Why a Fire Department RMS Isn’t the Best Tool to Manage Training

When managing a fire department, fire leaders face a multitude of challenges, from maintaining compliance with evolving standards to ensuring firefighters are trained and prepared to respond to any situation in an ever-changing landscape.

While a fire department records management system (RMS) is an essential tool for managing pre-planning, incident response, NIFRS data, and patient/person records, it is not the right tool to optimize training programs for maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

More than just a training tab in a fire RMS software or a generic learning management system (LMS), agencies need a robust training management system (TMS) purpose-built to strengthen preparedness and compliance. For more than 25 years, teams have relied on TargetSolutions (now part of Vector Solutions) as their training management system to simplify and streamline all training—live skills, in-person, and online.

Understanding the differences between a fire department RMS and a TMS is crucial for making an informed decision about technology investments that align with your organization’s needs.

Key highlights:

• A fire department records management system (RMS) is not the best tool for managing training, as it lacks specialized tools and features, compromising compliance with NFPA, ISO, and OSHA standards.
• A comprehensive training management system (TMS) streamlines firefighter learning, certification tracking, and compliance reporting while providing crucial fire training data insights.
• Vector Solutions’ AgencyConnect is the only fire department records management solution that automates training submissions between local departments and state certification authorities.

What is a Training Management System (TMS)?

Training management software (TMS) is a solution designed to support all aspects of firefighter learning and training, skills proficiency, certification management, and compliance tracking. It enables departments to centralize, deliver, evaluate, and document training efficiently while helping to ensure all members meet regulatory requirements.

Key features of a fire TMS include:

• Granular Tracking of Training Activities: Log and monitor completed courses, drills, live skill evaluations, and policy acknowledgment for each member.
• Flexible Course Delivery: Deploy pre-loaded online courses, custom content, and SCORM courses.
• Certification and Credential Management: Customize training plans and automate alerts for expiring certifications to ensure continuous compliance.
• Detailed Reporting and Analytics: Generate comprehensive reports on training progress to easily identify gaps and simplify responses to audits or records requests.

For example, departments can leverage tools, like the firefighter learning management system from Vector Solutions, to assign training tailored to individual roles, such as Firefighter I/II, Engine Driver, Fire Instructor, HAZMAT response, EMT provider, etc., to ensure personnel are always prepared and compliant.

What Is Fire Department RMS Software?

RMS stands for records management system, which is an incident management solution designed to document the details of the emergency response, including the actions of multiple response teams, the resources involved, and any patient care or relevant public interactions for reference as needed for state and federal reporting, court cases, FOIA requests, etc.

Key features of a fire department Records Management System include:

• Incident Reporting: Document NFIRS (NERIS)-compliant and patient care data.
• Pre-incident Planning: Access and update building layouts, mapping, hydrant locations, and risk assessments.
• Case Management: Documenting details of investigations, etc.

Fire departments would use a fire records management system to complete tasks like logging fire scene and emergency response times, generating incident reports, and maintaining a historical record for future needs.

Exploring the Limitations of Using a Fire RMS for Training

Although some fire RMS platforms include basic training modules, they typically lack the specialized tools required to manage complex training needs comprehensively.

The training limitations of fire department records management software often include:

• Lack of Pre-Loaded Training: Modules often do not offer a comprehensive library of quality online courses to support blended learning and help fulfill training and compliance requirements.
• Minimal Reporting Capabilities: Fire RMS software may only provide surface-level training data, falling short of the detailed analytics needed to optimize programs and meet regulatory reporting requirements.
• Limited Certification Management: Many fire department RMS platforms do not support highly customizable training trackers that simplify and automate certification tracking and recertification planning.

RMS training solutions are also known to be clunky, providing a bad user experience because the primary function is not designed to manage personnel training and certification compliance; they are typically an add-on module with limited functionality.

Why Fire Departments Need a Purpose-Built Training Management Software

Training is too critical to be an afterthought within a general fire department RMS. Using a TMS for fire department training provides a centralized hub for delivering, tracking, and validating all learning-related activities while making it easier for departments to adhere to NFPA, ISO, OSHA, and other regulatory and industry standards.

