Position Task Books Facts & Process AHIMTA & NWCG A large part of this presentation was prepared by the authors listed below and presented at two workshops at the AHIMTA Symposium in Denver Colorado, Dec 2015 and stolen by me with their permission! The original presentation was modified to be more NYSIMT specific as well as elaborate on additional details about working with PTB’s by Bob Panko Steve Ellis WEST AREA FMO Colorado Division of Fire Prevention and Control stevend.ellis@state.co.us Geoffrey D. Wilford Owner & CEO Incident Management Training Consortium, LLC geoff.wilford@gmail.com

Purposes of this presentation: You may be a NYSIMT member who will be a PTB evaluator of others during Team assignments or other single resource assignments. You may be a NYSIMT member who is working on completing a PTB You may be in position to establish or direct a training program for your organization or agency.

Regarding PTB’s something to think about

Definitions and Terms Home Unit Employing/Sponsoring Organization The entity who employs or sponsors you and will initiate your PTB if you meet the minimum qualifications. To whom you submit your completed PTB for Certification Training Officer Person who is monitoring the training and qualifications of individuals May be from the Employing/Sponsoring Organization or delegated to another entity to provide the administrative management of the individual’s training and qualifications records

Definitions and Terms Trainee Assignment (also called a “Position Performance Assignment”) An assignment of an individual on an incident or qualifying exercise that is working as a trainee with an open Position Task Book in the position the individual is working towards certification. The Trainee is being actively trained or coached by a Coach/Evaluator in a position during an assignment or is actually performing.

Definitions and Terms Coach/Evaluator Is fully qualified in the position they are serving as Coach/Evaluator for OR is fully qualified as a supervisor of that position. For example a qualified Logistics Section Chief may serve as a Coach/Evaluator of a Facilities Unit Leader Trainee even if they are not fully qualified as a Facilities Unit Leader. Final Evaluator The Final Evaluator is the Coach/Evaluator who is working with a Trainee when the Trainee reaches the Phase when all tasks are completed in the PTB. This Final Evaluator must be fully qualified in the position being evaluated.

Definitions and Terms Position Task Book (PTB) Remember that a purpose of a PTB is to complete training of a Trainee… The Coach/Evaluator works as a Field Training Officer to complete the position training, not just be an “Evaluator” Serves as a “lesson plan” for a trainee’s on-the-job training The PTB also serves as the official record documenting evaluation of the Trainees’ performance When PTB is successful completed it provides a “recommendation” that the Trainee be qualified by the Trainee’s Home Unit or other appropriate certifying authority for Credentialing as qualified in the position.

Definitions and Terms Shadow Opportunity An opportunity for an individual on an incident or qualifying exercise to only observe an individual or team to gain experience and knowledge in an IMT operation or position specific operation. The individual is not performing thus is not accomplishing any work towards completion of a position task book. Shadow Assignments provide a learning opportunity to watch, learn and ask questions about how tasks are completed

Definitions and Terms Qualifying Incident/Event An incident or event that the AHJ and/or NYSDHS determines meets the incident complexity, duration of time, and relevancy to the ICS position that is necessary to provide sufficient opportunity for the individual to exercise the roles and responsibilities of the ICS position they are filling. At the present time NYSDHS is planning to accept the All Hazard IMT Association definitions described in their Interstate Incident Management Team Qualifications System (IIMTQS) Guide with minimal changes.

Definitions and Terms Qualifying Exercise An exercise or simulation meeting HSEEP requirements. Personnel filling incident management positions during an exercise meeting the requirements of a Qualifying Exercise may be able to use the exercise opportunity to complete tasks in their Position Task Books or meet currency requirement to maintain qualification

Qualifying Exercise (continued: 2 of 3) As opposed to a qualifying exercise an incident or event (though not necessarily an exercise) will encompass multiple operational periods The exercise must be operations-based, either a functional or full-scale exercise An adequate number of injects must be designed and provided to cause each member of the IMT to be engaged in the ongoing incident response as well as the planning process

Qualifying Exercise (continued: 3 of 3) There must be an ordering process established through an Emergency Operations Center (EOC), simulated EOC, local or geographic dispatch All applicable ICS forms must be completed for a complete IAP, including intermediate forms such as the ICS-215 and ICS-215a

The Qualification Process Step 1 Prerequisite experience is completed Prerequisite qualification is completed Step 2 Position Task Book initiated Step 3 Training is completed Experience is gained Position Task Book is completed Step 4 Review and Evaluation of Qualification Documentation Step 5 Certification On Going Maintenance of Qualifications

The Qualification Process – Step #1 Prerequisite experience is completed Prerequisite qualification is completed The position candidate completes pre-requisite experience and/or qualification criteria for the position as identified in the respective Incident Command Position Description (ICPD) Qualification Tables

The Qualification Process – Step #2 Position Task Book initiated Initiate a Position Task Book for the position and credential the individual to function as a Trainee. An individual cannot be assigned to an interstate incident unless the Trainee is credentialed as such by the State or AHJ. Printing a Task Book and having one initiated are NOT the same

The Qualification Process – Step #3 Training is completed Experience is gained Position Task Book is completed Complete required training for the position including completion of any certifications or licenses as delineated in the ICPD Qualification Table. Experience is gained and performance is evaluated completing the position task book Phase 1 and 2 is where you perform on the job training and gain the experience Phase 3 is where your performance is evaluated

