[NERsafety] Improving our NER mishaps notifications on eServices SMS

[Paulo Costa]

Greetings NER Wing Commanders and Safety Directors;

Ref: Improving our NER mishaps notifications on eServices SMS


First of all, let me start thanking you all for your efforts and commitment
to foster a safe environment to conduct our CAP activities. As expected,
the number of mishaps filed in SMS increases during the warmer weather
season, especially due to all the Summer Encampment activities promoted for
our Cadets during this time of the year.

All units have been doing a great job about being diligent to file the
mishap reports in a timely manner, as instructed by our CAP regulations;
however, while browsing through SMS, I noticed some common mistakes that
prevent us from getting a good score on the compliance reports run by
National HQ personnel. Our performance is generally measured with the
utilization of reports that simply compare the dates associated to the
different status of a mishap, and a flag will be raised if the expected
deadlines do not match our regulations.

With that in mind, we all know that the initial notification should be done
as soon as practical and the goal of such notification is to have all
necessary personnel in your Wing/Unit informed of the occurrence of a
mishap. This initial notification should be brief and objective and it is
done with the “File New Mishap (1)” button on the initial SMS screen.

A mistake I noticed while browsing SMS, and the associated mishaps to our
Region, is the fact that in most cases, TOO MUCH information was provided
when filing a new mishap. Step 1 should be very concise and contain no
details of the event. It is simply a generic description of what has
happened.

>From our own training materials, here are good examples of the initial
notification – “File New Mishap (1)”

·        Cadet fainted during PT

·        Cadet fell out of formation striking head

·        SM tripped on curb spraining ankle

·        Dent found in aircraft aileron during post flight

·        Vehicle collisions with POV during merge on expressway, no injuries

That is it… very simple, right? Fill this out and submit it as soon as
practical. The goal here is to notify those who need to be notified in the
chain of command, so they may start acting on the necessary response
according to the relevance of each mishap. If your initial filing is more
than a line long, you are probably providing too much information on this
step, and your input should be changed to something simpler, shorter and
more concise.

An update with expanded information is expected to happen within 48 hours
of the initial notification using the “Update New Mishap (2)” button on the
initial SMS screen. This will be the time when one will enter all the
details that have been collected so far. This entry will include the
description of the circumstances and the activities being held when the
incident occurred. Environmental conditions and personnel involved will
also be entered during this phase. The SMS interface provides several tabs
to better organize the data being input according to its nature. The
process is relatively intuitive and following the tabs from left to right
provides a good workflow to complete this step.

Commanders and Safety Directors, please review the mishaps associated to
your units and update the system as needed. The most critical issue I saw
on SMS for NER was the status of some of our mishaps in “Awaiting Step 2
Inputs” for longer than 48 hours after the initial notification. In most
cases, all you have to do is to enter the information already given in
excess in Step 1 into Step 2. The system will only understand you have
provided it when you use the Step 2 related button of the SMS interface.

Please keep in mind that it is acceptable to complete both Step 1 and 2
during the initial sitting at the computer, if you believe you have all the
information you need. In order to do so, you have to use both buttons. Once
one completes the initial notification (Step 1), the system will generate a
mishap identification number. Use that mishap identification when using the
second button to update it. Now the system will recognize both steps have
been completed in a timely manner and the compliance reports generated at
National HQ will reflect the professional and correct way our NER
Commanders and Safety Directors are using the eServices SMS.

As usual, I am here to help and will be glad to discuss further, via phone
or email, if needed.

Thanks in advance for your time and attention to this matter. I am counting
with your cooperation to eliminate those issues.


Have a great day!



Regards,



[image: cid:9A18312A-A445-4805-8F77-524A881DDED9]

Maj Paulo Costa, CAP
Northeast Region Deputy Director of Safety
508.397.9711 (c)
U.S. Air Force Auxiliary
gocivilairpatrol.com <http://www.gocivilairpatrol.com/>

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