More and more fire departments are looking for an effective way to track their supplies. After working with many fire departments with their inventory tracking needs, we found that a lot of them use an Excel spreadsheet or simply "a Big Chief tablet and a number 2 pencil". Unfortunately, without an automated inventory management system fire departments often find that they run
out of crucial stock or they o
verstock items, which wastes money. Fire fighters also waste valuable time searching for misplaced inventory. Procurement officers don't have information or tools to project future stock needs accurately. The potentially most expensive cost of not having an inventory system is k
eeping medical supplies beyond the expiration date. FDA fines for stocking expired medication can reach up to $7500 per item. So the need can be clearly seen.
What features should a fire department look for in an inventory control software package? First, to effectively track inventory throughout the entire department, the program should support multiple locations and sites and be able to move inventory from one site to another. To avoid those costly FDA fines, it needs to track expiration dates on medical supplies and, ideally, give alerts on stock that is about to expire. Alerts on low stock make reordering inventory much easier. The inventory software should be very user-friendly and easily customizable without requiring programming since not all fire departments fit into the same mold and they don't need the hassle of dealing with a complicated program.
Many fire departments may wonder if they can afford an inventory control system. There are some large accountability software packages where inventory tracking is only one of many modules. Due to all the functions, those programs usually quite costly and require a good deal of the server's system resources. They can be difficult to fit into a city's budget and the IT department's schedule. However, there are also
stand-alone inventory control programs with a smaller price tag that can be loaded on a just a PC or a server.
Fire departments have the option of applying for grant money to pay for an inventory control system. The
Assistance to Firefighters Grant (AFG) helps fire departments and nonaffiliated emergency medical services organizations meet their firefighting and emergency response needs.
Metropolitan Medical Response System Program (MMRS) supports local preparedness efforts to respond to all-hazards mass casualty incidents. Ensuring that the fire stations and apparatuses are always properly stocked is a big part of meeting both of those goals.
