Safety and risk management

A new superhero is in town! Learn more about the role of the Incident Commander in maintaining safety in the workplace through this course.

Welcome to our course on Incident Commanders!


In this course, we will:
Define the role of Incident Commanders in the workplace.
Outline the responsibilities of the Incident Commander.
Understand the role of the Initial Incident Commander.
Review the contents of this course through an assessment.


In this lesson, we will:
Define the role of the Incident Commander.
Identify the role of the Incident Commander within the Incident Command System.
Understand the importance of the Incident Commander’s role.


NOTE
Read the instructions at the bottom of each slide to guide you through the lessons in this course.


In a workplace, many workers may experience unexpected and unwanted safety incidents.


Workers may experience an incident as light as slipping because of a leak in their workplace’s sink.


While some workers may experience workplace fire because of poorly stored combustible materials or back pain from improper lifting techniques.


But don’t fret! Because a superhero in your workplace is equipped with the knowledge and skills to deal with these incidents.


According to the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), the IC has overall responsibility for managing incidents by establishing objectives, planning strategies, and implementing tactics.
This means that, in the workplace, they lead efforts to assess potential risks, create incident response plans, and execute these plans during incidents.
It is important to note that the IC isn’t a role by itself.
Rather, it is an assigned role given to the highest-ranking member of an Incident Command System, such as the General Manager or a Senior Operations Leader.
The Incident Command System, or the ICS, is a term used to refer to an organized and coordinated effort to manage incidents.
Functions within an ICS often involve command, operations, planning, logistics, and finance & administration.
As the highest-ranking member within the ICS, they are expected to lead efforts in ensuring safety in the workplace.
Because of their importance in the ICS, the FEMA states that the IC is the only position in a workplace’s ICS that should always be filled or assigned.
We will learn more about the IC’s responsibilities in the next lessons.


The Incident Commander


Why are ICs important?
Consider the following situation:


In a faraway technological paradise called Common City, three superheroes—Green Leaf, who controls the earth and nature, Wave Willow, who controls the tides, and Storm Surge, who controls the weather—work to fight crime and maintain the safety of its citizens.


One night, each superhero received a message from the mayor that a catastrophic hurricane was set to wreak havoc in Common City in two night’s time.


The three superheroes met together to discuss how they could minimize the damage of the hurricane and keep all citizens away from harm.


Green Leaf wanted to create new forests and mangroves to reduce the impact of the hurricane.Wave Willow said she can control the waves by the dock to prevent flooding.Storm Surge simply said, "Why waste your energy when I can do the work alone by controlling the weather?"


The three superheroes argued amongst themselves. By the time the hurricane was threatening to enter the city's borders, they were still unable to decide how to deal with it.


Why do you think Common City suffered from the hurricane?


The Importance of the Incident Commander


The IC is a very essential role because it guarantees that there is always a person assuming leadership and responsibility during incidents.


The lack of an IC can result in the lack of any initiative to form a response plan.


On the other hand, having too many voices without one person taking the helm may lead to poorly coordinated responses and inefficient use of resources, similar to what happened in Common City and the three superheroes.


Thus, a good IC is able to take the lead in assessing possible risks and executing an effective and efficient incident response plan.


The Incident Commander

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INCIDENT COMMANDER
Part 1


Welcome back to our course on Incident Commanders!


In this lesson, we will:
Identify the main responsibilities of the Incident Commander.
Enumerate the different phases of critical incident management.
Describe the Incident Commander’s tasks when conducting risk assessments.
Review the different tasks Incident Commanders need to accomplish when creating incident response plans.


We know that all superheroes’ goals involve saving the day, but their own responsibilities differ depending on their superpower.
For some superheroes, saving the day means using their control over water to avoid flooding.
For some, it means using their super strength to stop car accidents.
Similarly, what do ICs do to ensure that they save the day in their own ways?


The Responsibilities of the Incident Commander


Phase 1:
PREPARING FOR CRITICAL INCIDENTS


After identifying the dangers in the city, superheroes now have to create their battle plan.


After ICs assess the possible risks in the workplace, they start creating plans on how to respond to incidents should they happen in the workplace.


Remember, incidents of different natures would need their own specific battle plan.


Thus, the IC works to address each incident individually.


The Responsibilities of the Incident Commander (Part 1)

THE RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE INCIDENT COMMANDER
Part 2


In this lesson, we will:
Understand the responsibilities of an Incident Commander in times of incidents.
Review the Incident Commander’s responsibility in closing the incident and restoring public confidence.


