Implementing and managing change in the fire and safety industry is necessary. The research focuses on the fire and safety organization’s fitting the policies to the changing needs of the community. The research focuses on the effect of the community on the changing response of the fire and safety organisation’s immediate response to the victims’ wants, needs, and caprices. Fire safety and security agencies must implement change to perk up their current public image.
Functions of the organization
The Fire and Rescue Services must perform two functions. First, the members should prioritise complying with their legal responsibilities enshrined in the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004 (“Fire and Rescue” 21).
In addition, the members of the Fire and Rescue Services must comply with the public and moral expectations in the areas of rescue and disaster prevention. This means the members should go out of their way to help everyone need of their fire and safety skills. The new policy includes helping others not mentioned in the statutes and other legal requirements.
The main contention of the change policy is to help others in their time of disaster need. If there are two disaster victims asking for help at the same time, the members of the fire and safety services must prioritize the victim covered by the Fire and Rescue Services Act. The officers of the fire and safety organization continually explain to the change-resistant member there is nothing permanent in this world except change itself.
The leaders will explain the main purpose of the organization is to help people in case disaster unexpectedly strikes the community. Thus, helping people not covered by the fire and safety law will create a very positive impression of the organization as people-oriented and not law-oriented.
The existing best practices in the fire and safety industry show disaster prevention and rescue is the prime goal of the United Kingdom fire and safety agencies. Brian Sweeney of Strathclyde Fire and Rescue (“Performance report” 3) emphasized the organisation’s vision is to link with the third parties to ensure better fire and safety services within the Strathclyde community.
The process of delivering change within organizations can be easily implemented. First, the best practices include explaining the advantages of implementing the change. Another best practice is the company’s discussion of the employees’ benefits in accepting the change in company policy with open arms. Third, another best practice is to incorporate feedback as a basis for reducing resistance to the implementation of the new company policy.
To monitor the impact of the change in services’ fire and safety procedures, the officers discusses the salient points of each company policy memo given to each member of the team. The company new company policy clearly states that all members must prioritise complying with all the requirements of the fire and safety law.
Likewise, the same memo indicates the members of the team must help others in need of their services during times of idleness. Idleness is defined as the time of duty when there are no emergencies needing the rescue services of the members described by the current statutes.
The objective of the new policy is to paint a better public image of the fire and safety agency. In the past, the members would comply with rescue services mentioned in the law. The change in company policy will reduce the public’s complaints and clamor for the fire and safety agency to help them in their time of disaster need. The objective of the new policy is to bring the government closer to the people.
The key aspects of the performance of the Fire and Rescue Service include helping people in times of unexpected safety and prevention needs. The Communities and Local Government place priority on the safety and rescue of its residents, just like other U.K. fire and safety organizations.
This means each fire and safety agency member must not be bound by the fire laws in helping the citizens. The fire authorities, including the Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service are mandated to make arrangements for dealing with disasters like road accidents, water accidents, animal salvaging, other similar safety and prevention concerns (“Lancashire Fire” 3).
As long as helping does not violate the laws of the land, then the members are free to help those in times of distress or calamity. Going out of their way, the public will have a more favorable picture of the government agency. The public can sleep soundly at night with the thought that the Fire and Rescue Service is always on its toes waiting to help someone in their time of disaster need.
To determine the effectiveness of the change in company policy, the officers will conduct two community surveys. Done before the change in policy is implemented, the first survey determines the public’s impression of the Fire and Safety Service organization. The second survey is done one month after the change in policy is implemented.
The second survey determines if there is a change in the public’s impression of the Fire and Safety Service organization. The findings of the surveys are used as basis for enhancing the benefits of the policy change within the organisations’ fire and safety procedures.
In terms of change resistance, the change will be accepted by the members. A seminar will brief the members of the advantages of implementing the new fire and safety strategy. A feedback survey will be conducted after the seminar to iron out any obstacles to the full implementation of the new company policy. Likewise, another feedback survey will be conducted one month after the new policy is implemented. Another seminar will be conducted to iron out any points raised from each survey questionnaire.
Additional surveys will be conducted every six months as a basis for adjusting the company’s fire and safety procedures to the latest public sentiments. Management will regularly compare the regular community’s and the current fire and safety policies to ensure the community that the organization continually updates its fire and safety procedures to prioritise the community’s fire and safety needs.
Prior to the implementation of the change in policy, a representative from all affected members of the community are invited to a safety and prevention brainstorming session. In the session, all persons will be given their chance to air their comments, suggestions, criticisms, and complaints, and other remarks on the implementation of the change in the organisation’s fire and safety service policy.
In the London community, The London Fire Brigade engages the partnership benefits from Crime & Disorder Agreements, Local Strategic Partnerships, and the Comprehensive Area Assessments (“London Safety” 9). The London Fire Brigade teaches the residents fire prevention strategies.
The two surveys focus on the implementation of change management over a predetermined time period under the company’s integrated risk management plan. The surveys will serve as a ground for ironing out the unfavorable portions and improving the changes in the new fire and safety policies.
In compliance with the policy enshrined in the Making of Greater Manchester Safer policies, the organisation’s Risk Management Plan (“Making of Greater” 4) has been revised to ensure a stronger internally focused change of the structure and focus of the Manchester’s fire and safety polices geared towards using sound evidence to improving the organisation’s current service to make Greater Manchester a safer place to live in with the organizations focus on disaster prevention, protection, and emergency response. (“Corporate Plan” 10).
To make the change in company policy more successful, the leaders of the fire and safety service creates a partnership with other organizations in the community. The change in policy will create a better impression of the fire and safety services organization in the eyes of the other organizations in the community.
To implement the change successfully, the fire and safety officers implement the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority’s valid response standards (“Corporate plan” 24). First, the leaders must include one representative from each affected sector of society. Managements must take whatever support from third parties as a big step towards accomplishing the organisation’s goals and objectives. Next, management monitors morale from all affected parties by conducting regular surveys.
Management will have to discharge members who refuse to embrace the new policy without feeling sentimental. Management must counter each resistance to the organisations’ safety and prevention policy change with discussions of the advantages of implementing the necessary change. In addition, the safety and prevention organisations’ officers will accept help from all parties in whatever manner or degree.
There are some best practices in the firefighting and safety areas. First, the leaders of each unit will gather data from actual performance output and benchmarks. The company will compare the variance between the benchmarks and the actual performance. Recommendations are made to improve performance results (Strong 391).
Second, the people must changed with others with more expertise in the fire safety management areas. Third, Andrew Furness (34) reiterated the fire fighting and other safety-based equipments on board each fire fighting and safety vehicles must be upgraded to give better and faster service to the clients. Fourth, there should be additional regular firefighting training to update the fire safety personnel.
IN A NUTSHELL, Fire safety and security agencies should set into motion change to enhance their current public image. The organization must fit the policies to the changing needs of the community. The community will have a better picture of an organization that caters to their wants, needs, and caprices. Indeed, implementing and managing change in the fire and safety industry is necessary.
Works Cited
Corporate Plan 2011-2044. Manchester, 2011. Web.
Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004. London. Web.
Furness, Andrew. Introduction to Fire Safety. London: Elsevier Press, 2008.
London Safety Plan 2008-2011. London 2008. Web.
Overview of Our Proposed Actions for 2010-2011. Manchester, 2010. Web.
Performance Report 2004-207 and IRMP 2007-2010 of Strathclyde Fire and Safety Service Organisation. Strathclyde 2004. Web.
Strong, Alan. Sustainable Development Policy. London: Wiley Blackwell Press, 2006.