Whistles!

[Marshal Baby]

Originally Posted by Simon Taylor

to be a good I/O I need feedback from other senior marshals that's the reason your called a "trainee" I/O. And the post chief said in his morning briefing if you ask questions you become a more knowledgeable marsharshal and therefore a better marshal. Sometimes opinions differ

Firstly you are not a trainee I/O, you are a green badge. if everyone thought they were a trainee I/O there would be no hope for any of us. Trainee I/O's are marshals who are experienced (red bedge) and are given the position of I/O week in week out to widen there experience. you on the da were an incident marshal. As a green badge your interest should be on learning to gain the experience to become a red badge. Not about who should be using a whistle or telling others what you think should be done. You should have looked at those flaggies realised what they had done wrong and learnt from this so then if you should ever be in that situatuion you should know what to do. Also the marshals were in a safe place, they were in the run off area of knickerbrooke. this section does not need to be flagged. drivers are only interested in whether that car is in there way on the circuit which is what the yellow flag is for. they do not care if a car is parked safely in a section they will not be using.

Secondly, whistles should be for postchief/observer only. This is why in your briefing at the start of the day your postchief says only i have the whistle. if other marshals then start to use them then this causes a problem and confuses all other marshals on post. Prior to this incident we had the wheel come off at cascades. As you were one of the marshals running away from said wheel you should know that your attention should be up track and not at what other marshals are doing at a post behind you. yes ok look at whats going on, learn from what happened, not interfere.
sorry its long but i just needed my point to be said.

Much love
Marshal Baby

[White flag man]

Originally Posted by Marshal Baby

Also the marshals were in a safe place, they were in the run off area of knickerbrooke. this section does not need to be flagged. drivers are only interested in whether that car is in there way on the circuit which is what the yellow flag is for. they do not care if a car is parked safely in a section they will not be using.

Secondly, whistles should be for postchief/observer only. This is why in your briefing at the start of the day your postchief says only i have the whistle. if other marshals then start to use them then this causes a problem and confuses all other marshals on post.

If marshals are trackside, whether in a run off area or not, they are not in a safe position and the area needs to be flagged, this also applies to a driver when he gets out of the car. If their car can get there, so can somebody else's.
We do not care what the drivers think, we are there to protect our colleagues and you should remember this at all times. While in a car, drivers are protected by a heavy metal shell, marshals trackside have no protection and need all the help they can get.
Whistles can not confuse anybody if used correctly and sensibly.

[LandieLad]

Originally Posted by bigorangeoveralls

The only person on post using a whistle shoude be post chef only nobodeyelse

Looking forward to some great meals on post. Perhaps the chefs will whistle when the grub is ready for serving

[Marshal Baby]

Originally Posted by White flag man

Whistles can not confuse anybody if used correctly and sensibly.

I've always been told whistles are for the post chief to warn you of dangers on your post. I heard the whistle blow and i was wondering what was going on at our post.

[Norbert]

Anyone who has been on post with me will know that I request that only myself and the flag marshals have a whistle.

Myself for the reasons discussed above and flags because they are my 2nd/3rd pairs of eyes who are watching the circuit at all times.

Aside from the confusion issue of too many whistles there is also the safety issue. I have seen a whistle torn of the neck of an Incident Marshal while dealing with a car. He was very lucky with just a nasty red mark around his neck.

[deley]

So the poll questions (which miss a number of other obvious combinations) and the debate in the posts themselves only goes to prove the point that there is not and can never be a single "rule" as to who carries a whistle or who can (should) use one.

Circumstances and situations are all different.

Before the morning post briefing the plan for that day, at that circuit, on that post needs to be agreed. This plan for the day should be between PC and IO (plus may include the Flags as well)....... and will invariably be dictated by the specific circumstances of the post, the numbers of people/the roles being undertaken (esp when undermanned or overmanned as these both require extra thought) and the levels of experience.

