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PRINCIPAL INSPECTION REPORT HIGHLAND AND ISLANDS FIRE BRIGADE
HUMAN RESOURCES
The development of human resources is especially important in the fire service where high levels of competency and availability are a central part of an efficient organisation.
Overview
106. Whilst the Brigade's planning arrangement for training appears effective there is an urgent need to properly resource the risk-assessed staff development needs of the Brigade's personnel. In the personnel functions of the Brigade, the absence of strategic policies for diversity and fairness, and recruitment and selection, prevent a full audit being implemented. It is, however, pleasing to note that many worthwhile activities are ongoing in these areas. The Brigade's top-level arrangement for health and safety management would benefit from further efforts in terms of ensuring the competence of retained and auxiliary workers.
107. Notable suggestions in the report are:
- It would be productive to perform a training needs analysis that would allow a demand-driven approach to be taken to the resourcing of training and there remains an urgent need to properly resource the risk assessed training needs of the Brigade's personnel.
- Where policies or strategies exist the commitment to regularly review them should be apparent and the process by which the review will be conducted should be detailed including the process to be adopted and by whom the review will be conducted and a list of what inputs will be considered.
- The production of diversity and fairness plans based on the Brigade's policy and a recruitment and selection policy should be among the earliest considerations of the planned personnel function.
- The Brigade should ensure that they are satisfied that those people supervising training and testing sessions at retained and auxiliary stations are assessed as being competent to do so. Whilst accepting that limiting risk to volunteer and auxiliary crews is difficult the Brigade is encouraged to consider further controlling measures for these workers.
Training
108. The links between the Training Strategy and the Brigade's corporate plans are maintained and effective. Management objectives and priorities are incorporated into the training strategy via the Performance Management Committee.
109. The Training Department has developed a set of protocols which give guidance as to how routine activities are conducted and should serve well for the purposes of induction of new staff and continuity planning. It is intended to incorporate these protocols into the Brigade Order that governs training. The Brigade may wish to consider adopting this process for other areas of activity.
110. Performance standards are set and progress monitored by the Brigade's Performance Management Committee that measure and discuss achievements against the targets set within the training strategy.
111. Although it is not made clear within the strategy, evidence exists of a broad range of staff involvement in the development of training plans. The Strategy studied is very much focused on uniformed staff and evidence of its communication to all Brigade staff was not clear. The Strategy would benefit by being broadened to visibly include all brigade employees. The degree to which staff understand the training approach taken has not been measured by the Brigade.
112. The responsibilities of staff within the Training Department are clear and are derived from the Strategy. Operational district officers conduct many training activities and anecdotal evidence from crew members indicated that there may be occasions on which the commitment is not achieved. Whilst this evidence was derived from a small sample size, subsequent interviews with managers confirmed that there may be occasions on which training visits are not achieved. The Training Department may wish to devise support strategies that ensure that those units that rely upon district staff for training input are supported during the absence of the district staff.
113. The Training Strategy would benefit from the inclusion of some detail of the intended annual review process. This could include:
- how and by whom the review will be conducted; and
- a list of what inputs will be considered.
114. The Training Strategy is resource-based and aims to deliver the amount of training that can be achieved with the resources available. It would be productive to perform a training needs analysis that would allow a demand-driven approach to be taken to the resourcing of training.
115. The Training Department has had to address the new training needs of upgraded units over the recent years and a resultant increasing refresher workload. Whilst it is accepted that the Brigade has analysed the capacity of district staff to undertake training duties, and where needed, added extra staff, there remains an urgent need to properly resource the risk assessed training needs of the Brigade's personnel. Failure to do so will eventually result in an inability to address the needs of the organisation.
116. In terms of the delivery of training, some specialist training has had to be curtailed in order to facilitate the increasing breathing apparatus workload presented by units that have been upgraded. Whilst the commitment to maintain BA standards is clear, the other training was presumably required and is now not taking place. Maintenance of breathing apparatus skills is of great importance to the Brigade and it is worthy of note that the intended annual refresher programme is normally achieved.
117. The five-year strategy used by the Brigade should visibly consider increasing resources required to meet increasing need and would benefit from a Best Value Review of future training provision. This will assist the Brigade in its commitment to "provide and develop a skilled, motivated and representative workforce".
118. The Department has also had to use managerial staff for the delivery of training to cover for the absence of training delivery staff. Whilst the staff willingness is commendable, the other roles for which these staff members are employed must inevitably suffer. The Brigade should consider alternative strategies for the purposes of ensuring continuity in the delivery of training.
119. The Brigade has incorporated a training needs mechanism into individual training records. In many areas, operational district officers generally meet these needs. It is clear that district officers play a significant role in the provision of training and yet there is no evidence that their ability to deliver training or assess subordinate competence plays a part in their selection or appointment.
