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Future-proofing UK fire and rescue service control rooms The role of technology in sustaining high-quality command and control services

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Future-proofing UK fire and rescue service control rooms

The role of technology in sustaining high-quality command and control services

05 Introduction

06 How technology can help today 06 Fromthefirstsecondsofthecall 07 Real-timesituationawarenessbefore arrivingon-scene 09 Protectingofficersandthepublicbymobilising theappropriateresources 12 UsingtheInternetofThingsforimprovedsafety andattribute-basedmobilising 13 Improvingtheuserexperiencebyprovidingreal- timeinformation 13 Usinganalyticsforcontinuous serviceimprovement

14 Usingtechnologytoharnessthepowerof collaboration 14 Successfulcollaborationoffirebrigades 15 Supportingmulti-agencyincidentsandcampaigns

16 Thecontrolroomofthefuture 16 Artificialintelligence–usingmachinelearning tofine-tuneresponses 16 Predict and prevent 17 Future digital convergence 17 Supportingcross-servicecollaboration with the cloud

18 Conclusion

Contents

It’s fair to say that today’s fire and rescue services exist in challenging times. We find ourselves juggling often limited budgets and resources against a backdrop of significant regulatory requirements and increased public scrutiny.

Thispaper,whichlooksattheroleoftechnologyinsustaininghigh-qualitycommandandcontrolservicesfollowsthepublicationofHerMajesty’sChiefInspectorofFire&RescueServices’reporttotheSecretaryofStateTheStateofFireandRescue2019,thefirstassessmentoftheefficiencyandeffectivenessofEngland’sfireandrescueservicesinmorethanadecade.TheStateofFireandRescue2019reportsetsoutitsrecommendationstocreatemodernfireandrescueservicesfitforthefuture,includingtheneedtocapitaliseontheopportunitiesprovidedbyever-improvingtechnology.

Theobservationswithinthispaperare,therefore,certainlytimely,providingfoodforthoughtaroundhowwecanusetheverylatesttechnologytobetterprotectboththepublicandourofficersaswedevelopeffectiveandefficientcommandandcontrolroomsandlaythefoundationsforasustainablefutureforfireandrescueservices.

Foreword

Darryl KeenDirector of Community Protection and Chief Fire OfficerHertfordshire County Council

4 Bringing technology, innovation and better outcomes to the UK’s public services

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Introduction

Recent years have seen UK fire and rescue services undergo huge periods of change as they respond to financial, regulatory and workforce challenges. Services across the country have been evolving to meet the often-conflicting pressures, adjusting their operational strategy to ensure they can meet demand and continue to protect the communities they serve.

Asthecentralforcewhichdriveseveryservice’sresponsetoemergencies,fireandrescuecontrolroomsarenoexceptiontothisneedfortransformation–astheNationalFireChiefsCouncilputsit‘Quitesimply,incidentcommandliesatthecoreofwhatfireandrescueservicesdo’¹.

Thispaperlooksatthecurrentchallengesforcontrolroomteamsinfireandrescueservicesandconsidershowtechnologycansupportoperations,ensuringcontinuedhigh-qualitysustainableservices,bothnowandinthefuture.

6 Bringing technology, innovation and better outcomes to the UK’s public services

How technology helps: where we are today

There’s no doubt that today’s control rooms are under extraordinary pressure, with fire control operators and managers having to make quick decisions which take into account many and complex variants – most of the time under extremely challenging circumstances. Added to this is the ubiquitous nature of social media, where every incident (and therefore every decision made in the control room and more widely in the service) is scrutinised not only by Her Majesty’s Inspectorate of Constabulary Fire and Rescue Service (HMICFRS) but also by the public.

Withoutrecoursetounlimitedmanpower,fireservicecontrolroomsareincreasinglyturningtotechnologytosupporttheminmakinginformeddecisionswhilstmakingthebestuseofresources.

Setoutbelowisasummaryofwheretoday’stechnologycan,andis,supportingcommandteams,fromsituationalawarenesstoresourcemanagement and communication.

I. From the first seconds of the callEvenbeforethecallerspeaks,technologycanprovideanunderstandingofthepersonontheotherendofthetelephone.Forexample,whenamemberofthepublicmakesanemergencycall,crucialfactsrelatingtothenumberthey’recallingfromcanbemadeinstantlyavailable.ThisincludesanautomatedsearchrunningonthecallinglineIDwhichreferencestherecordsdatabaseandshowsinformationpreviouslyrecordedaboutcallsfromthatnumber.