This plan for the day is then communicated to the wider team during the post briefing and includes as a part of it the piece about whistles being carried and used and how they fit within the overall day's command/control/communication plan.

So to keep it simple;

All marshals should have one in their kit but whether they need to carry it or use it on the day depends on the circumstances of the day. The outline approach is agreed upfront and clearly communicated so everyone on post knows the plan.

But.....
everyone should also be aware that plans sometimes need to change in the heat of things .

So - at the end of the day it is far better to have disagreements and discussions afterwards on post about "who blew a whistle when perhaps they shouldn't" or "someone else should have blown it" or "you're not allowed to because I said so" or "next time please don't blow in that situation" etc etc etc than to have the potential outcome that because no-one blew a whistle then....


Dave

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by Marshal Baby

sorry its long but i just needed my point to be said.

You said a lot there that needed to be said.

Great post!

[Dave Brand]

Originally Posted by Norbert

Aside from the confusion issue of too many whistles there is also the safety issue. I have seen a whistle torn of the neck of an Incident Marshal while dealing with a car. He was very lucky with just a nasty red mark around his neck.

If you're going to hang anything around your neck - whistle, stopwatch, whatever - it should be on a breakaway lanyard.

[Woolley]

Originally Posted by deley

So the poll questions (which miss a number of other obvious combinations) and the debate in the posts themselves only goes to prove the point that there is not and can never be a single "rule" as to who carries a whistle or who can (should) use one.

Actually the poll is there in the mistaken idea that it's a democracy. What happens on the day is that the PC says what will happen, and to avoid any confusion, that's what should happen. Any disagreements should be raised with him on the day. Same goes if you think there might be a problem with another post. Take it to your PC to deal with. Your job is to keep yourself and your area safe.

[Alan Crook]

Personally I do not care who has a whistle, I would rather be warned of a danger by any marshal than not warned. If people on a post are abusing the use of whistles it should be down to the Post Chief or acting Post Chief to explain to the person what they are doing wrong.

[The Fat Clerk]

Exactly Alan, couldn't agree more.

Originally Posted by Marshal Baby

Firstly you are not a trainee I/O, you are a green badge. if everyone thought they were a trainee I/O there would be no hope for any of us. Trainee I/O's are marshals who are experienced (red bedge) and are given the position of I/O week in week out to widen there

Firstly your just 18 with only 2 years experience under your belt I have 9 years experience, If you look at my record cards you will see I have been PC, I/O, Rescue and Snatch.

Secondly I am a qualified pre-hospital emergency practitioner and have attended many Incidents both circuit side and motorway incidnts, one circuit side fatal.

At the end of the day its not what colour your badge is, its how much experience you have.

from trainee to i/o you only need in therory 55 days + 4 training days. I know marshals who do 55 days in a year

[The Fat Clerk]

I know marshals who do 55 days in a year[/QUOTE]

Half a year!

[Alan Crook]

I think its time one or two of the posters on this thread read the forum rules, one of which is copied below.

If you don't agree with what someone is posting, fine - that's what a discussion forum is all about! Just don't let it turn into a 'bar room brawl' forum. The cardinal rule is "attack the post, not the poster". Always treat people with the same level of respect which you yourself would expect - flaming is NOT permitted. Period.

[Greem]

Originally Posted by Simon Taylor

At the end of the day its not what colour your badge is, its how much experience you have.

It's also how that experience is applied, which is why KASE is such a useful acronym. I've met people with relatively little experience as they only do 10 days a year, but their application of that experience is excellent.

Originally Posted by Marshal Baby

Secondly, whistles should be for postchief/observer only. Prior to this incident we had the wheel come off at cascades. As you were one of the marshals running away from said wheel you should know that your attention should be up track and not at what other marshals are doing at a post behind you.

And one more thing if the PC didn't have his eyes on the circuit if he was writing a report or comforting marshals and something else happened...

[Piglet]

It was going well until the personal comments started.

I'm going to close this for now and we'll consider whether to reopen it again later.