Greg Young, Vice President of Performance Advantage Company discusses how overcoming modern challenges has become a key priority across the globe

In any organisation, a budget will affect how goals are met.  Whether we are talking about the budget of money, people, resources or time, there can only be so much available at a given time.  To fill the needs of our customers we must focus on what is important and we must draw on the budget responsibly.  Requiring massive amounts of attention, watching these budgets is becoming a job unto itself; new challenges seem to arise daily.

The COVID pandemic has, in many ways, upended what many industry leaders believed to be under their control.  The actions and reactions of governments around the world are out of our control, for instance.  Lockdowns, however, took most people by surprise.  Few would ever think an open, democratic society would be forced to close for an indefinite amount of time.  How will the lights stay on?  How will the food be put on the table?  

Some effects of government reaction to the pandemic were immediate and apparent; others were not.  And now, almost two years later, the pandemic continues to affect us in ways that multiply on an almost daily basis.  The pandemic continues to make apparent the unforeseen ways we are not in control.  All manufacturers are facing challenges like they never have before.  Stress and burnout threaten productivity as we yearn for a return to normal in our personal and professional lives.

Global product shortages

You may have heard about the global shortages of shipping containers.  Understaffed ports are clogged with goods.  There are not enough drivers, nor enough hours in a day, to move the goods.  Yard capacity is beyond full, too.  These are some factors that are driving the cost of freight higher.  Inside those unloaded container ships, there is not only toys and televisions.  There are also textiles, chemicals, and plasticizers.  These raw materials and components are vital to production of products used in the emergency markets and elsewhere.

Product shortages are again roiling supermarkets.  Retailers are scrambling to meet holiday demand.  Restaurants and small shops, which contribute greatly to our economies, are struggling to bring in revenue.  They face unprecedented difficulties like keeping the shelves stocked and finding a qualified workforce, too.   All employers, already facing staffing issues, now are facing even more issues including rising wages.  A global “great resignation” is causing people of all walks of life to rethink their careers and life balance.  Recent vaccine mandates are forcing some health care and public safety providers to resign, too.  Our health care systems and our public safety are being squeezed in unforeseen ways.

Fuel shortages and price surges are affecting both the public and private sectors.  Wage pressures continue and inflation is on the rise.  Not to forget that there are bad actors determined to undermine our infrastructure.  Ransomware attacks are pushing the need for investment in network security.

Shuddered manufacturing plants and the work-from-home revolution highlighted an issue no one was expecting.  The disrupted manufacturing of microchips, tiny processors used to power all our electronic devices have become difficult to source.  This is choking the output of every industry that uses these chips in their products.  These industries include automotive, computer and industrial machinery.  The emergency market is essential, but not immune to these shortages.  The emergency market is being impacted by the stalled production of new emergency vehicles as well electronic monitoring devices.

Rise to the challenge

What does this all mean?  This is certainly a lot to ponder.  Bringing the idea back to control – some things are out of your control, and they are certainly not inconsequential.  But all is not lost! Lives depend on us to rise to the challenge and keep the emergency services running.  We must first look at what our organisations can control.  Start by looking at the critical tasks your organisation performs.  From that starting point, we must continuously innovate to meet the needs of today.

It is never a bad time to plan for tomorrow, as our experience shows us.  When looking to tomorrow there are other questions you could ask yourself, but for the sake of this topic: When time comes to look at your budget again, what changes will you make to succeed? Again, this is not always about budgeting of money.  This could also mean a change in availability of people, resources, gear and even emergency vehicles.

Some ways you could do more with less could include using technology that you already have.  With little to no expense there are many ways to enhance productivity and communication.  Perhaps one of your new hires has experience with technology in a way that could benefit your team. Why is the manufacturer of tool mounting brackets talking about such extraneous things?  As a manufacturer, we face the same challenges today and into the foreseeable future, too.  We stand with the businesses, large and small, who are facing this rapidly changing economic climate.  

Also, we are reminded that this company was born of specific industry needs and values.  Those values, coupled with our collective experience, continue to drive spirited innovation.  Innovation is what will allow all of us to survive and to continue to serve those who need us. Now, and at our company’s founding, manufacturers of fire apparatus rely on our tool mounting systems as ready to mount products.  This saves time and overhead for the truck manufacturers who are not always prepared to design tool mounts for various needs of their customers.  Now more than ever the need to save resources is very clear.  Having experience building fire trucks, PAC customer service will always be available to support our partners.  We will always have product ready to ship.  

