1. Get someone in the know
The tough thing about the fire services is that ordinary data and geoanalytics folks are not fire rescue savvy having never stretched a hose or banged an IV on the job.
· They don’t understand your language or methods.
· They don’t know the right questions to ask.
· You don’t know how to communicate to them in their geekspeak.
· “Yeah, but I got a line guy who knows this stuff”. (Do they really? Aren’t they first a firefighter or paramedic?) See “Forget about Turnover”.
Robert McNally has had his boots on the ground for over a decade. Today, he is a full time professional dedicated to the betterment of fire rescue services through data and geographic intelligence. His degrees in public administration and regional planning combine with a decade of projects experience across the country to provide a unique resource for your department.
2. Get it Turned Around
You need analytics now for whatever reason. Grants, reports, city manager or mayor breathing down your neck. Your line guy is off for a stretch and the town hall people seem to have a ‘take a number’ machine as soon as you walk in. They are bombarded with other projects from parks, schools, police, tax assessor, and the mayor herself. This fire department/EMS stuff will be completed whenever they get to it.
BeaconGIS is a resource that you can turn to for immediate attention to your project. You are the client and most important to us.
3. Forget about Turnover
Fire and EMS are high stress and labor intensive jobs. There is a certain amount of turnover in all industries and it varies within the fire & EMS industry based upon a myriad of factors such as pay, benefits, employer type, cultural issues, etc.
Just when you get comfortable with your inside techie, they leave for greener pastures or promote up into another role leaving you with a gap in service. BeaconGIS is here to fill that gap permanently.
4. Be a Budget Superstar.
The cost of training, continuing education, software fees, maintenance contracts, conferences, benefits and salary can add up significantly for a department techie. Many departments simply cannot afford to support this position. City tech? See “Get someone in the Know”, Tailboard Tommy? See “Forget about Turnover”
BeaconGIS has competitive rates and you can use us only when you need us or retain us on a period basis for even more savings. Plus, you won’t need to make computer space in the office.
5. Be Objective
Want to avoid the look of suspicion from your stakeholders presenting your results of data analysis and geointelligence? Have an objective, third party like BeaconGIS generate the report. Doing this will more likely that the results are received with confidence and potentially getting you the resources you need.
6. Get Accredited
Accreditation is an intensive on-going activity often avoided by smaller departments with few resources. Often times, it is assigned to someone within the department that already has a full plate of a job to do. This is why it’s not unusual for it to be put on the backburner for years or in a panicked frenzy when the deadlines loom.
BeaconGIS can serve as your accreditation assistant to help you achieve this milestone!
7. Get the where how
All those new developments sure help the town, but you may need more stations or units. The free or donated land is great but is it the right place? How will it help the community as a whole or is it limited in scope?
Sometimes it’s just the opposite. You’re consolidating with another department and you may not need all the assets or your department was formed in the horse drawn days and the stations are too close in proximity.
Other times, it’s that your buildings are beat. You need to decide to renovate or relocate.
Location intelligence as it relates to the deployment of resources is the foundation of services offered by BeaconGIS.
8. Get grants
Ahh, free money from the gov. It’s all yours if you justify the need. The data analytics from BeaconGIS can help you put the best case forward to compete for the limited funds. See also “Be Objective”.
9. Get a facilitator
Done right, the strategic planning process takes not only time but preparation to ask the right questions of stakeholders, and to facilitate forums. Compiling results into a comprehensive document so that goals and objectives can be derived will interfere with daily duties.
10. Set some Standards.
Developing a Standards of Cover document or EMS performance objectives takes a full examination of community risks. Demographics, socioeconomics, environmental, hazards, assembly, occupancy, and projected trends are all parts of the process.
BeaconGIS can assist departments in development of these plans so that they do not end up under resourced, overpromised, and under scrutiny for poor performance.
