receives false fire alerts. In addition, this has been found to be a major cause of delayed response as firefighters first wait to know if it is necessary to respond or not. If community members are educated on the importance of fire signal and the repercussion of false fire alerts, incidences of such alerts and malicious call would ultimately reduce. This is to the benefit of Strathclyde fire and rescue service and community members to whom they offer services. The strategy will reduce the number of fire fighters who are injured or even die during rescue services. This is due to improved competency level and new skills impacted on firefighters on personal safety and victim evacuation. Firefighters will be more confident while carrying out the rescue operations a factor that will improve trust in community members hence resulting to improved service delivery. The idea of involving community representatives in the decision making process will result to sustainable and cohesive communities (Rumens, 2008). The new strategy will also bring together stakeholder organizations such as relief services, government agencies like hospital and other fire fighting services. Improved communication among these groups will ensure avoidance of wastage of resources due to prevention of service duplication and fast response to emergencies. Establish employee selection criteria for each working position. New employees will be selected on the basis of competency level and academic qualification. For this reason, trainers who have effective communication skill will be selected and a group of five community members will be selected by the communities they represent. However, these individuals must not be involved in local or national politics. Cost Establishing the integrated strategy will enhance service delivery in Strathclyde fire and rescue service. It is very cost effective as it results to customer satisfaction and reduction of the amount of resources wasted in responding to malicious calls or unwanted fire signals. The involvement of community members goes a long way in building sustainable relationships as well as ensuring that actual and not perceived needs are addressed. In addition, it helps fire and rescue services evaluate the community member’s perception of the services they offer. In implementing the new integrated strategy, the following costs will be incurred. As indicated in the chart, there will be a research, communication and information crew who will be in charge of delivering an effective communication network among all stakeholders. In addition, this group will organize and supervise needs assessment researches as well as evaluation and auditing. Each individual in this group must be an effective communicator, competent in IT and a team player. Kaldor (1998) puts emphasis on the fact that effective and timely communication must be achieved in enhancing service delivery and that this is achieved through effective and timely communication. This crew will be paid the second highest pay after the management team due to the professional requirement of a master’s degree in information technology and communication or public relations and social studies and at least five years experience in a leadership position a dynamic organization. This group will ensure timely and effective communication among all stakeholders as this is paramount to effective service delivery (Castells, 2004). There is a dire need to train staff so as to reduce the number of casualties in residence fires as well as reducing the number of fire fighter who are injured in the rescue mission. The most important training is how Strathclyde fire fighters can offer help in a professional manner and avoid becoming a casualty. This calls for recruitment of trainers who are efficient and effective in service delivery in fire and rescue. A chief trainer will be recruited and this person must be one who has undergone training. He/she must also have been in the field for at least 15 years. He will be responsible for overseeing training at all levels. Other three trainers will be recruited to train team leaders and all individuals in the management levels. These will in turn train employees in lower ranks and community representatives. The community representatives will be expected to teach community member all that is taught to them under the supervision of team leaders. This will ensure that the ultimate cost of training is reduced. The trainings will equip workers with new skills necessary for self protection and for rescuing lives. Seminars and barazas with community member will be used as a main method of spreading ideas or information. However, where there is need for needs assessment, group discussion and interviews will be conducted. Seminars will be aimed at informing community members on the integrated strategy and its importance to the. Community members will also be trained on sending alarms in case of an accidental dwelling fire, safety measures to be taken and offering first aid help (Beckett and Hager 2002). The vision, mission and objectives of the project will be stipulated in such meetings. Business Case The development of a new integrated strategy that will foresee the reduction of casualties in accidental dwelling fires will certainly lead to changes within Strathclyde Fire and Rescue. Certain changes in programs are required so as to incorporate the new strategy effectively. Change in program will involve creating extra time to educate staffs on other fire prevention methods that can be used to ensure that Strathclyde is free from domestic and commercial fire accidents. Employees will be provided with adequate protective clothing and equipment. This will result to a reduction the number of firefighters who get injured during the rescue process. New leadership skills need to be incorporated so as to ensure the implementation of this strategy will be of maximum customer satisfaction. This will result to improvement in teamwork which in turn results to effective coordination during rescue. If there is effective coordination, then the result is reduction of casualties in accidental dwelling fires and effective training for community members which will ultimately result to a reduction of the overall operating cost ensuring that the whole process work within the set budget. Strathclyde Fire and Rescue has secured a lot of resources in term of personnel and cost that will ensure that normal operations are not interfered with. These resources will be sufficient for the next twenty financial years since the operating cost will be reduced if desired changes are effectively executed. Tasks 1 Write and agree PID 11.3.2011 2 Explaining the new integrated strategy to Strathclyde managers and team leaders 18.3.2011 3 Brain storming on the way forward with the leaders. 