December 2006

‘Heads Up’ #3 Post Conference edition

Hi all,

Welcome to the Christmas edition of ‘Heads Up’.

Well the dust is just starting to settle after the conference and what a great event it was, with good representation from right around the country.

The training year is very quickly coming to an end with only two more TCA courses to deliver before Christmas and I’m sure everyone involved in training will welcome the break with the opportunity to spend some quality time away from work with their families.  Commiserations to our friends in the Police (and other emergency services), particularly those who have to work in the summer hotspots, having been there done that I know what you can expect, and I hope that all goes well and you stay safe and enjoy the time off in lieu down the track.

Next years training calendar is starting to take shape, particularly through to April and I would encourage anyone contemplating any courses in the first quarter 2007 to get your course booking forms in sooner rather than later to avoid missing out on preferred dates.  I will be doing the rounds of all the Regional Training Coordinators before the office closes over the Christmas/New Year break to ensure that no 2007 courses have slipped through the cracks.

The office will officially be closed from 21^st December to 9^th January 2007 however I will be around most of the time and certainly available on my cell phone – 021 799540. I will also be checking my emails regularly, so if you have any training or course booking enquiries please do not hesitate to get in touch.

In this edition we will be covering the following topics:

Ø      NZLSAR conference

Ø      Caption winner

Ø      Regional Coordinators breakfast

Ø      Advanced Rope Rescue Courses

Ø      New SARINZ website, course calendar and online booking forms

Ø      Introducing the office

Ø      Tai Poutini Polytechnic

Once again I would be grateful for any contributions from the regions or suggestions regarding topics you want covered – and as always feedback will be appreciated.

If you have received ‘Heads Up’ from a colleague or mate, and would like to receive your own issue then drop me line (pete@sarinz.com) or visit the website to read, print or subscribe.

With Christmas just around the corner I would like to take this opportunity to thank everyone involved in training for all of their hard work over the last 12 months – there is an awful lot of work involved in coordinating a training program and organising a course – and from SARINZ perspective we certainly appreciate and acknowledge that.

And finally all of us at SARINZ would like to extend our best wishes to you and your families and hope you all have a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Until the next issue keep up the good work and stay safe.

Kind regards

Pete Corbett

Booking Officer/Instructor

Caption Winner…..

Thanks to those who contributed and what a hard job to choose a winner – much debate in the office I can tell you – however there can only be one winner so congratulations to Pete McGhee from Far North SAR for this caption:

“Bob’s lack of attention to his surroundings not only led to his getting lost, but also rendered him oblivious to the boat ramp immediately behind his emergency bivvy”

And congratulations also to Pete for producing the ‘Debrief’ – the monthly newsletter of Far North Search & Rescue.  Pete’s obviously got a wicked sense of humour and his newsletter whilst being very informative contains its fair share of chuckles – so well done Pete and also to Roger and the rest of the team from the Far North. If you want to taste more of Pete’s works then check out their archived newsletters at http://farnorth.sar.org.nz.

ADMINISTRATION

Regional Training Coordinators and NZLSAR Training Sub-Committee Breakfast

At the conference it was our pleasure to host a breakfast for the Regional Training Coordinators and members of the NZLSAR Training Sub-committee.

This was an opportunity for SARINZ to acknowledge the hard work done by these people on behalf of all SAR volunteers nationwide.  It also provided a forum to raise and discuss any training issues that may have arisen over the last year or so.

I’m pleased to say the breakfast was very amicable and everyone present seemed reasonably happy with the relationship between SARINZ, Tai Poutini Polytechnic and NZLSAR and the way in which training within land search and rescue is progressing.

There were a couple of points raised however, that should be disseminated to a wider audience:

Contact Details for Instructors and Courses Contacts

In the past it has been my practice when confirming a course to only provide the email addresses for the Lead Instructor and Course Contact respectively. This was the procedure when I inherited the role of Booking Officer and was probably formulated for privacy reasons.

