Hillside Fire Dept. Switches from 'Archaic' Staff Scheduling Method to Aladtec
August 25, 2016 - Chicago, IL - Efficiency is a key in the day to day operations of a Public Safety agency, so when this fire department was spending far too much time scheduling personnel and decoding their messy paper calendar, Fire Chief Jeff Pilz sought a better method.
“We used a paper calendar to schedule 25 people; we always had issues with accessibility and accuracy,” Chief Pilz says. “Paper is so archaic, many times we had to decipher a scribbled mess leading to confusion. We had to spend time calling members to make sure the schedule was accurate. I wanted accountability and easy access.”
The Chief states he attended a number of trade shows visiting vendor booths, and checked online, for an online employee scheduling and workforce management solution. “Other companies couldn’t provide the same scope of services that Aladtec could,” he adds. “Their system provided the best fit for our organization.”
Since implementing Aladtec, Hillside Fire Department saves time in their yearly bid process, easily manages overtime requests and can quickly generate accurate reports. In addition, they have moved all their paper forms online in their system.
“The Forms feature was one of the factors I considered in our purchase decision. I like the paperless concept,” shares Pilz. “We track payroll, additional overtime requests, daily/weekly checks, damaged equipment, employee safety recommendations, exceptional job performance, division awards, vehicle repair requests and water usage.”
Staff members appreciate the easy accessibility of the department forms they need to fill out and 24/7 access to their schedule. They no longer have to call the station to see when they work, find out if there’s an open shift or see if they can make a trade. It’s all automated now within Aladtec.
“By making the trade function easier to navigate, my members have been using trades to get time off instead of using sick time. I needed to change the culture here and Aladtec helped make that a lot easier. Sick time is down and trades are up - but we control that function now,” Pilz explains. “I also like the monthly view, and the fact that all our personnel activities are shown for each day. We track who’s on duty, who’s off, and who has earned overtime. Everything is extremely transparent and we get more efficient every day!”
About Hillside Fire Department
Located in Cook County Illinois, the department serves the village of Hillside and a small portion of unincorporated Cook County. The station is staffed around the clock with three different shifts working 24 hours on and 48 hours off. The Fire Department also provides Advanced Life Support.
About Aladtec
They proudly provide online employee scheduling and workforce management software to over 1,700 organizations, primarily within the Public Safety Sector. These customers count on Aladtec every day to help them save time and improve efficiency. For information about their affordable industry specific options, or to try a free demo, please visit www.aladtec.com.
