How are you measuring the success of your training program? As Training Officers and Instructors we are all results based people, but are you measuring the success of your training program? Most fire departments don’t but it is something that can easily be done and will provide you with a good measurement of your current program and what you need to work on in the future.
NFPA 1410 Drills – one way to measure success is to use the NFPA 1410 Engine Company and Truck Company Performance Standards – these drills are laid out with times and objectives tied to them. A training officer can use these to evaluate the performance of his companies, members, shifts, etc. They can even cause a little healthy completion among members which may cause them to work harder in the future.
CFAI Accreditation – even if your department isn’t pursuing the CFAI accreditation process, you can use the Performance Indicators found in Category 8 to measure the performance of your training program. These indicators look at items such as planning, training facilities, training materials, lesson plans, and training program management. If you haven’t taken the time to check out www.PublicSafetyExcellence.org and their accreditation and credentialing programs, please do so! These are good measurement tools of not only your training program, but also your department and yourself!
Scene Operations – lastly the best way to measure success is scene operations. This is the entire reason why we train is for safe, efficient and effective scene operations. How are your scenes going? What could be done better? Are you conducting a Tailboard Critique or Post Incident Analysis after each incident and talking about what went right and wrong.
So in closing, there are a lot of different ways to measure your program, but what it all comes down to is that under Standard Conditions, can your department conduct Standard Actions, that lead to Standard Outcomes!
STAY SAFE AND REMEMBER YOU CAN NEVER KNOW ENOUGH ABOUT A JOB THAT CAN KILL YOU!