This seems to work OK on most occasions but not all and it has been suggested that I also provide telephone contact details for everyone right from the outset – telephone numbers are usually exchanged in the first round of emails anyway, negating the privacy issues, and it makes sense to have that information available right from the word go.

I do understand however that this might not suit everyone, particularly concerning after hours or home phone numbers, so looking forward to 2007 the  policy I will adopt will be to share the Course Contact’s contact details as contained within the Course Enquiry Form with the relevant SARINZ people and vice versa. This will allow the Course Contacts the discretion to choose how and where they can be contacted with the result that pre-course communications should improve.

Please remember to include as many contact details on the course booking form as you are prepared to share with us.

In The Loop

Occasionally we get requests from districts to run courses where the Regional Training Coordinator (RTC) has no knowledge of that particular course being held in his or her region.  This is something we don’t always know when the course is booked and it doesn’t necessarily affect our ability to deliver the course.

SARINZ encourages all districts wanting training in their area to consult first with the RTC.  This not only allows access to NZLSAR funding for the course (if approved) but also has the following ancillary benefits:

Ø      The RTC is kept informed regarding the training being conducted in your district and the commensurate levels of expertise and skill that may be available on a region basis

Ø      Courses that sometimes struggle for numbers can be boosted from outlying districts and perhaps neighbouring regions

Ø      Courses made up of volunteers from different districts and regions allow for better networking – a cross pollination of experience, ideas, concepts, systems and anecdotal stories – that can only enhance your own SAR effort and in some cases break down barriers that have existed for years.

I guess at the end of the day it is also a matter of courtesy, and certainly from my experience over the last year most courses run a lot smoother if the RTC is kept in the loop – overall they work very hard and do a damn fine job and deserve everything we can do to make their job a little easier.

THE OFFICE

 Yes we are now bricks (or blocks) and mortar – no more the virtual office – and our new address is:

1/202 Wooldridge Road

P O Box 39 067

Harewood

Christchurch

0800 4 727469

We are very near the intersection with Wairakei Road and Roydvale Avenue – in fact Wooldridge Road is an extension of Roydvale Ave – and only 5 minutes from the airport, so if you happen to be in the neighbourhood feel free to drop in for a coffee and a chat – you will be most welcome.

THIS MONTHS QUOTE

I cannot give you

the formula for success,

but I can give you the formula

for failure – which is:

try and please everyone!

Herbert Bayard Swope, 1882-1958

American newspaper editor

COURSES & TRAINING

Course Calendar & Website

Again I have not included a table of available dates in this edition as this information will be available in the New Year… we keep saying this - but technical hitches encouonted along the way keep delaying it - but it is coming soon...

Course Booking Form

The course enquiry/booking form is now available online on the website in the training section.  It is very user friendly and designed to make everyone’s life a lot easier – check out www.sarinz.com (go to Training).

Looking forward, this will become our (and your) preferred method of booking courses - however the existing procedures for course bookings will remain in place for the foreseeable future.

Advanced Rope Rescue Skills

As outlined in the website we are proposing to run two Advanced Rope Rescue Skills courses during 2007.

Ø      North Island – Wharepapa 15 – 21 April

Ø      South Island – Geraldine 7 – 13 October

These 7 day courses are New Zealand's premier rescue course and expressions of interest for both the North Island and South Island courses are now being sought.

For further details regarding course objectives, contents, prerequisites and other useful information go to www.sarinz.com (go to training/rescue).

Or if you have any specific questions regarding the course email Grant Prattley grant@sarinz.com – but don’t expect an immediate reply as he is currently down at Scott Base assisting with the rescue training for the Joint (American – New Zealand) Antarctic Search and Rescue Team (JASART).

RESOURCES

This new section of the ‘Heads Up’ Newsletter is intended as a medium for SARINZ, or for anyone else involved in search and rescue for that matter, to introduce, promote, debate and or discuss any new resources (training or operational) that come into the industry and which we believe will have some benefit for SAR.

Initial Response Search Guide

The first of these is the Initial Response Search Guide which was recently launched at the NZLSAR Conference 2006.

