Perez is a city of 25,000 inhabitants located in the Santa Fe province in Argentina. The city’s fire and rescue services are provided by the 32 members of the City of Perez Volunteers Firefighters Association. Perez’s firefighters work out of a single fire station, and staff three engines, a rescue and a water tender along with several other support vehicles.
A starting point
In 2005, the Association started giving some thought to how the quality of service provided to the community could be improved. In 2009, the Association’s board of directors and officers began to develop and implement a new system of work for management and operations.
The Association’s vision was about breaking the rules—rules of the past that had been used for many years. We understood that if we wanted to change our quality of service, we needed a cultural change. This required a change in the way we thought and the way we managed the business of providing fire and rescue service. It was a slow process and a tremendous amount of hard work, but day-by-day and step-by-step, we ban to develop a new system of operational management.
One advantage we had in this process was that many of our members work in multinational companies in a variety of industries (e.g., petroleum, chemicals, steel, grain production). For many years, industry has been using management systems in quality, health and ecology to implement standards established by the Instituto Argentino de Normalización y Certificación (IRAM), which is Argentina’s representative to the International Standards Organization (ISO). Our members’ training and experience in industry led us to ask, “Why not use these methods to improve the management of our fire department and services delivered to the community?”
The first step was development of an Annual Management Plan that outlined the five fundamentals of our operational management system—Vision, Mission, Politics, Principles, Objectives. This provided the foundation for a continuous process of improvement. Each element of this system is based on excellence in operational safety and quality of emergency services provided to the community.
A key element in the project was the development of process and frame maps to define our main processes used in managing the fire department and delivering service to the community. These included:
- Main Processes: Delivery of emergency services
- Strategic Processes: Management of human resources, performance measures, standards, and continuous improvement
- Support Processes: Operational controls and maintenance and care of equipment and materials
Based on these main processes, we developed standard management, operational and legal procedures.
5S standards and discipline
In 2011, we began the process of implementing “5S,” with the assistance and support of Gerdau Steel (a steel manufacturer company). In some ways, 5S is a management tool, but in others it is a culture focused on spontaneous and continues improvement of the working environment and working conditions.
5S was implemented by Toyota in the 1960s in the assembly line production of automobiles. The five elements of 5S are (in Japanese):
- Seiri (Classification or Sorting): Seiri involves examining the workplace to identify and remove unnecessary items to provide a simpler working environment that meets operational needs.
- Seiton (Ordering or Systematizing): Seiton requires that tools, equipment and supplies be organized in an efficient manner based on their intended use.
- Seiso (Cleaning): Once unnecessary items have been removed and required items have been organized, Seiso involves regular cleaning of the workplace to maintain cleanliness and order.
- Seiketsu (Standardization): Seiketsu builds on the preceding elements of 5S by creating visual controls and procedures to build these elements into natural, standardized work practices.
- Shitsuke (Self-Discipline): Shitsuke is the training and discipline to consistently apply the 5S concepts to develop this way of working as a cultural norm.
Adapted to fire service
5S was originally developed for use in the industrial production environment, but we adapted these concepts to providing fire and rescue service to the community. We started with theoretical and practical training, developing order in our apparatus and at the station, and establishing cleaning days. We developed a visual display in the apparatus room to illustrate how we were applying the concepts as well as a display of performance indicators. In addition, we began the process of developing written procedures to ensure consistency.
The first tool we put in place was a standard record book, available for all members, where they could, at any time, document anything that was inconsistent with our implementation of 5S. All members were encouraged to identify inconsistencies with 5S in day-to-day station activity and in emergency service delivery.
Data from the standard record book was used in weekly meetings to identify improvements that were needed. For each issue, a member was identified to act to correct the deficiency. This process has been in place for five years, and continues to be a useful tool in making and measuring continuous improvements.
One of our first projects, and an example of the change in our way of thinking was “5S Day.” Multiple containers were obtained for classification and disposal of unused or unnecessary materials, and our members spent a solid 8 hours cleaning and organizing every corner of the station. This project provided an excellent start to applying the concepts of 5S.
Over time, this fundamental change in the way that we approached providing fire and rescue service to the community took root. Firefighters not only applied 5S at the station (maintaining the tool room, fire apparatus, personal protective equipment, etc.), but also in operation of our training center and at emergency incidents. They clearly saw and understood the advantages of this management tool.
Way of life
Within the City of Perez Volunteers Firefighters Association, 5S Concept, Classification, Order, Cleaning, Standardization and Discipline is pervasive and applied to every aspect of fire department operations. Today, it is a way of life.
To learn more about the 5S management system in Perez, contact Chief Beas at [email protected].
References
Methodology of the 5S. Greater Productivity Better Workplace Euskalit (Basque Foundation for Quality). 1998.
Methodology of Autonomous Implementation of 5S. Facilitator's Guide. Bekaert Consulting, S.L. Edited by: Basque Foundation for the Promotion of Quality. 1998
Gapp, R., Fisher, R., Kobayashi, K. 2008. Implementing 5S within a Japanese Context: An Integrated Management System, Management Decision. 46 (4): 565-579.
Hiroyuki, H. 5 Pillars of the Visual Workplace: The Sourcebook for 5S Implementation For Your Organization (Volume 1). Portland, OR: Productivity Inc. 1990.
Sidebar: A Note from Chief Hartin
I met the previous fire chief and several other members of the City of Perez Volunteers Firefighters Association 10 years ago when they traveled from Argentina to the United States for fire behavior instructor training. Last July, I traveled to Perez with Derik Vrable, one of Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue’s lieutenants, to conduct a series of fire behavior classes. Over the week that we spent living in their fire station and working with Chief Beas, we were extremely impressed with the commitment, professionalism, efficiency and effectiveness of this volunteer fire department.
— Chief Ed Hartin, Central Whidbey Island Fire & Rescue; president, USA branch of the Institution of Fire Engineers; coordinator, International Exchange column
