Case Studies

West Midlands Fire and Rescue Service

West Midlands Fire and Rescue service (WMFRS) have been a client for a considerable number of years enjoying a specific training course developed by RCES for the fire and rescue service, all crew, watch and station managers undertake the training as part of an advancement process and currently there is a waiting list of attendees in spite of providing 5 or more courses each year.
More recently WMFRS identified a specific training need resulting from manual handling injury statistics. RCES training consultants attended a planning meeting with the safety staff at the Birmingham HQ to agree a strategy for effective practical training to reduce manual handling injuries.
The training consultants attended Walsall station to assess standard stowage and current handling techniques, good and bad practices were recorded and photographed, the information collected was then incorporated into a specific training session to be delivered to groups of 10-12 operational staff on their own stations and with their own equipment. In order to accommodate this, crews were identified in areas and each watch stood down with their appliance for a two hour period but remained available for extreme emergency situations. RCES were able to vary the start and finish times to accommodate ongoing incidents delaying crews and delays in returning from standby locations. The training used all equipment on the crew's appliances and over the course of two weeks up to four crews per day received training. Operational staff received the training in a positive way, appreciating the practical emphasis and specific use of their own kit in relation to operational and training use. Procedures varied according to locations and appliances throughout the west Midlands and included crews from Smetwick, Handsworth, sollihull, Dulwich and West Bromwich resulting in a marked reduction in accidents due to specifically designed hands on training.

After each day the trainer would record all issues raised and questions from delegates which resulted in further communication and consultation with the safety department to make improvements to stowage and procedures, this supported the good moral and enhanced the positive safety culture by directly involving the workforce in change for safety.

see also:
Hereford and Worcester Fire and Rescue Service
Cornish Crabbers
Profile of RCES (UK) Ltd Executive Director