 The ‘guide’ was originally conceived as a teaching tool, guide and aide memoir for completing table top search management exercises.

It has been recognised however that the ‘guide’ may also have some operational application during the initial response period of a SAR operation, particularly when engaged in on-scene SAR management or reflex tasking, and away from the normal operating base.

As stated on the ‘guide’ it is intended to be just that – a guide – a simple tool that can be kept in the glove box, beside the phone at home or in the top pocket of a pack and which has the potential to provide the requisite prompts to get the most effective and efficient use of the available resources – thereby enhancing the chances of success.

A consultation group comprised of local SAR practitioners, Police and overseas experts was involved in the production of the prototype model and I would personally like to take this opportunity to acknowledge their contribution:

Brian Benn                    Tom Clarkson

Ross Gordon                Brian Holland

Robert J. Koester          Robert C. (Skip) Stoffel

Thanks team!

Consultation from the wider SAR community is also sought and to that end a limited number of prototypes were distributed at the Conference which will hopefully be passed around the various SAR groups, reaching the far corners of SAR in New Zealand.

So a reminder to those people who did receive a prototype – I would like to receive your feedback, good, bad or other wise by the 20 December 2006.  So please either fax or post your feedback forms to the office or email or phone me direct – I would really like to hear from you and avail myself of your collective wisdom and make this little tool the best that it can be.

The Textbook for Managing Land Search Operations

Skip’s latest MLSO manual – ‘The Textbook for Managing Land Search Operations’ is now available in New Zealand.  Being a hundred odd pages longer than the last version and printed on A4 paper as opposed to A5 it is absolutely jammed full of both essential and just plain useful information for everybody involved in search and rescue, whether it be out in the field or as a member of the Incident Management Team.

Anybody completing the 5 day MLSO course receives a complimentary copy but we will have a few spare copies in the office for anyone who wants one – at a cost yet to be determined.  You may want to wait however until late next year when a NZ (Kiwised) version of the manual will be available.

NZLSAR CONFERENCE 2006

Well the National SAR Conference is over for another couple of years and what a hugely successful event it was.

There were many fascinating presentations from all aspects of SAR in NZ, many new advances and discussion topics as well as ample opportunity for networking.

A huge amount of work goes into the planning and management of such a significant event and congratulations must go to the organising committee and all their helpers for the smooth running of such a wonderful conference - a new benchmark has certainly been set.

Thanks must go to our international guests - Jean Murray and Don Webster from Canada and Bob Koester back from the USA.  We are certainly very privileged to be able to call these people from the Northern Hemisphere our friends and to be able to share search and rescue related knowledge and expertise with them.

Special thanks must also go to all the NZLSAR volunteers and NZ Police who gave up their time to attend - without your support and willingness to want to advance our collective knowledge there would be no conference at all.

SARINZ remains proud to have been actively involved with the conference and looks forward to the next one in 2008.

For conference photographs and copies of the pre-conference workshops and presentations – check out our website – www.sarinz.com

TAI POUTINI POLYTECHNIC

Seasons greetings to you all.

Congratulations to all who have completed training courses during the year.

Your academic transcripts will be mailed out during February 2007.  If you have any queries on these please give us a call on 0800 800 411.

In the meantime have a safe and enjoyable holiday season and will look forward to working with you again next year.

Kindest regards  

Stu, Joe and Lisa

Search and Rescue Programme

Tai Poutini Polytechnic

Next Issue from TPP

Search & Rescue Qualifications – the new structure – we promise!

WHAT THE….

Ok, we know that some pretty interesting things happen on SAR ops and there are some hilarious stories. This section is designed to generate more!

 Insert caption

Refer to the above photograph and write an appropriate or funny caption - the best caption will win a $40 MTA Gift Voucher.

Our thanks to Joe for his contribution to this edition – a consummate professional as always – however we are not sure marketing and advertising is his forte!

E-mail all captions to: headsup@sarinz.com

..from the team at SARINZ

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