[
Political and budgetary pressure to make savings and operate more efficiently led Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service to consider a new approach to its operational and rostering systems.
Increasing pressure for change came from the move to modernise the fire and rescue service, first mooted in the Bain Report and then developed into the National Framework and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. In addition, the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review put pressure on fire and rescue services to fund any pay awards through improved efficiencies. Change was therefore inevitable. For Manchester Fire & Rescue, this situation was brought to a head by a projected deficit in its budget of GB pound 5 million for 2005/2006.
Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue is the third largest service in the UK with over 1600 full time firefighters serving a population of 2.3 million people. The service is deployed across 41 fire stations which house 66 fire engines and 29 special appliances. Staffing of these stations was achieved using a 4-Watch, 2-2-4 rostering system which had been in place for more than 30 years.
So the service had to find a way of delivering efficiencies in its operations while providing an equivalent or even better level of service. As the man put in charge to implement change, ACFO Steve Beckley, put it: “My challenge simply stated was how to deliver the same or better quality of service more efficiently. It soon became apparent that the only way to solve this problem was to get less people working more flexibly to deliver an improved service.”
Outward looking
This involved looking outside the fire and rescue service into other public and private sector organisations, especially the retail business, where success depends on providing high levels of customer service at the lowest cost of delivery – a difficult balance to achieve. This is when Workplace Systems, a workforce management specialist, was brought in to help develop a new approach and implement a solution. The consultancy has experience in a variety of private and public sector organisations, including work with the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority.
With Greater Manchester’s objectives clearly laid out, Workplace Systems started a feasibility study in 2004 to establish where efficiencies could be made and how new practices could be implemented. The study identified several issues inherent in the 4-Watch system and the current contracts of employment. The system assumes a static level of absence due to holidays, sickness, training etc, and each duty roster is designed to cover an average level of demand. But this results in stations often being over or under resourced, with a net surplus (inefficiency) in the number of shifts required to crew all fire appliances. Reducing this inefficiency was almost impossible using the existing duty system, without adversely affecting the quality of service.
Using this knowledge together with historical data on incidents to calculate demand, Workplace Systems developed a demand-led rostering system using the following model:
– Roster a net contract of employment. This would provide a more realistic view of the hours each firefighter provides, having removed all known absences.
– Cover absence on a one-for-one basis, by using unrostered hours to cover absence as and when it occurs.
– Remove all over-resourcing by planning to have only the correct numbers of ‘riders’ on a shift.
– Adjust the level of firefighting resources based on variable operational demand rather than using consistent 24/7 fire cover based on outdated standards.
It became apparent, however, that retaining the 2-day, 2-night, 4-rota day shift pattern would be fundamental to the acceptance by firefighters of any change, as would keeping the shift start and finish times of the Watches. Workplace Systems determined that moving from a 4-Watch to a 5-Watch structure would meet the needs of the workforce and the employers alike.
Identifying these principles provided the evidence needed to implement the project. But the move to a new rostering system would still require a significant and fundamental change to the way Manchester Fire & Rescue had operated over the last three decades, and would need full support from the firefighters and their union. So in January 2005, a complex and detailed process of negotiation started which involved wider consultation with the Fire Brigades Union, firefighters and station managers.
“We knew we were asking a lot of our employees to accept this new way of working, but with the considerable help and support of Workplace Systems and a programme of continuous communications, we were able to convince the firefighters that this new scheme would benefit them, and that the service would realise improvements they needed to meet their goals,” says Steve Beckley.
He continues: “The change GMF&RS has been through has been significant and the benefits clear to see for all stakeholders. While all team members contributed to the end result, Workplace were pivotal in developing an operating model that was both practical, and would deliver the improvements we had to achieve.”
In January 2006, the project finally went live. Through the measurement process implemented at the start of the initiative, the following benefits have been identified:
– GB pound 2.9 million annual and recurring savings in labour costs
– Performance standards maintained and improved
– Confidence levels on meeting operational requirements have risen – up to 96%
– No significant labour problems during the implementation of change
– Reduction in sickness and absence levels
As a result of the success of the project, Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue is looking to further refine the existing model and extend new working practices to other parts of the organisation.
