UPDATE – Chassis Ordering for EMS Vehicles
In a world where the phrase ‘Supply Chain Issues’ is commonplace, supply and demand are ever-changing. Preparation ahead of time is paramount. Laura shares some tips and information to help you navigate the chaotic new world we live in for ordering chassis. Here are additional details on when chassis order banks are estimated to open. These order banks are expected to close on the same day. Remember, these dates are tentative and we will keep you updated as we learn more. Chassis Type Estimated Order Deadline 2023 Chevy 3500 HD Ordering Complete* 2023 RAM TBD (July 2022) 2023 Chevy Cutaway 6/16/2022 2023 Chevy 4500/5500/6500 MD 7/31/2022 2023 Ford F Series 10/17/2022 2024 Ford E Series Cutaways Unknown * Please call for additional information. We hope this information is helpful as you plan for your department’s vehicle & equipment needs. If you are anticipating a purchase in the future, it is imperative for you to get your letters of intent or purchase orders in quickly for your best chance at reserving a chassis for your build. Please reach out to your Regional Sales Manager if you have any questions or call us direct at (888) 372-9371.
FDIC 2022
We’re excited to be at FDIC this year to share all the great things we’re working on here at Frazer! Come see us at Booth 5656! We’ll have 4 units on display at the show. Check them out in the links below. Celina Fire Department Bellaire Fire & Rescue Myrtle Beach Fire Department Houston Fire Department FDIC is always a lot of fun, here’s a video from the show last year!
Florida Service Center Opening Soon!
We’re expanding our Service Center Operations in Florida! Expanding will help us accommodate customers in the Florida panhandle and other surrounding areas. New facility opens Monday, February 28th, 2022 This service center will be a closer alternative to customers like Jackson County Fire Rescue which runs 10 Frazer units in the area, rather than having to take their units to Texas when in need of service. “Our interest in coming to the Panhandle of Florida is to support all of those customers that have been buying vehicles from us and provide them a higher level of service closer to their location than having to go to Houston,” Paul Stephenson, Florida Service Center Manager This new service center in Florida will act as a model as we evaluate the demand for service in other areas of the country. This will allow us to provide high-quality service for customers who are challenged with traveling to our facilities in Houston. Services Offered The new Florida Service Center can provide the following services… Warranty Service on Newly Delivered Vehicles Service on Units Outside of Warranty A/C and Generator Repairs Vehicle Upfitting All work completed at this facility will only be performed on Frazer units. Tour the Facility Contact Us Frazer Service Center 4462 Lafayette St. Marianna, Florida 32446Phone: (850)-724-1112Email: [email protected]
Free Generator and Electrical Classes
Frazer offers free classes to help you operate and maintain your EMS vehicle. Register now for generator and electrical classes. Spots are Limited!
Frazer Wins Houston Chronicle Top Work Places 2021 Award!
On Friday, November 12th, The Houston Chronicle published “The Houston Metro Area Top Workplaces” and Frazer, Ltd. was named one of Houston’s Top 50 best midsize employers in 2021! Frazer is proud to be a Top Workplace for the 2nd year in a row! Over 37,000 employees were surveyed and The Top Workplaces Award is given to 130 companies divided among three categories – Large, Midsize & Small Companies. The evaluation for the Top Workplaces program is based upon feedback from the employee survey our employees completed a few months ago. Approximately 92% of our employees responded to the survey and we are extremely grateful for all of the responses. We plan to continue to incorporate our employee’s feedback throughout the year so our employees always feel Frazer is truly a wonderful place to work. Join the Frazer Team! Are you interested in joining the Frazer family and making a difference as a builder in Mobile Healthcare? See Available Job Openings
Texas EMS Conference 2021
We’re excited for yet another year as an exhibitor at the Texas EMS Conference in Austin, Texas! The Texas EMS conference is comparable in size to National events with nearly 3,400 attendees and visitors that come through the Exhibit Hall. We are excited to be showing off our state-of-the-art custom ambulances right in our home state. The event will be held at the Austin Convention Center with exhibition doors opening from 12 pm – 6 pm on Sunday, November 21 and 9 am to 4 pm on Monday, November 22nd. You’ll find us at booth 201, immediately to your left when you come through the main entrance. We’ll be showing several new units in our booth, including… A Brand New Frazer Demo! Reeves County ESD 2 City of Schertz EMS Austin County EMS Take a Virtual Tour of the Reeves County Unit We cannot wait to see you there!
Frazer is Putting Down Roots in Florida!
