TargetSolutions: The Future of Firefighter Training Today

Firefighter training requirements can be costly, complex and time-consuming, but TargetSolutions’ revolutionary records management technology makes all of those drawbacks a thing of the past.

Once upon a time, it cost a quarter to send or receive a text message. Before that, in what perhaps can be construed as a twist of irony, a phone line was required to check e-mail. Rewind even further to the days of needing a bottle of white-out to fix a typo while blazing away on your electric typewriter.

Technology is always evolving. If you don’t stop to look around every once in a while, then you may just miss it.

Take a second and think about how firefighter training requirements and tracking used to be, back when countless midnight hours were spent harvesting endless mountaintops of paperwork. Perhaps “used to be” is an understatement and the above description accurately depicts your department’s current training situation. Regardless, it simply doesn’t have to be that way anymore.

Firefighter Training Technology

When it comes to firefighter training technology, TargetSolutions is at the forefront. What used to take a battalion of officers several days (or even weeks) to accomplish can now be completed before lunch with a few simple clicks.

TargetSolutions, established in 1999 and headquartered in San Diego, California, is the undisputed leader in matching up technology with the ever-growing list of firefighter training requirements. With its sleek interface, innovative features, and a massive library of engaging training courses, it’s no mystery why more than 2,000 fire departments nationwide call the powerful TargetSolutions online training management system their own.

TRACK EVERY HOUR OF FIREFIGHTER TRAINING REQUIREMENTS

Remember the days of having to count minutes on your phone? You may have lost track every so often, but your phone company certainly never did, and they had the bills to prove it. TargetSolutions has turned the tables on that technology by delivering a dynamic tracking mindset straight to your fingertips. Pre-course work? Tracked. Practical or online training assignments? Tracked. Policy reviews or license renewals? Tracked.

Whether you work for a large metro department or a smaller combination/volunteer agency, TargetSolutions is fully customizable to maximize results and streamline your training needs. Save time and money with an innovative solution that gives departments the ability to meet firefighter training requirements, eliminate unnecessary expenses and reduce risk.

When it comes to the ease of tracking every morsel of training, Assistant Chief Tracy Braley of the Cape Canaveral Volunteer Fire Department had this to say: “TargetSolutions makes training painless. It enables me to provide more training for our firefighters with less staff and less money without sacrificing quality.”

SIMPLIFY ISO RECORDKEEPING WITH TARGETSOLUTIONS

There’s no shortage of ISO horror stories as training officers from departments big and small can attest to how grueling such a review can be. Struggling to piece together spreadsheets, searching for records, and deciphering what training meets which requirements can feel like wandering through a labyrinth of breadcrumbs.

However, what used to be a colossal undertaking is now just another day at the office. TargetSolutions’ ISO Training Tracker consists of dynamic online courses and digital tracking reports that are built specifically to meet ISO’s standards. TargetSolutions’ intuitive recordkeeping system will automatically track assignment completions and generate detailed reports that are structured perfectly for ISO’s reviewing process.

The Oklahoma City Fire Department, which employs nearly 1,000 personnel, powered itself to a Class 1 ISO rating utilizing TargetSolutions.

“The mass data that you have to collect and give to ISO for their rating, that’s more readily available,” Chief Keith Bryant said. “With TargetSolutions it’s better, more accurate.”

In an instance of role reversal, departments already achieving a Class 1 rating have jumped ship from brick-and-mortar training strategies to join the digital revolution. Lieutenant William Riess of the Cherry Hill Fire Department in New Jersey recalled how his department was already a Class 1, so the goal was to sustain rather than achieve.

“We were using about a dozen different programs to capture what TargetSolutions does for us in one,” said Riess.

When asked about the ISO Training Tracker, Riess praised it as the ultimate selling point: “All of what we just went through is alleviated by going with TargetSolutions.”

EMS RECERTIFICATION WITH TARGETSOLUTIONS

After merging with CentreLearn Solutions in 2014, TargetSolutions became the undisputed choice for EMS training. Organizationally accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Pre-Hospital Continuing Education (formerly known as CECBEMS), EMS recertification has never been easier.

With continuing education that meets federal, state, and local mandates, TargetSolutions offers more than 160 hours of EMS recertification courses for all provider levels, including 80 hours of training approved by the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC).

Holy Spirit EMS (formerly West Shore Emergency Medical Services), a leading provider of pre-hospital services in Pennsylvania, has been employing TargetSolutions for 15 years. To deliver its goal of top-notch patient care and assistance, close to 200 employees from the agency need effective training. Traditionally, this requires a streamlined training strategy that can be complicated and costly, a problem that EMS Director Steve Poffenberger insists is a non-factor with TargetSolutions.

“I’m often asked, ‘how do you manage all of those people?’ I just tell them, it’s simple: we subscribe to TargetSolutions,” said Poffenberger. “I know for a fact we are saving money by doing it this route. It can be very time consuming and expensive scheduling instructor-led training for our employees. There are instructor costs, overtime costs, venue costs. The more we can push out this way the better.”

The Manage Credentials application, an easy-to-use tool for managing online EMS training, puts you in the driver’s seat for tracking the training personnel need to remain compliant. Scheduling applications, assignment deadline alert notifications, and delivering and tracking employee training records are just a few of the highlights of this powerhouse feature.

Steve Prziborowski, Deputy Chief of Administrative Services for the Santa Clara County Fire Department, praised the system for its handling of EMS credentials: “The biggest things I think we are benefiting from are the credentials management. Beforehand we were using different systems to track EMS credentials, different systems to track DMV credentials. … By merging all those into one, I think that’s provided us with a lot more efficiency.”

STREAMLINE COMPLIANCE

Tracking the rigorous firefighter training requirements, simplifying ISO and managing recertification all converge to a delta of compliance for your department or organization. Grunt work is a thing of the past; gone are the days of hunching over boundless accordions of file cabinets. Instead, training managers can oversee every facet of their department’s training with a few clicks of a mouse.

Have to create alerts for required documentation? TargetSolutions is the solution. Need to stay current on licenses or certifications? TargetSolutions has you covered. Looking for the most innovative online training courses available to the fire industry? TargetSolutions offers more than 450 hours of the most engaging courses available written to the NFPA’s codes and standards.

The Activities Builder, another integral cog of the TargetSolutions platform, facilitates the delivery of custom content. Platform managers can incorporate videos, policies, SOGs, and organization-specific content into training assignments while tracking completion rates every step of the way.

WHY SHOULD YOU CHOOSE TARGETSOLUTIONS?

• TargetSolutions will streamline your entire training program
• Never break a sweat for ISO reporting again
• Every hour of every training assignment will be tracked
• Required documents, reports, policies, and other organizational materials are only a click away
• More than 450 hours of fire department training, including 160 hours of EMS recertification coursework
• Available 24/7 and mobile compatibility

Have a question? Encountering an issue? TargetSolutions’ world-class support team is always standing by to help you along the way. Diving into a brave new world of technology can be intimidating, but with TargetSolutions, you’re certainly never alone. This is the future of training – today.

At this day and age, firefighter training requirements shouldn't stress you out. To get started with TargetSolutions, contact us today at (800) 840-8048 to learn more.