Challenges for Tracking PPE and How to Solve Them

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5 Common PPE Problems – Solved.

As you are probably aware, tracking PPE isn’t a simple task. You need to stay compliant with the most up-to-date regulations that have been put out by the NFPA to ensure the safety of the public as well as first responders. 

There are several problems with traditional forms of manual tracking and processing of information. A streamlined software solution can help you with the following challenges:

  1. Budget: Unplanned repair or replacement costs can throw off your fiscal budget.
  2. Time: Hours spent streamlining disjointed asset management processes and staying up-to-date on warranties could be better spent on other duties.
  3. Human Error: Manual inspections and reporting can lead to overspending on PPE inventory, or miscalculations.
  4. Assignments: Checking PPE in and out is easier, and allows Battalion Chiefs to know who has what, where it is, and when it’s due back.
  5. Inventory Overflow: Understanding replacement needs, reasons, and warranties can help you determine and eliminate wasted spending.

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  1. Budget: Unplanned Repair or Replacement Costs Can Throw off Your Fiscal Budget.

It’s essential for any first responder organization to have a firm understanding of budgetary needs, especially when — in some cases — it can take multiple years, detailed reporting, and extensive justifications to get department budgets approved. With the right tracking system, you can better plan for repairs and replacements, adding those costs into your budget so you are better prepared for unexpected expenditures.

Our software  uses a scoring system in compliance with APWA standards and inputted data about your department’s size and budget. This customized formula enables our users to better predict large expenditure costs like new coats, or even new apparatus. With a streamlined software solution, you can have better fiscal planning for the next 10, 15, or even 30 years.

  1. Time: Hours spent streamlining disjointed asset management processes and staying up-to- date on warranties could be better spent on other duties.

There are over 200 technical codes and standards with instructions that can span across several hundred pages that you need to follow in order to keep compliant with the NFPA’s guidelines. Staying on top of all of these and making sure every piece of equipment is up to code is no small task. 

There are a lot of things that you need to track. In addition to the safety status of the PPE, you also need to track where it is on the truck. Using a manual process means that this type of tracking could easily be lost or forgotten, resulting in a serious mishap during an emergency.

  1. Human Error: Manual inspections and reporting can lead to overspending on PPE inventory or miscalculations.

Tracking fire PPE is a safety issue. PPE is what keeps firefighters safe and allows them to enter a home to save lives and put out a fire. PPE is designed to protect firefighters from enduring serious injuries or illnesses that can result from coming into contact with chemical, physical, electrical, mechanical, radiological, and other hazards. 

Manual processes leave a lot of room for human error, which can result in a serious injury of a first responder, a member of the public, or both. 

Another reason to move away from manual processes is that they can be as messy as they are time-consuming. When you’re facing an audit, you need to be able to pull ad hoc reports at a moment’s notice, which you can only do with a streamlined system.  Manual systems can create extra stress in the event of an audit and leave you less prepared than you need to be. A streamlined, organized system will ensure you have everything you need, when you need it.  

  1. Assignments: Checking PPE in and out is easier, and allows Chiefs to know who has what, where it is, and when it’s due back.

One of the biggest benefits of having an asset management software solution is accountability. Our software allows you to assign responsibility to an employee, customer, or even vendors with e-signature functionality, giving you more transparency on who has what, where it is, and when it is due back. 

Being able to have individual team members sign materials in and out helps safeguard costly assets, ensuring they are returned and well cared for. With an asset management software solution,  there are no more guessing games about what a firefighter should have, or in fact what they have in their possession. Everything is clearly logged in one centralized location.

This eliminates any need to play detective to track down an item, and mitigates the risk of someone not having critical PPE. 

  1. Inventory Overflow: Understanding replacement needs, reasons, and warranties can help you determine and eliminate wasted spending.

Because of data transparency, an asset management system can identify wasted spend, including over-ordering of inventory items, or missed maintenance intervals for fixed assets. 

Additionally, an asset management system enables you to stay ahead of inventory needs and maintenance. Using alerts and a built-in scheduling feature, you will be regularly reminded and can easily act on  maintenance requests before there’s a catastrophic issue or shortfall. Regular maintenance of fixed assets (particularly fleet or apparatus assets), can help you save on budget in the long term as vehicles are regularly cared for throughout the year.

A Better Solution for Tracking PPE

Collective Data has a better solution for tracking assets so you can easily predetermine when gear will need to be replaced. Our comprehensive management software helps fire departments of all sizes stay compliant with a full range of fire and life safety solutions for the public as well as first responders.

What Collective Data Offers You

With Collective Data, you get instant access to an easier and more comprehensive solution for tracking fire PPE. Our software is able to consolidate all the information available from local, state, and federal authorities. It coordinates your assets and gives you reminders about when it’s time for maintenance. It also gives you team certifications that meet NFPA standards. 

Here are some of the main highlights that are included in our software:

  • Increased visibility
  • Tracking of fixed assets
  • Manage certifications
  • Accurate apparatus inspections
  • Up-to-date and timely reporting
  • Asset forecasting up to 10, 15, and 30 years

With our solution, firehouses are able to achieve the following outcomes:

  • 100% compliance
  • Reduced liability
  • 50% less time spent working on reporting
  • 20% annual cost reduction in maintenance backlog
  • 25% reduction in downtime thanks to automated processes

Are you ready for a better solution to tracking your fire PPE that doesn’t include lengthy and complex manual processes? FIRE by Collective Data is designed specifically to help fire departments track both fixed and inventory assets smoothly. To find out more about how this software can help you, contact Collective Data today, or check out our demo[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_separator][mk_blog_carousel][/vc_column][/vc_row]