How to Reduce the Number of Accidents Involving Fire Service Vehicles

NB: We do not resell your papers. Upon ordering, we do an original paper exclusively for you.

NB: All your data is kept safe from the public.

Outline

The basic concepts required to change the operations of the fire service station to enhance the reduction of accidents were the ultimate intent of this paper. The processes involved in the initiation and termination of projects in the station should follow proper planning initiatives, organization, and guidelines. The pre-determined goals and objectives of the station can only be achieved through proper reforms in the stages involved in project management. The main issues covered in the paper are; the organization structure which forms the basis for steady and consistent functioning and operations of the station. A working structure provides the foundation on which duties and procedures are set by the required standards as well as allows all individuals to engage in decision making. Leadership is also examined as an important factor of management and project behavior. Transformational, interactive, situational and transactional leadership is the most effective style for a project which is set to reduce incidences and accidents in the stations’ service vehicles. Certain skills are a necessity in leadership which include; project management skills, team management as well as self and customer management competencies.

Information transmission within various departments in the station is also very important. Thus the other factor discussed in the paper is communication skills. The performance within the station is influenced by communication and therefore, proper channels for transmitting information should be a priority. To avoid the dissemination of wrong messages to the workers, the station has the mandate to improve the channels involved in information delivery. The sender or encoder, message, media of transmission as well as the receiver or rather the encoder should be well defined to ensure that the right response is obtained from a communication. These were the major stages discussed in the paper since a fire service station without such consistency and planning suffers mismanagement hence an increase in incidences and accidents to its service vehicles.

Introduction

For the successful conclusion of project goals and objectives, the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources are very crucial. A project with a defined setup and end brings about important transitions and added value in an organization. It is therefore; very important to follow proper planning initiatives and guidelines to achieve the stipulated results from a project and at the same time honoring the preconceived project constraints. Some of the typical constraints in a project are Scope, time, and budget. Other ambitious and secondary challenges are allocation and optimization as well as integration of inputs vital to meet pre-determined goals. According to Mutt (2011), any project requirement is steered through by specific stages which include the initiation stage, planning, execution, controlling, and finally closing stage. These are the key steps to the management of any kind of project with the main aim of successful intent accomplishment. Some projects that require a comprehensive chain of management give more emphasis to physical and human resources. The main focus for such complex chain project management involves identifying various aspects of the project or organization and managing them at that level. This paper is therefore destined to address project management to reduce the number of accidents involving fire service vehicles. To achieve this, scrupulous areas will be of interest among them being the organization structure, leadership as a project behavior, and communication skills all of which mark the crucial components of successful projects.

Organization structure

In an organization like a fire extinguishing station, the organization structure is very important since it entails accomplishments such as allocation of tasks, coordination, and supervision all of which work toward the achievement of organizational goals. It is also a good way of monitoring the organization and its environment. There are different ways in which an organization can be structured but it all depends on the objectives. To reduce the risks or rather accidents involving fire service vehicles the organization structure adopted will be ideally the determinant of modes in which operations and performances occur. According to Hutagalung M. (2010), in various management sections within the organization, different bodies deal with different tasks to satisfy different processes and functions. Matrix organization structure could be an effective organizational structure in this area since it provides a foundation on which routines and procedures are set according to the required standards and also encourage individuals to get involved in the decision-making process (Gale T.2010).

In this structure, the employees are grouped according to functions and processes. The chief is the overseer of the station and takes control of the cross-functional aspect of the projects. Under the authority of the chief follows other departments like the Human resource and operations department. The workers according to the project are coordinated by all levels of management. The organization runs smoothly from the top rank to the lowest position of governance. They report to two bosses one being the chief officer and the operation manager of the project they are working on. The functions of each department should be defined clearly to every employee to ensure the proper running of the organization. In a matrix structure as cited by Gale T (2010), accountability is enhanced and the duties of employees overlap with those of other counterpart departments which promote procedural, effective, and efficient operations which are void of mismanagement that brings accidents.

When the chief completes the top-level strategies, the overall goals are passed down into other functional areas. As Cited by Hutagalung M (2010), the departments conduct a SWOT analysis from the vintage position to contribute to the overall strategic plan. The main purpose of an elaborate organizational structure in the fire station would be to critically identify the activities in the value chain, prioritize the activities to be performed internally as well build a structure on the identified activities and foster the relationship between the management and the workers.

