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U.S. Coast Guard
U.S. Coast Guard's Boarding Officer Job Performance Aid Wins an ISPI 2005 Award of Excellence
By David Singer, Contributing Writer
The U.S. Coast Guard and Information Mapping
The U.S. Coast Guard traces its origins back to 1790, laying claim to the title of America's first maritime agency. It is a unique military organization whose mission addresses issues of national defense, maritime safety, and natural resource protection. With over 39,000 personnel on active duty, today's Coast Guard plays a key role in ensuring the security of our country's territorial waters. Coast Guard units have also seen recent service in the Mid-East and other areas of strategic importance to the United States. Since 2003, the Coast Guard has operated under control of the Department of Homeland Security.
The Coast Guard has been using Information Mapping techniques to ensure the effectiveness of their training programs since the mid 1980's. Several hundred Coast Guard instructors and training designers have attended Information Mapping classes and applied our method to a wide range of training materials. IMI has also provided the Coast Guard with consulting services.
Commander Daniel Hardin, 13th Coast Guard District
Commander Daniel Hardin of the 13th Coast Guard District (Pacific Northwest) has long been an advocate of Information Mapping techniques. He was an instructor and course designer in 1985 when he attended one of the early Information Mapping classes held for the Coast Guard at their instructor training facility in Petaluma, CA. When Dan applied his newly acquired Mapping skills to designing handouts and self-instructional texts in support of the classes he taught, he was impressed with the results.
"I think what we liked in the beginning was how well Information Mapping aligned with Dr. David Merrill's Content/Performance Matrix," Dan said recently. "The method gave us what we needed-replicable strategies for presenting training-related information. I've been using Information Mapping for over twenty years now. It's a great tool that's proven very effective for us."
Dan is now a Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Coordinator with the 13th Coast Guard District. He is also a recipient of the International Society for Performance Improvement (ISPI) 2005 Award of Excellence, in the Outstanding Performance Aid category. ISPI, a universally respected professional association, grants this award annually in recognition of a performance aid that furthers "…the reduction of dependence on memory by storing information, processes, or perspectives that influence or guide job behavior."
ISPI 2005 Award of Excellence, Outstanding Performance Aid: The Coast Guard Boarding Officer Job Performance Aid
Dan and his training design team received the ISPI award after submitting for ISPI's consideration the Coast Guard Boarding Officer Job Performance Aid (JPA), which they had designed and developed. The JPA is used to facilitate inspection of commercial vessels. Its purpose is to help Boarding Officers deal with the complex task of inspecting vessels that may be subject to a wide variety of safety regulations, depending on their length, tonnage, number of persons aboard, and other characteristics. The JPA enables the Boarding Officer to enter data about the vessel under inspection into a Personal Digital Assistant (PDA.) The PDA then guides the Boarding Officer through the appropriate inspection process based on applicable regulations.
The Coast Guard Boarding Officer JPA was introduced in the 13th Coast Guard District about 4 years ago.
Dan told us, "The JPA proved so effective in use that it was quickly adopted by adjacent Districts; the 11th was first, and then the 14th. It is now used throughout the service, and has been credited with substantially reducing improper application of regulations. We've also seen real reductions in training time for Boarding Officers."
Mapped User Guide
We at Information Mapping were pleased to learn that the award-winning materials submitted to ISPI included an "Information Mapped" PDA User Guide. Dan and his team applied Mapping principles to design clear, easily followed instructions. Integrated screen shots, optimal separation of information types, consistency in terminology and presentation and a relentless focus on the user's needs combine to make their Guide an outstanding example of how Information Mapping can simplify complex procedures.
The User Guide is only one component of the JPA, but even a casual browse of the document reveals why Dan Hardin's design team received high honors from ISPI's panel of judges. Dan and the team are obviously accomplished professionals-so we were pleased all the more when Dan showed us that he had Mapped the document he used to submit the JPA for ISPI's consideration.
Our Congratulations
The United States Coast Guard's motto is Semper Paratus-"Always Ready." These are not empty words: Coast Guard personnel save an average of 15 lives and conduct 90 search and rescue operations each day. The Coast Guard also plays a significant role in maintaining the security of our nation.
We are proud to know that Information Mapping techniques are used in developing training for the members of this elite organization. We take this opportunity to thank the men and women of the U.S. Coast Guard for their service, and extend our congratulations to Commander Daniel Hardin of the 13th Coast Guard District and the members of his team on winning ISPI's 2005 Award of Excellence.
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