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Archive for June, 2014

Avoid Common OSHA Violations by Educating Employees with Online Safety Training

TargetSolutions’ Hazard Communication course addresses the second-most frequently cited standard following inspections of worksites by federal OSHA. This engaging online safety training course features nine learning modules, a 20-question exam, and incorporates recent changes made to OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard in accordance with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.

TargetSolutions’ Hazard Communication course addresses the second-most frequently cited standard following inspections of worksites by federal OSHA. This engaging online safety training course features nine learning modules, a 20-question exam, and incorporates recent changes made to OSHA’s Hazard Communication Standard in accordance with the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) of Classification and Labeling of Chemicals.

Did you know more than 4,600 people were killed while on the job in 2012? That’s an average of more than 12 deaths each day. Those numbers accentuate the serious risk that exists in many workplaces, despite the fact on-the-job fatalities have actually reduced by more than 65 percent and injuries are down 67 percent since 1970, when the Occupational Safety and Health Administration Act first went into effect.

With these alarming figures, it is clear why OSHA safety training is so critical for public entities looking to reduce exposure. TargetSolutions’ online safety training provides public entities with convenient courses to achieve compliance with training mandates.

TargetSolutions’ most popular OSHA online training courses address the most dangerous workplace citations on OSHA’s Top 10 Most Frequently Cited Standards list for 2013. Titles include Fall Protection, Hazard Communication, Ladder & Scaffolding Safety, and Respiratory Protection, among others.

Here are the courses offered in TargetSolutions’ OSHA Safety Training catalog:

Advanced Construction Safety (Modules 1–4)

Advanced HAZWOPER Awareness (Modules 1–4)

Aerosol Transmissible Diseases

Alcohol-Free Workplace

Asbestos Awareness

Back Injury Prevention

Bloodborne Pathogens Safety

Building Evacuation and Emergencies

Cal/OSHA Log 300

Combustible & Flammable Liquids

Compressed Gas Safety

Confined-Space Entry

CPR Academic

Diet & Nutrition

Disaster Preparedness

Driving Safety

Drug-Free Workplace

Electrical Safety

Eye Safety

Fall Protection

Fire Extinguisher Safety

Fire Prevention Safety

First Responder Operations Level Refresher(Modules 1–4)

Forklift Safety

General Construction Safety

General First Aid Part 1

General First Aid Part 2

General HIPAA Awareness

General Office Ergonomics

Hand & Power Tool Safety

HAZMAT Spill Prevention & Control

HAZMAT Transportation

Health & Wellness

Hearing Conservation

HIV/AIDS Awareness

Incident Investigation

Indoor Air Quality

Industrial Ergonomics

Laboratory Safety

Ladder & Scaffolding Safety

Laser Safety

Lead Awareness
Lock-Out / Tag-Out

Machine Guarding

Materials Handling, Storage, Use & Disposal

Office Safety

Personal Protective Equipment

Radiation Safety

Respiratory Protection

Hazard Communication

Risk Assessment Analysis

Sexual Harassment Awareness

Slips, Trips, & Falls Prevention

Trenching & Shoring

Welding Safety

Working in Extreme Temperatures

Workplace Diversity

Workplace Stress

Workplace Violence

Suburban Department Improves Training Consistency, Compliancy with TargetSolutions

Lafayette Township Fire Department’s mission is to provide residents and visitors with the best fire and EMS protection possible. With that in mind, the department is constantly looking to reinforce its personnel’s knowledge in the field, respond to calls from the community in a timely and professional manner, and educate the public on the prevention of fire and medical emergencies.

The department consists of 44 dedicated members who work to answer approximately 500 calls each year in the communities of Lafayette Township, Chippewa Lake and Gloria Glens. As a smaller combination department, it’s important that personnel maximize their training experience to ensure optimal efficiency. Looking to improve training consistency and compliancy in a more convenient manner, the department turned to TargetSolutions in January or 2014.

Consistency: When it comes to training for emergency responders, it is vital to ensure every member receives the same pertinent information. Making certain everyone is up to date with training can be complicated and difficult. TargetSolutions’ online fire training platform helps Lafayette deliver the same training material simply and efficiently.

“The e-based form for delivering training with TargetSolutions ensures the training is consistent from me to our lead senior recruit,” said Lafayette Township Fire Department Capt. Carl West.

Convenience: By transitioning from manual training and tracking to TargetSolutions’ intuitive web-based platform, Lafayette Township has updated its training management practices, West said. With this powerful platform in place, the assignment and tracking of pre- and post-training coursework for knowledge, skills and abilities testing is simplified.

“Convenience plays a huge part with TargetSolutions,” said West. “The platform is very easy to maneuver. … We are able to streamline training through TargetSolutions’ online training platform, allowing us to make better use of valuable payroll hours.”

Compliance: TargetSolutions’ courses feature detailed lessons, post-course comprehension testing and mandatory timer requirements for EMS continuing education units. Courses are built to ensure users are properly trained on topics covered.

“You can’t cheat the system, no matter how hard you try, which is why I trust TargetSolutions’ training.”

