A Meta-Analysis of Crew Resource Management/Incident Command Systems Implementation Studies in the Fire and Emergency Services

The presentation will summarize a meta-analysis of studies on Crew Resource Management/Incident Command System implementation in the fire and emergency services. The need for using participative leadership tools such as CRM evolved from an NTSB recommendation that followed United Airlines Flight 173 crash in 1978. NASA, civilian and military aviation communities implemented Crew Resource Management (CRM) training to improve decisionmaking during flight operations. Maintenance Resource Management (MRM) was a variant of CRM and first appeared in a Federal Aviation Administration circular in 2000. CRM was adopted by the medical community in the 1990s, specifically in the surgical and nursing areas, to prevent untoward outcomes (including infections). Since the mid-1990s, fire and emergency services organizations began using CRM and Incident Command Systems training to reduce human error in firefighting and prehospital care. This research focuses on fire and emergency services studies to determine if CRM/Incident Command Systems training impact attitude and performance in a meaningful way. Meta-analysis statistical procedures will identify differences and levels of heterogeneity between these studies, where possible, to support findings and recommendations for future research. Keywords: crew resource management, incident command systems, fire, emergency services, maintenance resource management, participative leadershi