120. The Training Department internally consults with staff using a series of departmental meetings, client consultation is facilitated by regular meetings of retained and wholetime officers at which training regularly features as a discussion topic.
121. The incident debrief process used by the Brigade appears effective and could be expanded to incorporate training exercises. In any case, the Training Department should regularly receive summaries of debriefs which will assist them with the identification of corporate training needs.
122. The driver training arrangements of the Brigade are undergoing increasing demand and may benefit from a Best Value Review of future provision. This is one of the areas in which a move to a demand-driven approach may be productive. The Brigade's officers currently receive no specialist driving training for proceeding to incidents.
Diversity and Fairness
123. The Brigade has an established fairness at work committee, which advises the Firemaster in respect of fairness and diversity. A fairness at work policy exists which has been communicated to all workplaces. The fairness at work policy should commit to regular review and should detail the processes that will be utilised for the review.
124. There is no formal plan in existence for equality and little evidence was available to the audit that would suggest a planned approach at the corporate level. This appears to be the result of previous reliance upon the Highland Council for provision of personnel services and should be satisfactorily addressed by the intended formation of a personnel function within the Brigade.
125. The fairness at work committee is drawn from all internal stakeholders, including the Fire Board, and should provide a good basis for policy development.
126. Although no evidence exists that staff understanding of the Brigade's policy has been assessed, the levels of knowledge of fairness and equality issues within the workforce sampled was good.
127. Some job descriptions contain responsibilities for fairness at work, but the link between these responsibilities and the policy is not clearly defined. Amendment of all job descriptions that have responsibilities for fairness and diversity should be a natural succession to policy amendment in this area.
Recruitment and Selection
128. The Brigade's arrangements for recruitment are focused very much on the wholetime and retained uniformed sectors. No overarching policy or strategy was evident but there is clear evidence of many procedures and protocols that govern the selection processes.
129. The staff involved in the Brigade's selection processes are not yet all trained for the purpose but the Brigade has a stated intention to ensure that this is achieved.
130. The Brigade is committed to achieving a more representative workforce and positive action campaigns have been conducted. In an attempt to attract applications from a broad cross-section of the community, the Brigade uses a broad range of advertising media when informing of vacancies.
131. Candidates who are unsuccessful in promotion applications may receive feedback upon request. This could be usefully included in the advert for positions.
Health and Safety
132. The Brigade's policy has recently been reviewed and provides a good basis for health and safety planning. The policy carries only the Firemaster's signature; it is important that the employers - the Fire Board - are seen to have ownership of the health and safety policy. The Brigade may wish to take steps to enhance the ownership of the policy by the Fire Board.
133. An extract of policy statement is visible in all workplaces within the Brigade. This poster gives the corporate commitment to the health, safety and welfare of workers. The Brigade has not assessed how well workers understand the policies in relation to health and safety. The use of an abbreviated policy extract for the purposes of personal issue to all workers would enhance awareness of the policy and may provide the vehicle for feedback on understanding.
134. The audit arrangements in use are effective and there is clear evidence of policy review following significant events and other external inputs. The structural arrangements for health and safety are effective and their incorporation into the departmental planning processes is a valuable step.
135. The staffing arrangements within the Health and Safety Department are adequate but the workload implications of not filling temporary vacancies should be an important consideration.
136. It is noted that there are occasions on which auxiliary crews are self-supervised during training sessions and whilst testing equipment. The Brigade should ensure that they are satisfied that those supervising on these occasions are assessed as being competent to do so.
137. The Brigade has a well-defined risk assessment mechanism for operational activities. A variety of suitable risk-reduction mechanisms are utilised. It is accepted that limiting risk to volunteer and auxiliary crews is difficult and the Brigade may wish to implement further controlling measures for these workers. A full service review of PPE was recently concluded and compatibility of existing and new PPE was an integral part of the review. It is intended that the risk assessments made during the future selection of PPE will take cognisance of the compatibility of new PPE with that already existing.
138. The competence of the Brigade Health and Safety post holders is high and is maintained effectively. The Brigade's commitment to improving health and safety knowledge at all levels within the rank structure is clear.
139. The size of the Brigade's area presents challenges when dealing with the investigation of accidents and other safety events. The system in use is developing but relies upon district staff to perform preliminary investigations with further more in-depth investigations being conducted by departmental staff if required. It is important to ensure that all staff involved in investigation of these events are competent to do so.
140. The provision of occupational health is currently under review and the links between health and safety and occupational health are maintained by the presence of the senior staff officer (who manages occupational health) on the Brigade's Health and Safety Committee. These links could be strengthened by the inclusion of occupational health targets under the performance management system in line with the guidance given in "Revitalising Health and Safety".
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