Project Behavior – Leadership

Leadership is the other ideal idea behind reducing the number of accidents in a fire service station. Participative, transactional, conditional, and transformational leadership is the most effective style when leading a team and managing a project like this. Those entrusted with authority should sharpen their proactive behavior by leading others instead of being followers. In this type of leadership, leaders seek opinions and views from the team members before making any decision. They should be at the forefront in prioritizing needs and focusing on the most important to ensure work is accomplished within the stipulated duration. Other proactive qualities include a positive attitude and mindset, acting instead of reacting, searching for opportunities, investing in time and the team as well as being always in control. The clarity in work is also very crucial since it gives the guidelines and order of tasks before they are done. This is a good way of avoiding pressure and stress and increasing efficiency (James L. H.2011).

Project leadership and effectiveness require certain competency domains which include, project management skills, team management competencies, self-management, and customer management competencies. A good reliable leader for this project must have an internal and external focus. According to James L. H (2011), the internal focus relates to issues of planning and organizing, monitoring, detecting, and solving problems effectively and demonstrating technical competence. The external focus on the other hand is comprised of obtaining and utilizing organizational resources, obtaining top management support, negotiating with other project stakeholders, and building and promoting outside relationships.

Fire management is an issue that may affect different people if not properly addressed, so a leader who embraces integrity and builds trust within the team and public would be the most probable person for this change. Behaviors that are consistent with the goals and missions of the station take the team an extra mile in mitigating the problem of accidents in a fire service vehicle. The workers should be motivated to do what they feel is right, openly admit mistakes, and commit themselves to do better instead of blaming each other. This way they show that mistakes should be critically addressed and not covered (James L. H.2011). The leader has to make difficult choices like positioning individuals with the courage to take care of critical areas to maintain project values and achieve set goals and objectives. Being trustworthy allows the team members to accept their drawbacks and strengths and also feel free to enquire about information without fear. A good, secure, and guilt-free working environment should be created where workers are ready to admit their wrongdoing without fear of being fired. Therefore, it is important to ensure fairness and consistency of actions and beliefs in the station as a step to reduce accidents.

Project Behavior – Communication Skills

Communication is the most important element of any project. The success of any project whether under a loyal project team or cross-departmental team is dictated by vital communication skills and techniques. In a fire service section, effective communication could be the ultimate solution to accidents reduction since many events associated with the department rely on communication between different stakeholders. Communication is otherwise expressed through various procedures and conduct which involve guidance, a delegation of duties, inspirations, and accountability in the respective departments. Since communication affects performance, proper guidelines are required to avoid misinterpretation of information. There are certain channels of communication that should be followed to achieve success. The sender or rather the encoder of information must be identified and should have the right message. The next most important element of communication is the message itself. The message should be very clear and precise for effective response. The media through which the message is transmitted should be identified and also be an effective media that reduces chances of misconception. In this case, written or unwritten media could be used but the most important thing is avoiding misinterpretation of information because if it happens then the receiver will get the wrong information hence wrong response. The receiver or decoder is the other stakeholder in communication. The message should be able to reach the right person if properly conveyed. Then a response is the outcome of any successive communication. Without a response then the communication is incomplete. Managing and improving channels of communication drastically improves the teams’ performance in work and ensures correct results are realized. The system requires good communication skills in that workers can effectively present issues, listen and act on the feedback as well as foster harmony among team members (Jason P. C.2011). Effective communication strategy would be a boost to team development when all members understand the project objectives. When used throughout the software development process implementation becomes easy and stakeholders are effectively updated. Effective communication is a step that would help in avoiding activities that lead to accidents and therefore, it is important to follow the right procedure when delivering information within the station.

Conclusion

The processes in project management follow stages that predict the outcome of the project. The management structure adopted by the Fire station should be able to control the proceedings of the station to achieve their goals without failure or accidents, especially to the fire service vehicles. The management should be organized in a way that follows up of activities are consistent and employees can successfully work without overlapping orders from different departments which may result in accidents due to a lack of proper guidance. Project leadership is also very crucial since authority marks the most important part of management. Effective and result-oriented leaders should be guided by good quality leadership traits. Workers in most cases get motivated by leaders who plan and cultivate positivity in the workplace without discrimination. Seemingly, communication skills are equally very important in this project where most of the activities rely on the information passed from the high management positions. If information is misinterpreted then the response is also affected and thus communication requires efficient channels which provide the required response within the required time limit. When all the stages in project management are consistently followed, the purpose of the project, as well as the results, is realized.

References

Gale T.2010. Matrix Management and Structure. CBS Interactive, Par 1-2.

Hutagalung M.2010. Issues in Strategy Implementation: Organizational Structure & Strategy. CA Atreya, Par 1-6.

James L. H.2011. Project Leadership Success: Responsibilities, Competencies and Behaviors that produce Positive results Part 7 of 10. Par 4-7.

Jason P. C.2011. Project communications: A plan for getting your message across. CBS Interactive, Par 1-4.

Mutt R.2011.What is Project Management Approach. EzineArticles.com, P.1

Click Here To Order Now!