Most of us experience advances in technology as a fairly gradual progression. Take music, for example: If you're a Baby Boomer, you probably started with stacks of vinyl albums, survived the bulky horrors of eight-tracks, enjoyed the relative portability of cassettes, and moved on to the superior sound quality of compact discs.

But some get to experience technological innovations in single quantum leaps. When the Denver Fire Department acquired rugged handheld computers, it made a jump equivalent to going from a player piano to MP3s.

Paper-intensive process

One of the principal duties of the fire department is to perform fire safety inspections, in Denver's case up to 20,000 a year. It's a valuable process, but it also can also be a tedious one. For each inspection, the inspector had to gather three-part carbonless inspection forms, manually bind them together, and fill out each section by hand before passing them off at the end of the day to a data-entry worker, who typed all the information into a central computer.

“It wasn't just the paperwork aspect,” says Mike Stutz, information technology manager for the department. “We wanted to accomplish more with each inspection. The way we were doing it, our guys would go to each inspection site and look for violations and other concerns. But each time they went out, they had very little information available to them beforehand. Things like building occupancy, number of floors, sprinkler system data and other information would be very helpful to have easily at hand.”

Stutz and his colleagues also saw the possibility to go beyond their minimum needs, with just a single technology step.

“We thought if we could find a device that ran Pocket PC software, we could both gather data and streamline the process in other ways,” he says. So the department worked with Firehouse Software to find a solution that would meet its needs. The department first tried a device Firehouse offered, but it was limited to data-gathering. Then they tried two others, but they weren't rugged enough.

“We needed a handheld that would survive the firehouse, so to speak,” Stutz says.

Then the department came across the Recon, a handheld from Tripod Data Systems that meets military standards for drops, vibrations and temperature extremes. Its IP67 rating means it's impervious to water and dust, and it runs Windows Mobile software. It was the exact fit the department was looking for, and they ordered 70 units.

With the department's input, Firehouse was able to adapt its specialty software for the handheld. As a result, inspectors now start their day by downloading information on the day's schedule and inspection sites. Then they do a quick backup to the handheld's flash memory storage, so the information can't be lost even if the handheld resets or runs out of power. Instead of three pages of forms, inspectors now enter data directly into their handhelds by using the color touchscreen. At the end of an inspection they can even record and store the site manager's signature directly on the device.

Improved data management

But as helpful as handheld computers are on site, the benefits extend far beyond the actual inspection. For one thing, inspectors can gather site information that can be re-used easily. The first time through a site, the inspector might take as much time to enter extensive data as the old paper-based inspection took just to cover the basics. But on subsequent inspections at each site, the inspector only has to validate or update the data and look for any new concerns.

“It will give the inspectors a much better idea upfront of what they're dealing with,” says Stutz, “and really cut down on time for future inspections.”

The second major benefit of the handheld comes when inspectors return to the station. Using PeopleServe, a database server, they can download their day's data from the handheld to a computer at the station, validate the data and send them to the department's central server, a process that takes only about 10 minutes per inspector. Better yet, the process eliminates having to manually enter each inspection's information at the central station, resulting in an annual labor savings that Stutz estimates at 4,000 hours or more.

Two department districts began using the system full-time in 2004; now every inspector in all six districts is using a handheld, 150 units in all including spares. In addition to the district-allotted inspections, the central fire bureau currently performs more than 3,400 inspections a year on more complex sites such as chemical facilities, warehouses and high-rises. The department plans to equip the bureau inspectors with handhelds as well.

“The biggest plus of using these handhelds is that it's still a start-up process,” says Stutz. “We're looking at ways we can broaden uses by customizing the software, adding new fields and other capabilities that will allow us to accomplish even more.”

The department now is eyeing the possibilities offered by wireless communication. Their new handhelds feature two CompactFlash slots to accommodate peripherals such as wireless cards and GPS.

Just as you're not likely to dig up that old box of cassettes in the closet to listen to some music, the Denver Fire Department is embracing its technological progression and moving forward into the handheld future.

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Jim Moore is a freelance writer in Portland, Ore., who covers a wide variety of topics.