“TargetSolutions has created a records system that clearly allowed our organization to comply with our scheduled ISO audit in September 2010. The process of completing the training section of the report for ISO was seamless.”Guy Keirn, Training Chief, Pinellas County Training Group
“TargetSolutions is a very strong platform for tracking certifications, hours and all of the things you need from a certification standpoint. It’s also a great way to keep track of records for ISO compliance.”Bob Olme, Assistant Chief, Wheat Ridge Fire Department
“It will definitely improve our ISO rating. It only takes 10 minutes to generate reports for every shift captain to let them know exactly what they need to do for ISO by the end of the year. The speed is amazing.”Kim Miller, Captain, Haines City Fire & Rescue
TargetSolutions’ online fire training system offers fire departments a ready-made solution for efficiently tracking various types of ongoing daily drill-yard training. These are the types of activities every department regularly completes, but might not regularly log.
Whether it is ladders, hoses, or any other firefighter training activity you can imagine, it needs to happen regularly for firefighters to be prepared. With that in mind, TargetSolutions features customizable electronic forms that cover most departments’ daily checklist. These lists are broken into specifications, ensuring all fire department training, no matter how minimal, is tracked and recorded.
“By utilizing our daily activities, firefighters will be able to record the drills and other hands-on training that they are already doing easily and efficiently,” said Jenny Fergason, who serves as TargetSolutions’ Director of Client Services. “We’ve put together some templates on the most commonly completed drills, but we also provide platform managers with the ability to customize our templates to fit their department’s own unique needs.”
After years of documenting routine training the old-fashioned way, Mike Linkins of Polk County Fire Rescue in Bartow, Fla., was amazed to learn just how much training went uncounted toward employee training records before signing on with TargetSolutions, which features a suite of powerful tools that simplify training and operations.
“Our people were doing their training, but not recording it,” Linkins said. “The numbers we were expecting were consistently lower than our expectations. When we saw how you could track training with TargetSolutions, we were astonished.”
Course Description:More than 30 million workers are exposed to one or more chemical hazards across various industrial sectors. And with hundreds of new hazardous chemicals being introduced annually in addition to the estimated 650,000 already existing hazardous chemical products, risk for employees’ health and safety is on the rise.With this in mind, employers must ensure that information about these dangers is shared with those who need to know. This course covers OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard and emphasizes what it is and how to comply. After completion, employees will be able to:
- Explain the need for hazard communication in the workplace
- Describe employers’ responsibilities under the Hazard Communication Standard
- Determine whether a substance is classified as a hazard based on physical and health hazard criteria
- Read an SDS and label to obtain hazard information for a chemical
- Protect themselves from hazardous chemicals
If you would like more information on this course, or any other course in TargetSolutions’ industry-leading library, please contact us today.
Located in Kingsland, Ga., Camden County Fire Rescue serves a population of approximately 53,000 people across 613 square miles. The department is committed to providing its community with the very best service possible. To do that, the department’s emergency responders need to effectively meet EMS continuing education requirements. That was the original reason it signed up with TargetSolutions.
In the end, however, TargetSolutions’ fire department software applications have made the biggest difference.
“The training was always being completed,” said Training Division Officer Robbi King. “What TargetSolutions has allowed us to do is easily track it and review that it has been completed. It makes it easier as administration.”
While Camden County was pleased to realize TargetSolutions’ full capabilities, its initial needs were also fulfilled. Completing EMS recertification remotely with TargetSolutions has made training more efficient and cost effective, King said. It’s as simple as assigning online EMS training for academic work and brining everyone to a centralized location for the hands-on, didactic activities.
“We no longer have to bring in EMS providers – and deal with who is on-duty, who is off-duty – to complete monthly training,” said King. “Training is completed online during shifts, saving us overtime and instructor costs.”
Tracking all types of training is possible with TargetSolutions, and when it comes to its upcoming fire department ISO inspection, the department will have all of the information it needs to provide the ISO inspector.
“With TargetSolutions, we’re going to be able to provide ISO with the information they want, in the format they want. Giving that information to the inspector in the format they need and it will make the entire process easier for everyone.”
