Dave Collingwood – Head of Training for Fire – Humberside Fire & Rescue Service
We started out using pdrPro almost two decades ago, and added learnPro a few years ago now. With the creation of the LearnPro group, it brought new impetus and direction to where we are going with all three products – pdrPro, learnPro and XVR Simulation. We have a better understanding for how we can use them going forward. The support teams are also very visible, we know exactly who to go to if we have an issue or questions.

Using pdrPro is definitely compatible with the national operational guidance and national operational training framework that we are all looking to meet. We had realised we needed a competence recording system that meets all the national standards, and we did that with the help of pdrPro. We made that happen, and we like to think we’re a bit of a forerunner in that respect. The software is now really embedded in our service, and all our firefighters know how to use it. It’s really easy to apply, so it’s an important part of our training systems. It’s also agile enough that we can bend it in the direction we need it to. As we have been redesigning how we use these products, pdrPro in particular, we have received a tremendous amount of support from you. Whenever we had an issue, we have either found a way around it together or you have developed the product to suit our needs. The service has really been excellent.

We added XVR Simulation to our training systems about 5 years ago. We started out using it for incident command trainings only, but we quickly realised it can do so much more. Ever since the pandemic, we use it for remote training and assessment of particularly our on-call fire stations in rural areas. It means these people and fire appliances are more available, and we reduce our carbon footprint by not having everyone come into the training centre.

We know it’s important for fire services to meet the national operational guidance and national operational training framework, and we have been able to do that with the way we are implementing these products.