Thisisparticularlyusefulinthecaseofavulnerableperson,flaggingwarningmarkerstohelpfireofficersevaluatetheurgencyandresourcerequirement.Frequentknowncallerscanbeflaggedasvulnerablepersons,toprompttheoperatortothemostappropriateapproachtothecall.

Operatorscanusethecallingnumbertogetanexactaddressifit’salandline,oralternativelyfindthelocationofthephoneifit’samobile.TheWhat3Wordsgeocodesystemalsosupportsinhelpingtoconfirmthelocationasquicklyandefficientlyaspossible.

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Enhanced location awarenessTechnologysuchasEISEC(EnhancedInformationServiceforEmergencyCalls),callerlineidentificationandAMLgeo-locationtoolsenablecontrolroomoperatorstoconfirmthecaller’slocationswiftly,withnoinputrequiredbythecaller.Capita’sVisionsolutionalsoprovidesenhancedlocationawarenesswithmultiplefully-integrateddifferentlocation-basedtools,suchas999eyeandWhat3Words.

II. Real-time situation awareness before arriving on-scene

It’swidelyrecognisedthatgoodsituationalawarenessisfundamentaltoincidentcommandasitprovidesthebasisonwhichalldecisionsaremade²whilstalsoreducinguncertaintyinordertomakeiteasiertomakedecisions.

Evenmorevaluabletofirecontrolroomoperatorsiswhenmembersofthepubliccanprovidelivefootageofafireorincident,offeringinstant‘on-sceneeyes’foranenhancedlevelofsituationalawareness.Thishelpsteamsassessthescenariomuchmoreeasilyandaccuratelytomobilisetheappropriateresourcestodispatchtotheincident.Thisalsosupportscontrolroomsinprovidingmorequalifiedinformationtopartneragenciestohelpmanagetheincidentmoreeffectively.

Providedthecallerhasasmartphone,theycanstreamlivefootagedirectfromtheirphonecameratotheservicecontrolroom,providingvitallivefootagetogetherwiththecaller’slocation,enabledbyGPScoordinates.Inthesesituationswherespeedisoftheutmostimportance,it’scrucialthatthetechnologywillwork,nomatterwhatversionof

phone,andthatthecallerdoesn’tneedtospendtimedownloadinganapp:thisnext-generationremotetechnologynotonlyworksonanysmartdeviceandoperatingsystem,butisimmediatelyaccessiblethroughasecure,one-time-uselinksentbySMSoremail.

Havingthisinitialsituationalawarenessbeforethefirstpump’sarrivalisextremelyhelpful.Anexampleiswhere,say,abinfirehasbeenreported–thiscouldeitherbequiteminor(needingjustonepump)orescalatingrapidly,orperhapsbesituatedclosetoapetrolstationorchemicalplant,needingmoresignificantresources.

Thisintelligencealsosupportsflexi-dutyofficersinmakingbetter-informeddecisionstoassesswhethertheyshouldattendanincidentastheycanreceivealivefeedfromtheincidenttotheirsmartphone.Aswellashealthandsafetybenefits,thereareclearresourceandenvironmentalbenefitsintermsofalleviatingunnecessaryattendanceatnon-criticalincidents,particularlypertinentforfireinvestigationofficersandhazardousmaterials(HazMat)officerstoprotecttheutilisationofspecialistteams.

8 Bringing technology, innovation and better outcomes to the UK’s public services

999eye – ‘on-scene eyes’ for enhanced situation awareness

DevelopedasacollaborationbetweenWestMidlandsFireServiceandCapita,999eyeistheworld’sfirstemergencylivestreamingsolution,allowing999callerstosecurelysendlive-streamedfootageofincidentstocontrolrooms.

The impact

InuseintheWestMidlandssinceMay2017,theliveimagesofferinstant‘on-sceneeyes’tohelpoperatorsbetterassessthescenarioandselecttheappropriateresourcestodispatch.Thisisimprovingincidentoutcomes,ensuringfirstrespondersareawareoftherisksbeforeattendancetobeginplanningandtacticalstrategy.

AsWestMidlandFireControl’sGrahamMcCannexplains:

It’s very much increasing the efficiency of our response in

terms of being able to augment or reduce attendances as and when we get the fuller picture.”

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Cutting incident response times with effective mobilisationLondonFireBrigade’s‘FireFacts’reportevidenceshowmuchfasterthey’rereachingincidentssincetheyintroducednewcontrolroomtechnology–Capita’sVISIONsystem:theaverageattendancetimeforboththefirstandthesecondappliancetoreachanincidentin2018was19secondsfasterthanin2015.