Robbi King, Training Division Officer
Whether it’s pre-course, online EMS training that keeps units in service, tracking and reporting fire department ISO training, or maintaining overall department compliance, TargetSolutions has Camden County Fire Rescue covered. King says the department has made great use of TargetSolutions’ powerful applications, especially the Manage Credentials application, which has improved the way employee training records are tracked for the entire department.
By creating one comprehensive credential that looks at all of the training needed over a two-year cycle, King can decide how and when each type of training will be completed each month, lessening demands on the department’s emergency responders, while making sure all requirements are completed.
“We’re able to run one report that shows everything,” said King. “We know all of the training is being completed and we don’t have to worry about anything slipping through the cracks.”
About TargetSolutions
TargetSolutions delivers cutting-edge software applications, engaging online training courses and world-class customer service. The company was founded in 1999 and today there are more than 2,000 organizations across the country using TargetSolutions’ innovative technology to solve their training challenges.
The first step in the process is to complete a “Tool Swap.” The initial sounder, or person in front, should pass the rubbish hook to the back-up person by placing the tool to the outside of the operations and grasping the chainsaw in a pass motion on the inside of the operations. Or simply put, “tool to the outside – saws to the inside.” Saws are always passed with the chain break in the on position and the body of the saw first.
The first step in this process is to have the back-up person place the rubbish hook/roof hook into the deck. The back-up person will place the near tine into the deck with a downward strike. Notice that only one tine is placed into the deck.
The initial cut will be toward the fire to establish the identification of the primary outside rafter. Once the outside rafter is identified, the saw is turned around and the head cut is established by reversing the direction, rolling the center rafter and stopping at the next rafter or before you cut into your roof ladder. Keep this key point in mind, chiefs don’t like when you cut into the ladder. The next step in the sequence is to establish the outside cut. Be sure to intersect your head cut and outside cut with enough completion to completely cut through the roof decking. If your roof decking is 2 inches in thickness, your intersection should be 4 inches.
Your next step is to make the bottom cut. Intersect the outside cut with the bottom cut, cut back toward the safety of your ladder, rolling the center rafter, and stopping at the inside rafter.
Then, the final step is to complete the ventilation opening. Step back completely onto the ladder and intersect the head cut, cutting down the inside of the inside rafter. Please note that when making cuts that are parallel to rafters, give up approximately 3 to 4 inches of area so you don’t rub or cut into the rafter as the operation is being accomplished. The back-up person has removed the rubbish hook from the deck and readies himself to swap tools to accomplish the operations.
Again, the “tool swap” occurs with the saws to the inside, and tool to the outside. This limits the need to swap positions.
Once the swap has occurred, the saw person utilizes the hook to clear the ceilings and vent the structure from the hazards of heat, smoke and other hazards. The elimination of the rapidly developing BTU’s within the structure will greatly reduce the potential of a hostile event (flashover, backdraft, smoke explosion, etc.). It’s important to keep your hand on the D-handle portion of the hook while clearing the ceilings. This will limit the chances of the hook sliding through your hands and into the structure. If you find that the hook tines are catching or other entanglement hazards, turn the hook over, grasp the straight edge of the hooks, and utilize the D-handle as the clearing mechanism.
If the initial hole is not sufficient to clearly ventilate the structure and additional ventilation needs to be accomplished, simply perform the “Tool Swap” again and continue to expand the original ventilation opening in a horizontal fashion. Since a bottom cut is already established there is no need to reestablish the identification or head cut. Continue with the outside (fire side) cut in a downward fashion.
Intersect the outside cut with the new bottom cut and roll the center rafter back toward the safety of the ladder. Once back to the outside rafter, reach up intersect the bottom of the existing opening and move downward with the completion of the inside cut and the intersection of the new bottom cut. Again, complete a “tool swap” and clear the ceiling space. This has completed the entire task and radio communication with interior crews or the IC should be made to determine if the ventilation operations have been successful in relieving the conditions that the interior crews have experienced.
The bottom line is that no operation is effective unless we actively train and become proficient at the operation. Utilize this as a foundational format to establish your operations within your own organizations.
About the Author
Ed Hadfield has more than 26 years of fire service experience after rising through the ranks from firefighter to division chief. He is a frequent speaker on leadership, sharing his experiences within the fire service and also with corporate and civic leaders throughout the United States. For more on Hadfield, please check online at www.firetowntrainingspecialist.com.