Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) is the largest non-metropolitan fire and rescue service in England with 83 fire stations and more than 1,800 employees. As part of its large-scale digital transformation, DSFRS is unlocking the value of its data to enable data-driven decision making that ensures it continues to keep its staff and the public safe.
For DSFRS, accurately recording information of how they are supporting the ambulance service is vital for monitoring performance and reporting to stakeholders, particularly during increased demand throughout COVID-19. After each shift, the ambulance driver must provide details such as the incident’s category, whether it included attending a critical care hospital, and the personnel involved.
For a complete regional operational picture, information must be collected and collated across the South Western Ambulance Service area. The original manual system relied on crew members to cut and paste details into an Excel spreadsheet and then email it for inclusion in the regional report. This was not only cumbersome and time-consuming, but also had the potential to introduce errors.
How they made it possible – automation
DSFRS implemented a new automated process to integrate their data, building on the workflow previously deployed. By configuring FME Flow to receive, read, and scan the individual emails and extract relevant information to the centrally-stored database, the time taken to integrate the data into a region-wide report and the risk of errors have been significantly reduced.
The solution has demonstrated how FME can support the digital transformation project by automating processes used elsewhere in the organization. By moving from data silos to a centralized data repository, DSFRS is keeping datasets synchronized and up to date.
Using FME, DSFRS has increased work efficiency, improved data governance, and enhanced accountability, transparency, and visibility of partnership members.
This project was done in partnership with Safe Software partner, 1Spatial.
