Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008 - (Page 14)

Risk Management Model In order for a risk management plan to be effective, the plan should take a systematic approach of identifying these risks and develop a method to control them. A risk management plan establishes fundamental policy. The plan serves as documentation that risks have been identified and evaluated and that, further, a reasonable control plan has been implemented and followed. The components of a risk management plan required by NFPA 1500 are: Determine: • Risk Identification: Actual looses are those that have occurred in the past and could happen again. Potential losses are those that have not yet happened but are possible. • Risk Evaluation: The potential of occurrence of a given hazard is determined by frequency and severity. Frequency is the determination of how often a particular event may occur. Severity is the determination of the consequences once an incident does occur. • Prioritizing Risk: The degree of a hazard based upon the frequency and severity of an occurrence. • Risk Control: The solutions for elimination or reduction of real or potential hazards by implementing an effective control measure. These risk control techniques are broken into three groups: 1. Risk Avoidance (RA) – Do not do what causes therisk 2. Rick Control (RC) – Develop and implement measures that focus on controlling the frequency and severity of losses 3. Risk Transfer (RT) – Transferring the risk to someone else (insurance) • Risk Monitoring: Evaluation of the effectiveness of the risk control measures management plan is to determine whether or not it is effective. The goal of the program evaluation component is to determine what is working, what is not and what needs to be changed to make the program more effective for the organization. Program Effectiveness To determine the effectiveness of the program we will first track tangible data gathered from our first report of injury reports. We will look to see if there has been a reduction in the number, cost and time lost due to accidents and injuries. We must also insure that the department maintains compliance with any and all applicable laws, codes and standards. Frequency of Monitoring Continual monitoring of the risk management plan is the best method of identifying any problems that occur. This is an informal process that is conducted by all members of the organization. If any problems are identified, they are to be brought to the attention of your immediate supervisor and forwarded to the health and safety officer for evaluation. In accordance with NFPA 1500, Standard on a Fire Department Occupational Safety and Health Program, the risk management plan will be internally evaluated annually and externally evaluated every three years. • Have had previous experience at other program evaluations, even on a smaller scale. • Have the analytical ability to review accident and injury data or the compilation of dollarloss information. Also, have the ability to list and sort data in accordance to this program. • Have good communication skills. This is important in two ways. First, a thorough evaluation may require interviews with key personnel. Second, the report on the result of the evaluation needs to be clear, concise and usable. The health and safety officer will be required to perform a comprehensive evaluation of the program on an annual basis. Throughout the year the health and safety officer will evaluate: • All in-service training classes for effectiveness • Attend all post incident analysis to evaluate the need for additional training or safety equipment • Monitor injury reports and evaluate the need for additional training or safety equipment The chief of the department will select an external evaluator to conduct the evaluation every third year. This evaluator will be a health and safety officer from one of our neighboring cities. This allows for an outsiders view of the program. Responsibility of Conducting the Evaluations The task of monitoring and evaluating the risk management plan is delegated to the department health and safety officer, but the ultimate responsibility of the program remains that of the chief of the department. The evaluator must: • Have an interest in and willingness to evaluate the overall wellness of the department. • Have knowledge of the risk management process, as it pertains to emergency services. Evaluation Methodology It is extremely important that the evaluation of the plan be comprehensive. In order to ensure that it is comprehensive, the following steps will be adhered to: • A review of past loss experience for the department. This will include injuries, illnesses and exposures to personnel, apparatus accidents, losses of or damages to tools and equipment, etc. This will include evaluation of any trends. • Interviews with key personnel. Key personnel include all TEXAS FIRE CHIEF Fall/Winter 2008 Monitoring/Evaluation The purpose of conducting an evaluation of the department’s risk 14

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008

Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008 Contents Executive Director’s Report Texas Fire Chiefs Academy Project Reports Southwest Fire Rescue Conference Program Membership Application Customer Service Orientation in Fire Rescue Departments A Visit to the E-One Plant Index to Advertisers

Texas Fire Chief - Fall/Winter 2008

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