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This page describes the general flow of an Operator shift, some expectations, and some best practices. Feel free to leave comments below if you have any helpful tips to share with your fellow Operators that aren't already covered!
Beginning of Shift
Beginning of Shift
When you check in at HQ, check out a shift radio if you prefer to have The Voices on your shoulder (or in your ear). There are table-top radios in the Operator Shack monitoring Control-1 and -2, but some Operators prefer working with the volume on these turned down to better isolate individual conversations and radio channels. YMMV.
Meet your incoming Operator partners.
Decide which one of the incoming Operators will attend passdown (and take notes). Another oncoming Operator should tap out one of the outgoing Operators and get settled in on a workstation in the Operator Shack.
When there are three of you, decide who will sit at the outside table with the Shift Leads. This position usually does more looking-up of old incidents and closing/updating incidents, and less real-time logging. Take over for the outgoing Operator in this role once Passdown is over.
As a kindness to each other, try to switch places periodically with the other operators on shift so someone doesn’t get stuck in the logging hotseat in the Shack for the whole shift.
If there are only two of you, both Operators should probably stay in the Operator Shack, to make it easier to coordinate who is taking notes on which call. Do be sure to cycle out to the ROC now and then to ask questions about open incidents, and see what incidents can get closed.
Your Toolkit
Your Toolkit
Sign into IMS
Sign into 911@ notification system (which should be bookmarked at the Operator workstations - let a shift lead know if you can’t get logged in). Check for new emergency notification messages in the inbox. (DETAILS ON NEW SYSTEM GO HERE WHEN WE KNOW).
When new notifications arrive, print them so you can hand them to Khaki. Create a new incident, give it the incident type of Notification, and write the IMS number on the printed page. Ask Khaki which on-duty Ranger will be delivering the notification, so you can assign them to that incident.
Open the Shift Lead Report in the Clubhouse (see below).This tells you which rangers are currently on shift. Very handy for those hard-to-hear and confusing Ranger callsigns that you don’t know how to spell in IMS.
Partner pairings - try to scribble down or snap a photo of the Whiteboard Map in the ROC. This tells you which Rangers are where in the city, and also who is partnered with whom. Keep in mind that this changes constantly, so you may need to revisit this a few times during your shift.
Keep a new incident window open in IMS, so you are ready to start typing right when a call comes in. Remember also - Command-N is the keyboard shortcut to open a new incident.
Look for any On Hold incidents that need to be addressed during your current shift.
Remember to only label incidents as On Hold at the request of a Shift Lead. This status should be used for incidents that can’t be completed right now for specific reasons (someone’s asleep, the noise level needs to be checked at 4PM Thursday, etc.). Summarize those reasons in the summary line at the top.
Get comfy and stay that way. Take breaks when you need them. Make some coffee!
Middle of Shift
Middle of Shift
During breaks in radio traffic and on slow shifts, connect online Incident Reports with their Incidents (remember the red clipboard in the video?). You will often have to connect-the-dots and do a little sleuthing to try and figure out which reports go with which incidents. Read the report, paying close attention to the date and time of the incident, and search IMS to find something that sounds similar. Remember that sometimes you may have to create new incidents to attach an Incident Report to, but only do this if you are sure that the report you are looking at isn’t already in IMS.
When Rangers walk up to the window wanting to make a verbal report, ask them - “Is this more than two sentences?” If so, kindly ask them to type it up themselves, and direct them to the kiosk at the narrow end of the OOD Shack that is dedicated to this purpose.
Any paper incident notes & reports can be typed up into IMS during slow periods. Check to be sure they add substantive detail to existing incidents -- license plate numbers, camp addresses, any information that was too tedious or too sensitive to relay over the radio -- ask a Shift Lead if you aren’t sure. If there is no corresponding incident, you can create one (just like with the online reports). Write the IMS number on the piece of paper, plus the day, date, and shift, then file it in the lock-box on the wall in the Operator Shack.
Check the 911@ notification system again, and throughout your shift.
Look up any requested informational details in the IMS, DMV database, Theme Camp Map & binder, and the TWII - The Way It Is. You have the city at your fingertips, and Shift Leads and dirt Rangers may rely on you to punch their clue ticket.
End of Shift
End of Shift
About two hours before the end of the current shift, one of you on-duty Operators needs to get the attention of a Shift Lead or a RSCI and demand (ahem) request that they sit with you to close out open incidents. Don’t be obnoxious, do be persistent -- open incidents & the messy IMS queue are recurring problem year after year, and it’s up to everyone in the ROC to keep IMS tidy!
As the incoming Operators arrive, begin the transition to the next shift. Decide which of the outgoing Operators will attend Passdown to look stuff up for Shift Leads and provide details as needed. One outgoing Operator should hand off their workstation to someone from the new shift (it’s okay to leave a bit early once the next shift’s Operators arrive). Acquaint them with any open incidents that you are currently tracking.
Check out from your shift and get a meal pog!
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