Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
Spatial and public safety – a pioneering approach by Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service
Written by David Eagle, FME Division Manager, 1Spatial
Spatial data’s role in rapid and accurate emergency response is well-documented, but delve a little deeper and you’ll find location at the heart of many key decisions to ensure public safety. Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service (DSFRS) recognises the power of using modern technologies to help reduce or remove risk and is embracing an innovative approach to FME to create a safer world for its communities. As the Swiss army knife for managing data, FME sits behind much of the Service’s digital transformation and is utilised to unlock the value of its data and further enable data-driven decision-making.
“The data and information we hold is one of our most valuable assets which, if stored, managed and analysed correctly, can be used to transform the way we keep everyone safe in the South West,” says Josh Warren, Data Developer, DSFRS. “By automating and integrating our operational data using FME, we have provided a solution that benefits both the Fire Service and the South West Ambulance Service (SWASFT), who we started supporting during the pandemic."
Automation and integration to unlock the value of data assets
Accurately recording information on how DSFRS is supporting the ambulance service is vital for monitoring performance and reporting to stakeholders, particularly during increased demand in the pandemic. After each shift, the driver needs to provide details such as the incident’s category, whether it included attending a Nightingale hospital and the personnel involved.
For a complete regional operational picture, information must be collected and collated across the SWASFT (South West) area. The original system relied on a manual process which involved crews emailing information over to be included in reports. This was time-consuming and had the potential to introduce error.
DSFRS introduced a new process that uses FME to automate and integrate their data. By configuring their FME Server to receive, read and scan the individual emails and extract the relevant information to the centrally stored database, the time taken to integrate the data into a region-wide report was significantly reduced.
The solution demonstrates how FME can support the Service’s digital transformation by automating processes used elsewhere in the organisation. By moving from data siloes to a centralised data repository, DSFRS is keeping datasets synchronised and up-to-date.
Improved data governance for enhanced accountability, transparency, and visibility
These new automated processes have significantly improved the efficiency and accuracy of recording information about the ambulance driver support. Removing the need for any manual involvement ensures the consistency and quality of data. It also reduces the risk of errors being introduced into the data and improves data governance. Due to the success of this project and the ease of use for non-technical users, there is now more support to use FME for future ways of working in the Service.
Applying fresh thinking to FME
1Spatial has supplied components from the FME Platform to DSFRS since 2019 and have also provided the team with the complete range of formal FME Desktop and Server Authoring training sessions.
In addition, we have supplied services to deploy FME Server for high availability and resilience, and technical support to ensure the day-to-day support needed to keep their data flowing freely between systems.
FME provides absolute flexibility in restructuring, reformatting, and integrating data so that it is ready for use to analyse, publish and share. It includes support for hundreds of data formats, thousands of map projections, and hundreds of transformation tools, many of them custom tools authored by the huge global user community.
By applying fresh thinking to FME, Devon and Somerset Fire and Rescue Service has developed an efficiency-boosting blueprint that others can follow. As the organisation continues its digital transformation journey, the lessons learnt will prove invaluable in delivering further benefits.
To find out more, please contact fme@1spatial.com