Electrical Pole and Gloves Info Required

[PhilJBerry]

The crew have been asked by our WM to select 8 pieces of rarely used equipment on the pump and then for us all to do a 5-10 minute talk/presentation/quiz/Kahoot/use the medium of song and dance to give information about the equipment and it’s proper use for the benefit of all the crew. I’m new to the service and I have been given the electrical pole and gloves as my equipment. I know nothing about the equipment so I’m looking for some info and resources if possible. Can anyone help? Thank you in advance.

[C_Iain]

Does your service have a service order index available through your staff intranet/network? If so, finding the service order/information note (may be called something different in your service) for the pole and gloves is a good place to start.
Ours give us at least the basic info about the kit, any safety critical points about it and the maintenance routine for it. 

[Carl]

I agree, your service should have available to you a Technical Information Note explaining each piece of kit and its specifications. It must also have some sort of operating procedure on when and how you use those pieces of kit, otherwise how would you know the tolerances etc. 

In GMFRS we have an Operational Equipment Team that do all this work and create the documentation. 

[PhilJBerry]

Thank you everyone. I’ll have a dig on our intranet and see what I can find. I’m still trying to find my way around the IT systems but as you say I bet there’s something on there.

[Cass]

As the others above have said; it'll be on your intranet. Don't be afraid to ask your fellow watch members also. I task our newer watch members to give talks on pieces of kit/SOP's. I tell them to scour the intranet and also to ask the other watch members for assistance; this then keeps the longer serving members a little nudge to keep on top of their knowledge. 

Get across the key pieces of information (removing any waffle/jargon). Try to engage with your audience; I like to ask if anyone has used the kit in anger and to give a brief insight into it (it'll get the watch talking). Also, I try introduce a little light hearted quiz/competition with a forfeit for the losing team (Firefighters love a competition). Sometimes the quiz is at the start to gauge the crews knowledge if it's a topic we have covered many times previous.

I have no idea what your pole is or what attachments there are with it (if any) but already I would be thinking about maybe tying a GP line tight across the bays and having the crews trying to manoeuvre the extended pole from one end to the other without touching the line (maybe put a wire loop on the end if there is not attachment for that). A bit like the things you see a fairgrounds etc.

If you say what service it is for; there might be someone on here who could point you in the right direction...

Good Luck!

[PhilJBerry]

Thank you @Cass great ideas. FYI - The Service is Norfolk Fire and Rescue Service.