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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 /

    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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Four Size-up Priorities to Improve Situational Awareness

3 Comments / Article, Neuroscience, Repetition, Situational awareness, Size Up, Stress /

During an open conference call recently, I had the opportunity to discuss situational awareness challenges and opportunities (which, by the way… was really enjoyable) I had a chief officer from Wisconsin (thanks Lance) ask a question about company officer priorities on sizing up a residential dwelling fire. It’s a question I get asked often and have built

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Completing the 360-Degree Size-Up

Leave a Comment / Article, Decision Making, Safety, Situational awareness, Size Up, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines /

Situational awareness starts with capturing clues and cues in your environment (perception) and then understanding what those clues and cues mean (comprehension). At a structure fire the process of capturing information should involve a complete 360-degree size-up of the scene. Many departments have policies that stipulate the completion of a 360-degree size up. Yet, for

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Ten Things to Develop Situational Readiness

2 Comments / Article, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness /

This website is dedicated to improving situational awareness of first responders. The precursor to situational awareness is situational readiness. I define situational readiness as: Having the ability to anticipate what things need to be in place to be well-prepared for an emergency response; and then, taking the steps necessary to ensure those things are done

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Situational Awareness – It’s More Complex Than “Pay Better Attention”

3 Comments / Article, Decision Making, Situational awareness, Training /

If you want to improve your situational awareness, just pay better attention! Really? Oh my goodness.  No, it is hardly that simple. I just read an article where the author was giving advice about how to improve situational awareness. He said that situational awareness can be improve by paying better attention. At the very most

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Penalties and Discipline Will Not Improve Safety

Leave a Comment / Article, Culture, Safety, Situational awareness /

I read with great interest (and concern) an article recently published about how the San Francisco Fire Department is being fined $21,000 by state investigators for violations to safety laws that led to the deaths of two firefighters on June 2. My concern for this action is not an attempt, in any way, to diminish

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The Five Step Assertive Statement Process

14 Comments / Crew Resource Management, Culture, Ego, Fear, Safety, Situational awareness, Teamwork /

You’re a firefighter assigned to a roof job. It’s a flat metal roof and there’s a lot of water on it. (Set aside for a moment all your judgement about why you’re on the roof in the first place). Your situational awareness is strong and you’re getting a gut feeling that’s causing you concern for

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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 /

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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Staffing Levels Impact Situational Awareness

1 Comment / Article, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Safety, Situational awareness, Staffing, Stress /

Research has demonstrated that, without question, stress can have significant impacts on situational awareness (SA). Stress can narrow your attention, cause task fixation, contribute to heightened awareness of non-critical information (at the detriment of more critical information) and so much more. As stress erodes situational awareness, it can also impact decision making. The research I

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