Distractions and Interruptions Archives - Page 7 of 7 - 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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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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Radio Discipline

5 Comments / Accountability, Article, Auditory exclusion, Communications, Culture, Distractions and Interruptions, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Mayday and RIT, Safety, Situational awareness / Rich Gasaway

A frequent contributing factor in firefighter casualty incidents is too much radio traffic. This can have a significant impact on first responder situational awareness because it becomes near impossible to take in, process, comprehend and remember the volumes of information being transmitted over the radio when communication is not disciplined. This article explores some of

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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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Episode 25: A firefighter’s situational awareness lessons from a mayday call.

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Building Construction, Close Call, Communications, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Mayday and RIT, Personal Protective Equipment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Teamwork / Rich Gasaway

On this episode, I interview Firefighter John Dantuono of the Lakeside (New York) Fire Department. Lakeside is located west of Syracuse. The all-volunteer fire department serves a population of about 15,000. Listen in as John discusses how he responded to a mutual aid residential dwelling fire and fell through a weakened floor. As he notes,

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Exciting changes coming to SAMatters!

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Close Call, Communications, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Emotions, Equipment, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Gasaway Consulting Group, Intuition, Leadership, Mental Models, Repetition, Safety, Situational awareness, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Tacit Knowledge, Teamwork, Technology, Training, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

In case you missed the announcements made in the October newsletter, there are some exciting changes coming to the SAMatters community. This month (October 2014) marks the three-year anniversary since the launch of the SAMatters website and the popular “Get in the Loop” live tour events. And while we have enjoyed many wonderful accomplishments since

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Episode 18: Situational Awareness Lessons Learned in Two Minutes

1 Comment / Accountability, Attention Management, Auditory exclusion, Close Call, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Ego, Emotions, Fear, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Intuition, Mayday and RIT, Neuroscience, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Tacit Knowledge, Teamwork, Training, Tunneled Senses, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

This close call survival story is an interview with Aurora Fire Lieutenant Sean Dolan sharing amazing lessons from the house fire where he was caught in a flashover and sustained second and third-degree burns. Sean is very candid in sharing the details of what happened and how close he came to death. Length: 63 minutes

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Episode 16: The impact of fatigue on situational awareness

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Attention Management, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Emotions, Fatigue, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Information overload, Multitasking, Physical Fitness, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Task Saturation, Teamwork, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

Episode 16: The impact of fatigue on situational awareness Back in episode 7 I answered a listener question about the impact of fatigue on situational awareness. I promised in that episode that I would dedicate more time to this topic in an upcoming episode. So I want to explore the issue of fatigue some more.

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