Article Highlights
- The problem: Manual fire department schedules
- The solution: Fire scheduling software
- The benefits of fire department staffing software
The problem: Manual fire department schedules
In today’s fast-moving, tech-forward era, many fire departments still don’t have a streamlined, automated system for managing their firefighter schedules. Instead, departments use manual, paper-based schedule management systems, which are laborious and prone to errors and miscommunication.
Using pen and paper scheduling methods, it’s not uncommon for departments to end up with multiple versions of the same schedule after changes are made, causing mistakes and staff frustration. Manual scheduling also makes it difficult to ensure your department meets the minimum firefighter staffing levels required to operate and serve the community.
Without a centralized system, it's also hard to track and balance firefighter schedules and PTO requests so your department is effectively staffed. This often leads to overscheduling and denied vacation requests, which contributes to increased burnout in firefighters and impacts both their safety and their ability to perform at work.
The solution: Fire scheduling software
PowerDMS' cloud-based employee scheduling software, PowerTime, eliminates the hassle of manual scheduling by centralizing your fire department schedules in one accessible system.
Staffing coverage
The software tracks real-time scheduling information to ensure your department maintains sufficient firefighter staffing levels and warns you when staff are overscheduled. Built specifically for public safety providers, PowerTime also includes functionality that accounts for 24/7 coverage, rotating shifts, and minimum staffing requirements.
Automated notifications
Fire departments can take advantage of automated scheduling updates in PowerTime, which sends open shift notifications for administrators and employees so you can fill open shifts quickly. When you enter minimum firefighter shift requirements, you'll receive warnings about insufficient shift coverage. The automated scheduling system also tracks approvals, hours accrued, and time off banks.
24/7 accessibility
In addition, PowerTime offers 24/7 digital accessibility. Supervisors can digitally edit fire department schedules, firefighters can swap or pick up shifts, and staff can view their real-time schedules at any time, from any device.
The benefits of fire department staffing software
With PowerTime, your fire department can streamline the schedule management process and verify that firefighter staffing levels meet requirements without needing to do manual calculations. As a result, the fire scheduling software eliminates pen-and-paper schedule errors and miscommunications created by multiple versions and manual updates.
Furthermore, PowerTime gives staff 24/7 access to the most updated fire department schedules across your entire department from any device or location. Firefighters can check their schedules on their mobile devices, and receive notifications if a shift changes.
With PowerTime’s benefits, your fire department can avoid the confusion of hard-to-track paper-based systems to minimize overtime scheduling. And by giving your staff the time away from work they need to come back at their best, you can reduce firefighter burnout, improve safety in the field, and provide high-quality services to your community.
Get started
To learn how PowerTime can help automate fire department schedules and reduce firefighter burnout, schedule a free demo of the system on our website.