The Qualification Process – Step #4 Review and Evaluation of Qualification Documentation After the Final Evaluation and the PTB has been completed, the Trainee’s records undergo evaluation against all of the requirements of the position as delineated in the ICPD table. Evaluations and recommendations are typically accomplished by a State Qualifications Review Committee

The Qualification Process – Step #5 Certification The (designated State) Certifying Official certifies the individual as qualified in the position

The Qualification Process – On-going Maintenance Maintenance of Qualifications Currency (typically at least once every 5 years) Maintained through involvement in at least one qualifying incident, event, or exercise Recurrent training, involvement, and practice in a position’s duties allow the certified individual to stay proficient and prevent the degradation of knowledge, skills and abilities required to successfully carry out the responsibilities of a position

Coach/Evaluator Process Do your homework and Size Up your Trainee. On your own sit down and review the Trainees PTB in entirety. Some of the things to look for are: Number of previous assignments Duration of previous assignments Complexity of previous assignments Contact previous evaluators if you are unclear (that’s why their phone numbers are in the PTB Evaluator form!) Ask the Trainee for clarification

Coach/Evaluator process Develop a game plan for items you can anticipate completing during this assignment & share with Trainee I often document this with the Trainee on a General Message form. Meet with Trainee and the Incident Training Specialist if one is assigned. Fill out the portions of the Evaluation Record in the PTB that can be completed up front This both physically & mentally formalizes the process, ensures you have the proper evaluation # & saves time later when you are reaching end of the Trainees assignment.

Observation Phase (phase #1) For them “watching it being done” Remember first of all: they may have completed formal training, but may have no prior experience in performing the Task(s). Observation may have occurred on prior assignments, shadow assignments or training opportunities for your Trainee. Some PTB’s may be issued prior to training being completed. You need to “size them up” query them about their past exposure/performance in the PTB tasks. Even if the Trainee says that in the past they say they have observed a Task it is always good to give a “base line” example of what YOU expect and usually it is best for You to demonstrate what is expected. So have them watch you perform the task formally or perform a “practice run” for them.

Mentoring Phase (phase #2) This may include additional observation of you performing Tasks, coaching the Trainee through “practice runs” on the Task, providing immediate critique, recommendations or praise to a Task the Trainee has just performed. This is a place to be very DIRECT in your comments. One Minute Manager author Ken Blanchard says “Reprimand as soon as something wrong is done. Specify exactly what was wrong.” At the same time Ken Blanchard says “Try to catch them doing something right” and this is the time to praise them in public. It may be necessary to mentor a Task multiple times before you enter the “Evaluation Phase” when you officially sign off on a Task.

Evaluation Phase (phase #3) Trainer’s responsibility to evaluate the Trainee performing the Task independently and successfully. While tasks can be performed in any situation, they must be evaluated on the specific type of incident/event for which they are coded in the PTB.

Task Code Example: See two page Handout: AHIMTA “Position Tasks and Associated Task Book Codes”

Documenting the training assignment The PTB itself is Documentation. It is a stand alone document. Documentation that accompanies the Training Assignment Incident Performance Personnel Rating (ICS 225)

Documentation in the PTB itself Evaluation Records (details on next slide) This just shows the overall page and demonstrates that there are two evaluation records on one page (going to one per page eventually Details are on the next page

Evaluation Record details Evaluators Contact Info Incident Details Name & Location Kind Number of Resources Dates/Duration Complexity Recommendations***** Evaluation date Evaluator’s qualifications, initials and date This highlights the areas one by one and explains what is needed to be provided List the name of the evaluator, his/her incident position or office title, agency they work for, email, home unit address and telephone number.

Some other tips Joint Evaluations on an assignment: Some times there is more than one Coach/Evaluator during an assignment. It is recommended that both Coach/Evaluators use one Evaluation Form in the PTB and fill it out and sign it jointly. (One assignment/one evaluation) This makes it much clearer for future Coach/Evaluators and Task Book certification folks to assess the Trainees experience.

Some other tips Besides initialing “open tasks” in the PTB you should sign off on Tasks that have been initialed previously by other Coach/Evaluators that you have observed performed during your assignment. It is always good to see that a Trainee has performed the Task multiple times with different Coach/Evaluators Rare Events: If you have the chance it is always valuable to walk Trainees through Tasks that may be completed by interview or demonstration as early as possible. In the future different Coach/Evaluators can also simulate with them giving more credibility to their skills. And maybe in the future they will have the opportunity to perform them & will be better prepared!

Final evaluator RESPONSIBILITIES The Final Evaluator must be fully qualified in the position they are signing off on during the final evaluation. Complete the evaluation record block that states the individual has successfully completed all the tasks and is recommended for certification. Complete the Final Evaluators page in the front of the PTB.

Trainees RESPONSIBILITIES Keep Originals of everything (#1 priority) Copies to your home unit

ALL-HAZARD All Hazard Position Taskbooks http://ahimta.org/ptb Unit Leader PTBs are in draft

Questions Bob Panko bob_panko@yahoo.com 305-323-1385 Other References from All Hazard Incident Management Teams Association Geoffrey D. Wilford geoff.wilford@IMTCLLC.com Steve Ellis stevend.ellis@state.co.us