CRM Chapter 4

Situational Awareness Skills

• Critical skills for maintaining situational awareness include observation, attention to detail, and the ability to anticipate changes in the environment.
• The key to maintaining present situational awareness involves continuous monitoring and assessing the surroundings.

Avoiding Tunnel Vision

• The first step to avoid tunnel vision on the fire scene is to conduct regular situational checks and maintain peripheral awareness.
• The second step involves actively engaging with team members to gain diverse perspectives on the scene.
• The third step includes stepping back periodically to reassess the situation and identify potential threats or changes.

Communication in Aviation

• The aviation industry implements a concept to limit communications during specific flight phases to reduce distractions and enhance focus.

Challenges for Firefighters

• The Tri-Data study recognized poor situational awareness as a significant problem facing firefighters.
• Matched expectations and fewer distractions lead to improved performance and decision-making.

Managing Distractions

• The first step in avoiding a loss of situational awareness caused by distraction is to prioritize tasks based on urgency and relevance.
• The second step is to create a focused environment by minimizing extraneous noise and interruptions.

Information Overload Consequences

• Information overload can lead to confusion and impaired decision-making.
• As information overload increases, short-term memory is negatively affected, making it harder to retain important data.

Stress Responses

• Under stress, humans often rely on instinctual reactions rather than analytical thought processes.
• Increased stress causes a reliance on over-learned behaviors, as individuals revert to familiar responses.

Training and Communication Skills

• Over-learning refers to the process of practicing skills until they become automatic responses.
• Developing communication skills is crucial for clarity and coordination in high-pressure situations.

Indicators and Factors of Situational Awareness

• One major key to loss of situational awareness on the fireline is the failure to communicate effectively among team members.
• One of the most important indicators of situational awareness is the ability to recognize changes in the environment.

Working Memory Dynamics

• The capacity of working memory is limited, and stress can significantly reduce an individual's ability to process information effectively.
• Chunking refers to grouping information into manageable units to improve memory retention.

Training-in-Context Theory

• Training-in-context theory aims to enhance skill retention by incorporating realistic scenarios during training.
• The accuracy of long-term memory access depends on the frequency of retrieval and rehearsal.

Behavioral Reversion Under Stress

• Individuals often revert to previously over-learned behaviors under stress due to the brain's tendency to rely on familiar patterns when overwhelmed.