Here’s how a cloud-based TMS for fire services outperforms an RMS for training management:

• Deliver Comprehensive Training: Assign department content, link to third-party content, manage in-person events, design custom tests, or access TargetSolutions’ robust libraries of NFPA-based fire, CAPCE-accredited EMS CEUs, OSHA and compliance, and other relevant online courses.
• Streamline Credential and Compliance Management: Leverage pre-loaded ISO and EMS recertification training trackers and build custom training plans to simplify and expedite bundled training tracking needs. Boost accountability and save admin time with progress insights, automated alerts, and auto-renewal options.
• Get Real-Time Insights and Run Flexible Reports: Knowing who has not completed training is just as important as knowing who has. At-a-glance dashboards and comprehensive reports with configurable fields keep admins and leaders informed with granular TMS insight on training that drills down to hours spent, pending and completed assignments, and skill competency across individuals and teams.
• Centralize All Training: Manage cognitive learning and courses completions for better insight into the success of your online firefighter training. Track online and in-person training, conduct live skill evaluations, manage licenses and certifications, capture policy acknowledgements, and easily share resources and important information.
• Enterprise Training Capabilities: Simplify and unify training efforts across departments for seamless co-response. Ensure consistent standards, strengthen collaboration, and improve mutual-aid outcomes withTargetSolutions’ enterprise software.

Bridging the Training Data Gap Between Local and State-Level Agencies

Fire department software from Vector Solutions provides agencies with the only local-to-state connected solution on the market that helps solve training reporting challenges by connecting fragmented systems.

AgencyConnect automates training submissions between local and state entities, with same-day completion reporting from TargetSolutions to state-level certifying bodies or academies on the Acadis® Readiness Suite.

This revolutionary approach to managing training data simplifies and expedites reporting and strengthens compliance for improved emergency preparedness and response.

Why Choose Vector Solutions for Your Training Management Needs?

As the industry leader for training management software, Vector Solutions delivers a comprehensive firefighter training software designed to meet the unique demands of agencies.

Built and tested to align with industry standards, the platform offers customizable functionality to fit your department’s specific needs, unmatched connectivity between agencies, and responsive customer support to ensure your success. With online employee training courses from Vector Solutions, you can ensure your team is always safe, prepared, and compliant.

Request a demo to learn more about how training management software from Vector Solutions can help elevate your fire department’s readiness.

Frequently Asked Questions

RMS vs TMS: What Are the Key Differences?

Here are the core differences between RMS and TMS tools used within fire service agencies:

How Can a Dedicated Training Management System Help Fire Departments Maintain Compliance with Industry Standards?

A dedicated training management system like TargetSolutions is built to track multiple training methods (online, classroom, training grounds, etc.), certifications, and lifelong professional development, from probationary training to advanced officer training and specialty skills/certifications.

First responders often have two or more certifications for which they must maintain continuing education (CE) requirements. Fire Department leaders must ensure their personnel are compliant with their certification and CE mandates, as well as other training-related standards, like Insurance Services Office (ISO) structural training reports, to maximize their assessment ratings.

A dedicated training management system like TargetSolutions helps leaders by:

• Ensuring their personnel are compliant and prepared for the many types of incidents that they can encounter
• Saving training supervisors significant administrative time with auto-reporting of mandated training to state certification authorities

What Specific Challenges Do Fire Departments Face When Trying To Report Training Data Between Local And State-Level Agencies?

When reporting training data, fire departments often face these challenges:

• Firefighter training compliance varies from state to state, and different state agencies typically manage fire certifications and emergency medical service (EMS) licenses.
• Additionally, training records and certifications for first responders are typically siloed across multiple agencies (academy, local department, state regulatory authority)​
• A variety of disparate repositories (paper files, spreadsheets, home-grown systems, disconnected systems) make reporting and validation cumbersome

AgencyConnect automates and simplifies the process of reporting training completions for certifications and renewals from local departments to state academies and regulatory authorities, which can revolutionize insight into real-time, preparedness by creating a comprehensive repository of all the certifications and skills each for each first responder in the state. ​​