Fighting fires with e-learning
March 21, 2011
London Fire Brigade wins award for highly successful e-learning implementation, developed using Information Transfer's Seminar Learning System
ITV London Tonight presenter Ben Scotchbrook, Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Station Manager Philip Evans, London fire Brigade Commissioner Ron Dobson
The London Fire Brigade’s "Training Support Team" were recognised by the Mayor of London during a ceremony on February 25th for the introduction of e-learning across the Brigade using Seminar Author and the Seminar Knowledge Centre, developed by Information Transfer.
Mayor Boris Johnson and London Fire Commissioner Ron Dobson presented Philip Evans with an Individual Special Achievement Award, acknowledging outstanding contribution, specifically the development of an internal training programme which has had a measurable impact on the safety of Brigade personnel and has greatly enhanced knowledge based training.
Using Information Transfer’s Seminar Author and Knowledge Centre to develop, manage and deliver the e-learning, Phil and his team have created modules ranging from critical operational training to managing equality and diversity.
"We needed a tool that would run easily on our system allowing us to provide training to all Brigade staff covering a wide range of subjects, and that we could utilize to export our courses in different formats," Phil explained.
"It’s wonderful to see a team like the London Fire Brigade take the tools and achieve this level of success," said Matthew Borg, Information Transfer managing partner. "It shows that a dedicated team with the right tools can make a real impact."
And Phil and his team have plans to continue to make a difference within the London Fire Brigade and throughout the emergency services.
"We are the National Fire Service lead for the Tri-service 2012 Olympic training packages which will go to the Ambulance Service, every Fire Brigade and every Police Force," Phil added. "All the different organisations will be contributing and Seminar Author is good because it allows us to rapidly create and adjust content and it integrates with a wide variety of other end-user systems.
"In terms of value for money, Seminar is very cost-effective. We’ve saved hundreds of thousands of pounds. And we have credible results on increased knowledge and raised awareness. There has been marked improvement in, for example, health and safety on the 'incident ground'. In addition, operationally urgent training has been much quicker and easier to release since the introduction of e-learning."
The London Fire Brigade also introduced new breathing apparatus in December and, as part of a blended learning programme , provided e-learning to all senior officers to help with the familiarization process. Phil's team has produced another module on dealing with fires in timber-framed structures which has gone out nationally to every brigade.
"These award winners are a fine example of the breadth of dedication and professionalism within the London Fire Brigade, which helps make London one of the safest big cities in the world," London Mayor Boris Johnson said.
The Seminar Learning System is developed by Information Transfer LLP, Cambridge. Information Transfer’s learning management platforms have delivered more than a million e-learning modules to organisations around the world. Seminar Author is widely recognised as an easy-to-use authoring tool, ideal for capturing and sharing subject matter experts’ knowledge. As one of the longest-established e-learning development tools, it has a wide, international user base.
