Case: The Seafisher

Creating and Following Directions in

Hazardous Situations
TAGteach™ on the Bering Sea
Association for Behavior Analysis
San Antonio, Texas 2010
Theresa McKeon
TAGteach International™
 Case: The Seafisher

August 2007
• Contacted by Amy Duz
 President and founder of iWorkWise
 Consulting company specializing in practical application of
occupational safety requirements.
 Could we provide training for their management
 owner, captain, first mate, engineer, line managers

• Why TAGteach?
 Read about operant conditioning, marker based training
 Definite ideas of what they did not want (based on previous history)
 Case: The Seafisher

Safety posters
Men in suits talking about fishing
 Case: The Seafisher

Company Description
• Cascade Fishing Co. - Privately owned commercial fishing vessel operator
• Ship “Seafisher”
• 211‟ trawler
• Dry operations in Seattle, WA
• Fishing out of Dutch Harbor, AK (Bering Sea)
• 70 day fishing rotations
• Primarily fishes for groundfish
• Approximately 100+ employees
• Annual revenue of $30 Million
• All processing done on ship
(cutting, freezing, packing)
 Case: The Seafisher

Challenges in Training Environment

• Multiple languages/accents (6 at workshop)
• Varied ethnicities and cultural identities
• Various levels of experience (bad attitude hierarchy)
• Harsh working conditions (cold, fatigue, motion, physical stress)
• Training on the ship is virtually impossible (time and space constraints)
Ship tour
 Case: The Seafisher

Cascade Goals
• Learn ways to inspire their crew to improve:
 dry dock training (painting, grinding, cleaning)
 on board training (creating and following directions)
 on board management/morale
 training and adherence to safety procedures
• Reduce employee injury rates:
 reduce law suits
 reduce insurance
 reduce turnover
• Amy was adamant that the specific techniques used in TAGteach would help
them reach these goals
 Case: The Seafisher

TAGteach
• Specialize in designing/delivering directions, feedback and reinforcement.
• During the actual period of skill acquisition
 language is reduced
 feedback is immediate
 success is audibly marked
 potentially creating a conditioned reinforcer (audible mark=success)
• During the actual period of skill acquisition - No value in lecturing
 “How you should”
 “Why you should”
 “Next time you could”
 “If you don‟t”
 Case: The Seafisher

October 2007
• Owner, chief engineer and Amy, attend a 2 day „open‟ seminar
• Gauge the potential benefits and relevance of TAGteach on the Seafisher
• During a break, they watch videos of clicker training chickens (example of
using an audible marker - reinforcement) Clicker chicken
 Case: The Seafisher

Results
• Agreed TAGteach was suitable training for their population
• Recognized that clicker training chickens would be fun
• Recognized how clicker training and TAGteach dovetail
• Scheduled a combination seminar for all Seafisher managers Jan. 08
• Meanwhile, owner experimented with TAGteach in shipyard
 Task analysis of shipyard skills (painting, grinding, etc.)
 Reducing language while giving direction
 Marking behaviors with tagger
 Reinforcing with stickers New Paint
 3 Day Workshop, 2008

January 2008
• Captain, engineer, 14 managers attend 3 day multi-discipline workshop
designed specifically for Cascade

 Clicker training chickens (Legacy Canine Center)

 TAGteach Workshop (TAGteach International)

 Wrap It Up (iWorkWise)
 Day 1 – Poultry in Motion

Workshop Day 1
Terry Ryan: Poultry in Motion™

• Introduction to operant conditioning, clicker basics (PPT, lecture, practicals)

• Training sessions with live chickens

Conclusions from attendees

• Getting frustrated or angry with a chicken has no benefit
• Encouragement and reinforcement lead to elite chicken performance
• “If I can train a chicken - I can certainly train my crew”
 Day 2 - TAGteach

Workshop – Day 2
Theresa McKeon: TAGteach™ International

• Introduced TAGteach approach (PPT, video, lecture, practicals)

• Practice analyzing and reengineering tasks

 familiar (line work)
 non-familiar situations (fun - throwing paper airplanes etc.)
• Practice recognizing desired behavior
• Practice setting up for and delivering positive reinforcement
Conclusions from attendees
• Not everyone who says they understand…understands
• Clear instructions are determined by the learner
 Day 3 - Integration

Workshop – Day 3
Amy Duz: iWorkWise™/TAGteach

• Integrate TAGteach into everyday skills and management on the ship

• Develop possible tag plans for ship
• Role play

Conclusions from attendees

• Working together to solve an issue is not a sign of weakness
• Wish for more time for task analysis – “this is important”
• They learned tools that could actually be used in their setting
• They liked effectively handle training issues from a positive perspective
 3 Day Workshop, 2008

Results
In the fishing season immediately following the workshop,
crushed finger injuries during off-load were reduced as follows:

• Year preceding workshop = 21 incidents

• Year after attending workshop = 0 incidents
• Post season phone interviews: 100% of participants attributed the
reduction to the workshop techniques.
• They schedule a second seminar (costly due to logistics)

“I’ve been on the boat for a long time. Before, injuries were just
part of the game. Now it’s not.” -Seafisher Engineer, „Bad Brian‟
 3 Day Workshop, 2009

January 2009

• Management attends 2nd annual workshop

• Same formula as 2008

• Focus shifts from physical skills to management skills

Results

• Season following the 2nd workshop, crushed finger injuries remains 0

• Schedule a 3rd workshop even through financial difficulties due to gas$

• “The Seafisher has had no accidents since the first training two years
ago, probably no one else in the North Pacific can say that right now.
Their insurance rates are lower than many, many other companies as a
result” _Amy Duz safety Trainer Cascade Fishing Co. 9/13/09
January 2009

“When you train and they don’t get it. It’s not their fault, it’s yours.
This is the way I see myself. I never saw myself like that before this
seminar.”
- Phil D., Cascade

Arnold Dice Roll?

 3 Day Workshop, 2010

January 2010
• Management attends 3nd annual workshop with the focus,
What Do I Want and How Do I Get It
• Alternate clicker training and TAGteach during each day
• Focus was performing in-depth and „on the fly‟ task analysis.
• Practice delivering directions for the learner instead of to them
• Brought up the idea /practiced taking data.
• Role play
• Design reinforcers for individual and group behaviors
 Cascade Quote

"Designing a safe system like this means breaking down each task into
its individual components. The process forces you to observe what
goes on at every step and since everybody participates in the process,
breaking something down becomes something everyone knows how to
do. It's not just a job for management or the trainer, its everyone's job.
This lends itself to more cooperation and consistency.”
 Contact Information

Contact Info & Links

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Blog: www.blogspot.tagteach.com
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