The formation of situational awareness begins with perception. What you perceive becomes the foundation for understanding. What you understand then becomes the primer for prediction: Perception – Understanding – Prediction. This is how situational awareness is formed. Let’s explore one of the barriers to situational awareness that can occur if you shortcut the size-up process. […]
Missing puzzle pieces Read More »
Like many of you, I do my best work when I am not interrupted. Whether it’s someone trying to carry on a conversation, a phone ringing or a text message, an interruption disrupts the train of thought. And when the train of thought is disrupted, situational awareness can be adversely impacted.
Interruptions Can Be a Barrier To Situational Awareness Read More »
Recently I was having a conversation with a fire commander who shared the following experience. He stopped by one of the stations for a visit and came upon a group of firefighters huddled around a computer screen watching videos. Relax. This is not a lecture on watching inappropriate videos on fire department computers. In fact,
How Could They Be So Stupid? Read More »
You develop situational awareness by using your senses to capture information (Level 1 situational awareness). Those clues and cues are then processed into understanding (Level 2 situational awareness). Once you understand what is happening, you can then make predictions of future events (Level 3 situational awareness). This article focuses on the third level of situational
Flawed Expectations of Personnel Can Impact Situational Awareness Read More »
We have many traits that make us uniquely human. Among them is our ability to engage in complex communications. We can look at black ink squiggled on a piece of bleached paper and derive meaning from those symbols. We call that skill reading comprehension. And we can listen to and comprehend the meaning of more
Complex Communications Read More »
Curiosity killed the cat. But it’s not curiosity that is killing first responders. It’s complacency contributing to flawed situational awareness. What does it mean to be complacent? I could offer you the Webster’s dictionary definition. Instead, I’d like to offer you a definition based on my observations of those who suffer from the affliction. Complacent:
Complacency: A Killer of First Responders Read More »
At the start of the Flawed Situational Awareness program I share a story about my early years as a company officer and subsequently as a command-level officer. Even in those days (more than 30 years ago), I held a deep desire to learn from failure and catastrophe. I read every near-miss and casualty report I
Come down off the high perch of judgment Read More »
For the most part, I am fortunate. The first responders who attend my situational awareness classes are humble, courteous and professional. They come to the programs eager to learn, open-minded and ask really smart questions. Clearly, their focus is on improving their safety. But… every once in a while, I get “that guy.”
One of the essential components of well-developed situational awareness is being able to accurately predict the future. This prediction should be made during the initial scene size up and then it should be updated often as the incident progresses. In this segment, the need to begin with the end in mind will be explored and
Begin With The End In Mind Read More »
We make assumptions every day. Some of them are accurate. Others are not. Assumptions occur when there is an absence of complete information. Such is the case at just about every emergency scene you respond to. Let’s explore how we make assumptions.
Assumptions can be a situational awareness barrier Read More »
