Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service Fleet Asset Management Plan 2023-2027
Introduction
Lancashire Fire and Rescue Service publish a Community Risk Management Plan (CRMP). The CRMP is a 5-year plan which sets out the direction of the Service and how it will continue to make Lancashire safer through the core strategies of:
1. Valuing our people so they can focus on making Lancashire safer
2. Preventing fire and other emergencies from happening
3. Protecting people and property when fires happen
4. Responding to fire and other emergencies quickly and competently
5. Delivering value for money in how we use our resources
The Fleet Asset Management Plan (FAMP) compliments the CRMP to ensure the Service’s equipment and vehicle fleet assets are fit for purpose, enabling the core principles and objectives of the Service to be achieved and is the key strategic fleet asset document regarding the replacement of equipment and vehicle assets.
The FAMP sets out a replacement 4-year fleet asset programme for vehicles and equipment, and also includes a draft longer term capital projection plan within the appendices. Capital budgets are reviewed annually, with quarterly governance oversight provided through the Capital Programmes Project Board (CPPB). The FAMP is reviewed annually to ensure alignment with Service requirements, taking account of regional and national operational guidance.
Through the key objectives set within the FAMP, we aim to support the creation of a positive, inclusive culture that encourages innovation and continuous improvement. Achieving the right culture will enable us to deliver the best services and be an outstanding fire and rescue service for our communities and visitors.
To help achieve this, we will align our FAMP annual objectives with these organisational strategies to ensure that:
· Operational staff have access to the most appropriate fleet assets to ensure the Service can meet its overall objective of making Lancashire safer.
· Stations have ease of access to equipment and vehicle-related data to ensure checking, verification and defect reporting is made as intuitive as possible.
· Fleet and Engineering Services will partner with other LFRS support services to explore and secure the most innovative on-appliance digital data systems available, to address all aspects of LFRS work.
· Make use of digital technology to track, log and repair LFRS equipment and vehicles quickly.
LFRS core values
Our STRIVE values and the national Core Code of Ethics guide the professional behaviours expected of all our staff to ensure our workplace is one where everyone feels valued, included, and able to reach their full potential. Our service “STRIVE” values underpin everything we seek to achieve:
• Service
• Trust
• Respect
• Integrity
• Value
• Empowerment
Fleet and Engineering Services Department (FES)
Fleet and Engineering Services (FES) are responsible for all aspects of LFRS equipment and vehicle asset management. The department has responsibility for product research, design, development, procurement, maintenance and disposal of all equipment, vehicle assets, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) and Breathing Apparatus (BA). In addition, FES is also responsible for the management of 10,000 Hydrants adopted across Lancashire for the purpose of firefighting activities.
The FES team provide professional advice to internal and external customers on all aspects of the Asset Management Policy and operational requirements. FES are committed to adopting lean processes which deliver an effective and efficient service to meet customer’s needs, whilst achieving financial efficiencies that contribute to the Services’ medium to long-term financial planning.
Structures and Responsibilities
The Head of FES has responsibility for the Department’s performance specific to financial and service delivery.
The department manages planned and non-planned maintenance undertaken by contractors, develops product specifications and provides professional advice on the law and health and safety matters related to vehicle operations.
Operational equipment is managed through an operational BA Equipment team. The section manages all aspects of procurement, research, and development of operational equipment, including BreathingApparatus, hydrant maintenance, repair and new installations. They also provide professional advice on use, the law and health and safety matters related to these assets.
We will:
· Develop FES to improve asset management controls, whilst maintaining quality, competitiveness, and compliance.
· Ensure all assets considered for introduction into service are fit for purpose and come with the appropriate technical training.
· Continue to develop BA workshop facilities to be more effective and efficient in operation.
· Consider co-locating the FES team with the fleet and BA facilities at Service Training Centre.
Asset Base
As of 31 March 2023, the fleet assets comprise 240 vehicles (including Service Training Centre) and 16,129 items of equipment, including BA. The asset value is defined in the table below:
|
Operational Vehicles |
£5,887,887.18 |
|
Support Vehicles |
£1,016,599.38 |
|
STC (Training Vehicles) |
£7,675,00 |
|
Operational Equipment (capital) |
£277,006.21 |
|
TOTAL |
£7,189,167.77 |
Appendices A - E provide a breakdown of asset type and planned replacement, in line with LFRS Medium Term Financial Strategy and Capital Programme.
We will:
· Replace assets on time, taking into consideration the indicative life cycle.
· Purchase assets within the principles of value for money and whole life costs.
· Ensue assets meet the needs of the Service.