We have heard your requests and we are excited to announce our expansion into Florida with our new partnership with Hunter Apparatus. Based in North Port, Florida, Hunter Apparatus is strategically positioned to meet the increased demand for Frazer sales representation in the Sunshine State. This partnership with Shawn from Hunter Apparatus is just one part of a multi-step plan developed to address your need for an expanded sales & service network of High-Quality Custom Mobile Healthcare vehicles within the region. “Shawn was introduced to me by a trusted leasing partner at a trade show. After a phone call and face-to-face meeting at that same event, I knew that Shawn and Hunter Apparatus are what Frazer needs to bring Frazer to the South Florida market, but equally as important, to maintain the awesome customer relationships we have in North Florida.” – Adam Fischer, Frazer Vice President of Sales & Marketing Hunter Apparatus will function as an extension of the Frazer team. Just as we have done with all partnerships, we will invest the time and resources needed to ensure Hunter Apparatus has access to all of the successful systems, processes, and resources we utilize at our headquarters in Houston, Texas. We are confident you will experience the high level of competency and customer service you’ve come to expect from Frazer from the staff at Hunter Apparatus. “We are honored to join the Frazer team in Florida. We take great pride in combining forces and joining an organization committed to defining the future of mobile health care. We look forward to showing customers Frazer’s proven HVAC system, simplified ordering process, and exceptional customer service.” – Shawn Hunter, President of Hunter Apparatus With this new partnership, it is our mission to ensure that our customers feel like they are working directly with Frazer, regardless of where they are located! Get in touch with us today to see what we can build for you. Request Pricing Read More Frazer Blog Posts
Right Size It! Optimize Your Fleet Size with a Vehicle Replacement Strategy.
Over the last 18 months, nearly every aspect of local government has been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. During these times, our local emergency medical services (EMS) systems are one of our most affected entities. We’ve heard from many EMS leaders that have seen call volumes double or even triple overnight! Many departments have not planned for a dramatic increase in demand like this, and are now dealing with shortages of vehicles, equipment, and staff. Today, fleet planning and implementation have taken on a new level of importance, here’s why… Vehicle Replacement Strategy Today’s reality is, past experience may not be as reliable in predicting tomorrow’s needs as it once was. A replacement plan is deliberate and should be in place before that shiny new unit is ordered. It’s essential that agencies create an Apparatus Replacement Strategy that focuses on balancing equipment needs with your present and anticipated future demands for service. Achieving an optimal Vehicle Replacement Strategy considers multiple factors and is revisited often. Some factors may include current and future Peak Staffing Levels, unit hour utilization, anticipated population growth, shifting demographics, transport distances, opening or closing of facilities, shifting weather patterns, etc. Of these factors, Peak Staffing Level is one of the most straightforward but misunderstood planning elements. Peak Staffing Level is defined as the highest concurrent number of staffed units on duty on a regular / planned basis. Many agencies consider an optimal fleet size as 1.5 fully equipped and mission capable units per Peak Staffing Level. Equation: Peak # of units x 1.5 = X, then round up. A rural community, for example, has three units in its fleet. They run approximately 400 calls per year, and usually, transport 2 miles into their local small hospital, or 12 miles into the larger community’s Hospital with a Level III trauma center. They have mutual aid available with an average response time of 30 minutes as needed. They occasionally need to transport to the larger city 35 miles away for specialty care. Since the time on task is lengthy they try to use on-call crews to backfill or handle the transport. They also regularly schedule and staff a dedicated unit at most high school athletic events, the annual county fair, and the Labor Day town festival. This does not include any unusual surges due to an unplanned natural disaster or the occasional unplanned busy day. With this schedule, their Peak Staffing Level is three. With only three units, routine maintenance is often delayed or cut short during busy times or special events season. Crews are reluctant to switch out of the “primary” unit because both “reserves” are unreliable, uncomfortable, or have suboptimal performance. The situation festers until the primary unit suffers a catastrophic transmission failure, and is intensified when the second unit has a deer strike that took out the radiator. In the blink of an eye, the community is in an equipment crisis. Using the equation of 1.5 units per Peak Staffed Unit (rounded up), the community would have avoided this crisis and may have even avoided the costly and lengthy transmission replacement by comfortably having all units inspected and serviced prior to the failure. Eddie Calendar knows the importance of fleet size and staffing. What About Reserve Units? Many EMS agencies are stuck in the traditional “front line” and “reserve” fleet management, which has been in use for as long as there has been fire apparatus. The fundamental difference between Fire and EMS apparatus is that EMS apparatus will often “wear out” based on mileage, where many Fire apparatus (especially support and specialty apparatus) will “age out”. A 20-year-old Type 6 Engine with 40,000 miles is usually far more serviceable and reliable than a 15-year-old ambulance with 300,000 miles. A more successful and cost-effective fleet strategy for EMS is to maintain a fleet where ANY unit is fully mission-capable and all units are regularly rotated into service on a regular basis. Using a strategy like this will balance out fleet mileage, allow for regular equipment inspection and when surges hit, EVERY unit will be ready to respond. Does your agency use Reserve Units? How has that practice evolved over time to influence your Fleet Size? We’d love to hear your thoughts. New vs Remounting If you’ve needed to replace an EMS vehicle in your fleet over the last year and a half, then you may have considered remounting. Remounting is where we remove your Frazer module from the existing chassis and mount it onto a newer chassis. If chassis procurement is not an issue, then remounting may be a better use of funds during times where materials and equipment costs are increased. It also may be a good option if your department uses Reserve Units as they can be great candidates for remounting. More on Fleet Sizes Determining the right number of fleet vehicles requires analyzing multiple potential factors. To learn more about our thoughts on Fleet Size, read our Fleet Size Matters article.
