Purpose
To outline the concept of a “patrol briefings” and topics to be covered within.
Policy
Good beach management requires good communication. Patrol briefings provide excellent tools for optimal patrol planning and preparation.
In a volunteer situation this should be conducted by the Patrol Captain.
In a lifeguard situation this may be done by the Senior Lifeguard or Lifeguard Supervisor.
A briefing should be consistently employed on every occasion, regardless of the predicted level of patrolling/rescue activity.
Procedure
A start of patrol briefing should:
- Include all lifesaving personnel.
- Invite input and questions at any stage (open forum).
- Utilise visual aids (whiteboards/maps etc).
Roles and responsibilities:
• Identify any new personnel that may require a full induction.
• Pair up new/inexperienced personnel with experienced personnel.
• Reiterate that personal devices are only to be used on patrol for short periods of time and only in a backward area, e.g. under the patrol tent. The Patrol Captain and designated Patrol Application User (if appointed) will use them only for purposes related to lifesaving (e.g. Operations App data entry, radar weather check).
An operational briefing may cover:
- Patrol Operations Manual (POM).
- Beachsafe App.
- Patrol Audit Form.
- Uniform check (current/meets policy, clean, practicable).
- Equipment checks (as a team or task personnel).
- Allocate equipment as necessary (radios, call-signs etc).
- Current and expected beach/water/weather conditions.
- Expected patronage.
- Identified high risk areas (areas of lateral drift, rips, holes etc).
- Identified high risk groups (rock fishermen, tourists etc).
- Beach management plan (surveillance positions, flag duties etc).
- Incident contingency plans (based on identified risks, who, what, where, when).
- Introduce new members/substitutes and allocate tasks and rotation information health and safety issues (Sun Safety, Fluid intake etc).
- Public image/professionalism expectations and awareness of social media.
- Radio communications (SurfCom/Channels).
- Notify the Patrol Captain or Vice-Captain before leaving the flagged area.
- Always take a radio to be contactable in case of an incident.
Patrol Change Overs
Procedure
Outgoing Patrol Captain’s should perform a debrief with the incoming Patrol Captain regarding conditions and any information relevant to the incoming patrol.
Material changes in the minimum requirements to keep the beach open (e.g. if the IRB is no longer operational) should be logged in the Operations App where available. If the Operations App is not available SurfCom needs to be notified via radio on channel 3 or the local repeater channel.
Reference
Patrol Operations Manual