Information overload

These are the first responder situational awareness and decision making issues and opportunities related to information overload. 

Information Overload – SAM 355

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Attention Management, Communications, Decision Making, Disoriented, Expectations, Frustration, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Information overload, Judgment, Leadership, Long-Term Memory, Lost Focus, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Multitasking, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Preoccupation, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Shared Mental Models, Situational awareness, Stress, Tacit Knowledge, Task Saturation, Vigilance /

This episode explores the capacity of the human brain to process sensory stimuli into short-term memory and the impact it can have on situational awareness. The San Francisco Fire Department conducted an internal review of the incident and issued a 156-page report on their findings. Many of the lessons relate to situational awareness and it […]

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Five Situational Awareness Lessons from a LODD Incident – SAM 354

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Assumptions, Attitude, Auditory exclusion, Automatic Action, Benchmarks, Building Construction, Close Call, Command Location, Command Presence, Command Support, Communications, Competency, Complacency, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Denial, Disoriented, Distractions and Interruptions, Emotions, Equipment, Error Creep, Excited, Expectations, Experience, Explicit Knowledge, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Goals, Gut Feeling, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Hyper Vigilance, Independent Goal Setting - Freelancing, Information overload, Judgment, Leadership, Line of Duty Death, Lost Focus, Mayday, Mayday and RIT, Mental Models, Meta Awareness, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Mission Myopia, Neuroscience, PAR, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Personal Protective Equipment, Personnel location, Prediction, Preoccupation, Progress Reports, Radios, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Shared Mental Models, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Tacit Knowledge, Task Fixation, Teamwork, Vigilance, Workload Management /

On June 2, 2011, the San Francisco Fire Department suffered the tragic loss of 2 firefighters at 133 Berkeley Way. The episode shares some valuable situational awareness lessons from this tragic incident. The San Francisco Fire Department conducted an internal review of the incident and issued a 156-page report on their findings. Many of the

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The Myth of Multitasking – SAM 346

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Attention Management, Automatic Action, Checklists, Cognitive Memory, Competency, Confusion, Decision Making, Disoriented, Distractions and Interruptions, Expectations, Frustration, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Information overload, Interruptions, Judgment, Long-Term Memory, Lost Focus, Mind Drift, Mindfulness, Multitasking, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Pattern Matching, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Prediction, Preoccupation, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Short Term Memory, Situational awareness, Task Fixation, Task Saturation, Vigilance, Worksheets /

This episode explores the challenges workers face while operating in dynamically changing conditions that require sharing attention to multiple, concurrent activities – a.k.a., multitasking.  If you are the type of person who can work on your notebook, listen to music on your iPod, talk on your cell phone and text message at the same time,

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Situational Awareness Best Practices for Incident Commanders (Episode 326)

Accountability, Assumptions, Attention Management, Benchmarks, Biases, Building Construction, Checklists, Close Call, Cognitive Memory, Command Location, Command Presence, Command Support, Communications, Competency, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Distractions and Interruptions, Equipment, Expectations, Explicit Knowledge, Goals, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Information overload, Interruptions, Intuition, Long-Term Memory, Mental Models, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Multitasking, Over Confident, Over Staffing, Overload, Overwhelm, Pattern Matching, Perception, Preoccupation, Pressure, Radios, Repetition, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Shared Mental Models, Short Term Memory, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Size Up, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Tacit Knowledge, Task Fixation, Teamwork, Time Distortion, understaffing, Workload Management, Worksheets /

There are three component parts to situational awareness – perception, understanding and prediction.  There are barriers that can impact awareness on all three levels. The application of best practices can help incident commanders reduce the impact of barriers. Length: 35 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full video.   __________________________________________________ All of our

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Deadly Methyl Bromide exposure: The Misty Worrell story – Part 2 (Episode 324)

Attitude, Confusion, Decision Making, Disoriented, Emotions, Fatigue, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Hyper Vigilance, Illness, Information overload, Invincible, Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress, Task Fixation, Task Saturation, Tunnel Vision, Tunneled Senses, Vigilance /

Misty Worrell and her partner on Cypress Creek EMS responded to a medical call that would result in two fatalities and the EMS crew being exposed to deadly Methyl Bromide.  Because there is no cure for Methyl Bromide poisoning, Misty, a mother of five children, was instructed to get her affairs in order as she

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Deadly Methyl Bromide exposure: The Misty Worrell story – Part 1 (Episode 323)

Attitude, Confusion, Decision Making, Disoriented, Emotions, Fatigue, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Hyper Vigilance, Illness, Information overload, Invincible, Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress, Task Fixation, Task Saturation, Tunnel Vision, Tunneled Senses, Vigilance /

Misty Worrell and her partner on Cypress Creek EMS responded to a medical call that would result in two fatalities and the EMS crew being exposed to deadly Methyl Bromide.  Because there is no cure for Methyl Bromide poisoning, Misty, a mother of five children, was instructed to get her affairs in order as she

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Interview with Jeff Banman from the Operational Mindset Foundation (Episode 322)

Attitude, Confusion, Decision Making, Disoriented, Emotions, Fatigue, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Hyper Vigilance, Illness, Information overload, Invincible, Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress, Task Fixation, Task Saturation, Tunnel Vision, Tunneled Senses, Vigilance /

The mission of the Operational Mindset Foundation is to mentally, physically and emotionally prepare those who choose to place themselves in harm’s way every day for the benefit of others… and give them the opportunity to experience what safe feels like when they return home. Length: 32 minutes Click the YouTube icon to watch the full

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Sensory Conflict and Mind Drift – A reading from the Smart Worker’s book (Episode 321)

Attitude, Confusion, Decision Making, Disoriented, Emotions, Fatigue, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Hyper Vigilance, Illness, Information overload, Invincible, Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress, Task Fixation, Task Saturation, Tunnel Vision, Tunneled Senses, Vigilance /

Situational awareness barriers block a worker’s ability to perceive, understand or predict. I have uncovered and researched more than a hundred barriers to awareness. This episode talks about two of the barriers – sensory conflict and mind drift. We also briefly discuss the process for predicting future events. Length: 53 minutes Click the YouTube icon

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Five Fatalities and Lessons Learned from Chesterfield County– Flashback episode – Part 3 (Episode 320)

Attitude, Confusion, Decision Making, Disoriented, Emotions, Fatigue, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Hyper Vigilance, Illness, Information overload, Invincible, Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress, Task Fixation, Task Saturation, Tunnel Vision, Tunneled Senses, Vigilance /

In the early morning hours of January 17, 2016, Chesterfield County Fire & EMS responded to a residential fire on Wicklow Lane that would result in fire civilian fire fatalities, including 2 children. This three-part interview chronicles the event, the situational awareness challenges and the lessons learned from the first-in captain and the first arriving

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Five Fatalities and Lessons Learned from Chesterfield County– Flashback episode – Part 2 (Episode 319)

Attitude, Confusion, Decision Making, Disoriented, Emotions, Fatigue, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Hyper Vigilance, Illness, Information overload, Invincible, Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress, Task Fixation, Task Saturation, Tunnel Vision, Tunneled Senses, Vigilance /

In the early morning hours of January 17, 2016, Chesterfield County Fire & EMS responded to a residential fire on Wicklow Lane that would result in fire civilian fire fatalities, including 2 children. This three-part interview chronicles the event, the situational awareness challenges and the lessons learned from the first-in captain and the first arriving

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