4. Situational awareness
How to be aware of what is going on around you, now and in the near future.
Situational awareness is knowing what is going on around you in the present, as well as the potential influence of different factors in the near future.
Figure 7: Important points for situational awareness
These are:
- Perception: do you recognise what is happening?
- Understanding: do you understand the potential impact of what is happening?
- Projection: can you figure out a solution and what might happen next?
- Action: What should you do based on what is happening now?
- Feedback: What happens after you act, and how does that help you decide what to do next time?
Adapted from - Vicente, K. J., & Christenson, J. (2004). Situational Awareness Model found in: The dynamics of human- machine interaction: A situational awareness perspective. Journal of Cognitive Engineering and Decision Making, 8(1), 15-40.
Hazards may appear at any moment, and situational awareness allows us to identify these, and to judge the level of risk involved.
Remember
Risk = probability of impact × severity of impact
Situational awareness can vary from person to person, and of course, situation to situation. Our knowledge, experience and competence help us to understand what is happening around us, weigh up and then mitigate risks. Situational awareness will only be as accurate as our perception. So, it’s important to consider the factors you learnt about in section 2. A range of factors, in particular high-pressure or stressful situations, can cause a loss of situational awareness, which, in turn, can lead to incidents.
Stop, look, assess, manage (SLAM) is a quick technique you can use when you’re in a situation that requires urgent action to make sure that you maintain situational awareness.
Figure 8: The 4 stages in the SLAM situation management technique
Stage 1
Stop and look at the task:
- has the task changed?
- am I familiar with the task?
- do I feel comfortable doing the task?
Stage 2
Look at the environment:
- inspect the potential hazards
- identify hazards and their associated risks for each stage of the process
- eliminate or mitigate the risks associated with each of the identified hazards
Stage 3
Assess the effects of hazards:
- are teammates competent?
- are they familiar with the task?
- do I need anything else to perform the task safely?
Stage 4
Manage the situation:
- did anything unexpected happen?
- how can I be more prepared in the future?