How do you include hazard mitigation in your training?

Assessing the risk is a continuous process, it should not be restricted to the start of the project before commencing the implementation (in our case the training). Since the context can change dramatically over time, we should always go back to our risk matrices and make sure that they are still valid for the moment. Reassessing the risks is vital as to amend our mitigation measures and plan of action.

A fundamental element in hazard mitigation is to ensure that persons understand what hazards are or the initial hazards. An example of such is the use of slips trips and falls as we often see in many documents and training however slips, trips, and falls are hazardous effects of an initial hazard ( wires on the floor, change in elevation, etc.) These simple definitions and relaying such to employees is key, as I have experienced employees having difficulties in understanding basic terms.

-It is easy to reveiw the case happened before and consequences - The matrices need be updated reguarly for missing items - Involve more people

The action is to be proactive to mitigate any undesired consequences, wherein peoples behavior plays vital role to draw their active action and it's sustainability.

My insight as both a security officer and EMT, is situational awareness at all times. In EMT school, the first thing you learn is 'scene safety'.... As an EMS provider, we are unable to focus on our surroundings at all times because our main focus is in the patient or accident at hand. We still are regularly trained through Continuing Education that as a reminder safe environments are essential and if it goes from a safe scene to an unsafe scene, to be able to react and act on that situation safely. Our safety always comes first. If we, as EMS personnel are injured, who takes care of the patient then? That's what we have to ask ourselves in any situation we go into, whether it's residential, care facility, or roadside.

In the EMS world, only certain things can be specific. In a mass casualty situation, it is in constant flux, and you have to be able to adapt. It's what we call 'guidelines' when it comes to specifics during natural disasters, mass casualties, etc. We do have specific procedures and policies to follow, even in a chaotic environment, but as FEMA says, 'when you're in a disaster and people need you, and if you have the knowledge, Scope of Practice does not count'. We actually do have a time limit with a patient in the field of about 10 minutes, then load and go. We are there to provide pre-hospital treatment, not diagnose our patients but at the same time give them quality care and treatment enroute.

It is interesting to note, that in my profession before I retired, law enforcement, some officers failed to see any benefit in reporting issues (other than traffic hazards) and thought just arresting people was more important. Continued training of staff is needed to recognize the importance of reporting these situations. Equally important is to understand that we can only train so much, and routinely some situations will not fit into a mold so that they may be resolved in a methodical manner. Conducting after-action reviews and discussions to obtain thoughts in how we can do it better, is important. Finally, supervisors need to be constantly reinforcing the idea of keeping an eye open for situations that may be potential dangers.

Objectives should match with your risks and capabilities. Some of these may require working outside of your direct organization and find new contacts or assets. If the knowledge base is not there, how can your team begin to develop the knowledge, skills and abilities? Outside training, online training, outside agencies to assist? Ensuring that training and knowledge is passed on through the organization and mentoring is going on will allow a team to continue even if someone is not there on the day you need them.

For nearly two decades, I've enriched NEBOSH courses with hazard mitigation principles, I'm not the only NEBOSH tutor worldwide, but every one of us has benefiting over 220,000 learners globally. I personally blend this vital concept into all aspects of the syllabus, including legislation, risk assessments, and case studies. My pedagogy transcends compliance, equipping students to proactively manage risks. This multi-faceted approach not only enhances resilience but also prepares learners for rather difficult exam questions on hazard mitigation.

The fidelity of the emergency management process must be upheld and followed. The TEAM, e.g., all the stakeholders, actionable players and elected officials must BUY-IN! Then the important work of assessment, determining the root-cause of the problem (THIRA/SVA, etc.) has to be done with an objective unbiased approach that includes considering antecedents, social inequities, and environmental injustices that may be the underlying anthropogenic hazard... Think Jackson, Mississippi and their water crises, emergency...disaster??

One great thing about being in EMS, our training is always in the field, and we are constantly re-training with new equipment that is either updated, or new to EMS. We also train online with lectures and workshops, especially for Continuing Education credits and with state protocols that can change at any time, we need to be aware and read up on those changes as well. Quite a few, myself included, become instructors in CPR/First Aid, as BLS Instructors, etc so that we can help educate the new recruits into the EMS system and not get outdated info or experiences that dont fall into how the programs teach today.

Develop training materials that educate participants about the identified hazards. This includes explaining the nature of each hazard, its potential consequences, and how to recognize it. Use interactive methods like case studies, scenarios, and simulations to engage participants and help them apply hazard mitigation strategies in realistic situations.

The emergency services sector thrives with hands on training, and this information should be documented to allow for the sharing of the information. Everyone learns differently so ensure that all of your team is trained in a method that allows them to retain that essential knowledge. Some of the best learning will come from the person conducting the training, like the teacher who has to read a chapter ahead...

It's important to select activities that align with the participants' work situations so that they feel invested and that they can easily implement the information and skills learned from the activity.

Whenever there is training or re-training being done, even with new equipment, everything is put into scenario situations because that's what we respond to in emergencies. If we don't know our equipment handling or new information in an emergency and we need to use it, we can't if we don't know the mechanics of it.

While we all want to ensure we're conducting live scenario training to meet our hazard mitigation goals, tabletop exercises are often overlooked. Tabletop exercises are a great way to begin engaging other stakeholders, work out clear interoperability issues, and also will show considerations for designing the live exercise. A word of caution: be honest during the tabletop exercise. Often we overestimate our ability to complete tasks to time, logistics, and overall capability. It is important to mitigate this during the tabletops to get the most out of them for designing the scenario.

