STEVENAGE, United Kingdom, June 10 2015 – Building on the successful deployment of a corporate geographic information system (GIS), Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service (GMFRS) is to deploy a resource planning tool from the same software developer – Cadcorp.  Workload Modeller will complement existing resource planning systems used in GMFRS by focusing specifically on the geographic dimension of business intelligence.

Paul Sharples, Head of Intelligence & Knowledge in the GMFRS Corporate Planning and Intelligence Directorate, explained the drivers for acquiring Workload Modeller, “Like all fire services, GMFRS is under pressure to use its assets as effectively as it can, saving money, time, and lives. This means having a better understanding of the location of our resources in relation to the geographic distribution of risks. The same geographic data that powers our corporate GIS, and supports a range of business processes, is the same geographic data that we need for risk modelling and resource planning. Since Cadcorp Workload Modeller is built upon a GIS engine, it is well-suited to handle this data, and adept at producing informative maps and tables as output from resource modelling exercises.”

GMFRS first deployed Cadcorp software in 2012, when the service rolled out a corporate GIS. For the first time, geographic information was made available as a corporate resource to anyone in the service. Today, Cadcorp GIS software is used to support a range of business activities, these include recording and analyse incidents, tracking vehicles, providing incident support mapping, reporting key performance indicators, targeting fire safety campaigns, and producing A-Z maps.

Mike O’Neil, CEO Cadcorp commented, “When GIS was first introduced to fire services the only people able to exploit geographic information were in Command and Control. GMFRS has shown that geographic information is not only of value to those working in operations: it also plays a fundamental role in planning and intelligence”.

About GMFRS

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is one of the largest Fire and Rescue Services outside London with over 2,100 members of staff and 41 fire stations. It covers an area of approximately 500 square miles and a culturally diverse population of 2.5 million people.

From modern inner city developments to traditional mill towns, Greater Manchester is made up of ten very different districts - Bolton, Bury, Manchester, Oldham, Rochdale, Salford, Stockport, Tameside, Trafford and Wigan. GMFRS’ vision is to make Greater Manchester a safer place by being a modern, community focused and influential Fire and Rescue Service. To find out more, please visit www.manchesterfire.gov.uk

A bout Cadcorp

Cadcorp is a British software development company focused on geographic information system (GIS) and web mapping software. It offers a complete suite of products - the Cadcorp Spatial Information System® (Cadcorp SIS®) - addressing all phases of spatial information management. Cadcorp software is currently helping forty-one UK fire services in protection, prevention, and response. Cadcorp SIS is available worldwide through a network of Cadcorp partners and through a direct sales team in the UK and Ireland. To find out more, please visit www.cadcorp.com