West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service goes live with FireWatch v.7.8

West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service (WSFRS) has gone live with the latest major release of Infographics’ Web and Mobile App-delivered FireWatch fire service management software.

FireWatch provides WSFRS with a single integrated platform covering HR, Training and Development, Availability & Workforce Planning, Asset Management and other areas.

With this latest rollout, the service has transformed employee interactions with FireWatch into a re-designed, modern, graphically and KPI-driven User Experience (UX) where end users can see and action their integrated tasks and data in one place within the single system.

Plus, with access provided via the FireWatch Cloud, users have ‘anytime, anywhere’ access. Once fully deployed, single-sign-on via Azure Active Directory (AAD) integration will enable end users to use their existing Office 365 credentials to automatically authenticate and access the system, further simplifying the UX.

The deployment involved extensive user testing and close collaboration between Infographics and West Sussex to provide a smooth transition, access to significant new application functionality and updated Microsoft Azure Cloud hosting delivering Software as a Service (SaaS).

Steve Buchanan-Lee, WSFRS’s Group Manager for Operational Training & Development, said: “The upgrade to FireWatch 7.8 has now provided our staff with all the functionality of FireWatch wherever they are and whatever they are doing. The improved user-end experience now allows much easier access to live data and reports, in a format that is both technically and visually easier to process.

“Improvements have already been seen in the monitoring and management of maintaining our availability for Operational response, for our communities, and we are continuing to explore further functionality in the use of FireWatch 7.8 to improve our support of staff competence and the management of Operational appliances and equipment.”    

The rollout of the new FireWatch v.7.8 Web Client UX alongside the FireWatch Mobile App has delivered several vital improvements, as identified by extensive testing, feedback and approval cycles within West Sussex FRS user communities.

The key areas of transformation are summarised as follows:

• Ability to work from anywhere
• Convenience of a secure, single sign-on
• Modern look and feel
• Ease of use and navigation
• Efficiency of push notifications
• Greater visibility through station and organisation status views
• Self-service for maintenance of personal info and contact details
• Simplicity of adding detachments and holidays
• Improved visibility and management of qualifications

Their last move from their previous ‘on-premise’ architecture to Microsoft Azure Cloud hosting with SaaS access also delivered clear benefits. The key ‘gains’ that the implementation teams identified at West Sussex FRS through their analysis included:

• Greater scalability
• Increased security
• Improved accessibility
• Easy, streamlined upgrades
• Reduced equipment costs
• Increased flexibility

Russell Wood, Commercial Manager at Infographics, said: “It is gratifying to see all the hard work by Infographics and the West Sussex Fire & Rescue Service team pay off with such a successful rollout.

“We are already learning about the positive impacts the v.7.8 FireWatch Web and App rollout is having, helping the West Sussex team to provide an integrated system and processes, modernise their user experience, deliver self-service capabilities and improve the security, flexibility and scalability of their deployed solutions via our Microsoft Azure Cloud with SaaS delivery.

“This is a major step forward not only for West Sussex but all our clients looking to emulate their success and plan their upgrades to FireWatch 7.8.”