Software

Our Software

Alongside our policing-specific models, we have several multi-purpose simulation tools that can answer and investigate a range of service queries. From profiling staff utilisation rates and associated costs to planning or long-term workforce development, our tools provide a range of potential solutions to enable the best use of service resources.

Police - The Resource Allocation Model for Police (RAMP)

RAMP enables a police force to rapidly evaluate strategic change options for its service delivery model. Its scope can include any aspect of operational policing, including Incident Response, Investigation,  Neighbourhood Policing and Safeguarding. RAMP also provides a sustainable capability for Forces to evaluate change. Examples include sizing dedicated teams for specialist investigation or protection roles, or moving workload between specialist and neighbourhood or response teams. RAMP is designed to work with other components of our evidence based toolset for more detailed modelling of time critical processes such as contact management and incident response.

Benefits Include:

  • Evidence-based matching of resource to demand at a Force-wide level
  • Clear understanding of the service and cost implications of structural changes
  • Quicker organisational response to changing policing priorities and emerging threats
  • A strong foundation for engaging Police & Crime Commissioners and Police employees

Police - The Response Profiler

Police Response Profiler is a computer simulation model that accurately mimics a police force’s incident response processes. Its purpose is to test alternative scenarios in a low risk modelling environment to understand their impact on timeliness of response and cost of service delivery. Scenarios can include:

  • Testing alternative incident grading policies such as using Threat, Harm and Risk, greater use of telephone resolution and changes to response standards
  • Evaluating alternative operating practices, such as crewing, patrol locations, flexibility to cross borders and functions
  • Optimising resource availability, including setting appropriate minimum staffing levels testing shift patterns

Response Profiler works seamlessly with the XIMES shift pattern design software to enable alternative shift patterns to be developed and tested. It also uses travel time matrices created with Facility Location Planner, using HERE data, to ensure that response times to incidents reflect the road networks and travel conditions specific to your Force.

Benefits Include:

  • Balance efficiency savings with timeliness of response
  • Align resource more closely to where and when demand occurs
  • Evaluate alternative grading policies ( e.g. based on threat harm and risk) prior to implementation
  • Transparency to secure stakeholder buy-in for proposed change

Police - The Investigation Profiler

Investigation Profiler enables modelling of investigative and safeguarding processes in order to:

  • Determine resource requirements
  • Test alternative processes and working practices
  • Create shift patterns in conjunction with the XIMES shift planning software
  • We also use Investigation Profiler outputs for modelling process times in RAMP, the Resource Allocation Model for Police.

Investigation Profiler Sim adds dynamic simulation to enable measurement of service levels and end to end process times in investigative processes where, for example, a timely initial response is required or where the process is delivered by different resource types working different shift patterns.

Benefits include:

  • Provides evidence base for sizing of investigative teams
  • Identify over / under resourced teams enabling relief of bottlenecks or realisation of efficiencies
  • Enable internal and external benchmarking

Police - The Custody Profiler

Custody Profiler is a computer simulation that accurately mimics a police force’s custody operations. It provides quantitative evidence to support decision making in the context of:

  • Custody estate strategy – the number and location of sites
  • Sizing custody facilities – the number of cells, rooms, terminals etc
  • Resourcing – the number, skill mix and availability of resources to process arrestees and bail backs

In addition to modelling the flow of prisoners from arrest to suite, Custody Profiler models the processes within the suites, taking into account workload associated with the management of prisoner welfare including the management of vulnerable prisoners, for example. Custody Profiler interfaces with the XIMES software in order for alternative shift patterns for custody sergeants and detention officers to be tested and developed.

Benefits include:

  • Capital investigation justification or avoidance
  • Efficiency savings
  • Providing the right resource levels to operate a safe and effective custody suite
  • Improved response officer availability

The Harm and Risk Modelling (HARM) tool

HARM enables the mapping, measurement and modelling of harm and risk to provide quantitative and transparent evidence to support the identification, scoring and management of risk. HARM is capable of mapping many risk domains derived from multiple data sources.

HARM can be used to:

  • Support the development of Force Management Statements (FMS) for police services
  • Map risk in relation to Prevention, Protection and Response as part of a fire and rescue service’s Integrated Risk Management Plan (IRMP)
  • Map vulnerability data sourced from client and partner agencies’ databases

Embedded within HARM is the Maptitude desktop GIS software which enables risk to be mapped at multiple levels, such as Local Policing Area / Section / Beat or District / Station Ground / LSOA. Maptitude also provides access to demographic information sourced from census data.

Workload Profiler

Workload Profiler is a generic process modelling tool that can be used to:
  • Determine resource requirements
  • Test alternative processes and working practices
  • Create shift patterns in conjunction with the XIMES shift planning software
Originally developed to determine the resources required to service investigative workload for police forces, we found that the software was being used by our clients to model a range of business processes. We therefore enhanced Workload Profiler further to make it applicable to any business process or department.