Thesystemusesaroutingalgorithmwhichanalysescurrentresourceutilisationandthenatureoftheincident,takingintoaccountvehiclelocation(AVLS)andjourneytimes.Automationtechnologyguidesoperatorstomobiliseappliancesaccordingtotheirproximitytoincidents,recommendingthemostappropriateresourcestodespatchtoanincident.

III. Protecting firefighters and the public by mobilising the appropriate resources

Tobeabletoprotectlives–boththoseoffirefightersandmembersofthepublic,it’scrucialtomobilisetherightteams,therightskillsandtherightequipmenttotheincidentintheshortestpossibletime.Attribute-basedfasttimemobilisingcontributestoensuringthemostefficientandeffectiveresponseandcovertominimiseriskandprotectlife.

Therearesoftwaresystemswhichcanautomateasearchthroughthelistsofstations,crewsandpumps,automaticallycalculatingwherethenearest,mostappropriateresourcesare.Automaticvehiclelocationenhancesthisfacility,sothatanyapplianceslocatedatthatpointintimeinthevicinitycanbedeployed.

Being able to mobilise the closest resource, which takes into

account intelligence such as individual road speeds, enables us to cover a particular incident – say, in the east of London – whilst ensuring that we’re still able to provide cover for the rest of London. It provides our officers with the information they need to make informed mobilisation decisions, enabling us to move our resources around more quickly and efficiently.

AssistantCommissionerforBrigadeControlandMobilising,JonathanSmith,explainshowthishelps:

10 Bringing technology, innovation and better outcomes to the UK’s public services

Attribute-based fast time mobilisingEnsuring the right resources on the ground

Ratherthansimplymatchingvehicletypestothetypeofincident,attribute-basedmobilisingenablesbrigadescanmatchappliances,equipment,crew,expertiseandsoon,inasplitsecondoftheoperatorconfirmingthetypeofincident.Thebestmobilisingsystemsarecustomisable,enablingeachbrigadetobuildautomatedrulestosuitwhatappliestoincidentsarisinginthatarea.Forexamplerulescanbebuiltregardingtheresponsetoanincidentinahigh-risebuilding,abombthreatandsoon.

Withsophisticatednewequipmentandappliancesbeingintroducedallthetime,attribute-basedmobilisinghasbecomeevenmoreimportant.Forinstance,forlowergradeincidentsitcanbemoreefficient–andquicker-tosendminipumpswhichhavetwocrewmembersratherthanafull-sizepumpandcrew.

Anotherusefulfeatureenabledbyattributebasedmobilisingfunctionalityistheabilitytodefinerulesgeographicallytosupportcollaborationwork.Forexample,wheretwobrigadesaremobilisedfromthesamecontrolroom,differentsetsofresponserulesforeachfireservicecanbedefinedandimplementeddependingonwheretheincidenthasarisen.Thisallowsforotherresourceallocationfactors,suchasoneareaperhapsrelyingonanumberofretainedoron-callfirefightersattheweekends/intheevenings.Thisalsoenablesfireservicestoputinplacedifferentrulesfordifferentareasandtimesofday,forinstancewhereonefireservicehasapolicyofsendingonepumpforacertaintypeoffire,butwheretheirpartneringfireservicemightusuallysendtwopumps.

Anevenmoreeffectivewayofensuringtherightblendofskillsetsatanincidentiswhenthecontrolroomsystemislinkedwithfirefightertrainingrecordsandcanautomaticallyrecommendparticularpersonnel.Thisisinvaluablewhenspecialistskillsandexperienceareneededforaparticularincident,suchasahazardouschemicalspillage,rescuefromahighbuilding,aroadtrafficaccidentandsoon-searchescanruninjustacoupleofsecondstolocatetherightexpertise.

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Ensuring the right resources on the ground

12 Bringing technology, innovation and better outcomes to the UK’s public services

IV. Using the Internet of Things for improved safety and attribute-based mobilising

Thededicationofofficerstoprotectingcommunitiesoftenputstheminhighlypressured,dangeroussituationswheretheirentirefocusisonsavinglivesandminimisingtheimpactoftheincident.Thismeansthattimepassesquicklyandtheymaynotbeawarethatthey’vebeenunderparticularconditionsforalengthoftime.

