Thinking Outside the Box Results in Savings
When the Saskatoon Fire Department was asked to look into potential savings or service improvements, Chief Dan Paulsen and his team responded to the call.
“We sat down and struck a committee of Assistant Chief Dave Bykowy from administration and Rob Hogan representing Local 80 to figure out a go-forward approach,” explained Paulsen. “It became known as ‘The Think Tank’ with seven break out groups representing different divisions within the Department.”
According to Hogan, groups kicked off their session with a Ted Talk on “thinking outside box” and then used background information and best practices from other municipal fire departments to stimulate discussion.
“The composition of each group was really important as well,” said Hogan, who helped to ensure the groups had a good mix of seniority and experience. “We wanted to make it safe and comfortable for everyone to participate. Forget rank for now, we said, we want to hear your feedback, even if it’s negative. If there’s something that we should be doing, or doing better, bring it forward.”
“The only parameter was no safety risk to citizens or staff,” added Paulsen. “Other than that, it was pretty open. Everything was on the table.”
The result? More than $16.8 million in current and potential savings – without affecting service quality or response times. The Department’s Continuous Improvement Plan has mapped out a number of initiatives to achieve these savings, both big and small.
For instance, a new approach to picking up “sharps” was proposed. About 1,500 times per year, the Department used to send out a full pumper with four firefighters to pick up and depose of used needles and other sharps across the City. When they took a closer look at the data, they realized that 90 percent of these sharps were located in the vicinity of one fire station.
“We were driving some 4,000 kilometers per year, with a full crew, picking those things up. We were doing it like we had always done it,” said Chief Paulsen. “By putting a fresh set of eyes on our approach, we found a better way and real savings.”
A fresh look at fire station location and deployment was one of the biggest potential savings identified through the process. Utilizing computer modeling technology developed through the City’s GIS department, the groups looked at the locations of current and future stations to best meet the demands of future growth. The analysis led to rethinking the deployment plan for current and future stations, leading to improvements in citizen safety and $14.6 million in savings.
“That was a real a-ha moment,” said Bykowy. “You want proof that we were breaking paradigms? Whoever thought about relocating Fire Halls to save having to build new ones? That’s amazing out of the box thinking.”
Although the success of the process was a product of creative problem solving and teamwork, Chief Paulsen credits the trust between members of the department and management: “It was the product of a strong collaborative effort between union and management to see what we could do. If you start from a ‘no’ position, that’s where you’ll end up staying.”
Hogan agrees: “It starts with trust. If you don’t have a relationship, you can’t start that conversation. Both sides have to trust each other and it’s a two way street.”
Chief Paulsen is set to retire on July 31st but is confident that the Department will continue to make strides in savings and service improvements in the months and years ahead.
“The key players will still be involved and we’ve got the capacity within the Department to keep it moving forward. I look at the strength of the administration and the strength of the Local…it’s a bright future. We’ve laid out a progressive, go-forward plan to build on.”
Other Strides – Pending or Implemented
- Reorganization of Sharps pick up program
- More efficient rotation of staffing at all fire stations
- Reduce overlap of response zones by relocating Hampton Fire Station to Elk Point
- Relocation of two existing stations to better cover south-east Saskatoon
- Realignment of Training Division
- New overtime arrangement
- Different approach to fire inspection and investigation services