The Coverage Profiler

Coverage Profiler allows users to easily map different types of demand against their stations or facilities, and understand:

  • How well those facilities are located in terms of the demand
  • What demand volumes are closest to each location (ie, catchment demand)
  • Where gaps in coverage exist

Coverage Profiler also includes powerful optimisation capabilities, tailored for use by emergency services, to determine the optimal locations for:

  • Estate, such as custody facilities or locations of special ops or investigative units
  • Patrol – the optimum locations for response bases, and the development of dynamic status plans
  • Public access points

Workforce Planner

Workforce Planner is a strategic workforce planning tool. It enables organisations to develop plans to ensure that their workforce is equipped with the right skills to deal with demand in the future. It takes into account the current workforce profile and simulates future staff flows out of, into and within the organisation. Workforce Planner also considers the demand workload, allowing you to build in demand and the skills and workload associated with servicing that demand.

Workforce Planner enables you to:

  • Predict future training and recruitment needs
  • Scenario model the effect of changes in demand on workforce needs
  • Model your equal opportunities policies to determine how staff profiles will change over time

The Workforce Planner methodology is aligned to other components of our evidence-based toolset. This means your workforce plans can be joined up with your overarching risk and demand management strategy and target operating model.

Call Profiler

Call Profiler is a computer simulation model of call handling processes. It enables scenario modelling in order to:

  • Test new call handling processes and organisation structures
  • Determine resource requirements
  • Optimise resource profiles and test shift patterns

Call Profiler is designed to work seamlessly with XIMES software. Optimal resource profiles developed in Call Profiler can be imported into XIMES to enable working time compliant shift patterns and rosters to be designed. These in turn can be tested in Call Profiler to assess the service level that would be achieved.

Incident Analyser

Incident Analyser is used to transform the data held on operational systems into meaningful management information that can be used to decision making. It provides a range of:

  • Graphical and tabular reporting
  • Geographical analysis
  • Data to underpin resource models

Incident Analyser is designed to work with our wider evidence-based toolset, and contains a range of outputs that are the inputs to those tools.

Simultaneous Incident Deployment Analyser (SIDA) Tool

SIDA is a computer simulation model that uses historical deployment data to understand the likelihood of the number of deployed resources reaching critical levels. It is particularly helpful in emergency response environments where the overall resource utilisation is low but where the simultaneous occurrence of major incidents can occasionally result in spikes in resource utilisation. Examples include:

  • Police armed response where the utilisation of resources in their specialist skill tends to be low
  • Fire and rescue services where, in order to provide geographic cover, overall utilisation is low but where major incidents can require multiple appliance deployment for protracted periods

SIDA is designed to be used in conjunction with the Fire Incident Response Simulator, which can accurately predict the response performance when a fire and rescue service is operating in ‘spate conditions’ or when simultaneous occurrence of major incidents has occurred.

The Forecaster Tool

In order to cost-effectively achieve service level standards in contact centres or incident response functions, resources need to be aligned with demand. A shortfall in resources leads to longer waiting times, while excess resources can incur unnecessary cost. Process Evolution’s Forecaster software uses historical demand data to produce forecasts of future demand. It also links to workforce management systems in order to compare projected resources to those required to process demand in line with service standards. Planners and duty managers can use this information to inform resourcing decisions, such as use of overtime and management of abstraction. Forecaster supports short and medium term planning, and answers questions such as:

  • Are there enough sufficient available resources to meet demand next week?
  • Where might there be surplus resources in 2 weeks’ time to resource a planned operation?
  • What level of agency support is needed over the next year to meet seasonal demand fluctuations?

Forecaster can also be used in conjunction with Facility Location Planner, which identifies hotspots and emerging threats from incident (and crime) data, in order to identify optimal patrol locations.

XIMES Shift Pattern Design Tool

The XIMES Shift Pattern Design Tool is an integration of Process Evolution simulation techniques and the XIMES software.

With every police force being entitled to a copy of XIMES following the acquisition of a software license from the home office in 2007, XIMES can be an intrinsic part of emergency services planning.

Benefits include:

  • More efficient rotas by closer match to optimum resource profile
  • Shift patterns in line with the demand profile leading to improved customer service
  • Better work-life balance for employees
  • A happier workforce because teams are not being overstretched at times of peak demand and underutilised at other times
  • Opportunity to engage with staff representatives in the rota design process and explore far more options than is possible through manual rota design

Dynamic Cover Tool

In addition to consultancy work, Process Evolution’s partner company, ORH, provides its Dynamic Cover Tool (DCT) software to support dynamic decision making in the control room and enable effective and efficient resource use.

Emergency services use ORH’s DCT to assess coverage on a live basis, optimise standby moves, review historical data and make informed decisions on resource locations.

Click here to find out about ORH’s Dynamic Cover Tool.


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