Hialeah Case Study
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To Protect Their Investment in Mobile Technology, Hialeah Fire Department Looks to Panasonic Pro Services
When 911 is called in Hialeah, Florida, a team from the City of Hialeah Fire Department (HFD) will be dispatched to the scene. With 20 fire and rescue units across eight stations, HFD is responsible for answering 30,000 calls each year – largely incidents that require an EMS response. For these first responders, having as much information as possible when they reach the scene of an emergency ensures faster treatments and safer outcomes for all involved.
Challenges
With 30,000 emergency calls each year, the City of Hialeah Fire Department needed a reliable mobile technology solution that ensured they were always outfitted with the right equipment to get the job done. They were looking for a solution that limited down time, guaranteed a fast turnaround on repairs, and provided a comprehensive warranty to protect their investment.
Solutions
Attracted by both Panasonic’s reputation as the premier manufacturer of rugged, mobile computers, as well as its industry-leading Pro Services warranty offerings, the Hialeah Fire Department adopted its first Panasonic TOUGHBOOK over a decade ago. They have continued to invest in Panasonic’s rugged mobility solutions to help deliver information and communications capabilities to fire and rescue teams.
Results
The City of Hialeah Fire Department has equipped its fire and rescue workers with TOUGHBOOK fully-rugged laptops, giving them the tools and information they need to hold up against tough conditions like the extreme heat of Florida summers and hazardous emergency scenarios – including bumps, drops, and exposure to dirt and moisture. They put their equipment to the test, and when a device gets damaged, they have been able to turn to Panasonic’s reliable Pro Services warranty programs to get it up and running as quickly as possible.
More than a decade ago, HFD knew that they needed to invest in a mobile, computing solution and after careful research, they decided Toughbook was the right solution to suit their current and future needs. In addition to the hazards that accompany any fire and rescue operation, they also knew the mobile solutions had to withstand the unique challenges that come with operating in South Florida – long, intensely hot summers, heavy rains, and potentially devastating hurricane seasons. They knew that Toughbook had a proven reputation for durability and performance that would be up to the task.
Since making the decision to adopt TOUGHBOOK laptops, HFD has been able to better serve their communities, relying on these mobile devices to give them invaluable insights into how to approach and address emergency situations. Tied into their Computer Aided Dispatch system, their fleet of TOUGHBOOK computers has become a critical tool, mounted in emergency response vehicles and allowing fast, reliable sharing of information, from the status of patients to the locations of fire hydrants.
Of course, this critical system is only useful if the technology is reliable, and for the City of Hialeah Fire Department, this was where they truly experienced the Panasonic difference.
“We’re rough on our equipment – we break axes, we break sledgehammers, and even our TOUGHBOOK computers take a beating,” said Lieutenant Urbano Menendez, of the City of Hialeah Fire Department, “What makes the difference for us is knowing that, when our devices do experience issues, Panasonic is there to get us up and running quickly and
responsively.”
HFD knew that whatever devices they adopted, they would likely face rough conditions – especially as they were often removed from vehicles to help take down medical reports at the scene of an emergency. Because of that, they realized the importance of a technology partner that offered a comprehensive warranty and service solution to get them up and running quickly in the event of a hardware failure. HFD decided to protect their investments by opting into Panasonic’s Pro Services Protection Plus coverage, which augments the standard warranty with no-fault accident coverage, perfect for users facing the most extreme work environments. With this coverage, Toughbook users receive prompt repair or replacement of devices, avoiding unexpected costs.
“Truly, the Panasonic warranty and Pro Services team are amazing and without that piece of mind, our department would not function nearly as well as it does,” said Lt. Menendez. “The most impressive thing we’ve seen is the turnaround time. When something does go wrong, we make a quick phone call, send out the device for repair and have a repaired or replaced device in just three days. The service is professional and rock-solid – even when things go wrong, they go right!”
As their technology needs have evolved, HFD has continued to turn to Panasonic, and they credit their positive service experiences as a key factor in staying with Toughbook.
“We rely on these devices to better serve our community and we know they’re going to go into some unforgiving scenarios that do take a toll on them. Without the right support, we could be left with a device that doesn’t do what we need it to do,” added Lt. Menendez. “But Panasonic does it right – it’s a great reliable product and a solid warranty to go along with it.”