MEPS Power Management Interface – Quick User Guide
Mobile Electric Power Solution’s Idle Reducing Technology allows our under-hood generator system to run your onboard electrical equipment load while quickly recharging your battery bank. This is the solution to providing electrical power whether your engine is on or off. During Normal Operation In Cab Step 1: Turn ON the Intermotive Module Master Switch, located behind the console on the floor. Step 2: Set the parking brake. Step 3: Turn on the Module Disconnect Switch, located behind the driver seat on the wall. In PMI Compartment (Passenger Side Rear) Step 4: Turn on the Battery Disconnect. Push up on the switch to the “START” position and then release to “RUN”) Step 5: Set the Digital Multi Control switch to the “on” position. Step 6: Set the red Mobile Power Remote switch to “GEN/CHG”. While Out of Service In Cab Step 1: Turn OFF the Intermotive Module Master Switch, located behind the console on the floor. Step 2: If not needed, turn OFF the Module Disconnect Switch, located behind the driver seat on the wall. In PMI Compartment (Passenger Side Rear) Step 3: Turn OFF the Battery Disconnect. Push down on the switch to the “OFF” position. Step 4: Set the Digital Multi Control switch to the “off” position. Step 5: Set the red Mobile Power Remote switch to “OFF”. General Information If Auto Start/Stop starts the engine, it will remain on for a minimum of 5 minutes unless manually turned off. Top off batteries at least once a month (Charge to float). Monitor fuel with Auto Start/Stop. System does not monitor fuel level. An open hood will disable Auto Start/Stop Function. Shore power plugged in will disable Auto Start/Stop System (Active shore power required). Park brake must be applied for Auto Start/Stop to engage. With park brake set and truck started manually, Auto Start/Stop will turn off the truck if PMIL batteries are charged to minimum 95% (If truck is required to run in park, release park brake. This will disable the Auto Stop/Start). When turning on battery switch, batteries need to be charged to float for proper percent state of charge indication on battery monitor and color control screen and the Auto Start/Stop function. When available, plug shore power in to charge batteries. Faster charging of batteries from shore power when minimal A/C load is present in the module.
Frazer to Exhibit at FDIC in August!
We’re gearing up to exhibit at FDIC International in Indianapolis! This year is going to be bigger and better than ever! We’ve got the largest booth we’ve ever had at this show and we’ll be showing off 4 brand new Frazer units! All of our Regional Sales Managers will be at the show answering your questions, showing you all the brand new features, and taking your suggestions on how we can make your Frazer Experience a better one! Come see the new H-Power System from Harrison Hydra-Gen, new units from San Antonio Fire Department and East Baton Rouge EMS, and a brand new Frazer customer from Iowa! We’re super excited about the show and can’t wait to see all of you there!
