April 18, 2017 – West Bend, WI – This month 160 emergency services personnel from 45 agencies attended a very special seminar at the West Bend Mutual Insurance Prairie Center.
The featured speaker was Gordon Graham a retired member of the California Highway Patrol and a world-wide expert in risk management in emergency services.
According to Graham, “Risk management is any activity that involves the evaluation of, or comparison of, risks and the development, selection and implementation of control measures that change outcome.”
The participants spent the day recognizing risks their agencies may encounter.
Some included: External Environment [have no control over], Legal and Regulatory, Strategic, Organizational, Operational, Information, Human Resources, Technology, Financial & Reputation and finally Political.
One of Graham’s mission is to convey the message, “If it is predictable, it is preventable.”
Some of the challenges Graham posed for the audience was “What is the risk involved in this task and how can I best manage this risk? What is the department system [policy] and how can I best assure its implementation? Is there a customer service component here, and if so how can I maximize customer service on this task?”
In attendance were responders from Dane, Marathon, Portage, Kenosha and many others closer counties in eastern Wisconsin.
Those attending were chief officers, firefighters, police officers and emergency services dispatchers. Many said this seminar was one of the most impactful and pertinent they had attended.
Ron Naab, president of the Badger Firefighters Association said, “We are grateful to West Bend Mutual Insurance for allowing us to use their facility for this outstanding class.”
