April 7, 2023 4 min read
Connecticut Fire Academy Eliminates Bottlenecks for Students and Staff by Modernizing Operation
Industry:
Solution:
The Challenge
As Connecticut’s leading provider of firefighting education and training, the Connecticut Commission on Fire Prevention and Control’s CT Fire Academy (CFA) is responsible for overseeing more than 300 classes every year. However, the CFA’s previous training management processes needed updating to meet the needs of both internal and external customers.
Most of CFA’s processes were paper-based—leading to delays in student registrations and difficulties accessing transcripts or certificates.
“If a student or a firefighter across Connecticut needed a copy of his or her certificate from a year ago, they would need to contact the academy through phone, email, or fax to request their certificate or transcript,” said CFA’s Director of Training. “The on-site staff would then research, download, and send to the firefighter. This process delayed students from having the documentation they needed.”
Manual processes like these not only consumed valuable time and resources but also increased the risk of errors in managing student data, course schedules, and certifications.
“It was difficult to keep track of student progress and ensure that everyone was meeting the necessary requirements,” said the Director.
It also made it challenging to quickly access important information when it was needed. Linking course materials with actual classes was a significant issue, as they were unable to easily provide evidence of curriculum or instructor information when requested for legal or liability purposes. Furthermore, CFA lacked a clear picture of how many students they were touching each year, which presented staffing and budgetary challenges.
The Choice
The CT Fire Academy recognized the need for a more efficient and user-friendly process for both students and staff and decided to streamline their processes by implementing the Acadis Readiness Suite—a purpose-built system for automating academy operations.
With Acadis, CFA hoped to improve the experience of Connecticut firefighters and instructors.
The new system would provide a platform for online student registration, self-service printing of certificates and transcripts, and access to detailed training records. Moreover, Acadis would reduce the Academy’s reliance on paper process and ensure the accuracy of the data for better decisions regarding staffing and budgeting.
The Change
By implementing Acadis, CT Fire Academy was able to digitize their training program and manage comprehensive student records from a centralized system, which made it easier for CFA to keep track of who had completed which training courses and which certifications they had earned.
In addition to streamlining their record-keeping processes, the automation capabilities of Acadis made it easier for CFA to schedule and manage their training courses. With Acadis, CFA could now create and manage course schedules online, and students could sign up for courses electronically.
“That’s key. Acadis is really streamlining the process of student registrations,” said the Director of Training.
Transitioning to digital process has led to “real savings” for CFA by eliminating significant expenses related to printing and mailing.
Plus, Acadis makes it easier to track attendance and ensure that everyone is getting the training they need. The CFA can now access accurate data, including the number of students who attend classes each year, to better plan and provide information if requested.
“Being able to link the curriculum to each specific class is huge,” said the Director of Training.
For CFA, continuing to grow with Acadis is helping the Academy fulfill its mission of serving the Connecticut fire service.
In addition to the entry-level training, the customer worked with Vector to build an entire technician succession planning model, providing training and career development support to help technicians develop advanced maintenance skills, progress through levels of an internal certification program, gain specialty certifications, and even receive training in leadership. Employees have been receptive to the program and results, while early, have been promising. The facilities management firm and Vector Solutions continue to partner together to achieve goals and complete additional phases of the training program.
“We got rid of our inefficient methods and have streamlined our processes and procedures with Acadis. Having access to real data is big for the future of the Academy.”
Director of Training — CT Fire Academy
Ready to see what the Acadis® Readiness Suite can do for your academy?