Tosupportteamsinnotgoingoverspecifiedmaximumtimelimits,technologycantracktheirlocationandalerttheofficerinchargethat,forexample,it’stimetorotatethefirefightersonthegroundforamuch-neededrestand/orchangetheirbreathingapparatus.Wearabledevices,eitherwornseparatelyorbuiltintouniformscancollectdatatobetransmittedandmonitored,providingusefulinformationtoenhancefirefightersafety,whether to convey the temperature or contaminationlevelsthatthefirefightersaresubjectto,ortomonitorheartrhythmsfollowingandduringparticularincidents.

Sensorswithinequipmentarealsousefulforprovidinginventoryinformation,includinghowmanybreathingapparatusunitsareavailableatanyonetime.Thosesensorscantriggeralertswhenit’stimeforthedevicetobeservicedorwheretherearemaintenanceissues,makingsurethatallfireserviceequipmentandattributesaresafe,availableandmaintainedcorrectly–crucialforprotectingthelivesofofficers.

Anotherwelcomeinnovationisthatnewvehiclestodayfeatureasystem,eCall,whichautomaticallycontactstheemergencyservicesifthatvehicleisinvolvedinanaccident.Diallingisactivatedautomaticallyassoonasin-vehiclesensorsand/orprocessors(suchasanairbag)detectaseriouscrash,providingdatasuchastheexactlocationofthecrashedvehicle,timeofthecrashandthedirectionoftravel.Thisfeaturecanalsobetriggeredmanuallybywitnessesbypushingabuttoninthecar.Wherethisintegrateswiththecontrolroomsystem,thiscanbeevenmorevaluable:thatinformationisconveyedwithinseconds,potentiallysavinglives,particularlywhereapumpisneededurgentlyinthecaseofavehiclefire.

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V. Improving the user experience by providing real-time information

Mobilesolutionsforofficersensuretheycanseeexactlywhat’shappeninganddon’thavetocontactthecontrolroomforstatusupdateswhilstalsobeingusefulforprovidingdecisionmakersinthecontrolroomwithuptodateinformation.Keyinformationisdeliveredtothefrontline,andcapturedfromthefrontlineinthemosteffectiveway.

TheThamesValleyFireControlService,whichhandles999callsandmobilisationacrossBerkshire,BuckinghamshireandOxfordshire,usesBOSSMobile,aweb-basedapplicationdesignedformobiledevicesasanoperationalsituationalawarenesstoolforofficers.

Oncealertedandmobilisedtoanincidentofficerscanimmediatelyaccessinformationsuchasincidentlocationandtype,mapping,theincidentlogandthestatusofrespondingresources,aswellasbeingabletoaccessinformationonotherincidentsinthearea,including‘informationonly’incidentssuchasroadclosures.TheIncidentlogcanbeupdatedon-sceneandsharedacrossrespondingofficers,providinganefficienthandovertoolforincidentsthatspanmultipleshifts.

VI. Using analytics for continuous service improvement

Aspartofday-to-daymonitoring,serviceshavetorecordactivityandoutcomestakingplaceontheground.Technologyhasaroletoplayinensuringthatthisinformationiseasytocapture,andiscapturedinausefulway.Beingeasytoimplementandtointegratesuccessfullywithothersystemsiscritical–thebareminimumrequiredofcontrolroomsoftwareisthatitcanprovideafullauditofactivityassociatedwithanincidentand,intheeventofaninquiry,canprovideinformationimmediately.

Inaddition,seniorofficersneedtoensurequalityandefficiencyofresponses–ausefulfacilitywhichagoodcontrolroomsystemcanofferisa‘replayfacility’whereactivitycanbereplayedinrealtimeorslowtime,enablingtheactionsandstepstakentobeanalysedandtoseeifanyimprovementscanbemadeorwhethertherearegapsintraining.Thisisanimportantfactorbothinserviceimprovementandinstaffpersonaldevelopment,bothimportantfactorscontributingtoanefficientandeffectivebrigade.

14 Bringing technology, innovation and better outcomes to the UK’s public services

Using technology to harness the power of collaboration

The guidance document published by the Emergency Services Collaboration Working Group considers both the duty to collaborate (as required by the Policing and Crime Act 2017) and the benefits of a successful, cohesive approach to enable emergency services to deliver the highest quality service. It recognises that greater collaboration provides greater opportunity to respond innovatively to today’s demands whilst strengthening future resilience, effectiveness and efficiency.

