Article Highlights
- The problem: Manually updating policies and SOPs
- The solution: Compliance management system software
- The benefits of an accreditation management system
The problem: Manually updating policies and SOPs
Manually updating paper compliance policies and procedures to meet fire department standards takes a lot of effort and time. Paper processes are disorganized and difficult to track and maintain. Not only are they error-prone, but fire departments also struggle to track whether policies are still active or if they’re outdated. These inefficient systems waste valuable fire department resources, which are already extremely limited.
Imagine an accrediting body updates a standards manual that directly affects one of your fire department’s SOPs. Using traditional paper methods, you need to update the policy according to the new guidelines, print it, and go to each station under your jurisdiction to read it aloud and ask staff to sign off on the new SOP. Or if you’re in a rush, you may just drop it off at each station for everyone to review and sign on their own accord. In this case, you might hear from your stations later that they never got the updated policy.
Fire chiefs and battalion chiefs are often in charge of these tasks, but rarely have the time to ensure all of their fire staff receive and acknowledge the most updated policies and SOPs. This leads to knowledge gaps and increases the chances of non-compliance, which creates liability risks for the department and can affect safety and service quality. What’s more, each of these problems negatively impacts your ability to achieve fire service accreditation.
The solution: Compliance management system software
PowerDMS’s compliance management system software, PowerStandards, can greatly streamline the fire department accreditation process by storing all of your policies and standards in one easily-accessible central repository.
Policy-to-standards tracking
The PowerStandards accreditation management system provides access to more than 250 standards manuals thanks to PowerDMS' partnership with 60+ state and national accrediting bodies. Fire departments can upload policies, procedures, and other proofs of compliance (documents, videos, images) in the centralized, digital platform and eliminate the need for disorganized paper documents.. You can even map policies to fire department standards and receive automatic alerts when an accreditation manual update may impact a policy linked to them.
Automated reviews and task assignments
PowerStandards’ automated policy review tools let you create automated reminders to review, update, or archive current policies to ensure your staff members are only accessing the most up-to-date information.
The software lets you create one-time or recurring tasks associated with individual standards and assign them to relevant staff to ensure accreditation is an ongoing process rather than a frantic rush in the months leading up to your assessment. Tasks appear on the assignee’s to-do list and in their PowerDMS inbox. You can also assign specific standards to team members so they can upload narratives and evidence of compliance and complete tasks.
The benefits of an accreditation management system
PowerStandards can help you prepare for accreditation assessments 50% faster and save $11,000 on paper and printing costs, on average. By making your policies and procedures available in a centralized repository and mapping your SOPs to accrediting body standards, you can simplify your compliance document management and receive alerts when a policy needs to be updated or archived.
This helps your department stay compliant with your accrediting bodies so you can confidently achieve accreditation. You will have peace of mind knowing your fire department documents, policies, and SOPs are up-to-date with the latest accreditation standards. And, most importantly, you can keep staff informed and accountable to help them stay safe and ensure they’re prepared to provide a higher level of service to the community.
Learn more
To learn how the PowerStandards compliance management software helps keep your fire department compliance documents current with accreditation requirements, request a free demo on our website.