By Janelle Foskett
Associate Editor, FireRescue Magazine and Wildland Firefighter

In an information-packed session, John Tippett, battalion chief for the Montgomery County (Md.) Fire and Rescue Services and project manager for the National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System, addressed the principle of crew resources management and how it can be applied to on-scene crew management in an effort to improve firefighter safety and performance.

The concept of crew resource management was developed by the aviation industry in an effort to improve efficiency by using all available resources.

Tippett identified the six principles of crew resource management that the fire service should consider on the before, during and after an incident:
1. Communication
2. Decision-Making
3. Task Allocation
4. Teamwork
5. Situational Awareness
6. Debrief

Tippett addressed how each of the principles play into on-scene operations. With regard to communications, we must do the following to improve our fireground operations: Reduce the barriers and bias that can block effective communications, speak a common language, practice “active” listening, divide duties so as to prevent communication overload, minimize our distractions and, lastly, practice inquiry advocacy.

Tippett then described “Todd Bishop’s Assertive Statement,” which is a known method for how to talk “up the chain of command.” First, get the attention of the person you want to speak to. State your concern and the problem as you see it. Next, propose a solution and, finally, obtain agreement from the listener.

With regard to decision making, Tippett said we make decisions based on habit. “We need to recognize that we make decisions this way and ask for input,” he says. He also suggested five ways to improve decision making: knowledge, experience, training, communication and preplanning.

Task allocation is a very important principle. It involves assessing your crews, knowing your own limits, knowing your crew’s limits and capitalizing on their strengths.

Tippett then discussed factors that affect teamwork, including authority, mentoring, conflict resolution and mission analysis. Regarding mentoring specifically, he explains how admitting mistakes may lead a firefighter to think, “If the captain can make a mistake, I can make a mistake,” and therefore slow down and think before he acts.

Tippett described situational awareness as “the point where perception and reality collide” but noted that reality always wins. The following factors can influence your situational awareness: ambiguity, distraction, fixation, overload, complacency and unresolved discrepancy. Unresolved discrepancy may be the type of situation in which you feel like something doesn’t feel right, but you can’t quite figure out what’s wrong.

Tippett proposed the following as elements of good situational awareness: good crew coordination, proper task completion, understanding, smooth ride, crisp radio calls and the use of checklists to help you remember what you need to do.

With regard to debriefing, Tippett suggests you take your crew through a pre-brief, in which you explain the purpose of the post-call debrief and remind your crew to be respectful of everyone. Then, facilitate a discussion about the call and analyze the operations and human factors involved.

Tippett concluded the discussion by explaining why we should use crew resource management. “We’re still dying and getting injured at the same rate we were years ago,” he said. Further, medical errors are devastating in human and fiscal costs. Lastly, the principles have proven successful in multiple industries with similar structures, such as aviation.

Brian Estes of Tacoma, Wash., said he attended the class with the hopes of learning some management tips. “The class really makes you think about the way you’re doing things,” he said. “Especially with the case histories, you think about what went wrong and the lessons learned.”