Attention Management Archives - Page 16 of 18 - Situational Awareness Matters!™

Episode 131 | Best practices for managing mental workload

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Auditory exclusion, Cognitive Memory, Communications, Confusion, Decision Making, Disoriented, Distractions and Interruptions, Human Factors, Information overload, Multitasking, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Perception Of Reality, Prediction, Pressure, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Short Term Memory, Stress, Task Saturation, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, we discuss five best practices for managing mental workload under stressful working conditions. Length: 26 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check out the Situational Awareness Matters Online […]

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Complacency – a barrier to situational awareness

2 Comments / Article, Attention Management, Complacency, Decision Making, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Factors, Incompetence, Leadership, Safety, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Tacit Knowledge, Training / Rich Gasaway

We develop and maintain situational awareness by being perceptive about what is happening around us. To be perceptive, we must pay attention to what is going on in our environment. We can employ all of our senses to help us pay attention – seeing, hearing, feeling, tasting and smelling. However, if we let our guard

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Episode 115 | Vehicle Fire Situational Awareness

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Close Call, Complacency, Culture, Decision Making, Expectations, Habits, Human Error, Judgment, Near Miss, Over Confident, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Prediction, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Task Fixation / Rich Gasaway

In this episode we explore the importance of developing and maintain situational awareness while operating on the scenes of vehicle fires. Length: 34 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check out the Situational

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Radio Traffic Can Improve or Destroy Situational Awareness

1 Comment / Article, Attention Management, Auditory exclusion, Communications, Complacency, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Emotions, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Factors, Information overload, Neuroscience, Safety, Situational awareness, Stress, Training, Tunneled Senses / Rich Gasaway

When it comes to first responder radio traffic I am reminded of the tale of Goldilocks and the Three Bears. You may recall that in the story Goldilocks samples three bowls of porridge. One is too hot. One is too cold. And the third is just right. This lesson applies directly to first responder situational

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Episode 114 | Noise Can Impact Situational Awareness

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Auditory exclusion, Communications, Confusion, Disoriented, Distractions and Interruptions, Lost Focus, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, we explore how noise can impact situational awareness of first responders. Length: 30 minutes Click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check out the Situational Awareness Matters Online

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Situational Awareness Starts with the Size-Up

7 Comments / Article, Attention Management, Decision Making, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Information overload, Safety, Situational awareness, Size Up / Rich Gasaway

During my fireground situational awareness classes we talk about the process for making high-stress, high consequence decisions. The first step in this process is performing a rapid size up. When I ask participants how long they take to size up a single-family residential dwelling fire with no exposures, the answer I get ranges from 10

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Episode 110 | Live Events Q&A

1 Comment / Assumptions, Attention Management, Building Construction, Cognitive Memory, Expectations, Experience, Gut Feeling, Information overload, Intuition, Long-Term Memory, Mindfulness, Overload, Pattern Matching, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Prediction, SAMatters Radio, Size Up, Tacit Knowledge / Rich Gasaway

In this episode I share some of the more commonly asked questions that come up during live Situational Awareness events. Length: 51 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level,

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You Can’t Handle the Truth!

4 Comments / Article, Attention Management, Auditory exclusion, Cognitive Memory, Confabulation, Confusion, Decision Making, Emotions, Human Behavior, Long-Term Memory, Multitasking, Sensory Conflict, Short Term Memory / Rich Gasaway

If you have attended one of my new Mental Management of Emergencies programs you have learned how stress is a game-changer when it comes to firefighter situational awareness and decision making quality. Most basic training programs focus on developing cognitive knowledge and physical skills. Far less address the impact of stress on situational awareness and

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Mission-induced Blindness

Leave a Comment / Article, Attention Management, Expectations, Human Factors, Lost Focus, Mindfulness, Mission Myopia, Perception, Pre Arrival Lens, Preoccupation, Risk, Shared Mental Models / Rich Gasaway

When I talk with first responders about situational awareness and what it takes to develop and maintain it, the program participants often use terms such as: “It’s important to pay attention.” Or, “You have to keep your head on a swivel.” Or, “It helps to look up, down and all around.” All of this is

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Mobile Data Computers and Situational Awareness

1 Comment / Article, Attention Management, Auditory exclusion, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions / Rich Gasaway

I am seeing an increase in the use of mobile data computers as a tool used by incident commanders. Commanders are using computers to capture and manage information, aid in decision making and in some cases as a tool in the development of situational awareness . On the surface, it would appear that situational awareness

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