Life Expectancy and Efficiency
To improve efficiency, the current nominal lifecycle for an operational fire appliance will increase from 12 to 13 years, followed by 2 further years at Training Centre, achieving a total life of 15 years. The 15-year cycle equates to a fleet turnover of c. 5 appliances per annum. The lifecycles for special appliances range from 8 to 15 years. Their economic life is determined on whole life costs generated through operational use. To achieve a smoother asset replacement programme some flexibility regarding replacement is required to even out costs. However, equipment such as Breathing Apparatus (BA) needs to be replaced en-bloc due to the complexities of training introduced through having a wide product range.
The FAMP aims to smooth out vehicle purchases over the period to ease pressures on capital and maintenance costs. However, extended lead-times over the past 2 years inevitably means annual capital replacement costs are often carried over. To address this, 3-year contracts are normally awarded, which will address such slippages more effectively.
We will:
· Continuously review appliance age and condition with a view to extending life planning, where possible.
· Monitor equipment longevity and serviceability against the needs of the Service.
Capital Replacement Programme
The department’s Capital Replacement Programme is attached in Appendices A - E. The tables outline the long-term replacement plans based on asset lifecycles. Each year this plan is reviewed against the specific needs of the Service and the ever-changing FRS landscape. Smoothing the replacement plan is fundamental in providing equipment and vehicle assets when required, enabling capital profiling which is more predictable, and aligns with the LFRS procurement function.
We will:
· Review and align the FES Capital Replacement Programme with the ongoing requirements of the Service.
· Continuously review equipment and vehicle asset life plans, aligning with capital provision and the needs of the Service.
· Monitor assets provision to ensure sufficient capital availability to future-proof the LFRS equipment and vehicle requirements going forward.
FES Procurement
The department continues to work closely with the Procurement department in all capital replacement purchases using mainly framework agreements to reduce the procurement timeline, whilst ensuring compliance. In addition, regional and national procurement partnerships are actively sought by FES to improve economies of scale, at the same time offering value for money across the FRS community.
We will:
· Make use of national frameworks to reduce procurement timelines and ensure compliance.
· Continue to develop shared procurement working arrangements with the regional and national FRS community to make use of best practice.
· Monitor changes in the FRS equipment and vehicle asset supply chain to better inform future procurement exercises and timelines.
Appliance Design
Due to challenges associated with the FRS supply chain, the Service sought a more sustainable appliance platform which can be supplied direct from the manufacturer as a crew-cab. Previous appliance designs required a protracted engineering solution to source and manufacture a suitable FRS crew-cab.
The project work undertaken prior to the next group of pumping appliance arrival will address the need for improved equipment stowage, provide a more complete technical rescue pump and meet the challenges presented by climate change. New pumping appliance technology affords the Service a significant carbon reduction over previous designs, which is a major consideration as the Service transitions towards zero-carbon production.
We will:
· Maintain the current transition towards net-zero, where possible, for our vehicle fleet, continuing to explore EV and hybrid solutions where possible.
· Continue to develop new stowage arrangements based on the service requirements, making use of additional locker space provided by the new appliance design.
· Develop pumping appliance training packages in conjunction with the changing needs of the Service.
Major Equipment Replacement Programme
The Service
will be introducing a range of new equipment during the period of
this FAMP, in conjunction with the CRMP 2022-27 and the Emergency
Cover Review (ECR) outcomes. LFRS continues to invest in equipment
to make our work more efficient and effective, whilst improving the
safety of our staff.
The Service will introduce new battery-powered road traffic collision (RTC) equipment, which will improve the incident ground rescue capability whilst providing an additional level of versatility not offered by the current hydraulic-powered equipment.
BA remains a priority item of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for our firefighters. The Service has invested in a state-of-the-art maintenance and training facility at Service Training Centre, supporting our aspirations to be the best trained, best quipped, best accommodated, and most professional fire and rescue service in the country. Our existing BA sets are coming to the end of their normal life cycle and will be due for replacement soon.
New modern firefighting techniques have been developed over the last decade to address the challenges of compartment fires and the risks within the built environment. Supporting firefighters with the latest technology and training is a priority for LFRS. In line with most other north-west Services, we will look to introduce larger 22mm hose-reels on all appliances over the duration of this FAM, thereby providing firefighters with double the water and cooling capacity when fighting compartment fires. In addition to this, state of the art flow meters will be introduced to assist pump operators with the ability to understand the amount and flow of water being provided to firefighters within the risk area.
Due to the increase risks of attacks on firefighters, the Service is committed to providing the highest level of PPE. We will look to pilot the use of body armour for certain incident response, complementing our ‘safe person’ centred approach.
We will:
· Complete the introduction of battery-powered road traffic collision (RTC) equipment on all pumping appliances, initially rolling-out to those stations with the highest prevalence of road risk across Lancashire.
