A resource planning and performance reporting tool from specialist British GIS software developer Cadcorp, is to play a central role in helping Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service (HFRS) save lives – and money. HFRS is already one of the most cost efficient fire services in England. In deploying the Cadcorp Workload Modeller application, it is looking to maintain efficiency and effectiveness by ensuring resources are in the areas of the greatest need.
The sophisticated simulation modelling software allows fire services to explore the likely effects of making changes to their resourcing strategies – specifically the location and deployment of vehicles and personnel.
The application uses data about when and where incidents have occurred in the past and are likely to occur in the future. By relating this to a fire service’s resources and the constraints under which it operates, it is possible to simulate the likely consequences of any changes in resources.
Gareth Bradbury, Group Commander and Head of Information Management at HFRS explains the significance of the tool. “Like all fire services HFRS has a duty prescribed by central government to review the fire cover we provide. Our current Integrated Risk Management Plan sets the attendance standards we aim for in regard to property fires, road traffic collisions and chemical spillages. The current plan will be in place until 2014. A new four year plan with then come into effect. It will take account of central government priorities, and most critically the level of resources we have available to meet these priorities. We have acquired Workload Modeller to ensure we are ready to address these two unknowns.”
Cadcorp Workload Modeller is replacing an existing system, as Gareth Bradbury explains. “Not only will Workload Modeller help us stay operationally efficient, its purchase will also help us make considerable savings in the cost of ownership of the software used for resource planning. There are also practical advantages that stem from the application’s close integration with a GIS. It means that we get a graphical and geographical view of the modelling outcomes of simulations. This enables you to recognise not just that certain outcomes are better or worse than others, but why and where these outcomes differ.”
“We also intend to make use of Cadcorp’s ability to share geographic information throughout the service. As a county fire service, we are already well integrated with other key departments of the county council, such as trading standards and social services. There is no reason why we should not be making full use of Cadcorp’s capabilities in sharing spatial data even across departmental boundaries.”
“It is encouraging to see your local fire service using your own products!” noted Mike O’Neil, CEO of Cadcorp “It is also encouraging to see your local council looking to make efficiency savings, but without compromising the level of protection that local companies, employees, and residents depend upon.”
Cadcorp
Cadcorp is a British software development company focused on geographic information system (GIS) and web mapping software. It offers a complete suite of products – the Cadcorp Spatial Information System® (Cadcorp SIS®) – addressing all phases of spatial information management. Cadcorp SIS is available worldwide through a network of Cadcorp partners and through a direct sales team in the UK and Ireland. For more information visit www.cadcorp.com
Hertfordshire Fire and Rescue Service
HFRS is the major component of the Community Protection Directorate (CPD) within Hertfordshire County Council (HCC), which is also the Fire and Rescue Authority. The CPD, which was established on 1st April 2011, brought together HFRS, Resilience, Trading Standards and the County Community Safety Unit.
The Chartered Institute for Public Finance and Accountancy (CIPFA) Value for Money (VfM) statistics, based on 2011/12 budgets, show HFRS as the second lowest cost per head of the population of the fourteen County Council FRS’s in England. It has a budgeted expenditure of £33.21 per head of the population, compared to an average for English County Council FRSs of £40.23 per head. For more information visit www.hertsdirect.org
