Chapter 19

Question 1

386

Crew Resource Management (CRM)

Answer 1

behavioral approach to reducing human error in high-risk or high consequence activities.

Question 2

386

After the introduction of CRM what was the reduction in the aviation industry’s accident rate?

Answer 2

80%

Question 3

387

What are Gordon Dupont’s “dirty dozen” a comprehensive list of reasons and ways that humans make mistakes.

Answer 3

1. Lack of communication
2. Complacency
3. Lack of knowledge
4. Distraction
5. Lack of teamwork
6. Fatigue
7. Lack of resources
8. Pressure
9. Lack of assertiveness
10. Stress
11. Lack of awareness
12. Norms

Question 4

387-388

What are the two reasons that holes appear in layers of defensive according to Dr. James Reason?

Answer 4

Active failures - the unsafe acts committed by people who are in direct contact with the situation or system. For example not wearing your seatbelt in a moving vehicle

Latent conditions - are the inevitable “resident pathogens” w/i the system. These conditions have two types of adverse effects 1. the can translate into error-provoking conditions w/i the local workplace. ie understaffing, inadequate equipment. 2. they can create long lasting holes/weaknesses in the defense such as untrustworthy alarms or unworkable procedures

Question 5

388

CRM is an ______ that incorporates what three activities?

Answer 5

error management model

1. (Error) avoidance, provides greatest opportunity for trapping and preventing errors from becoming catastrophic.
2. (Error) entrapment- errors not avoided are trapped in 2nd level
3. (Error) mitigating consequences-errors that are not trapped and slip through both layers require mitigation.

Mitigation is the action taken by emergency responders to minimize the effect of an emergency on a community.

Question 6

388

CRM in the fire service covers six areas

Answer 6

1. communication skills
2. teamwork
3. task allocation
4. critical decision making
5. situational awareness
6. debriefing

Question 7

388

What is key to reducing errors resulting from miscommunication?

Answer 7

Developing a standard language and teaching appropriate assertive behavior.

Question 8

388
CRM enriched environment generates a climate where the freedom to question is encouraged what learnable skills help facilitate questions?

Answer 8

Inquiry - process of questioning a situation that causes concern .

Advocacy - the statement of opinion that recommends what the person believes is the proper course of action under a specific set of circumstances.

Question 9

388
The key factor to keep in mind is that communication should not focus on who is right but what is right. How can buzzwords be helpful in that regard?

Answer 9

Buzzwords like “red light” or “red flag” signal discomfort with a situation. these terms are cues that open the door to inquiry and advocacy.

These buzzwords should be reserved for immediate risk of injury.

Question 10

388-389

What is Todd Bishop’s five step assertive statement process that encompasses inquiry and advocacy communication steps?

Answer 10

1. Use opening /attention getter-address the individual
2. State concern: use owned emotion-that smoke is really pushing from the door, “I feel bad about this”
3. State problem as you see it - “It looks ready to flash. I think its unsafe to enter”
4. State a solution- “why don’t we vent the roof, and give the place a minute or two before send in FA”
5. Obtain agreement or buy in - “does that sound good to you”

Question 11

389

What is the toughest part of CRM to impart and adopt, and why?

Answer 11

The inquiry and advocacy process and assertive statement are essential components of the communication segment CRM and the hardest to adopt because they require wholesale change in interpersonal dynamics.

Question 12

389
CRM promotes members working together for the common good but it requires buy in from all members . What is important for officers to understand?

Answer 12

Leaders will always be in charge but they must be open to suggestion and constructive criticism .

Question 13

389

What is required for officers to become truly effective leaders?

Answer 13

they must earn the trust and respect of their subordinates and demonstrate the skills of effective leadership.

Question 14

389

What are the three components comprise the triangle of leadership?

Answer 14

Trust and Respect
Leadership Skills
Effective leadership.

Question 15

389

True respect is based on three competencies:

Answer 15

Personal competence: refers to an individuals own internal strengths, capabilities, and character.

Technical competence: refers to an individuals ability to perform task that require specific knowledge or skills.

Social competence: refers to the persons ability to interact effectively with other people. Social competence requires knowing how to speak to people respectfully, whether praising or chastising

All three competencies are essential for leaders to function effectively in a CRM environment.

Question 16

391
All followers should perform a self assessment of their ability to function as part of a team. The self assessment of their ability to function as part of a team. What are the four critical areas that should be assessed?