Phase 2:
MANAGING CRITICAL INCIDENTS


In the event of an incident, the task of the IC involves the following:


Assessing the incident.
ICs should know what has happened in order to understand how to address the situation best and make decisions that prioritize every individual’s safety.


Leading staff and employees.
The IC is the ICS’ command center. The IC is in charge of decision-making and issuing directives to staff and employees to mitigate ongoing incidents.


Setting up a command post.
In wide-scale incidents, the IC is expected to set up a command post.
A command post is a visible station that acts as the IC’s office during the incident.


While it is expected that the IC often moves around to oversee all their responsibilities during an incident, the command post becomes a guide that allows others to know where or how to reach the IC during the incident.


Supervising disaster response.The IC is also in charge of overseeing the workplace's response to incidents.For example, in the case of a fire, the IC should ensure that all employees follow the fire safety plan.


1Upon arriving at the scene of the incident, Kamden asked about the situation in order to decide the most appropriate response plan that maintains everyone's safety.


2During an office fire, Jade was moving around to coordinate with various emergency teams. However, because of this, no one knew where she was or how to communicate with her.


3A company forklift operator accidentally hit a third-party worker while operating the forklift. Kyle did not further investigate the incident because the victim was not an employee.


4A chemical spill occurred in a manufacturing factory. Ricky immediately learned more about the circumstances of the spill and proceeded to delegate mitigation responsibilities among his team members.


Which of the following ICs had fulfilled their responsibilities in the described incidents?


THE IC'S TASKS DURING INCIDENTS
Continued


Coordinating with external agencies.
Coordinating with external agencies is also done during incidents.


For example, the IC is in charge of communication with external agencies such as medical services in order to ensure people’s safety.


Disseminating information to all concerned individuals.
The IC is expected to practice transparency and inform all concerned individuals with the necessary information about the incident.


For example, they are expected to inform teams with specialized responsibilities such as the medical team or the police about the incident.


Additionally, individuals affected by the incident should also be informed about the incident and the response plan.


The IC’s role ends once the hazard is contained.


Take a guess:
Is the following statement true or false?


More often than not, incidents still impact people even after the immediate threat has been contained.
First and foremost, a successful threat to personal safety affects an individual’s confidence in their safety in their workplace for days to come.
Moreover, in the wake of the incident, there could also be sufficient damage to the environment.
For example, a hurricane can cause major flooding and damage to local trees and infrastructure.
This shows us that an IC’s role does not end when the threat from the incident ends.
Thus, the IC must close the incident in a way that allows affected individuals to gain confidence in their workplace’s ability to execute a well-coordinated and well-planned incident response.


Phase 3:
Restoring Public Confidence


The Responsibilities of the Incident Commander (Part 2)

In this lesson, we will:
Identify the role of the Initial Incident Commander.
Recall the role of the Incident Commander during incidents.
Describe what happens during a transfer of command.


Let's recap!
Which of the following roles is expected to take command in times of incidents?


Incidents are often unexpected.
Even superheroes also have responsibilities in school, work, or at home.
Superheroes also need time to get to the scene of the crime before stopping the villain and saving the day.
At the same time, because of the IC’s responsibilities, they are expected to be present at the scene of the incident.
Remember, the role of the IC is important because their leadership allows the response to be organized and well-coordinated.
But what happens if the IC is unable to arrive at the scene of the incident immediately?


The role of the IIC does not immediately fall on the shoulders of management, administration, or senior personnel among the individuals present.


Often, a succession plan comes with the workplace’s ICS. If the assigned IC is unavailable, the next person in command becomes the IIC.


All leaders are expected to know how to play the role of the IC.


Among these leaders, the first one arriving at the scene becomes the IIC.


WHAT HAPPENS DURING A TRANSFER OF COMMAND?


During a transfer of command, it is the responsibility of the newly arrived employee to initiate the transfer by communicating with the IIC and requesting all relevant information about the incident.


After this, the IIC is expected to provide all necessary information to the newly arrived employee.


This often includes an assessment of the incident, the incident response plan enacted, the availability of material and human resources on the scene, and any other foreseeable problems.


Once all information has been provided, the newly arrived employee assumes the position of the IC.


The Initial Incident Commander

ABOUT THIS ASSESSMENT
This final assessment will check your understanding of the topics discussed in the course.
Note that some questions require multiple correct answers.


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