“Design made us look differently at our firefighters’ daily routine”

That’s what I like to hear! It’s reassuring because not many people think this way.

Thomas had a hard time finding a concept likely to go the distance. To nurture his thought process, he decided to do an internship. How did you and Thomas organize your work sessions?

Involvement and daring: driving forces of a fruitful collaboration

JEAN-BAPTISTE FLOCH:

When Thomas showed up, he knew he wanted to focus his project on a firefighter unit… but that was about it; he had no accurate proposition in mind. At first I was worried I did not want to get stuck with just another intern who would load me with extra work. I made it clear from the start what it would entail. I shared with him my ideas as to what areas needed improvement, but, ultimately, left him with the decision as to which topic he wanted to focus on and then follow-through on it. He said he needed to go through an observation phase prior to choosing a topic. So, I said we could take inventory of his progress upon completion of this first step. I was eager to have him get up close and personal with a fireman’s day-to-day not only in our unit, but in other fire stations. I was prepared to ensure a smooth discovery phase, but in return, I expected him to come up with a concept that would appeal to us. Thomas put forth a lot of effort right from the observation phase. He played an active role, and made himself available for shadowing a fireman involves being on-call Saturdays, Sundays and evenings. Thomas took part in drills held outside the fire station on Saturdays. He also drove to a neighboring suburb, Saint Herblain, several times in the morning with his own car to see what the fire department was up to. On top of this, he made the trip by himself to Saint Étienne (Eastern part of France) to attend an annual national convention where firemen and suppliers meet to promote and sell their latest developments. Saint-Etienne is quite a long way from Nantes! I had explained to him that attending this event would give him a better overall picture, and the chance to learn more about our profession by exchanging with folks in the field. He seized the opportunity right away, which showed his go-getter spirit. We were so impressed by his motivation and his unflinching determination that we all felt he deserved our support. From that moment on, we gave him the go-ahead on quite a few actions. We invited him to a number of in-house events. He visited the fire station on a regular basis for brainstorming or work sessions with those who were on-call. Because he played the game, I chose to help him.

Fire Line par Thomas Buisson - Ligne guide pour sapeurs pompiers - 2010

BEN WALKER:

Was his presence useful to your team?

JEAN-BAPTISTE FLOCH:

It was. I think my fellow firemen were really glad that someone took an interest in their work. Thomas implemented workshops and discovery sessions that generated ideas and an exchange forum. We all learned a lot from him, and this made us look differently at our daily routine. Our worksite is great because it houses not only the emergency unit, but also the local logistics center. Having both of these in the same vicinity was a plus for Thomas, who soon decided to focus on the material side of our activities. That’s why I directed him toward our co-workers in Logistics who buy, maintain and fix the equipment, and to one in particular named Matthieu Lemoing, Head of Purchasing, who also volunteers as a fireman at the station. In a way, we could say that Thomas had two supervisors during this phase. Once the first step was completed, he declined two ideas, and proposed two new lines of work. We gave him advice, and as soon as his choices were set and he had firmly decided which material he was going to work on, I have to admit that my co-worker, Matthieu Lemoing, took over on the technical side of things, and supervised him on a full-time basis.

BEN WALKER:

Weren’t you a little surprised at how he found his lines of work? Did you feel as though he were acting in a logical manner?

Instant adjustment to a new environment

JEAN-BAPTISTE FLOCH:

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