Carl West, Captain with Lafayette Township Fire Department (Ohio)

“Every year the department is required to complete mandated training in sexual harassment, drug-free workplace, and alcohol free workplace. The department is able to put folks through the courses online and subsequently attach our own policies to it. In addition, I am able to require and e-signature to ensure accountability among individuals.”

The ability to deliver important policies through TargetSolutions has helped the department maintain compliance, while reducing in-person training sessions. In fact, Lafayette found immediate success in its first few months using the platform by achieving nearly 80 percent training compliance right away.

“This is a significant improvement over past years because we can actually quantify our compliance in one easy report,” West said. “In years past, it took a lot of manual entry and massaging to obtain the same information.”

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.

Webbing Technique: Staying in Contact with the Hose Line While Searching

Blog by Jason Hoevelmann 
Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal with Sullivan Fire Protection District
Firefighters carry webbing for many reasons, including:
  • To search a large area
  • As a harness for themselves and other firefighters during rescue
  • To carry tools and saws

All of these situations, and others not listed, are appropriate and important. This article will focus on staying in contact with the hose line while using a length of webbing to search.

The typical length of webbing is between 20 and 30 feet. In most cases, these are tied into a loop using a water knot. This makes for more versatile webbing and eliminates the difficulty of tying the knot while in low visibility conditions with gloves on. However, everyone needs to be able to tie simple knots and hitches in poor conditions with gloves on.
In most areas of the country, the first-attack line simultaneously searches for fire and victims. Resources usually are not available to do separate functions and doing both is the most efficient use of manpower. One problem is when in large buildings with large rooms, searching with the line can be cumbersome. Using the webbing is a fast and safe way to search off of line without losing your contact with the line.
The simplest way to do this is to tie a girth hitch around the hose line with the already looped webbing about 10 feet behind the nozzle firefighter. This is an easy hitch to tie and untie and can be loosened to move up and down the line.
Before you fan out across the room, wrap the webbing about four times around your contact arm and move toward the nozzle firefighter and then fan out off of the line holding onto the webbing until your back on the line. Unwrap the rest of the webbing and fan out again performing your search. You can continue this method as you advance the line.
In addition to the fan method, you can search cubicles and other confusing floor plans using this method. The webbing gives you a direct line back to the hose line and keeps you from getting out of voice contact with your partner.
Remember, these methods must be trained on and practiced. Follow your department’s guidelines and policy. Stay safe.
About the Author
Jason Hoevelmann is a Deputy Chief/Fire Marshal with the Sullivan Fire Protection District, a combination department. Hoevelmann is also a career firefighter/paramedic with the Florissant Valley Fire Protection District in North St. Louis County. His experience spans more than 20 years and he has been an instructor for more than 15 years.
* This blog was originally published by TargetSolutions in July of 2011

TargetSolutions Joins Forces with VCOS for 2014 Training Officer Recognition Award

SAN DIEGO — TargetSolutions, a leading provider of online training for the fire service, is excited to announce it has renewed its partnership with IAFC Volunteer & Combination Officers Section for the 2014 Training Officer Recognition Award.
This award was created to recognize an individual who demonstrates a significant role in firefighter training through their commitment to best practices and operational effectiveness at their department. All IAFC members are eligible for the award, which will be announced at the VCOS annual meeting on Aug. 14 during Fire-Rescue International in Dallas.
“We’re excited that TargetSolutions joins forces with VCOS Section of IAFC and have the privilege to recognize one of its members who exemplifies excellence in fire service training,” said TargetSolutions’ Executive Vice President Thom Woodward. “I am grateful to IAFC for recognizing our commitment to the education and safety of our first responders across the country. It is an honor to have the opportunity to recognize an outstanding individual with that same commitment.”
Applications for the award are being accepted through June 30. The winner will receive round-trip airfare and a three-night hotel stay at FRI (Aug. 13-16), plus free registration to the conference. Nominees should be chiefs, training officers, or others acquainted with training who demonstrates innovative methods for training.
In addition to the Training Officer Recognition Award, TargetSolutions is offering VCOS members a discount on the industry’s most powerful online training management system. Departments will receive $500 off TargetSolutions’ set-up fee, plus an additional 10 percent off user fees. If interested in this discount, please click here to register to watch a free demonstration.
For more information on TargetSolutions, please contact us today at (800) 840-8048. For more information about the IAFC Volunteer & Combination Officers Section, please check online at www.vcos.org.
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.

TargetSolutions’ Component Manager Helps Ensure Accurate Information Is Tracked with Custom Activities

Are you looking to track important information about live training events? Have you ever assigned a custom activity to your personnel, only to have users enter inaccurate information when completing the activity?
If you are looking to gather specific data and want to make it as easy and efficient as possible, TargetSolutions’ computer-based training system is the tool for you.
When a new site is created, organizations are given a standard set of reportable components that require text answers. But Manage Components inside TargetSolutions’ innovative tracking application, Activities Builder, makes it possible to change answer types to multiple choice, date, number, long text, or text.
By customizing components, you can save users’ time when they go to complete an activity. For example, when using the “Location” reportable component, you can easily pre-populate a comprised list of stations or training locations to select from – rather than obligating them to manually enter a location for each completion.
Changing answer types can streamline information and improve reporting accuracy. On occasion, misspellings within manually entered answers can cause varied information when generating reports. This error is most commonly found when submitting instructor names.
However, if you use the Manage Components tool to modify the answer type for a training session’s instructor, you can offer a list of instructors. This eliminates the user from having to manually enter a name and you can be confident reports are accurate.
If you have any questions about utilizing this application, please contact us at (800) 840-8048.
 training completion report
Component Manager inside TargetSolutions’ Activities Builder helps users record completions faster and ensures accurate information is being tracked.

