Manager on Duty (MOD) - Ongoing Training

Building supervisors are required to attend one hour of an aquatic in-service each month to review skills and stay up to date on the building’s EAP procedures. At least 9 of 12 for the year should be in conjunction with regularly scheduled lifeguard inservice working with the lifeguards on skills developing teamwork.

Topics for monthly in-service:

I. CPR/AED, First Aid, Oxygen Administration Skills:   All MOD's must hold current American Red Cross certifications in First Aid, CPR/AED for the Professional Rescuer, and Administering Emergency Oxygen.  These certifications should be kept on file in the Aquatics Certification Binder/Book, and should be recorded on a separate certification log. During inservices, MOD's alongside the aquatic staff should review their skills both as a stand alone skill with mannequins, and in a mock audit scenario. Building Supervisors should attend the May certification training and get tested out and/or recertified at the same time as the lifeguards.

II.  Victim Extraction from Pool— MOD's must know proper technique in extracting a victim from the pool.  This skill should be practiced as a stand alone skill as well as part of an audit scenario.  Extraction should take place with other aquatic staff as well as other supporting staff that arrive on the scene. Staff should know what equipment needs to move around the pool to ensure proper room, safe lifting procedures, and shallow water removal.

III.  Backboarding—Building supervisor should practice the role he or she would play in backboarding, either American Red Cross or YMCA, twice a year during inservice. During a spinal emergency the building supervisor must be prepared to enter the water to assist the lifeguard at any time The actual role of the MOD may vary from facility to facility depending on the number of lifeguards on duty at any given time (modify your training to meet the requirement of your facility). 

IV.  Pool Chemistry and Pump Room—Building supervisors should be shown how to check the chemicals for both the hot tub and the swimming pools.  Building supervisor should be familiar with what readings are within normal limits and what readings are potential red flags.  When readings are off, the building supervisor should be familiar with quick fixes to the problem and should be familiar with how the pump room works at a basic level.  Building supervisors should diligently look at the chemical log sheets during rounds and be able to recognize out of the ordinary things like pool temp, water levels, etc.  These procedures will vary from facility to facility (modify your training to meet the requirement of your facility).  The building supervisor should also know who to contact in the event a problem arises (i.e.  the aquatics director and/or aquatics coordinator).

 V.  Lifeguard Surveillance—MOD's should be aware of proper lifeguard surveillance, and be able to correct lifeguards when proper protocol is not being followed.  They should be able to recognize when the lifeguards are performing the proper 10/10 scanning pattern.  If such a pattern is not being used, the MOD should be able to approach the lifeguard and correct the behavior.  They should also be able to recognize when there is too much socialization going on between the lifeguard and a member and/or other staff member, and be able to minimize such conversations.  If proper surveillance is not being utilized the MOD should contact the Aquatics Director/Aquatics Coordinator immediately.

 VI.  Emergency Alarms/EAP—The Manager On Duty should be familiar with the building’s emergency alarm system, and should know what the pool alarms sound like it they were to sound.  When such alarms go off the MOD must know his or her role in the response to such an alarm.  They should be familiar with the building’s “all call” system, and should know where all the emergency equipment is kept so he or she can grab whatever is needed and respond to the scene.  They should know all crisis communication procedures.

• Manager on Duty Packet