· Plan to replace the existing BA sets and ancillary equipment, in conjunction with the Northwest FRS region.
· Procure new Thermal Image Cameras (TIC): including issuing thermal scanning devices to OIC’s and Flexi Duty Officers to further improve incident ground situational awareness.
· Roll out flow meters, 22mm hose-reels and adjustable hose reel branches to improve weight of attack when tackling compartment fires.
· Evaluate the appliance water tank capacity to ensure efficient and effective deployment of resources to incidents, in consideration of available supplementary water supplies (hydrants and/or open water supplies)
· Replace Gas Tight suits with disposable versions to improve the management of contaminants and provide improved PPE for firefighters.
· Pilot the use of body armour and if successful, roll-out across the Service.
Research & Development
The FES R&D function has become embedded into the service and delivered improvements that enhance firefighter safety and firefighting techniques. The R&D group maintain a cross section of skilled people who bring a wealth of experience, knowledge, and interest in moving new developments forward. Operational staff are encouraged to lead on improvements from incident de-briefs and learning from individual operational experiences.
We will:
• Work with Service Delivery, and Response and Emergency Planning (REP) to improve equipment and vehicle innovation through Research and Development function.
• Continue to research the wider FRS industry to source equipment and vehicle best practice that can be adapted to suit LFRS requirements.
Innovation
Climate change
presents considerable challenges for the UK fire sector and remains
a significant risk in Lancashire. The Service has invested in
specialist all-terrain vehicles, fully equipped to address wildfire
and flooding in the county. These vehicles have been developed by
LFRS to meet the climate change conditions experienced locally, the
first in the UK to do so. Our units and specialist wildfire
response teams are strategically placed to provide an efficient and
effective response.
Wide area and localised flooding can devastate local communities, leaving lasting effects well beyond the event, and causing considerable financial loss. With the potential for flooding at any time of the year, there is a need to provide LFRS with an effective an appropriate equipment asset to address these challenges. response. The Service has strategically positioned water rescue appliances and water incident units in preparation for flooding events. LFRS is a host service for a high-volume pump (HVP), as part of the national response capability. The HVP’s are embedded into core business, with the capability of moving large volumes of water quickly. In addition, the Service continues to invest in staff training and development around flooding, including the use of climate change all-terrain vehicles to enhance the flood response.
The Service has continued to build on the Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) technology, introducing enhanced models to further improve their capability. Now, LFRS hosts some of the most sophisticated UAV operations within the sector, which now includes an underwater Remote Operated Vehicle (ROV) capability. The ROV, which is a UK first within the FRS sector, is capable not only of detection using the latest sonar capabilities, but can also offer a grip and retrieval facility, which is of major benefit to the Service during waterborne search and rescue operations.
Two of our new pumping appliances will undergo conversion into Technical Rescue Units (TRU’s) providing a dual role of pumping appliance and enhanced rescue capability, thus removing the need to have both in Service. As part of this project, the service will reduce its POD capacity, ensuring a more efficient and effective deployment of heavy rescue assets when the need arises.
We will:
· Continue to develop our climate change equipment and vehicle assets to deliver the objectives within our Climate Change Operational Response Plan (CCORP).
· Assist with the development of flood response equipment and vehicle assets.
· Continue to support the development of UAV’s and ROV’s for the Service, including extending the scope to include research into potential use of robotics in firefighting and rescue response scenarios.
· Aim to improve the provision of integrated ICT provision across our fleet of vehicles, that supports mobile working and the efficient and effective delivery of services.
Resilience
FES operates an
out-of-hours on-call service that keeps frontline operations
running effectively. The department has recently introduced a
24-hour reserve equipment store at BA Support Services for the
purpose of providing a range of essential appliance equipment which
can be accessed at any time by operational crews.
The department has recently expanded its contractor support network to ensure equipment and vehicle repairs are completed in a timely manner, enabling the maximum equipment and appliance availability.
We will:
· Provide an on-call, out-of-hours technical support service to support frontline operations.
· Ensure the availability of reserve appliances to provide the best possible appliance availability.
· Provide 3 fully equipped reserve appliances to reduce appliance downtime and improve availability.
Asset Management Systems
As the Service
continues to improve its ICT offering, FES will explore suitable
replacement asset management systems in conjunction with ICT
department, Service Delivery and Response and Emergency Planning,
to improve asset management and visibility. The wider use of paperless,
cloud-based systems is crucial to the management of all
assets.
In a constantly changing environment, accurate financial maintenance and performance monitoring of business activity requires technology that meets the needs of the Service, both now and in the future. Whilst the existing asset system, Tranman Asset Management, can manage vehicles, operational equipment, BA, on station checks, workshop maintenance, stock management, specialist administration functions and asset capability for regional control activities, it’s an aging system and requires replacement. FES will continue to develop systems to meet current and future needs of the Service asset management as they arise.