[
Political and budgetary pressure to make savings and operate more efficiently led Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service to consider a new approach to its operational and rostering systems.
Increasing pressure for change came from the move to modernise the fire and rescue service, first mooted in the Bain Report and then developed into the National Framework and the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. In addition, the government’s Comprehensive Spending Review put pressure on fire and rescue services to fund any pay awards through improved efficiencies. Change was therefore inevitable. For Manchester Fire & Rescue, this situation was brought to a head by a projected deficit in its budget of £5 million for 2005/2006.
Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue is the third largest service in the UK with over 1600 full time firefighters serving a population of 2.3 million people. The service is deployed across 41 fire stations which house 66 fire engines and 29 special appliances. Staffing of these stations was achieved using a 4-Watch, 2-2-4 rostering system which had been in place for more than 30 years.
So the service had to find a way of delivering efficiencies in its operations while providing an equivalent or even better level of service. As the man put in charge to implement change, ACFO Steve Beckley, put it: "My challenge simply stated was how to deliver the same or better quality of service more efficiently. It soon became apparent that the only way to solve this problem was to get less people working more flexibly to deliver an improved service."
Outward looking
This involved looking outside the fire and rescue service into other public and private sector organisations, especially the retail business, where success depends on providing high levels of customer service at the lowest cost of delivery – a difficult balance to achieve. This is when Workplace Systems, a workforce management specialist, was brought in to help develop a new approach and implement a solution. The consultancy has experience in a variety of private and public sector organisations, including work with the London Fire & Emergency Planning Authority.
With Greater Manchester’s objectives clearly laid out, Workplace Systems started a feasibility study in 2004 to establish where efficiencies could be made and how new practices could be implemented. The study identified several issues inherent in the 4-Watch system and the current contracts of employment. The system assumes a static level of absence due to holidays, sickness, training etc, and each duty roster is designed to cover an average level of demand. But this results in stations often being over or under resourced, with a net surplus (inefficiency) in the number of shifts required to crew all fire appliances. Reducing this inefficiency was almost impossible using the existing duty system, without adversely affecting the quality of service.
Using this knowledge together with historical data on incidents to calculate demand, Workplace Systems developed a demand-led rostering system using the following model:
• Roster a net contract of employment. This would provide a more realistic view of the hours each firefighter provides, having removed all known absences.
• Cover absence on a one-for-one basis, by using unrostered hours to cover absence as and when it occurs.
• Remove all over-resourcing by planning to have only the correct numbers of ‘riders’ on a shift.
• Adjust the level of firefighting resources based on variable operational demand rather than using consistent 24/7 fire cover based on outdated standards.
It became apparent, however, that retaining the 2-day, 2-night, 4-rota day shift pattern would be fundamental to the acceptance by firefighters of any change, as would keeping the shift start and finish times of the Watches. Workplace Systems determined that moving from a 4-Watch to a 5-Watch structure would meet the needs of the workforce and the employers alike.
Identifying these principles provided the evidence needed to implement the project. But the move to a new rostering system would still require a significant and fundamental change to the way Manchester Fire & Rescue had operated over the last three decades, and would need full support from the firefighters and their union. So in January 2005, a complex and detailed process of negotiation started which involved wider consultation with the Fire Brigades Union, firefighters and station managers.
"We knew we were asking a lot of our employees to accept this new way of working, but with the considerable help and support of Workplace Systems and a programme of continuous communications, we were able to convince the firefighters that this new scheme would benefit them, and that the service would realise improvements they needed to meet their goals," says Steve Beckley.
He continues: "The change GMF&RS has been through has been significant and the benefits clear to see for all stakeholders. While all team members contributed to the end result, Workplace were pivotal in developing an operating model that was both practical, and would deliver the improvements we had to achieve."
In January 2006, the project finally went live. Through the measurement process implemented at the start of the initiative, the following benefits have been identified:
• £2.9 million annual and recurring savings in labour costs
• Performance standards maintained and improved
• Confidence levels on meeting operational requirements have risen – up to 96%
• No significant labour problems during the implementation of change
• Reduction in sickness and absence levels
As a result of the success of the project, Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue is looking to further refine the existing model and extend new working practices to other parts of the organisation.