Phase 1: Contextualizing HRO behavior in the federal fire community
Preliminary results were presented at the 2nd Fire Behavior and Fuels Conference, March 26-30, 2007 Destin, FL and were published in the Spring 2008 issue of Fire Management Today.
"Assessing high reliability practices in the wildland fire community"
[Presentation] [Publication]
Purpose: Qualitative interviews, conducted in fall 2006 and winter 2007, provide empirical evidence revealing how the fire community thinks about, builds, and assesses 'reliability' currently, without regard to previous exposure to HRO theories and concepts. Current HRO theory suggests that reliable organizations resist the urge to simplify assumptions about the world, locate local expertise and create a set of flexible decision structures and operating dynamics that take advantage of those experts. But these are general constructs, rather than empirical ones and do not complete our understanding of the actual day-to-day behaviors, particularly in the context of wildland fire management. These interviews will allow us to get at such questions as how do leaders determine what expertise is needed and who has it? What behaviors allow them to integrate diverse expertise into their own judgments and what behaviors may inhibit this? Similarly, what structures or procedures allow for more flexible responses? How do fire bosses or other leaders and supervisors coordinate plans, structures, roles and resources in ways that are adaptive or less adaptive? In other words, how are what-we-think-of-as-HRO behaviors enacted or not enacted in this context?
Data collection and sampling: Lead by University of Michigan, in November and December 2007 we conducted a series of 19 semi-structured interviews drawn from a convenience sample of current fire personnel (based primarily around Boise, ID (NIFC), Missoula, MT (Region 1), and Tucson AZ (NAFRI). This purposive sample, generated using a snowball technique captured experiences from all three broad levels of fire management - ground forces (e.g., Rx Crew), intermediate level implementers (e.g., Fire Use Managers), and higher level decision-makers (e.g., FMO) in all three agencies. The interviews focus on respondents' individual experiences and took 60-90 minutes. See Appendix for the Interview Protocol. Interviews were conducted in-person by Michelle Barton (UM), with assistance from Anne Black (RMRS) and Deirdre Dether (NFS). All interviews were recorded using a digital recorder and transcribed for thematic analysis.
Analysis: We are using a grounded approach to qualitative analysis with post-analysis consideration of the congruence between theories-in-use and the 5 recognized hallmarks of high reliability. This approach will allow us to fully capture the richness (or paucity) of behaviors found in the fire community, including the potential for emergence of more powerful or explanatory dimensions than those in current use.
Results: Results will constitute an initial set of measures by which to assess depth of HRO understanding and practice in the federal fire community, as well as further development of the theory of high reliability. Results will be presented through practical and academic venues, including papers and presentations.
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