LFRS are supported by Lancashire County Council’s (LCC) Fleet Services for approximately 70% of repairs and maintenance via a Service Level Agreement (SLA). LCC make use of a fleet management system (JAAMA) to provide job costing and financial performance. Although the system is relatively new into LCC, some work is required to fully exploit the asset management information required by LFRS. However, FES continues to work with LCC partners in the delivery f much more visible asset management and costing information.
Fire hydrants are managed through the Fire Hydrant Management System (FHMS). The system has been developed between the supplier and operational staff and integrates with Mobile Data equipment carried on appliances. The database retains detailed information on hydrant type, location, condition and repair history and water flow rate. This along with other risk-based information that can be accessed by operational crews whilst at incidents, represents a significant improvement to service delivery.
We will:
· Continue to research and procure suitable replacement asset management software, integrating with other digital solutions across the Service where possible.
· Continue to monitor the SLA with LCC to ensure value for money and asset management compliance.
· Continue to develop the FHMS system.
Road Safety Management
FES monitors equipment and vehicle accidents which are reported to the Health, Safety and Environment Advisory Group (HSEAG) on a quarterly basis. The Service has recently embarked on the ongoing installation of vehicle CCTV to provide improved accident scene information and help against third-party claims. In addition, a Road Risk Review Panel (RRRP) is now established to examine the specifics of each road traffic collision (RTC) involving a service vehicle. The RRRP has the authority to recommend a range of corrective measures, should the need arise. A proactive approach has been taken in supporting Service Delivery Managers to thoroughly investigate incidents, implement control measures and reinvest in training were necessary, to improve performance.
Whilst evaluation is at an early stage, the vehicle CCTV installation programme appears to be generating reductions in vehicle related accidents, reducing them from 90 in 2022 to 61 in 2023, a reduction of 32% which is significant and demonstrates the value of the installation programme. All new appliances will come standard with the cloud-based CCTV system fitted as part of the specification.
FES remain committed to improving performance by reducing accidents related to vehicles and equipment use, improving health and safety at work, road safety and minimising impact on the environment in addition to reducing costs.
We will:
· Ensure all newly purchased appliances and specialist vehicles will come with 4-way cloud-based CCTV system fitted as standard.
· Continue to develop the Road Risk Review Panel group to further examine and scrutinise all vehicle-related accidents with a view to future incremental reduction.
Carbon Footprint & Environmental Impact
The Carbon Management Plan (CMP) was agreed by the Lancashire Combined Fire Authority Resources Committee in March 2009. The aim was to reduce costs associated with energy prices as they continue to rise together with reducing carbon emissions from use in buildings and transport.
The UK in June 2019 became the first major economy in the world to pass laws to end its contribution to global warming by 2050. The target requires the UK to bring all greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2050.
Whilst the Service continues to reduce its own carbon footprint by implementing electric vehicles, switching from diesel-powered light vehicles to hybrid technology to eliminate nitrogen oxide (NOX) emissions, the environmental changes continue to affect LFRS operational demands.
Over the lifespan of this FAMP, we are replacing the existing Carbon Management Plan with a revised Environmental Sustainability Plan. The new plan will set out our environmental aspirations to move forward to a net zero carbon emissions position.
Vehicle related emissions are a significant contributor to carbon emissions within the Service, and as part of our ongoing commitments, reducing emissions from vehicles and improving the environmental performance of fleet vehicles remains a key aspect of revised aspirations for LFRS.
We will:
- Expand our electric vehicle charging infrastructure across LFRS sites.
- Introduce new operational response vehicles to help tackle climate change response challenges within Lancashire, as part of our Climate Change Operational Response Plan.
- Continue the transition of Officer response vehicles to hybrid technology and consider options for full electric response vehicles.
- Evaluate an electric light van within the fleet to understand how this technology will impact on delivery of our routine logistical functions.
- Prepare for the ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine (ICE) cars and vans.
- Continue to research the enhancements being made in diesel fuel technology and diesel fuel alternatives which could be considered for the fire appliance fleet.
- Consider the enhancements being made in electric/hybrid fire appliances design and reflect on the learning from other Fire and Rescue Services who are beginning to introduce this technology into their fleets.
Review
The FAMP will be reviewed on an annual basis to assess progress and compare against changing operational requirements. FES scrutinise revenue and capital budget performance each financial year to ensure realistic and achievable targets are set. Financial performance is monitored monthly and strict control or actions are implemented to ensure overall performance falls within budget.
