Analytic Risk Assessments

[Carl]

Following on from the HMICFRS visit I am looking at how we in GMFRS record our Analytic Risk Assessments.

We currently have an Incident Command Board which comes off and gets populated on the larger incidents or prolonged incidents. However we do not record it any other way and we are led to believe that we should, eg on paper and stored for future reference.

What's the criteria in your service for completing ARAs and how are they recorded / stored.

If you have not had a HMICFRS visit yet, then this may prove an interesting topic for you to get involved in.

[HB2016]

In Hampshire, the gold standard is to record an initial hazard/risk assesment board with chinagraph within 20 mins. That is then relayed onto an ARA sheet which lists all hazards/risks, who is affected by them and the control measures with a risk matrix before control measures and after. As well as any further information. These are signed by the OIC and must be reviewed after 30 minutes. The OIC can resign it once provided nothing has changed, then on to a new sheet (ARA2 etc...). These are carbon copied and are kept with the command support wallets that we keep on every pump. At pumps 4 or more incidents, a CSV (Command Support Vehicle) is dispatched and they have a dedicated role of providing command support for the incidents including collating of RFID tallies and liason of officers. This is basic level command support before a 'command vehicle' is required.

I don't know where they end up but we take them back to station and they are put in our admin in tray and disappear into the ether from there!

[HoldFast]

We have an ARA pad on the pumps kept in a folder than can be used as a protective cover in adverse weather.

Completed ‘as soon as resources permit’ and then reviewed every 20 minutes unless otherwise specified.

Scanned and emailed to admin hub on return to station and then paper copy filed on station, because in the fire service we can’t throw anything away.

[Messyshaw]

Do individual Managers keep personal decision logs and if so, and what rank do these start?

I have seen them in use with the Police and other agencies and are a useful resource if it all hits the fan

[Carl]

If I was to turn out as IC on a larger job @Messyshaw we do decision logs from SM up. Probably 4 pumps upwards. Any lower then contemporaneous notes are used. SMs are given decision log pads. 

In relation to ARAs, do you guys do what you detail above on every job, regardless of size ?

[Becile]

@Carlyou just had to ask..ill send you the rest !

[HoldFast]

In my experience it tends to be the protracted incidents that the ARA pad comes out for or where the OIC simply needs a bit of assistance keeping track of everything, and whoever is lucky enough to land the command support role usually ends up with the job. Or sometimes if there are plenty of spare bods around someone might get the job as a formality, which I guess would fall under the resources permitting criteria. 

[Becile]

@Messyshawwe carry joint info/ decision logs

1 st half of it is thd info section,  second half has decision log which references the info pages with rationale, and can be counter signed for multi agency jesip stylee.

SM and above  NILO use all the time .

[Crog]

As others have said, pretty similar in Kent. Tend to get used on make ups, protracted or out of the norm type incidents. 

Following incident, they get sent to ops assurance for collation. We also have environmental ara forms that similar.

[TandA]

ARAs here are done on a pad as soon as resources permit and I have to justify why if one wasn’t done and the attendance is over 30 mins as it gets flagged on our IRS.  ARAs have to be reviewed regularly (max hourly). No change means OiC can sign again to say it was reviewed but a new one must be done if any hazards change. Only level 1 incident command trained staff or above can do them.

Completed forms get scanned to ops assurance and the service collate stats and chase missing forms. Original kept on station for 2 years I think.

Decision log forms carried on all trucks but level 1 bods only advised to record rationale for any decisions that go outside of procedure or for incidents that have the chance of escalating etc.

[Carl]

Thanks for the info so far gents, please keep it coming. We are doing all the above but I think it needs to be tighter. There appears to be no clear line on when one should be completed, other than when resources permit. Not the first thing that comes into play when the jobs ongoing and your running out of bods. 

[Becile]

And strangely enough the NOG is not much help...

[Carl]

Moving this on, we are looking to see if there is a way to document this on a mobile application and can be done on the fly as the incident is progressing. Has anyone going down this route or modified the way they carry out ARAs since the last post, which is nearly a year ago now.

We know we need to do something but the last thing I want is to issue another pad to the guys and girls on the pumps.

[Becile]

Carl, are your mdts formatted for forms, and linked to airwave, if so there maybe some leverage there.similar to the jesip phone  app (methane section or iimarch) can be shared.

[Carl]

Not that I am aware. Our MDTs are pretty old when it comes to the technology. We have less on them now than when they first went live.

[Becile]

Oh ok...opposite for us with regard to new models and functionality.