Over commitment

[W0IPL]

I just finished working a two day public service event and we seem to have
a typical run. Some new people (these were much better as newbies then
we usually have), some that have done this many times and perform well,
and some that were totally over committed.

Over commitment can come in at least two different forms:

First is saying they would help out, knowing that they had other things they
absolutely had to do at the same time, or that it required specific equipment
that they didn't own or bother to ask to borrow until after it was needed
(something as simple as a hand held!).

Second is over commitment of ability. I think we all know people that
Waaaaaaaaaant to help even when they do not know how to communicate,
be that by specific mode or language capability. When I speak of language
capability I refer to people that have been English speakers all their life
and are second to tenth generation English speakers that have a command
of the language at the third grade level or even worse, those that assume
(ASS-U-ME) that you will be able to imply what they intended based on
what they didn't say.

I guess it's all my fault. I expect those that are new to say they are (two of
our people today did and did quite well) or to say something to the effect
"I would like to help but do not have x y z equipment", which none said,
but at least one needed to have.

I guess it's all my fault because I expect people to NOT volunteer unless
they are willing to do something.

I guess it's all my fault because I expect someone to accomplish something
before receiving expansive praise.

[NA0AA]

Yea, well wait until a real emergency comes along - we have people who cannot manage to check into a weekly net who the RACES group thinks are going to come thru in a real crisis.  Yea, right.  I figure that in a real earthquake, we will be able to muster enough operators to man the main EOC, if they can get there.  Other than that, I suggest it's going to be utter bedlam, just like it was in 1989.

Folks:  One thing you can count on, the first 72 hours you are going to be on your own.  Be prepared for whatever your local emergency happens to be.

FWIW, Costco was selling a sealed 5 gallon pail of dried foods, all vegan, 250 servings for about $60 after mail in rebate.  All you need is something to heat it with and water.

[W3LK]

<< we have people who cannot manage to check into a weekly net who the RACES group thinks are going to come thru in a real crisis. >>

My personal policy with folks like this is ...

No training?
No drill and exercise participation?
NO communications deployment!

However, folks to make coffee, run errands, empty the wastbaskets and sweep floors are always needed.

73,

Lon - W3LK
Baltimore, Maryland - soon to be Naugatuck, Connecticut

[K9ZW]

Your personal debrief with the people and how you turn it into a learning experience will certainly improve how they respond to the next need.

Did these folk give any sign that they were going to be unprepared & over committed at your event pre-briefings? Did they ignore their training and checklists? How did they pull a fast one over on their team-leaders?

Or were they confused about what was expected before the event even happened?  

Hopefully all will improve - that is why you put them through training expercises!

73

Steve
K9ZW

http://k9zw.wordpress.com/

[KE3WD]

At Greater Pittsburgh S.A.T.E.R.N. EDS, we conducted weekly nets, there were meetings, etc. and those who attended routinely and showed ability became the trusted individuals during actual emergencies.  

Still, as the guy at the main Control Op station at HQ on 911, the sheer number of hams suddenly coming on frequency to "volunteer" for something they were neither trained nor ready to do was a bit of a hassle.  Moreso on the repeater frequencies but there were also a few on the HF bands that day.  

The crash of flight 93 in nearby Somerset, PA didn't lessen the number of sudden volunteers, either.  Still, other hams than SATERN set up mobile tower, repeater and established comms onsite that we were able to link to from Pgh via our repeater system's frequency-agile remote link.  

The vast majority of local hams were not a problem at all, listening and not talking. We did not experience any malicious interference on that day to my knowledge, but were somewhat overwhelmed with rogue checkins, those callsigns that had never checked into the weekly net, things like that.  Several instances of hams keying up just to volunteer to do -- something.  Politely thanking them along with the "emergency in progress" spiel was my tack.  

But our fellow human beings are diverse and the want to pitch in and help is just something that we will likely always have to be able to handle.  

I look at the situation as being just another aspect of Emergency Comm that we should address ahead of the fact, working out in advance plans of action for the "sudden volunteer" that shows up, definitely working out what to do in the case of repeater interference (!), such as a dedicated input for your command radio or some other control function that can override rogue transmissions into the machine, things like that.  Using a 220 input to the 2-meter/440 repeater as Command Input ("220 always first") on your controller is a very effective method of eliminating interference simply because there are so few 220 radios out there.  You can key the machine up over any other input, often hiding the interfering transmission by using the time to make your pat "emergency use" transmission and instructions.  Heh.  

Always having a few tasks thought out in advance to hand to the sudden volunteer has proven to work well -- if they truly want to help out then they won't balk at the simple tasks that may or may not actually support direct operations -- and that can be a way of sorting the wheat from the chaff as it were also.  The guy or gal who readily goes for the assigned simple task of straigtening up the meeting room or sweeping the floor is equally likely to be the person who can and will handle the more complex tasks while those who may prove detrimental to overall operations are likely to get bored or otherwise balk and in many cases, leave of their own volition.  

One fellow just showed up at HQ Comm in person on 911 and started trying to hang out, you know.  "You want something important we need done right away?"  -- "Those two trucks and that trailer need washing, there's a hose."  He vanished.    


Don't get mad, get on the subject with an eye towards pre-emptive strike, up to and including drafting written instructions in your Operations Manuals.  


.

[KC5SAS]

<<<My personal policy with folks like this is ...

No training?
No drill and exercise participation?
NO communications deployment!

However, folks to make coffee, run errands, empty the wastbaskets and sweep floors are always needed.

73,

Lon - W3LK
Baltimore, Maryland - soon to be Naugatuck, Connecticut >>>>>>>>>>>

My policy also.  

Steve- KC5SAS
Iberville Parish, Louisiana

[K2GW]

Actually, each EmComm plan needs to address in advance how it will handle what the Red Cross calls "spontaneous volunteers".  Their system is easily adapted to EmComm.

While we all agree that we want trained and experienced communicators, we need to recognize that in a major disaster, there will always be folks who want to help and who haven't thought about it beforehand.  These folks are an ideal pool of folks to train for the NEXT disaster, so you don't want to drive them away forever.

A very simple system is designate one of your trained communicators to administer them.  The untrained volunteers report to him and he gives them a basic safety and procedural briefing.  (W0IPL has a nice outline for doing this).  That person then assigns them to buddy up with a trained and experienced communicator with very explicit instructions of who's in charge of that two person team.  They also are told that the experienced volunteer can send them home at any time if they don't measure up.

As you shouldn't be sending individuals anywhere by themselves, this works to increase the locations you can serve, keeps the newbies on a short leash, and gives you a pool of folks for your next training session after the disaster.

The goal here is to turn a problem into a win-win situation.

73

Gary, K2GW

[NA4IT]

I agree with Gary, K2GW. We asked a served agency trainer how he would handle the situation of "walk ons" and he said in no way would he turn them away, but he would set them down and let them know the ins and outs, what they could be facing, and what is expected, then put them along side someone "seasoned". And this is an agency dealing with a fairly serious type of event, where there is a potential for life threatening danger.

NA4IT

[NA0AA]

I want to thank you all for some excellent suggestions.

[WA4MJF]

We can't use walk ins around here,
as the state and local guvments have become
addicted to the Fed's money.  No ICS training,
go home, AFIK, they can't even be janitors.

73 de Ronnie