Safety Archives - Page 4 of 44 - Situational Awareness Matters!™

What first responders need to know about explosives: The Jarred Alden Interview. Part 1 – SAM 381

1 Comment / Accountability, Assertiveness, Close Call, Communications, Decision Making, Equipment, Expectations, Experience, Explicit Knowledge, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Judgment, Mental Models, Mission, Near Miss, Perception, Prediction, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Shared Mental Models, Situational awareness, Size Up, Teamwork, Training, understaffing / Rich Gasaway

This episode is part 1 of a 2-part interview Akron (OH) Fire Lieutenant Jarred Alden shares what we need to know about homemade explosive devices, blast effect, treating blast injury victims, and more. Lieutenant Alden is a paramedic and operations officer for the Akron (OH) Fire Department. He has 17+ years of experience as a […]

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Improving Responder Safety on the Roadway: The John Gonzalez Interview -SAM 380

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Attention Management, Automation, Close Call, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Disoriented, Distractions and Interruptions, Equipment, Expectations, Human Behavior, Human Error, Mindfulness, Mission, Mission Myopia, Personnel location, Prediction, Preoccupation, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Teamwork, Technology, Tunnel Vision, Vigilance / Rich Gasaway

This episode is an interview with John Gonzalez from Florian Re Appratus, a company focused on improving responder safety on roadway incidents. John Gonzalez is a past District Chief of Toms River Fire District 1 in Ocean County, NJ and has been an active volunteer firefighter for over 30 years. Chief Gonzalez served as a

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When Training Goes Wrong: The Stan Mettinger Story – SAM 378

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Attitude, Close Call, Competency, Decision Making, Equipment, Expectations, Experience, Human Error, Incompetence, Judgment, Lost Focus, Mindfulness, Near Miss, Personal Protective Equipment, Preoccupation, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Routines, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Stress, Tacit Knowledge, Task Fixation, Teamwork, Training, Tunnel Vision, Vigilance / Rich Gasaway

This episode shares the story of a firefighter who was burned during a vehicle fire training scenario. Stan Mettinger was setting up a training scenario that involved setting vehicles on fire. He was using diesel fuel to ignite hay inside the vehicle when the vapors flashed and set Stan on fire resulting in first, second

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Simulations Improve Situational Awareness – SAM 371

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Attention Management, Automatic Action, Benchmarks, Cognitive Memory, Communications, Competency, Decision Making, Expectations, Experience, Explicit Knowledge, Habits, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Intuition, Judgment, Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Pattern Matching, Pre Arrival Lens, Prediction, Risk, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Shared Mental Models, Simulation, Situational awareness, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Technology, Training, Workload Management, Worksheets / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, we discuss how simulations can improve situational awareness. Your highest level of situational awareness is formed when you are able to make accurate predictions about future events. In neuroscience, this is called projection and it simply means you are able to predict, or project, the future events. This is accomplished through mental

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How Expectations Influence Situational Awareness – SAM 370

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Cognitive Memory, Decision Making, Expectations, Experience, Explicit Knowledge, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Intuition, Judgment, Mental Models, Mindfulness, Neuroscience, Progress Reports, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Shared Mental Models, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Tacit Knowledge / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, we discuss how the role expectations play in helping developing situational awareness and influencing decision making. Your highest level of situational awareness is formed when you are able to make accurate predictions about future events. In neuroscience, this is called projection and it simply means you are able to predict, or

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Complacency – SAM 369

Leave a Comment / Assumptions, Attitude, Bravado, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Ego, Error Creep, Expectations, Experience, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Goals, Habits, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Invincible, Judgment, Leadership, Mind Drift, Mindfulness, Mission, Mission Myopia, Neuroscience, Over Confident, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Routines, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Task Fixation, Vigilance, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, we preview the complacency chapter from the book, How Smart Workers Use Situational Awareness to Improve Safety. Complacency is a dangerous affliction and a very challenging barrier to situational awareness for workers in high-risk environments. When a worker becomes complacent they let their guard down. What does that mean? It’s a cliché

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Distractions and Interruptions – SAM 368

Leave a Comment / Attention Management, Checklists, Decision Making, Disoriented, Distractions and Interruptions, Expectations, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Interruptions, Judgment, Lost Focus, Mindfulness, Motion Induced Blindness, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Personnel location, Preoccupation, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Task Fixation, Technology, Vigilance / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, we preview the distractions and interruptions chapter from the book, How Smart Workers Use Situational Awareness to Improve Safety. Along a worker’s journey toward envisioning, developing, and implementing their plan to guide their (hopefully) successful outcome, they are likely to encounter two situational awareness barriers that can quickly derail their focus. Distractions

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Short-Term Memory – SAM 367

Leave a Comment / Checklists, Confusion, Decision Making, Defiance, Expectations, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Frustration, Human Behavior, Human Error, Human Factors, Information overload, Judgment, Mindfulness, Multitasking, Neuroscience, Overload, Overwhelm, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Selective Listening, Short Term Memory, Simulation, Situational awareness, Size Up, Task Fixation, Task Saturation, Vigilance, Workload Management, Worksheets / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, we preview the short-term memory chapter from the book, How Smart Workers Use Situational Awareness to Improve Safety. Short-term memory can create a formidable challenge to situational awareness. Long-term memory is huge, some might argue it’s limitless. Short-term memory, not so much. The capacity of the average person’s short-term memory is about

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Firefighter Wellness: Leading a balanced life. Dr. Donnie Hutchinson Part 2 – SAM 366

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Anger, Assumptions, Attitude, Bravado, Communications, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Emotions, Expectations, Fear, Habits, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Invincible, Leadership, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Optimism, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Physical Fitness, Prediction, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Situational awareness, Stress, Tunnel Vision, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, we continue our discussion with Dr. Donnie, talking about the health and wellness qualities that make for successful first responders at work and at home. Description Dr. Donnie explores the health and wellness qualities that make for successful firefighters and other first responders at work and home. He teaches how

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Firefighter Wellness: Leading a balanced life. Dr. Donnie Hutchinson Part 1 – SAM 365

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Anger, Assumptions, Attitude, Bravado, Communications, Culture, Decision Making, Defiance, Denial, Emotions, Expectations, Fear, Habits, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Invincible, Leadership, Mindfulness, Miscommunications, Mission, Optimism, Perception, Perception Of Reality, Physical Fitness, Prediction, Preoccupation, Pressure, Risk, Risk Assessment, Risk Management, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Stress, Tunnel Vision, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, Dr. Donnie explores the health and wellness qualities that make for successful first responders at work and at home. Dr. Donnie explores the health and wellness qualities that make for successful firefighters and other first responders at work and home. He teaches how and why firefighters and first responders need to put

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