19.3.2011 4 Holding an all inclusive stakeholder meeting to discuss the issue. 30.3.2010 5 Advertising the vacancies of four research, information and communication crew and 4 trainers. 15.4.2011 6 Interviewing candidates to select the best 1.5.2011 7 Training the research, information and communication crew, team leaders and the managers. 5.5.2011 8 Training workers in lower ranks and the community representatives. 13.5.2011 9 Evaluating the effectiveness of training programs 28.5.2011 10 Conducting research to identify community needs and employee needs 1.4.2011, 7.6.2011 11 Training community members through seminars and barazas. 18.6.2011 12 Evaluating the success of seminars and baraza. 10.7.2011 13 Monitoring and evaluating effectiveness of the new strategy in service delivery. 10.11.2011-20.11.2011 14 Auditing 15.12.2011 Precedence Chart Feb March Apr May June July Aug Sept Oct Nov Dec 1 2 3 4 5 10 6 7 8 9 11 12 13 14 Staffing There will be a total of eight new employees. These include for research, information and communication crew, one chief trainer and three trainers. The current management team will be maintained as well as workers in lower position will be retained. This will ensure that extra costs are not incurred. The research, information and communication crew will be responsible for conducting researchers as well as enhancing communication between Strathclyde and other stakeholders. The requirement for this position is that one must have a master’s degree in information technology and five years experience in a leadership position. Trainers must be professionals in rescue and disaster prevention strategies. This requires then to have pursued a bachelor degree in rescue and disaster management and two years experience in a company dealing with disaster management and prevention. They must also have good communication skills. In addition to the new employee, five community representatives will be recruited. These must be individuals in leadership position and having at least high school certificate. This team will link community members with the management team in Strathclyde fire and rescue services. Risk management plan Risks are improbable occurrences that are likely to affect success of developing the reduction of causalities in accidental dwelling fires in Strathclyde Fire and Rescue (Burtonshow-Gunn 2009). In Strathclyde, there are certain risks that are likely to affect the implementation of this strategy. These risks include; 1. The strategy of reduction of causalities in dwelling fires will face opposition from workers union who may feel they are been subjected into working overtime. The strategy requires staffs to create extra time for the purpose of training. Also, the training may require an extra cost to be implemented within the company budget. 2. Workers and other staff personnel are likely to lack interest in ensuring that the strategy is implemented. The workers may feel subjected to learning of process that they already know since the strategy incorporates old and new ideas in reducing casualties. Workers may not find the need to be reminded of old ideas. 3. Strathclyde staffs may demand for increase salary due to the extra training time. Both junior and senior personnel may argue that they have other personal commitments to attend to during training time. In order to avoid inconveniencing their personal commitments, they will advocate for an additional pay (Burtonshow-Gunn 2009). Risk Management Plan Risk 1 Likely impact if risk does occur Likelihood of risk occurring L M H L M H R Risk 2 Likely impact if risk does occur Likelihood of risk occurring L M H L M H R Risk 3 Likely impact if risk does occur Likelihood of risk occurring L M H L M R H To reduce the above stated risks, Strathclyde Fire and Rescue need to market the reduction of causalities in dwelling strategy to its personnel. Marketing may go hand in hand in negotiating with workers union to be part of a successful organization transition brought about by implementing the strategy. Constant training and marketing will ensure that productivity and customer satisfaction are attained. Various management consultations need to be carried on monthly basis so as to address any pressing issue or challenge that may hinder the implementation of this strategy. Documentation plan All documents that partakes the casualty reduction in dwelling fire strategy need to be stored for reference. Substantial reports should accompany all documentation so as to indicate how the implementation process was carried out. The project management team is required to submit the report two weeks after the implementation process has been completed. Should there be need to make any kind of amendments in the documents impromptu meetings will be carried out for further clarification before being entered to the system (Lock 2007). Any stakeholder may go through the document if he or she wishes to do so. It is very essential that all documents related to this project to be titled “Reduction of Casualties in Dwelling Fires” for ease in locating them. Reference Beckett, D, and Hager, P, 2002, Life, Work and Learning: Practice in Postmodernity, London: Routledge. Burtonshow-Gunn, A, 2009, Risk and Financial Management in Construction, Farnham, England; VT: Gower Castells, M, 2004, Informationalism, Networks, and the Network Society: a Theoretical Blueprinting, the network society: a Cross-Cultural Perspective. Northampton, MA: Edward Elgar. Kaldor, M, 1998, End of millennium: The information age: Economy, society, and culture. Regional S Lanark fire station: station plan. Retrieved from 9, march, 2011, http://www.strathclydefire.org/media/11139/p04_lanarkfirestation.pdf Lock, D, 2007, Essentials of project Management, Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Gower. Lock, D, 2007, Project Management, Burlington, VT: Ashgate Murphy, M 2003, Managing strategic change: an executive overview. Carlisle Barracks: Department of command, leadership and management, U.S. Army War College. studies, 32, 899-900 Rumens, N, 2008, Working at Intimacy: Gay Men’s Workspace Friendships, Gender, Work and Organization, Vol. 15 Issue. 1, pp.9-30, London: London reference collections shelfmark. Read More