I. Successful collaboration of fire services

Inadditiontocollaborationbetweendifferentbluelightservices,therearealso,ofcourse,thebenefitsofcollaborationbetweenbrigadesthemselves.Thisofferssimilarbenefitstomulti-servicecollaboration,withtheaddedbenefitofeconomiesofscale,wherethreefirebrigadesutilisethesamesystem.

Forexample,theNetworkedFireServicesPartnership(NFSP),aconsortiumofFireServicescomprisingHampshireFireandRescueService,Dorset&WiltshireFireandRescueService,andDevon&SomersetFireandRescueServicesharetheircommandandcontrolsolution.Theyuseafullyintegratedsolution,distributedacrossthreecontrolrooms,whichnotonlysupportstheindividualservicesbutalsomeetstheoperationalrequirementforinteroperabilityandresilienceacrossthepartnership.

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Thissuccessfulcollaborationhaspositivebenefitsintermsofback-upresourceandresilienceasJohnAldridge,ChairoftheNFCSPStrategicBoardexplains:

II. Supporting multi-agency incidents and campaigns

TheMultiAgencyIncidentTransfer(MAIT)systemhasbeendevelopedtosupportincidentswhichrequireablendofemergencyservicesandotheragencies,suchasHMCoastguard,theHighwaysandtheDepartmentofTransport,becauseoftheirseverityorcomplexity.DesignedtoachievesecureinteroperabilitybetweenITsystems,MAITisanintegratedITsolutionswhichremovestheneedforoperatorstomaketelephonecallstootherservicesandagencieswhilstunderhighpressuresituations.Aswellasstreamliningtheprocessbyreducingthecalltransfertimebetweenservicesfromfourminutestoafewseconds³throughautomation,theuseofstandardisedinformationandcommunicationensuresthatallthosewhoneedtobeinvolvedareregularlyupdatedwiththefullpicture.

PilotsofMAITarecurrentlyunderwayacrosstheUKandit’sevidentthat,tobetrulyfuture-proof,anycommandandcontroltechnologyimplementedbyfirebrigadesmustbeabletoeasilyintegratewithMAIT.Asaresult,softwaresuppliersmustbeabletoevidencenowthattheirsystemsarefitforpurposeforthenearfutureofmulti-agencyresponse.

Because all three fire and rescue services have the same technology

in their control centres we will have far greater resilience. If one service is under pressure the others will be able to provide full support.”

16 Bringing technology, innovation and better outcomes to the UK’s public services

The control room of the future

What is clear is that, to support sustainable fire services in a climate of high demand and limited resources, control rooms will need to be highly collaborative, making use of technology and shared data to achieve true cohesion between functions.

Theeffectivesharingofdatawillrevolutionisehowemergencyservicesdeveloptoensurethey’refitfortheneedsforthefuture.Evenifservicesaren’tphysicallysharingasinglecontrolroom,thethreebluelightservicesshould,ideally,beabletosharedataquicklyusingthelatesttechnology.

Inadditiontosharingofinformation,thereareothertechnologieswhichpresentopportunitiestosupporttheworkofcommandandcontrolinfirebrigades.Afewexamplesare:

I. Artificial intelligence – using machine learning to fine-tune responses

Lookingintothefuture,there’sagreatopportunitytouseartificialintelligence(AI)andimprovesomeofthatefficiency,forexampleaverysmallamountofinformationaboutanincident–perhapsadomesticfireinaparticulartypeofdwelling-couldbeprovided.

Usingmachinelearning,technologycoulddeterminethelevelofresourcerequiredandfacilitatethedispatchofthisfromthecontrolroom.There’snodoubtthathumanjudgementwillalwaysbetheoverridingfactorfordecision-making,butAIcouldmakethosejudgementsthatmucheasierbypresentingvariouslikelyoutcomesinasplitsecondofthetimeitwouldtakeahumanbeingtoconsidereachvariantandconsequence.

II. Predict and preventAfurtherestablishedareaoftechnologyisthatofpredictiveanalyticswhichcanbeusedtounderstandwhere,whenandwhyaparticulartypeofincidentismostlikelytooccurbasedontheanalysisofhistoricaldata.Inthiswaypatternscan

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bepickedup,perhapsaroundparticulartypesofbuilding,geographicallocationandsoon,helpingtoidentifywherefirebrigadesneedtoconcentratetheirresources,eitheraspreventativeworkor,inworstcasescenarios,tohelpthemmanageanincidentwithparticularcharacteristics.