All Frazer Vehicles to Include HAAS Safety Alert
All new and remounted EMS vehicles built after August 2021 will include three years of Safety Cloud® R2V Frazer, Ltd., a leader of generator-powered custom EMS vehicles, will include three years of HAAS Alert’s Responder-to-Vehicle (R2V) digital alerting service. This feature will come as a standard, zero-cost safety solution on all new and remounted vehicles. HAAS Alert’s Safety Cloud platform provides motorists with real-time alerts when approaching an equipped Frazer EMS vehicle with its emergency lights activated. In addition, Frazer will make Safety Cloud’s Responder-to-Responder (R2R) collision preventionl service available as an add-on safety solution to customers. Both of the R2V and R2R solutions can be retrofitted on existing EMS vehicles as desired. Safety Cloud’s R2V alerts are delivered to motorists through in-vehicle systems and navigation applications. The alerts give drivers clear advance warning and more time to safely slow down and move over. Safety Cloud has delivered 1 billion digital alerts through the popular navigation app Waze, with more partners on the way. Safety Cloud’s R2R alerts are received by emergency vehicles in the immediate proximity of other responding emergency vehicles connected to Safety Cloud. These alerts reduce the risk of crashes by up to 90% by providing critical advance warnings to drivers. Adam Fischer, Vice President of Sales & Marketing at Frazer, said that integrating Safety Cloud as a standard feature demonstrates our unwavering commitment to the safety of our customers. “For years Frazer has taken pride in designing, engineering and building our vehicles to provide medics and their patients with an ergonomic environment that will keep them safe in the event of a collision. It’s now time we make the investment in new technologies to prevent those very collisions. Adding Safety Cloud as an additional layer of protection will keep vehicles in service longer and, most importantly, increase the safety of the medical professionals and patients inside our vehicles.” Adam Fischer – VP of Sales & Marketing Jeremy Agulnek, HAAS Alert’s Senior Vice President of Connected Vehicle, praised Frazer’s commitment to innovation and leadership in safety. “Frazer’s decision to make digital alerting a standard feature on its EMS vehicles for three years is going to impact communities nationwide. Digital alerting saves lives, and Frazer understands the risk that EMS professionals face on every run. This is an investment in safety for responders, roads, and everyone that relies on them.” To learn more about Safety Cloud on your Frazer EMS vehicle(s), contact your Frazer sales representative or [email protected]. About Frazer We listen to our customers and hear their challenges. Then, we utilize our 65 years of experience to solve the challenges in the ever-evolving landscape of pre-hospital care. We specialize in Emergency Medical Services (EMS) vehicles suitable for licensing and use as Ambulances, First Responder Vehicles, Mobile Clinics, and Mobile Stroke Units. Our company provides world-class after-sale service, a lower overall cost of ownership, an advanced HVAC system, versatile power options, and now proudly offers HAAS Alert’s Digital Alerting Safety Service standard on every new or remounted unit! For more information, visit www.frazerbilt.com. About HAAS Alert HAAS Alert’s mission is to build lifesaving mobility solutions to make vehicles and roads safer and smarter. Our vision is a connected, collision-free world where everyone gets home safely. HAAS Alert makes roads and communities safer by delivering digital alerts from emergency response and other municipal fleets to nearby drivers. The company streams real-time alerts and other vital safety information to motorists and connected cars via in-vehicle and navigation systems when emergency vehicles are approaching and on-scene. For more information, visit www.haasalert.com.
FRAZER IS HEADED TO THE EAST COAST….again!
We are expanding yet again. As the demand begins to grow for more and more quality mobile healthcare vehicles, we have decided to partner with another company on the East Coast. We are excited to officially announce our partnership with Patriot Fire. Patriot Fire has a long-standing sales & service organization based in Grasonville, Maryland. We will be opening another Frazer Factory Store in partnership with them! After our first phone call with Steve, I knew it was the beginning of something great for the people of Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C., New Jersey, and Virginia. Steve and his team aligned with so many of our own values, it was impossible to ignore. We are excited and determined to bring the Frazer experience to this region and Patriot Fire is the perfect partner to help us get there Adam Fischer, Vice President of Sales & Marketing Patriot Fire is a team full of highly experienced individuals that take pride in their quality of work. More importantly, they understand what it takes to foster long-lasting relationships with our customers. How it Works Patriot Fire will handle all sales inquiries for Maryland, Delaware, Washington D.C., New Jersey, and Virginia! They will also be an integral part of continuing to expand our service network into the East Coast. Patriot Fire will function as an extension of the Frazer team. Just as we did with our partnership with ETA, we will be investing time and resources to train Patriot Fire’s sales & service members. Doing this ensures each extension of our team is just as educated as our own employees. Patriot Fire will have access to all of the successful systems, processes, and resources that we utilize here at Frazer in Houston, Texas. We expect our customers to feel like they are working directly with Frazer with this new partnership regardless of where they are located! As our presence on the East Coast continues to grow, we will be providing Patriot Fire with commonly used service parts to help reduce downtime because we know how important it is to get your unit back on the road! In the future, we will be training Patriot Fire on our remount processes. This will allow them to provide remounts locally for customers in their territory. This partnership will give us the opportunity to provide our Frazer experience to the first responders that deserve it. Get in touch with us today to see what we can build for you.