The Checker Improves Fire Operations

In addition to saving paper, The Checker’s new mobile inspections facilitate faster communication of inspection results, better inspection administration, and safer firefighting operations—as the following case study illustrates.

Case Study - Springwater Fire

When firefighters get a call to put out a fire, their fire trucks and equipment better be working right. Lives are at stake.

Even if no one’s trapped in the fire, firefighters put themselves at risk fighting it. Public safety is also an issue as they speed to the scene. Fire trucks that fail on the road are dangerous to many people.

That’s why Springwater Township’s fire department uses The Checker’s mobile inspection checklists, which give firefighters an easy, reliable way to document that they have done proper inspections on their vehicles and firefighting equipment.

Springwater isn’t legally required to inspect its fire trucks before use, says Springwater’s deputy fire chief, Craig Williams.  But he said the township’s Fire and Emergency Services department performs inspections anyway—realizing that inspecting regularly is the only way to ensure that firefighters leave the firehouse with the equipment they need to fight fires, protect themselves, and travel the roads safely.

“It’s a best practice and due diligence to have trucks inspected regularly,” Williams says. 

“Detailed inspections can certainly prevent accidents from occurring. They help ensure the safety of the firefighters and the public and anyone traveling on the road. The Checker allows us to track these inspections so we know they are consistently done.”

Springwater firefighters are very familiar with The Checker—they’ve been using The Checker’s inspection checklist books for years to execute their inspection program. But in 2013, they switched to The Checker’s mobile inspections, which can be done on any Internet-connected device, whether it’s a tablet, smartphone, laptop, or desktop computer.

Williams says the desire to use less paper was one of the motivations for switching to The Checker’s mobile inspections.

“It saves paper, so environmentally it’s good. It’s just a green thing to do,” he says.

But Williams says the Checker’s mobile inspection solution has provided a key additional benefit.

 “It allows for more real time oversight of the vehicle,” he says. “It allows me to track the issues we’re having with the trucks and react to them faster.”

Each firehouse has an iPad kept on its pumper truck, which is the lead vehicle when responding to fires.

That iPad is used to inspect all the trucks. If it’s being used, firefighters can also enter their inspection information on the firehouse’s desktop computer. Some firefighters have also used their personal devices to conduct inspections, Williams says.

The switch to mobile was easier for firefighters who already used computers extensively in their personal lives, Williams says, but he thinks even firefighters who aren’t regular users of mobile computing devices are pleased with the change.

“When they find an issue, they want to know that I know about it,” Williams says. “They like the idea that when they hit the send button, the information has gotten to me.”

With paper, Williams says an issue could be reported and placed in his office mailbox but he might not see it for a day or two. With The Checker mobile inspections, however, he gets an instant notification when an inspection is completed, including any defects that need immediate attention.

Firefighters obviously want their equipment working correctly, so this instant notification is reassuring to them, Williams says. As for himself, he likes always being on top of any problems.

Williams also appreciates being able to easily access past inspection information within The Checker’s cloud-based inspection management software. With paper, if he needed to find an old inspection report or analyze inspection data, he would have to search through file cabinets to find the information. Now it’s just a click away—and all that office space taken up by old paper inspection forms has been freed up.

“It’s just much more accessible and efficient now,” Williams says.

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