technology today ❘ By GREG BALDWIN
Any experienced training officer could probably tell you a horror story about his last Insurance Services Office (ISO) review. In the past, it would take hours, days, or even weeks to prepare for an ISO audit. TargetSolutions, a Vector Solutions brand, offers a solution to fire departments’ ISO training and reporting problems: the ISO Training Tracker. Equipped with a ready-made, Web-based package of online training courses and digital tracking reports specifically built to meet the ISO’s stringent standards, it’s easier to manage ISO training hours.
How Does It Work?
TargetSolutions, a fire service provider of computer-based training management applications, has built a system that automatically tracks completed assignments and generates detailed reports structured perfectly for the ISO’s reviewing process.
This solution blends online courses with instructor-led and drill yard training activities. It comes packed with powerful features to ensure your training is on par with the ISO’s requirements.
Some of the highlights of the ISO Training Tracker include the following:
- Credentials. This ensures that recertification requirements are met through online application.
- Custom activities. These are trackable electronic forms built specifically for an agency’s requirements.
- Training assignments. Ready-made training assignments cover ISO Driver Training, ISO Officer Training, ISO Hazmat Training, ISO Company Training, and ISO Facilities Training.
Testimonials
Does the ISO Training Tracker work? Yes. For example, the Oklahoma City (OK) Fire Department (OKFD), a department of nearly 1,000 personnel, powered itself to a Class 1 ISO rating using TargetSolutions’ ISO Training Tracker. OKFD Chief Keith Bryant said, “Our training records are much improved so we’re better at capturing training at the station level than ever before. [TargetSolutions] is one of those pieces of technology that makes us better at what we do. This was something we needed for a long time, and we’ve seen immediate improvements. The mass data that you have to collect and give to ISO for its rating, that’s more readily available with TargetSolutions. It’s better, and more accurate.”
(1) Photo courtesy of TargetSolutions.
However, what if your department already possesses a Class 1 rating? Is it worth it to change something that isn’t broken? Lieutenant William Riess of the Cherry Hill (NJ) Fire Department said the department already had a Class 1 rating prior to implementing the ISO Training Tracker. Nonetheless, he praised the platform for streamlining a colossal task into something that can be completed efficiently:
“We were using about a dozen different programs to capture what TargetSolutions does for us in one,” said Riess. “All of what we just went through is alleviated by going with TargetSolutions.”
Struggling to piece together spreadsheets, searching for records, and deciphering what training meets which requirements can make your head spin. With TargetSolutions’ ISO Training Tracker, achieving compliance becomes easier and quicker. The platform offers easy-to-use technology that streamlines and simplifies the reporting process.
“The amount of time I put into it was very minimal,” said Assistant Chief Douglas Cline of Horry County (SC) Fire Rescue. “I created ISO reports, and [the ISO field representative] asked for a couple of other little things, and that was it. I probably spent less than 45 minutes on it because I could produce everything I had to produce before he got there.”
Battalion Chief Matt Barnes of the Southern Marin (CA) Fire Protection District echoed similar sentiments when asked about his latest ISO review with TargetSolutions: “[The ISO] basically took my information and said, ‘thank you.’ I was anticipating a much more rigorous type of review; but based off the categories TargetSolutions has prebuilt, I was able to give specific hours for those categories, and it helped a tremendous amount,” said Barnes.
Vector Solutions is TargetSolutions’ parent company and provides performance support and software as a service solution with innovations in learning and technology to create safer, more capable, and more compliant organizations.
GREG BALDWIN has been the content specialist for TargetSolutions since June 2015. He is a graduate of San Diego State University with a degree in marketing. Baldwin played a key role in developing the award-winning NFPA 1410 Evolutions series.