Answer 16

Physical condition-people in good physical condition are more aware, alert, and oriented to their surroundings.

Mental condition- we are constantly pulled in a variety of directions; however, the challenging and dangerous environments where fire firefighters must perform demand their full attention

Attitude- FFer must be willing to follow orders and be part of a cohesive team.

Understanding human behavior- team members must understand how their individual behavioral relates to one another actions and to the team as a whole.

Question 17

391

Task Allocation

Answer 17

dividing responsibilities among individuals and teams in a manner that allows for their effective accomplishment.

Question 18

391

What is the first step of the CRM task allocation phase?

Answer 18

Knowing one’s limits and the capacity of the team

Question 19

391

What should happen if resources are not available to carry out all task at once?

Answer 19

Task must be prioritized to identify those that can be done safely and effectively.

Question 20

391

What are the three categories that fire officers fall into when it comes to multi-tasking?

Answer 20

Officers who are reluctant to admit they are overwhelmed and believe that they become more effective as the situation becomes more hectic.

Officers who become overwhelmed before the full complexity of the event is even recognized

Officers who effectively assesses the incident, call for additional resources early, and manages to stay ahead of the incident and balance the span of control.

Question 21

392

What did Gary Klein find about the way fire and military officers develop plans of action?

Answer 21

That they made decisions based on previous experiences, rather than referring to traditional decision making models. Commanders report that they did not even consider the options available; instead they simply looked at the incident and recalled previous experiences of a similar nature, and applied the process that was applied to the previous incident successfully.

Question 22

392

What are the two decision making models that Klein identified?

Answer 22

Recognition primed decision making (RPD): which describes how commanders can recognize a plausible plan of action.

Naturalistic decision making: describes how commanders make decisions in their natural environment.

Question 23

392

Situational awareness

Answer 23

The accurate perception of what is going on around you.

Nasa version: “the awareness of acknowledging and assessing; SA is the basis for choosing courses of action of the situation both now and in the future”

Question 24

393

What is one of the common human behavior factors that leads to a loss of situational awareness?

Answer 24

The tendency to ignore or disregard information that is out of context.

Question 25

393

What are the six steps that should be followed to maintain emergency scene situational awareness?

Answer 25

1. Fight the fire- all crew members but focus on the task of fighting the fire and observing the details of the incident.
2. Assess problems in the time available- must balance between rushing headfirst into a burning building and waiting until the every possible hazard is evaluated. Seasoned commanders take an extra 30-60 seconds to absorb and process as much information as possible
3. Gather information from all sources. One person cant see everything, use your crew as information resources.
4. Choose the best option- once everything is considered pick the best option.
5. Monitor results and alter the plan as necessary- maintaining situational awareness means constantly evaluating your plan and choosing the Plan B, or Plan C if necessary
6. Beware of situational awareness loss factors-
   ambiguity
   distraction
   fixation,
   overload,
   complacency,
   improper procedure,
   unresolved discrepancies,
   nobody fighting the fire

Question 26

394

What is the aviation practice to help maintain situational awareness?

Answer 26

To say the checklist out loud when preparing for a low frequency /high risk event.

Question 27

395
What are the five disconnects described by Bill Manning when discussing the challenge of implementing challenge of implementing NFFF’s life safety initiatives?

Answer 27

1. Culture change viewed by some as a threat
2. Bad (unsafe) behaviors and attitudes are allowed to leach into “tradition”
3. Safety and mission w/i organizational cultures are imbalanced.
4. Voices of safety leadership are either subconsciously muffled or consciously subdued
5. Lessons from behavioral safety science have not been embraced by fire service leaders, much less blended into everyday operations.

Question 28

395

Where should a officer wanting to recommend changes to existing policies or create a new policy start?

Answer 28

With the results of a post-incident debriefing. Debriefings should capitalize on the positives, identify shortcomings, discus strategies for improvement and allow participants an opportunity to see and hear the incident through different set of eyes and ears.

Question 29

395
How does the fire officer have the best opportunity to dramatically improve the safety and effectiveness of fire operations?

Answer 29

by implementing changes in policies and procedures.

Question 30

388

What are the six things everyone in the fire department need to keep in mind in relation to CRM?

Answer 30

1. No one is infallible
2. Humans create technology, therefore technology is fallible.
3. Catastrophes are the result of a chain of events
4. Everyone has an obligation to speak up when seeing something wrong
5. People who work together effectively are less likely to have accidents.
6. For the team to be more effective, every member must participate.