Human Behavior Archives - Page 8 of 22 - Situational Awareness Matters!™

Surviving the Fire Service – The Todd LeDuc Interview (Episode 307)

1 Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attitude, Biases, Bravado, Complacency, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Ego, Emotions, Fear, Human Behavior, Illness, Invincible, Line of Duty Death, Mindfulness, Near Miss, Optimism, Over Confident, Physical Fitness, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Size Up, Stress, Vigilance, Weather, Workload Management, Worksheets / Rich Gasaway

An interview with Retired Broward County Operations Chief Todd LeDuc, discussing first responder health, wellness and survival. Length: 63 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check out the […]

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The Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System – Part 2 (Episode 306)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Close Call, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Experience, Explicit Knowledge, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Line of Duty Death, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Near Miss, Neuroscience, Repetition, Risk, Risk Assessment, Routines, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness / Rich Gasaway

Today’s episode is Part 2 of my 2-part interview with John Russ, Program Director for the IAFC Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System. Length: 45 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher

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The Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System – Part 1 (Episode 305)

Today’s episode is Part 1 of my 2-part interview with John Russ, Program Director for the IAFC Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System. Length: 48 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check

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A Mental Health Mayday. The Laverne Friesen Story – Part 2 (Episode 302)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Anger, Attitude, Bravado, Close Call, Communications, Decision Making, Denial, Disoriented, Ego, Emotions, Fear, Frustration, Human Behavior, Illness, Invincible, Judgment, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Near Miss, Optimism, Over Confident, Overwhelm, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress / Rich Gasaway

Today’s episode is Part 2 of my 2-part interview with Laverne Friesen, a first responder who is confronting the stigma of mental illness head-on as he shares his first-hand account of how work-related stress was leading him down a dark path toward suicide. He shares intimate details of what that experience was like, how it

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Where Does Intuition Come From?

14 Comments / Attention Management, Checklists, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Emotions, Human Behavior, Information overload, Intuition, Repetition, Safety, Tacit Knowledge / Rich Gasaway

It is amazing how many articles and videos I have watched lately in which they are talking about decision making based on “gut feel.” It is also disheartening how many first responders I have interviewed who have admitted to me that they have dismissed their gut feelings and proceeded to do things that resulted

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A Mental Health Mayday. The Laverne Friesen Story – Part 1 (Episode 301)

1 Comment / Accountability, Anger, Attitude, Bravado, Close Call, Communications, Decision Making, Denial, Disoriented, Ego, Emotions, Fear, Frustration, Human Behavior, Illness, Invincible, Judgment, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Near Miss, Optimism, Over Confident, Overwhelm, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress / Rich Gasaway

Today’s episode is Part 1 of my 2-part interview with Laverne Friesen, a first responder who is confronting the stigma of mental illness head-on as he shares his first-hand account of how work-related stress was leading him down a dark path toward suicide. He shares intimate details of what that experience was like, how it

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Heavy Content Fires – The Ryan Pennington Interview (Episode 300)

Leave a Comment / Culture, Decision Making, Expectations, Experience, Human Behavior, Judgment, Meta Awareness, Mindfulness, Perception Of Reality, Pre Arrival Lens, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Size Up, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Vigilance / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, I interview the foremost fire service expert on fighting “heavy content” fires (aka, hoarded environments). The interview is packed with great ideas for first responders, and some tips for family members who are dealing with a family member afflicted with a hoarding disorder. Length: 57 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch

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What You Don’t See Can Save You

1 Comment / Article, Assumptions, Attention Management, Auditory exclusion, Decision Making, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Intuition, Meta Awareness, Neuroscience, Prediction, Safety, Size Up, Tacit Knowledge / Rich Gasaway

I dedicate a lot of time during my situational awareness programs ensuring that first responders understand how clues and cues serve as the foundation for developing and maintaining good situational awareness. We also spend considerable time making the connection of how strong situational awareness becomes the foundation for good decision making. For the most part,

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The Normalization of Deviance

8 Comments / Article, Assumptions, Competency, Complacency, Expectations, Experience, Human Behavior, Neuroscience, Safety, Situational awareness / Rich Gasaway

It’s an odd term – normalization of deviance. But the term and the premise behind the term provides a valuable explanation as to some of the behaviors we observe in the first responder world. Defining the term Normalization: To make normal; to make an established standard. Deviance: Departing from the norm; performing

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Overconfidence – A Dangerous Minefield (Episode 296)

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attitude, Automatic Action, Competency, Complacency, Culture, Decision Making, Denial, Ego, Expectations, Experience, Explicit Knowledge, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Incompetence, Judgment, Leadership, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Optimism, Over Confident, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Tacit Knowledge, Under Confident / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, we review the Overconfidence chapter of my new book, How Smart Workers Use Situational Awareness to Improve Safety. Length: 28 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full VIDEO __________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking your understanding of situational awareness and high-risk decision making to a higher level, check

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