TargetSolutions Revises Advanced HAZWOPER Awareness Course

TargetSolutions’ Advanced HAZWOPER Awareness course has been completely revised with fresh information from updated standards, new case studies, and brand new multimedia.
This eight-hour HAZWOPER refresher course is broken up into four modules, each two hours in length. Each module is divided up into lessons, with study exercises throughout to reinforce content and a 10-question test.
Who should take this course?
This course is written for first responders at the awareness level, meaning  “individuals who are likely to witness or discover a hazardous substance release” and who are trained to notify the proper authorities (29 CFR 1910.120(q)(6)(i)).
If you are trained to actually respond to an incident, it is suggested you take our First Responder Operations Level Refresher course, which is currently being revised.
What requirements does this fulfill?
TargetSolutions’ Advanced HAZWOPER Awareness course alone does not fulfill OSHA’s HAZWOPER training requirement. However, this course is based on OSHA’s Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) standard, 29 CFR 1910.120. In order to be OSHA compliant, employees are required to take eight hours of refresher training accompanied by hands-on training from an authorized trainer, who is also available to answer any questions employees have regarding the training.

Training Video Inside TargetSolutions’ Online Fire Training Platform Highlights Liquefied CO2 Incident

This month’s top resource provides firefighters with a valuable lesson about conducting thorough investigations at all incidents. The video posted by Jay Sumerlin of West Pierce Fire & Rescue (Wash.), titled “Phoenix Fire Liquid CO2,” recounts a liquefied CO2 incident response call by Phoenix Fire Department and is currently being utilized by several clients thanks to TargetSolutions’ powerful file-sharing application, Community Resources.
The video is an excellent real-life scenario that recounts the incident with engaging storytelling over 17 minutes, 36 seconds. It serves as an ideal training resource by reenacting Phoenix Fire Department’s near-miss discovery of a CO2 leak while responding to a seemingly routine call at a local fast-food restaurant. Ultimately, the incident evolved into a hazmat response because of a leaking liquefied CO2 tank in the restaurant.
Sean Murray of Tonopah Valley Fire District (Ariz.) wrote in the resource’s comments section that the video is a “great resource for situational awareness.” Another comment by Mark Harrington of Wilson Emergency Management Agency (Tenn.) wrote, “this makes you think to investigate the area you are in to find the source of the problem.”
And Jason Horne of DeKalb County Fire Rescue (Ga.) wrote, “Good information….Very educational…proactive management. Thank you!”
To view this video, please log in to your department’s TargetSolutions site and search “Phoenix Fire Liquid CO2” under the Community Resources tab. If you have any questions, please contact us at (800) 840-8048.
Liquefied CO2 Incident Training Video
“Phoenix Fire Liquid CO2” is this month’s top video inside TargetSolutions’ file-sharing application, Community Resources. It has been viewed 70 times and has a perfect five-star rating.

After Being Acquired by VectorLearning, TargetSolutions Now Offers Industry’s Leading Online Training Catalog for Law Enforcement and Professional Security Agencies

SAN DIEGO — TargetSolutions, the leading provider of online training management services for public entities, is now providing online courses created by CiNet’s Law Enforcement Training Network and Professional Security Training Network. The offering is a result of TargetSolutions being acquired by VectorLearning, a leader in online education for organizations and professionals working in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry.

By combining the online training catalogs of LETN and PSTN with TargetSolutions, TargetSolutions is now able to deliver hundreds of hours of engaging online training courses with engaging videos for law enforcement and security professionals. The catalog provides an extensive list of courses covering all of today’s most important law enforcement subject topics.

“Being a part of Vector Learning strengthens our opportunity to become a leader in other important segments of the market — Law Enforcement and Professional Security,” said TargetSolutions Executive Vice President Thomas Woodward. “We are now the preferred technology platform for our public safety clients and prospects. This includes providing everything we always have to our existing LETN and PSTN customers and enhancing the customer experience by delivering a robust software solution framework that reaches beyond online training.

“I am very committed to our brand of customer satisfaction as we embrace our existing LETN and PSTN customers and I am very excited about our prospects to learn more and grow with the Law Enforcement market.”

Along with the industry’s most comprehensive online catalog, TargetSolutions provides a powerful, easy-to-use records management system that helps police departments schedule, deliver and track Daily Observation Reports, Perishable Skills Training, Roll Call Tracking, Firearm Officer Evaluations, and much more.

For more information on TargetSolutions’ online training management system, please contact us today at (800) 840-8048.

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.