2016 US Forest Service employee radio use survey: employee perceptions of handheld radios and effectiveness of radio training programs

THE US FOREST SERVICE (FS) EMPLOYS OVER 40,000 STAFF WHO MANAGE 193 MILLION ACRES OF FEDERAL LAND. IN ORDER TO MITIGATE RISKS TO ITS FIELD-GOING EMPLOYEES, THE FS MAINTAINS A NETWORK OF HANDHELD AND MOBILE RADIOS, WHICH PROVIDE A DIRECT AND EFFICIENT LINE OF COMMUNICATION DURING EMERGENCIES AND DAILY OPERATIONS. DATA FROM THE 2016 FS RADIO USE SURVEY WAS ANALYZED TO DETERMINE EMPLOYEE SATISFACTION WITH HANDHELD RADIOS AND THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN RADIO TRAINING EFFECTIVENESS AND FREQUENCY OF HANDHELD RADIO USE. ANALYSES WERE SEGMENTED BY EMPLOYEE JOB TYPE TO DETERMINE IF DIFFERENT TYPES OF FS JOBS INFLUENCED PERCEPTIONS. THE IMPORTANCE-PERFORMANCE ANALYSIS REVEALED THAT TO INCREASE SATISFACTION WITH HANDHELD RADIOS AMONG BOTH FIRE AND NON-FIRE EMPLOYEES, THE FS SHOULD IMPROVE RADIO RECEPTION AND SIGNAL. TO ENCOURAGE THE TARGET SAFETY BEHAVIOR OF FREQUENT HANDHELD RADIO USE, EFFECTIVE ON-THE-JOB RADIO TRAINING SHOULD BE STANDARDIZED ACROSS THE AGENCY.