Change Management and Implementation Guide: An Implementation Guide for the US Forest Service

The purpose of this Change Management and Implementation Guide is to provide the US Forest Service's Fire and Aviation Management with pertinent information to help build a strategy when faced with an operational change. This includes change to the agency, a particular program or any other change that has potential to significantly impact personnel or operations whether originating from inside or outside the agency. As directed from the Chief's Safety Policy, "The prevention of accidents can only occur if we commit to safe work practices, continually assess our changing environment, refuse to assume unacceptable risks, and continually address unsafe conditions". Change often introduces hazards that are unknown or unforeseen due to the fact that something different has been introduced into a known and familiar method. In an attempt to proactively expose these hazards, a processed approach to introducing Change and managing people and systems through the transition period is a critical strategy for success. This plan is dynamic and should be utilized to best meet the scope and scale of each change process. It should also be updated as better practices are identified. Knowledge gained through implementation as well as reviews during continuous improvement processes must contribute to additional versions of this plan. Revision control should be annotated on the Revision Control log within the US Forest Service Safety Management System Guide.