We are proud to stand strongly in the emergency industry.  It is an industry with the highest purpose.  Performance Advantage Company has a long and active history in the fire industry and our future looks bright and very busy, too!  Notwithstanding, the pandemic continues to cause us to pivot and innovate to navigate these difficult times. 

We are stronger for it in many ways.  For instance, our supply chain is now scrutinised and reviewed with more vigour.  Also, our communications and internal processes have been strengthened using technology that we were not previously capitalising on.  We will continue to innovate and roll out new improvements that help us succeed!

Our core values embody being innovative and being prepared.  We firmly believe that you must always protect what has already been invested in.  The people in your organisation and the gear they depend on are all investments.  They must be protected.  Let us talk about how tool mounting and tool organisation can protect your investments.

Don’t risk time searching for a tool  

Uniformity is the practice of organising tools on different trucks in the same manner.  Larger fire departments use this as a policy to benefit their customers.  Following uniformity, all similar trucks should have the same tools mounted similarly in the same place.  Responders can quickly join any engine crew and perform to the same high standards.  Uniformity lends to familiarity and allows the best crew response.

In your organisation, you may have several trucks spread over many districts or departments.  Some departments have a ladder truck while others do not.  With a uniform fleet, your team will have instant familiarity.  This means that firemen will know exactly which compartment has, for example, the nozzle adapters or bolt cutters.  Remove the guesswork and wasted time looking for a tool (in all the unforeseen environments at the fire scene).  Uniformity leads to familiarity.  Responders know exactly where to find a tool on any truck in the fleet.  When your new truck goes on a call your crew can instantly find the tools they need.  Allow the Fire professionals to provide the quickest response – saving lives and property – by allowing your members to have common familiarity with the gear they need.  

An organised rig can be one of the most effective tools to have when providing training to your crew.  With an organised truck, new recruits and veterans alike become familiar with the truck layout.  With familiarity, one person can find, retrieve, and deploy equipment with the highest efficiency.  This performance is repeatable regardless of responder or shift.  This improved performance is scalable across a fleet of vehicles.

Familiarity leads to accountability.  Tools are often lost or misplaced.  They can be left behind at a scene, mistakenly placed in another compartment or worse: taken by another responding company!  Accountable crews have everything in their place before and after the call. Inventory can be quickly surveyed after each scene ensuring tools have been returned to their proper storage location.  When a truck is at the station it can be quickly surveyed for missing equipment.   

Minimising the risk of tool damage

Supply chain issues are causing long lead-times on key equipment like helmets and other gear.  A secured tool will provide a longer tool life; not subject to wear, breakage, damage or being misplaced. This is at a critical time when saving crucial dollars for other expenses is necessary. This also saves potentially months waiting for a backordered piece of equipment or worse: settling for available, but inferior, replacement tool or gear.

For the longest service life of your equipment, PAC mounting brackets only use special composite materials.  These materials were selected for strength under heavy loads, impact, and resistance to chemicals, conductivity and corrosion. Unsecured tools can fall against the inside of a roll-up door.  This causes an avoidable situation where the door cannot be safely rolled up.  Additionally, unsecured firefighting tools can become tangled and interwoven.  These are examples where unsecured tools lends to lost critical response time.

Don’t risk workplace injury because of unsecured tools

Due to staffing shortages, fire departments must mitigate the risks to their firefighters.  Staff shortages caused by injuries in the line of duty are at the most difficult time to manage and overcome. Muscle injuries, overexertion, and accidental contact account for most injuries.  Tool mounting and tool storage can help with these concerns.  Not only does proper tool mounting keep gear working longer but it also can eliminate operator injuries from hazards such as tools falling from high truck compartments.

Any Department must prevent injuries from happening.  Tools should not fall out of compartments when the door is opened – this is a preventable hazard!  Do not become one of those Departments that have sustained workplace injuries.  Falling nozzles, adapters and even rescue tools have caused severe injuries and have needlessly taken responders away from serving the public.  Avoid injuries by organising and securing your tools.  

Many factors contribute to the performance of a Fire Department.  Dispatchers, responders, vehicles, communication systems and equipment are crucial elements.  Providing the public efficient, effective service is demonstrable and measurable.  Under your control, tool mounting and organisation should not be overlooked.  Tool mounting and organisation can be considered on current in-service trucks, when designing a new truck or when putting a truck into service.  Successful organisation of gear lends to better performance with lower operating costs.  It should never take an incident or injury for a Fire Department to rally around the cause of proper tool mounting.