Oops!

Albert Einstein once said “A person who never made a mistake, never tried anything new.” It’s true. Growth often requires us to step away from the norm and out of our comfort zone—consequently, we may wander out of bounds, if only for a single play. When we realize our error, we quickly correct it and take the field for the next play. In short, we do better next time. As former Alabama coach and football icon Bear Bryant sees it, “When you make a mistake, there are only three things you should ever do about it: admit it, learn from it and don’t repeat it.”

Our May edition of the TIM trend ran one of our newest TIM performance measures and a tool that we’re developing to tell the impactful story of vehicle relocation: Push, Pull & Drag (PP&D). In our enthusiasm to share improvements to performance measures, we sent out an inaccurate report. Long story short, our query had some filters running in the background and the math….well let’s just say that although quotable, even Einstein must have had some bad days.

So, welcome to our June 2018 edition of the Oregon TIM Trend Newsletter and our ode to Coach Bryant as we admit it, learn from it and, most importantly, we will honestly strive not to repeat it.

Please enjoy the newsletter and stay safe! 

Darin A. Weaver, Oregon TIM Program

Responder Spotlight: Justin Guinan

We often associate alter egos with our favorite comic book superheros — we have all heard the story of the mild-mannered news reporter by day, after-hours man-of-steel able to scale tall buildings in a single bound by night. While outrunning a train, catching bullets with our bare hands or spending our spare time in tights and a cape is likely uncharted territory for most of us (at least we think), there are thousands among us who expend a super-hero like effort through their alter ego to advance TIM. We are speaking of those who wear “multiple hats.” They may be a tow operator by day and a volunteer fire fighter while “off-work.” They may be an ODOT employee during the week and drive for a tow company on the weekend or in the case of this month’s responder spotlight, a transportation Freeway Service Patrol Operator (ODOT Dedicated IR) and a lieutenant on one of our local volunteer Fire departments. Justin Guinan has been involved with the fire service for 11 years. Just 18 months ago he joined ODOT as one of our Incident Responders. We recently caught up with Justin to learn more about him: Q: Wearing dual responder hats must keep you pretty busy! What is your favorite thing to do outside of work? “Outside of work I tend to work…I am a volunteer fire lieutenant with Jefferson Fire and work on Jefferson ambulance part time. On top of this I am a husband and father—my wife and I have a five month old little boy who keeps us busy—and I enjoy fishing, hunting and golfing in my very little free time.” Q: You have been involved in the TIM Responder training program in Oregon from very early on.  What are your thoughts on the program? “There is no doubt in my mind that TIM training makes a huge difference in managing our roadways effectively in the state of Oregon. Agency relations have come a long way in my area, but there is always room for improvement. One of the best ways to improve is to get everyone in a room to set common goals and discuss strategies and opportunities for action.” Q: With your dual role, you spend a lot of time “suited up” as a responder. What do you enjoy the most about it? “The day to day interactions with our partners is the most rewarding aspect of my job. Rubbing shoulders with troopers, deputies, city officers, firefighters, EMS, tow and other transportation folks provides a wide variety of scenarios and creates a different day every day.” Justin’s days are even more variable now as he recently accepted a developmental opportunity with our Statewide TIM program. Currently, he is working behind the scenes to schedule, coordinate and deliver training, assisting in the development of ODOT’s other First Responder training courses and helping to create content for all of our TIM program communication channels. We’d like to take the opportunity to tip our collective hats to all of our “dual-role responders” who, like Justin, give of themselves in many ways to make our communities a better place to call home! Thank you and stay safe!

 Spotlight: ODOT District 4 -TIM Discussion Integral Part of 2018 Safety Break

Safety is critical to everything we do. Each May, ODOT crews set aside time to advance their safety culture during a “Safety Break.” Response to traffic incidents is one of our most dangerous activities, which is why ODOT District 4 leadership invited Oregon’s TIM program to develop some topics to share at their event. As a group, we discussed the link between TIM activities and our agency mission, reviewed District 4 TIM performance measures and tied them directly to our actions. The result was an important refresher on what each of us can do to enhance the safety of TIM activities. Some highlights of the discussion are captured in the images below.

ACTIONS Keep TIM activities at the forefront of everyone’s mind—we are responding more frequently and our exposure is higher than ever. For ODOT staff—Utilize First Responder Guide to keep skills sharp. Use TIM data to examine geographic hot-spots and incident time-of-day trends in order to be as proactive as possible. Leverage newly developed TIM team to advance education, understanding and commitment to embedding TIM strategies into local response culture.

ACTIONS Keep this clearance trend going! Engage local tow partners to discuss ways to improve recovery/clean up. Promote timely and accurate information from the scene to our tow partners through TIM responder training delivery to local response agencies.

ACTIONS Utilize vehicle relocation strategies whenever feasible. Host Push, Pull & Drag training events throughout the District and invite partner agencies. Coordinate with local law enforcement agencies to ensure that tag-n-tow programs are complimenting each other.

We were thrilled to spend the early afternoon with District 4 and take a deeper dive into local TIM data as well as use it to shape potential actions. It was encouraging to see everyone’s commitment to keeping each other and Oregon’s roads safe. Thank you District 4!

If you are interested in similar TIM presentations with Regional or District staff please contact us at: TIMTraining@odot.state.or.us

Local leaders attend TIM Training, appreciate the opportunity to connect and learn

Our TIM training is a critical connector for responders from different disciplines. Participants from various response agencies come together for interactive discussions and collective wisdom-building. Walk into any training and you’ll see fire, police, tow and other transportation personnel huddled around a table-top exercise, setting up and walking through a mini-incident scene, positioning and re-positioning miniature cones, cars and response vehicles. You’ll hear a tower explain why clearly articulating the details of the scene helps inform decisions regarding what type of equipment to bring. You’ll feel the rush of adrenaline watching a video of a first responder jumping out of the way of a wayward car as it leaves its lane.

A lot happens when responders across disciplines train together. Better understanding, appreciation of and responsiveness to the different roles in scene clearance. Stronger response outcomes. Safer, quicker clearance. And the benefits only multiply when local leaders participate.

We asked Darrin Neavoll and Eric Standley, ODOT District 7 Manager and Interim Transportation Maintenance Manager respectively, to reflect on their experiences at a recent TIM training in Tenmile, Oregon. Both agreed the most beneficial aspect of training was the opportunity to build relationships with other responders in a low-stress environment designed to increase collaboration, communication and coordination. “It is really important for us and our crews to build those relationships outside of incidents when tensions aren’t so high and we can talk about how things are going and things we can work on,” Neavoll explains. “I also like hearing from law enforcement, fire and tow companies. I learn something about why they do things that I didn’t realize before.”

Eric agrees: “Attending these training events is important to build good relations with our partners and remind each other that we all have the same mission and purpose. Since these trainings have started in our district, I have noticed a huge improvement in the way we work together. Everyone watches out for each other, we’re more efficient on how fast we clear a scene and we’re communicating better all around.”   

Interested in or know of others who would benefit from TIM responder training? Want to bring TIM Responder training to your community? Browse our upcoming events or request training in your area!

Attendees from the Tenmile, Oregon TIM Responder training pose for a photo in the apparatus bay with TIM instructors Gary McClellan  (OTTA) and Bridget Kiger (OSP).

Gary McClellan leads the tabletop exercise at the Tenmile TIM Training . The “model” training event had three disciplines delivering the training and six different local response agencies represented. 

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