Creating a Research Agenda

1
Chapter 7

• Creating a Research Agenda

7-1
2
Introduction

• One of the greatest problems with the advancement
  of the fire service is the lack of hard data
  available
• The fire service has worked hard trying to
  collect data
• Once data is obtained, it is of little use until
  it is researched, analyzed, and utilized
• An effective research system would establish how
  the data are submitted, organized, and scrutinized

7-2
3
Life Safety Initiative 7

• Create a national research agenda and data
  collection system that relates to the initiatives

7-3
4
Life Safety Initiative 7

• RESEARCH AS A TOOL
• Types of research
• Basic
• Applied
• Categories of data
• Using a research hypothesis
• Research and development (RD)

7-4
5
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Defining a cultural change (Initiative 1)
• Existing culture based on beliefs and attitudes
• Change must take place individually and
  organizationally
• Need to instill safety into our culture without
  upsetting tradition
• Cont.

7-5
6
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Enhancing accountability (Initiative 2)
• Accountability is a decision
• Organizational accountability
• Generally a corporate decision
• Is a formal adoption of change
• Starts at the top
• Cont.

7-6
7
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Applying risk management techniques (Initiative
  3)
• Scientific community risk assessment
• Flashover and collapse prediction
• Situational awareness
• Wildland firefighting operations
• Risk management for incident management
• Cont.

7-7
8
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Applying risk management techniques (Initiative
  3)
• Cont.

7-8
Source NIST, the National Institute of Standards
and Technology, part of the U.S. Department of
Commerce
9
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Eliminating unsafe acts (Initiative 4)
• Individual empowerment
• Identify unsafe acts
• Prevent unsafe acts
• Key concepts of CRM
• into rapid intervention
• Cont.

Courtesy of Lt. Rob Gandee
7-9
10
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Implementing training and certification standards
• (Initiative 5)
• Recruit-level training
• Instructor development
• Live fire training
• Cont.

7-10
11
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Implementing training and certification standards
  (Initiative 5)
• Training simulators
• Professional
• development
• Computer-based
• training and education
• Cont.

7-11
12
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Developing medical and fitness standards
  (Initiative 6)
• Health maintenance
• Physiological response to emergencies
• Candidate physical assessment
• CPAT
• Cont.

7-12
13
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Creating a research agenda (Initiative 7)
• Data requirements
• Data related to exposure
• Data sharing and access
• Cont.

7-13
Courtesy of Lt. Rob Gandee
14
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Utilizing available technology (Initiative 8)
• Respiratory protection
• Fire detection and extinguishing agents
• Incipient stage
• Alternative green chemicals
• Cont.

7-14
15
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Investigating fatalities, injuries, and
  near-misses
• (Initiative 9)
• Everyone Goes Home (EGH) campaign
• National Firefighter Near-Miss Reporting System
• Information gained from sharing statistics
• Cont.

7-15
16
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Blending grants and safety (Initiative 10)
• Research is the most effective way to validate or
  establish a need for a grant
• Requiring specific safe practices of applicants
• Effectiveness of such programs can result in
  stronger and more successful future agendas
• Cont.

7-16
17
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Establishing response standards (Initiative 11)
• Strategic response to risk
• Communications operability and interoperability
• Performance measures
• Cont.

7-17
18
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Examining response to violent incidents
  (Initiative 12)
• Smart but also effective responses
• Hostage situations
• Need standard procedures
• Research is vital
• Cont.

7-18
19
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Providing emotional support (Initiative 13)
• Substance abuse
• Alternatives to substance abuse
• Post incident stress management
• Alternative methods of counseling and rehab
• Psychological first aid
• Cont.

7-19
20
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Enabling public education (Initiative 14)
• Targeted problems and evaluation
• Identify appropriate audiences, messages, and
  programs
• Reduce the number or severity of fires
• Is vital to target effective practices
• Cont.

7-20
21
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Advocating residential fire sprinklers
  (Initiative 15)
• Public awareness
• Change image to effective life-saving equipment
• Active versus passive fire protection
• Make educated decisions for specific levels of
  protection
• Cont.

7-21
22
Life Safety Initiative 7

• NATIONAL RESEARCH AGENDA
• Engineering safety into equipment (Initiative 16)
• Use injury, fatality, and near-miss reports
• Engineers can identify ways to build equipment
  safer
• Manufacturers could contribute to this initiative
  
• Increase research during the design phase

7-22
23
Life Safety Initiative 7

• DATA COLLECTION
• Creating a hypothesis
• Data collection plan
• Analyzing the data
• Utilizing the data
• Short, medium, and long term goals

7-23
24
Summary

• Havent yet learned to use research to its
  fullest potential when it comes to creating a
  safer work environment
• Initiative 7 calls for a national research agenda
• Industry-wide team effort to design a system to
  collect, evaluate, and utilize data strengthens
  each initiative
• By assembling experts in scientific research we
  can make positive changes in reducing injuries
  and death

7-24