Observing teamwork in emergency management

Abstract

This Fire Note aims to provide guidance for agencies wishing to conduct observations in fire and other emergency management contexts in a systematic manner, using the observations conducted of Incident Management Teamwork conducted within the Research Project D5 by way of an example. Good observational methods are particularly important when evaluating teamwork and/or the impact of changes (e.g. introduction of new technologies or procedures) on individual, team and organisational (or system) performance. This Fire Note highlights some of the issues which can arise in this process and provides guidance that will help agencies to collect good data for reviewing and improving operations.