ITEM BV9(c)BEST VALUE COMMITTEE – 11 SEPTEMBER 2002FIRE SERVICE CONTROL ROOM FUNCTIONReport by Chief Fire Officer Introduction
Current Status
Progress – A Joint Member Steering Group was set up, representing Oxfordshire, Royal Berkshire and Buckinghamshire. Members agreed that they did not wish to pursue the option for a single Control Centre to meet the needs of the three brigades. However, they were very interested in assessing the feasibility of a networked solution for Fire Controls and potentially Thames Valley Police and ambulance services and also the possibility of joint procurement for a common infrastructure and supporting arrangements. Consultants are to be commissioned to conduct a feasibility study and will report back to members in December 2002. Since the BV report was presented, the Government have decided that interoperability between fire brigades is necessary for radio transmissions and mobile data. This is to be procured nationally and it is unclear what costs will fall onto fire authorities. Overall: some progress but not completed by March 2002. On target to complete by December 2002.
Progress – The benchmarking exercise was conducted specifically for the review, but national Benchmarking Clubs are being encouraged to provide a common framework for future benchmarking exercises to allow fair comparisons. Overall: little progress by February 2002 and unlikely to be any more as this is an area of low priority.
Progress – It appears clear that the combination of low cost and high performance is increasingly difficult to sustain, as demonstrated by the staffing model results. It is likely that performance cannot be improved without further investment and without this investment, performance will reduce. Overall: little progress and unlikely to be any more as Oxfordshire are already in the top quartiles in the priority areas.
Progress – Role Maps for Control Room Operators have been published and validated and full implementation of IPDS is due to commence in April 2003. Following training needs analysis utilising the vocational standards, the Brigade Training Manager will make recommendations about priorities to the Policy Team in October for the next financial year. Overall: good progress and will meet the revised target of April 2003 for full implementation. The original target of November 2002 has not been met because the national framework and guidance was not available.
Progress – Active collaboration to develop joint operational protocols is underway with Terrorist related CBRN incidents, Breathing Apparatus procedures and Incident Command procedures receiving priority attention. A number of operational procedures and mobilising practices have been harmonised to improve cross border support and joint working. The Collaborative group has been established and good progress is being made in a number of areas.
Progress – This was completed on target by May 2002 and the results were received within the brigade. The exercise showed that Oxfordshire has the highest transaction times in the country and these have been evaluated in detail. Whilst minor changes could be made to working practices, many already represent Best Practice. Some support functions could be moved to Administrative Support posts when the IT infrastructure has been further developed. However, the indication is that Fire Control is understaffed and may have difficulty in coping with demand during busy periods. During the last year there appears to have been an increase in stress-related absences and for the need to use overtime to cover absences. The Chief Fire Officer is considering options to relieve workloads and to reduce transaction times, when the opportunity arises in the future, to avoid the risk of operational failures.
Progress – Whilst targeted efforts by seconded officers has produced significant reductions in the worst offending premises, this needs to be sustained to be effective longer term. Many of the worst offending premises are within areas covered by salaried staff, so there is little reduction in the costs to the fire service, although the effects on other priority work are being investigated. In discussions with the Leader of the Council and Chief Executive, the Chief Fire Officer believes an Invest to Save approach may be justified, whereby an increase in dedicated staff to these initiatives will be underpinned by the reduction in unwanted mobilisations and retained staff costs. In summary, the reduction was achieved by the target date, as a result of dedicating two officers to this particular project, unfortunately as soon as the officers returned to their normal role the number of unwanted calls rose again. It would appear the brigade may need to employ someone specifically to manage this issue, to sustain the improvements desired.
Progress – Past surveys indicate 97% of users view the service as Good or Very Good. User surveys continue to confirm Fire Control services meet expectations and are largely complimentary. A Charter Mark application by the brigade will examine this further, with the results expected in December 2002. The effort in trying to improve this area of communication is not considered viable given the small improvement that could be gained. Conclusion
RECOMMENDATIONS
JOHN
PARRY Background papers: Nil Contact Officer: Deputy Chief Fire Officer John Hurren; tel: 01865-842999 September
2002
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