Firefighters have one of the most demanding jobs in public safety. They work long shifts with varied hours and must constantly be on alert when on shift. When not on shift, firefighters have rigorous training so they can constantly be improving their skills and ensuring safety compliance.
For administrative teams, scheduling for fire departments can be extremely challenging. Administrative teams are faced with 24/7 scheduling while also ensuring training compliance, mitigating risk and fatigue issues, and assigning overtime shifts equitably. A fire department’s schedule is a complex one, and manual scheduling can put the entire department at risk of many issues and problems.
Automated scheduling software solves the scheduling problems that many fire departments face. With automated scheduling, fire departments can ensure training sessions, leave requests, overtime, and so much more are handled and taken care of.
Here are the top 5 benefits of scheduling software for fire departments.
- Easier Overtime Management
- Streamlined Internal Communication within the Fire Department
- Enhanced Team Training
- Reduce Administrative Time Spent on Creating Firefighter Schedules
- View all Fire Department Schedules Under One Roof
Easier overtime management
Did you know firefighters work 56 hours per week on average? Firefighters have some of the most demanding schedules in the public safety industry. Scheduling for firefighters can be complex, and that’s why an automated overtime management system can really be of benefit to administrative teams.
An automated overtime management system allows for complete transparency and control of overtime management. You can set multiple levels of alerts in order to reduce risk, mitigate liability and save money. These alerts can also eliminate any possibility of favoritism when assigning overtime shifts. With automated overtime management, your administrative team is able to set rules to give the opportunity for overtime shifts to anyone who qualifies within your department.
Your administrative team can set a maximum number of hours per firefighter for every schedule. By doing this, you can rest assured that no firefighter is overworked and at risk of fatigue issues.
Streamlined internal communication within the fire department
Using scheduling software allows your fire department to easily communicate with a single message or email. Your fire department can enhance operational communication by sending updates and important announcements with communication features.
Another way in which scheduling software benefits fire departments is through on-the-fly scheduling updates. Firefighters need to stay in the loop, wherever they are, and on-the-fly scheduling updates allow everyone to see scheduling changes at the same time. This includes approving leave requests, posting and approving overtime assignments and having accessible schedules 24/7.
Fire department scheduling software eliminates the risk of miscommunication and ensures that everyone is on the same page with their assignments.
Enhance team training
Training compliance is simplified with fire department scheduling software. Scheduling software allows your department to create a big team shift whenever training sessions are scheduled. This ensures that every firefighter needing specific training or updated training is scheduled for that session. You can track training performance and certifications from one easy-to-use interface that your department can rely on. Scheduling software also allows your fire department to manage any training courses, training levels and promotions.
Additionally, scheduling software follows a rule-based system, which means you can input your department’s training rules into the software and receive alerts should there be any training non-compliance. This way, you can prevent scheduling staff from shifts they are not qualified for.
Reduce administrative time spent on creating firefighter schedules
Scheduling software helps your administrative team easily manage complex scheduling demands. Finding the right amount of coverage while also abiding by department rules can be a difficult task for most administrative teams. By eliminating pen and paper reporting, your fire department can save hours of administrative time with automated scheduling, leave requests, overtime management and more.
View all fire department schedules under one roof
Accessing all your schedules in one place is a huge time-saver for fire departments. Trying to find all your schedules is difficult when you’re juggling regular shifts, overtime shifts, extra assignments and training sessions.
Having all schedules under one roof gives you department-wide visibility of your department’s operations. When everything is in one place, viewing different schedules can be done on one screen. This department-wide view allows you to increase efficiency, improve department communication and make changes that work for everyone.
The bottom line
Automated scheduling software improves the operational and logistical communication of fire departments. Check out this blog post for more information on why paper scheduling doesn’t work for public safety industries.