III. Future digital convergenceIt’salsocrucialthatanycontrolroomsystemisfunctionallyrichenoughtobefuture-proofintermsofsupportingtheforthcomingEmergencyServicesNetwork(ESN),thecommunicationsinitiativeforpolice,fireandambulanceservicescontrolroomsinEngland,ScotlandandWales.Althoughnotlikelytobeliveforseveralyears,theaimsofthisaretomakeitpossibleforcommunicationstoshareanexistingcommercialnetwork(5G)andallowbetteruseofmobiledata.

IV. Supporting cross-service collaboration with the cloud

Consideringamovetothecloudwithcontrolroomtechnologyoffersanumberofadvantages,notleastbeingtheopportunitytocutITcosts,particularlywhereitmightsuitseveralfirebrigadestosharethosecloudservices.Securityandresiliencearethekeyfactorsbutthereareplatformsavailablewhichcertainlyprovidethisreassurance,suchasMicrosoftAzure.

There’snodoubtthatbeinginthecloudmakesitmucheasiertoupgradeandimplementnewtechnology,andthereissupportavailabletohelpbrigadesmakethemove.

Cloudisstartingtobeconsideredasafeasibleoptionbyfireservices,andthey’rewatchingcloselytoseehowotheremergencyservicesadoptthisapproachbothintheUKandoverseas.Inparticular,whenapowerfulcontrolroomsolutionisusedinthecloud,itsupportswhereserviceshavechosentoworktogetherincollaborativepartnershipswhere,say,onecontrolroomisprovidingthecontrolroomoperationsforseveralbrigades.

It’skeythatanysolutionsusedbyfirebrigadesareabletolinkintothelatesttechnology,includingthenewEmergencyServicesHubtosupportthesharingofinformation,bestpracticeandcooperation.Thebesttechnologycanfacilitatesystems‘totalktoeachother’,forexample,enablingpoliceforcestoseethelocationsoffireenginesandambulances,sharinginformationaboutcasualties,firearmspresenceetc.It’simportanttoensurethatthetechnologyisabletoprotectsensitiveandrestrictedinformationsothatonlyrelevantinformationforeachserviceisshared.

18 Bringing technology, innovation and better outcomes to the UK’s public services

New technologies are already transforming how control rooms and supervisors can operate as effectively as possible, ensuring informed decision-making throughout the process, from the moment a call comes in to major incident management.

Theenhancementstosituation-andlocationawarenessprovidedbyreal-timeremotevideotechnology,combinedwithautomateddatasearchesrunninginthebackgroundassoonasacontrol-roomoperatorpicksupanemergencycall,meanthatrespondingofficerscanbeaspreparedaspossibleforanyincident.Thispre-arrivalintelligenceprovidespowerfulbenefits:themostobviousbeingtheabilitytoprovideanappropriate,timelyresponsetodealwiththeincidentitself,thereforebetterprotectingpublicsafety.Otherkeybenefitsincludebeingabletobetterprotectofficersthemselvesandensureresourcesarefocusedexactlywherethey’reneeded,preventingtheunnecessaryallocationofofficersorspecialistskillstonon-criticalincidents.

Automationtechnologyisenablingmoreeffectivemobilisationofresourceswithroutingalgorithmswhichensureteamsandappliancesreachtheincidentinthequickestpossibletime.Attribute-basedmobilisingisfurtherstrengthenedwhenutilisedwithInternetofThings(IoT)technologytofactorinon-dutytimesforresourcerotationandprovidealertswhenequipmentneedsmaintenance.

Thelatestmobilesolutionsensuredecision-makersalwayshavetheinformationtheyneed,withreal-timeupdatestoandfromthefrontline.Technologyalsomakesiteasierforfireservicestoworktogethercollaboratively,fromenablingseveralbrigadestousethesamesystemforeconomiesofscaletosupportingmulti-agencyincidentsandcampaignsbystreamliningcalltransfersandmakingiteasiertosharestandardisedinformationtokeepallpartiesuptodate.

Fromautomationtoartificialintelligence,toanalyticsandthecloud,it’sevidentthatthetechnologiesneededforthecollaborativecontrolroomofthefuturearealreadyavailabletothosefireandrescueserviceslookingtoleadthewayinservicetransformationandsustainability.

Conclusion

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Sources

¹https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/Ops-Future-of-incident-command

²https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/NFCC%20Guidance%20publications/Operations/CFOA_Incident_Command_future.pdf

³https://www.nationalfirechiefs.org.uk/write/MediaUploads/committee%20documents/NFCC_Strategy_Final_july_2018.pdf

www.cfoa.org.uk/download/62192