Review of Incident Management Teamwork and multi-agency collaboration

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BushfireTopic: 
Community Safety
Fire Management
Health and Safety
ResearchAdoption: 
TitleReview of Incident Management Teamwork and multi-agency collaboration
Publication TypeReport
Year of Publication2010
AuthorsOwen, C, Dwyer, I
AbstractThe study reported here is the first systematic review of Australia's emergency Incident Management System to be conducted since its national introduction in 2004. The report is based on 579 responses from fire and emergency services personnel who worked within 25 agencies representing all Australian states and territories and also includes a sample from New Zealand. The purpose of the survey was to: · Review information and communication flows; · Review how teams work with the AIIMS system; · Identify opportunities for improvement. The survey included a number of questions which were the same as items included in a 2003 questionnaire conducted the Australasian Fire Authorities Council (AFAC) as a precursor to the formal adoption of the Australasian Inter-service Incident Management System (AIIMS)as the national system in Australia. This meant it was possible to make comparisons with the 2003 baseline data which provided insights into how the system had evolved over the past five years. The survey was divided into six sections which sought information about: · the incident itself (for example, type, complexity, duration of the incident · the area of responsibility of the respondent, and activity during a particular shift (which included information in relation to reporting pathways; briefings, Incident Action Plans, use of risk management and assessment tools, what helped/hindered people do their jobs, communication plans, resourcing and safety issues); · perceptions of teamwork as well as identification of which team the respondent worked within (state or regional levels of coordination; within an Incident Management Team; on the Ground as a Division or Sector Commander; Crew Leader or within a strike team or equivalent). · Perceptions of interaction between the Incident Management Team and those working on the fire/incident ground; · levels of satisfaction with AIIMS/organisational procedures and processes; and · respondent demographics.