staffing Archives - Situational Awareness Matters!™

Using the Simulation Environment to Improve Situational Awareness

11 Comments / Article, Communications, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Human Behavior, Human Factors, Information overload, Mental Models, Neuroscience, Safety, Simulation, Situational awareness, Stress, Technology, Training, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

Many first responder training programs use simulation in the development of decision-making competencies. Simulation exercises help develop skills in setting strategy and tactics, in applying policies and procedures and in developing critical thinking skills. How can simulations be used in the development of situational awareness skills? The answer lies, in part, in understanding what situational […]

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Twelve Ways to Situational Awareness

6 Comments / Article, Communications, Complacency, Culture, Decision Making, Gasaway Consulting Group, Human Factors, Incompetence, Information overload, Safety, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Size Up, Staffing, Stress, Teamwork, Training, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

Ho, Ho, Ho. Merry Christmas everyone! With Thanksgiving day in the past, it is officially the Christmas season! I know everyone’s feeling particularly festive this time of year and I have caught the Christmas spirit in a very situational awareness sort of way. Surely you’ve heard of the “Twelve Days of Christmas.” -You know –

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Episode 217 | Overstaffing

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Attention Management, Attitude, Cognitive Memory, Command Location, Command Presence, Command Support, Communications, Confusion, Crew Resource Management, Decision Making, Expectations, Frustration, Human Behavior, Independent Goal Setting - Freelancing, Insubordination, Interruptions, Lost Focus, Over Staffing, Personnel location, Pressure, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Staffing, Stress, Teamwork, understaffing, Weather, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

This episode explores how over staffing can impact situational awareness. Length: 29 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 Situational Awareness Matters Online Academy. CLICK HERE for

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Firefighting: It’s a whole new ballgame

6 Comments / Accountability, Article, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Emotions, Fear, Human Behavior, Leadership, Mayday and RIT, Personnel location, Risk Assessment, Safety, Situational awareness, Situational Readiness, Staffing, Standard Operating Procedures/Guidelines, Stress, Teamwork, Training, Workload Management / Rich Gasaway

There is little doubt the economic recession of 2008-2009 had a significant impact on the nation’s fire service. Hardly a day went by where there wasn’t some news about an organization that downsized, rightsized or capsized. There are all kinds of explanations and terms being attached to what happened. One I heard at the time

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Episode 107 | Interview with Hagerstown Fire Chief Steve Lohr

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Building Construction, Complacency, Crew Resource Management, Culture, Decision Making, Leadership, Mission, Risk Assessment, Safety, SAMatters Radio, Staffing, Teamwork, Training, understaffing / Rich Gasaway

In this episode I interview Hagerstown Fire Chief Steve Lohr. After serving 30 years with Montgomery County Fire Department, Chief Lohr accepted a position with the Hagerstown Fire Department – a department much smaller than his previous department and with far fewer resources. We discuss the safety and the improvements

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Time to Task Completion is Critical

Leave a Comment / Accountability, Article, Checklists, Command Presence, Competency, Decision Making, Expectations, Experience, Firefighter Situational Awareness, Human Factors, Information overload, Intuition, Leadership, Mission, Perception, Prediction, Risk Assessment, Routines, Safety, Situational awareness, Time Distortion / Rich Gasaway

Your highest level of situational awareness is formed when you are able to make accurate predictions about future events. In science we call this projection and it simply means you are able to predict, or project, the future events. This is accomplished through mental models you develop that are founded in your training and experience.

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Episode 102 | Staffing can impact situational awareness

Leave a Comment / SAMatters Radio / Rich Gasaway

In this episode, I share how issues related to staffing can impact situational awareness. Length: 34 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

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Five Tough Questions

3 Comments / Accountability, Article, Bravado, Ego, Experience, Human Behavior, Miscommunications, Routines, Training / Rich Gasaway

I have witnessed a rather disturbing trend in my situational awareness classes over the past year. I have added a video where firefighters are on a roof that is clearly self-venting. The video then leads us into discussions on assumed risk versus created risk and changing outcomes versus getting in the way of outcomes that

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Episode 89 | Understaffing can impact situational awareness

Leave a Comment / SAMatters Radio / Rich Gasaway

Understaffing can have a big impact on first responder safety. We all know that. But it can also have a huge impact on first responder situational awareness. This episode explores how understaffing can impact awareness. Length: 21 minutes Click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If you are interested in taking

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Episode 71: Why does situational awareness matter?

Leave a Comment / SAMatters Radio / Rich Gasaway

In this episode we explore the origins of Situational Awareness Matters and explain why situational awareness is so important for individuals and teams who work in high risk, high consequence environments. We also reveal the top ten situational awareness barriers for first responders. Length: 56 minutes click the YouTube icon to listen _____________________________________________________ If

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