As Henny Youngman used to say Practice, practice, practice. But practice with someone who has the best grasp on the procedures. Once a skill is mastered, add variations in to help cement the process in everyone's mind. i.e. for restraints, practice with a cooperative person, then once everyone can perform the task within the acceptable time limits, have the person resist, a little more each time. Always have independent observers to insure all I's are dotted, and all t's are crossed. I've found it helpful to have several cameras monitoring trainings from different angles. This serves as a training aid, and allows for multiple individuals to be certain the procedures are correct.

Provide hands-on practice when possible. Practical experience reinforces hazard recognition and mitigation skills. Train participants on appropriate responses in case of emergencies related to hazards. This includes evacuation procedures, first aid techniques, and how to use emergency equipment.

We do that also every time we train. We count on that feedback, good or bad, so we know how to correct the problem quickly before it becomes a bad habit which is hard to get rid of, if ever. Sometimes we have to 'think outside the box' in situations, especially getting patients out of their home safely. If they fall in the bathroom, we have to figure out ways to get them.up off the floor in a very small space usually. It does take creative thinking to be in EMS when your patients need you to get them to the hospital, and you want to help them too. If we stayed by the hard and fast 'black line' rules, our jobs would be much more difficult than it already can be.

I like the idea of practice, practice, practice. As we know there are skills that atrophy if we do not use them. The skills that we use seldom are often the most critical to maintain and the most difficult to relearn. As a team learns they grow together. The natural leaders can bring along those who may have difficulty maintaining the knowledge. If you do not have the best facilities, train with what you have and use some imagination to help. SCBA training can take place with a mask blacked out in an unfamiliar room. Driving around town, district familiarization can lead to some practice on hydrant connections. Preplanning can lead to apparatus placement.

Hazard identification, assessment and mitigation are different from training. This article seems to confuse and conflate two different things. In terms of integrating hazard information with training, here’s what I would recommend: - Include important information about the types of hazards that personnel need to prepare for. - think about specific hazards, which you have planned for, and build training that support existing plans related to them. - use scenario-based discussion in the training to deepen understanding and highlight improvement opportunities. - evaluate the training by using a few simple methods of feedback. Try not to make this too complex, or the value will be diminished. Identify hazards first. Then plan. Then train.

Regularly update training content to reflect new hazards, regulations, and best practices. Encourage feedback from participants to improve the effectiveness of the training. Create a feedback mechanism for participants to report potential hazards and suggest improvements to the training program. This encourages a culture of safety and continuous improvement.

This article is correct, "hazard mitigation is a crucial skill for emergency managers." However, it relies on the emergency manager being able to communicate this skill to all stakeholders and the public; the emergency manager cannot execute these training or plans alone. Teaching, training, and mentorship are also critical skills for the emergency manager.

How did it work, in practice or in real life?? It's a great time to look back and give the team some time to discuss the good, the bad, and the ugly. How then can we correct it or at least make it better than it was. If our team learned from the training it was a good training exercise. A "hot wash" after that call is a great time for everyone to talk about what happened. It is a time for everyone to loose the ego and just take time to listen and learn.

The overall hazard mitigation process is continuous and extremely important to safeguard lives and property. Most fields in the public safety sector conduct hazard mitigation without even knowing the term. Examples include: ?A fire company pre-planning a response to a high-hazard target building in their response area. ?An EMS squad preparing early for possible mass casualty incidents due to an upcoming storm or other adverse weather event. ?A police department conducting some form of active shooter training at a school or mall. While Emergency Management is a foreign concept to many public safety practitioners, they fail to know that they utilize the basic principles of Emergency Management almost daily in their day-to-day job functions.

Leadership Commitment: Ensure that management is committed to creating a safe work environment. Their support is crucial for allocating resources, implementing changes, and fostering a culture of safety. Supervision and Monitoring: Ensure that participants are implementing what they’ve learned and following safety protocols. Supervision and monitoring help prevent complacency and reinforce the importance of hazard mitigation. Documentation: Keep records of training sessions, participants’ progress, and any incidents. This documentation aids in tracking the effectiveness of the training program and provides valuable insights for future updates.

Assess the risks that your organization or community faces. You can use various tools and methods to identify and analyze the hazards, such as risk matrices, hazard maps, historical data, scenario planning, and stakeholder input

I see several very important components in this article and the contributions: Refesh the plan as needed and practice the plan. I would add to remember that plans need to be flexible and practiced accordingly. You don't want to relocate people just because the plans says to do so if it is raining debris. Also, make sure that everyone has buy in to the plan from the highest to lowest rank or vice versa. I think we sometimes forget to be inclusive and mindful that the input of everyone is important. Maybe use small working groups.

During training on hazard identification &risk assessment and the necessary control measures, it is essential to emphasize to all employees that it is a collective task and cooperation is required to execute it effectively. There should always be a continuous effort to increase collective awareness regarding risk identification, the importance of immediate reporting, and dealing with them through the necessary immediate actions until well-thought-out controls are implemented by the relevant departments. Both material and moral incentives for all employees are equally important as training; together, they will motivate them to mitigate risks in the workplace environment.