Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center

Wildland Fire Lessons Learned Center (LLC) Next Generation Knowledge Management System (2010 – 2012)

Challenge

  • The existing LLC KM enabling technology was limited in its capability, scalability, and effectiveness and most development work was custom. 
  • The “op tempo” for fighting fires required an ability to easily and rapidly transfer knowledge within teams and across teams.
  • The fire management leadership and its workforce were dealing with an increasing risk of personnel turnover as the workforce ages presenting an unacceptable risk of critical knowledge loss that will severely impact successful fire management outcomes.
  • Improvement in a consistent and disciplined process for “capturing, adapting, transferring, and reusing” critical fire management knowledge that is part of the fire management processes and practices essential for protecting natural and personal resources, the lives of those being protected, and those providing the protection.
  • Recognized need for an evolutionary change in the management of critical and relevant knowledge while maintaining the focus necessary to operate as a High Reliability Organization (HRO). 
  • Challenges in making change happen and the desire to evolve into a benchmark learning organization where people share what others need to know to improve overall individual and fire management team operating performance while reducing risk of harm and loss.

Solution

As part of an 8a Joint Venture delivery team, the Working KnowledgeCSP solution deployed “fit for purpose” KM technology, providing the fire community with an improved ability to learn and adapt quickly, improve collaboration within and across fire teams, and continue to build bridges across the vast number of agencies and organizations that form the greater fire management community. This provided for continuous feedback loops of engagement and knowledge flow.

There were several interrelated projects that comprised the effort:

  • Technology project component was accomplished in three phases:
    • Improve the quality and visibility of the content
    • Optimize the search capability
    • Enable a leading-edge user interface and functionality.
  • Learning project component:
  • Collaboration project component:
    • Communities of Practice were enhanced and sustained including outreach to the greater fire community.

Results

The project was delivered on time, within budget, meeting all exisiting contract requirements.