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Designed to explore the methods of distribution, installation, and maintenance, TargetSolutions’ Water Industry Distribution Service to Customers training course has undergone major updates, including revised content and upgraded multimedia.

The 60-minute course, which is an approved technical course for continuing education, analyzes the four types of public water systems found in the United States, evaluates common water issues, and describes basic configurations of water distribution systems.

Other topics and objectives of this course include:

• Types of customers, metering of these customers and proper recordkeeping
• Common methods for making water service connections
• Insurance Services Office (ISO) requirements for fire protection
• The different water sources a water utility may use

This training course features nine learning modules and a 10-question exam. After successfully completing this course, students will be able to recognize AWWA standards.

If you have any questions about TargetSolutions’ online training catalog for water and wastewater agencies, please contact us today at (800) 840-8048.

Firefighters put their lives on the line on a regular basis, but when not on duty there are other silent hazards, most notably physical diseases, behavioral disorders and unhealthy diets.

“Fire Service Health and Safety” is a brand-new training course developed by TargetSolutions. The 60-minute overview is designed to inform firefighters on the concepts, science, and economics of fire service-related health and safety. Equipped with 10 learning modules and a 10-question exam, this course offers a comprehensive overview of critical issues for firefighter wellness.

“Physical disease and behavioral disorders impact firefighters in different ways,” said TargetSolutions’ Director of Content Lauren Crosby. “These disorders can be unique, yet still clearly identifiable and quantifiable to those looking for them. This course analyzes wellness, line of duty deaths, common diseases, and what we can do about it. It makes important correlations between health, wellness and the fire service.”

Objectives of this online training course include:

• The need for wellness in firefighting
• The most common types of line of duty deaths among firefighters
• The most common diseases among firefighters
• How firefighters can stay in shape and the costs of injuries and poor health
• How health and wellness in the fire industry are connected

If you have any questions about TargetSolutions’ course catalog for fire departments, please contact us today at (800) 840-8048.

Sexual harassment not only causes a hostile work environment, but the United States Department of Labor estimates it costs organizations around $1 billion in damages each year. Many of these costly incidents are the result of improper actions by individuals who are responsible for supervising other personnel.

A recent survey found that 43 percent of all claims filed by women are against supervisors and approximately 11 percent of all claims involve men filing against female supervisors.

These frightening numbers are strong reminders why it’s critical for public entities to establish harassment education programs to protect their employees, as well as their own liability.

TargetSolutions’ recently launched a new two-hour training course titled “Sexual Harassment Prevention for Supervisors (California’s AB 1825)” that features new lessons, engaging interactions, and real-life scenarios. The course is in compliance with California’s AB 1825 law, which requires mandatory sexual harassment training for supervisors who work for companies with at least 50 employees.

“I think when we look solely at the compliance piece we lose a little bit of the human factor,” says Client Services Manager Jennifer Jones. “We can help organizations provide this training and focus on educating their folks around what a safe work environment is. We take the compliance piece and humanize it, making it something that shows that an organization cares about their individuals.”

To learn how TargetSolutions’ sexual harassment training can help your organization, please contact us today at (800) 840-8048.

TargetSolutions employees utilized the platform’s powerful Credentials application to record their steps during the “Steptember” and “Walktober” competitions.

Sitting is the new smoking.

That’s what TargetSolutions’ Client Services Manager Jennifer Jones says, citing recent studies exploring the crippling impact of sitting at a desk all day.

That’s why TargetSolutions’ Wellness Team, which implements company-wide activities and events that encourage health and wellness, established the wildly successful “Steptember” and “Walktober” competitions for the months of September and October. The goal: get out, be active, and count your steps while marching upon the path to victory.

For the competition, participants are utilizing TargetSolutions’ own technology, including custom activities inside the Manage Credentials application, to mark their daily progress throughout the month.

“We have set up a custom activity that allows participants to log their steps each day. We have also built a custom credential to allow for easier tracking of the multiple activity completions and to send out reminders each day.”

Jennifer Jones, TargetSolutions

The idea behind the competitions was to get team members up and moving around to counteract the negative side effects of sitting at a desk all day. For an average person, it takes about 2,000 steps to walk one mile. While opinions vary, 10,000 daily steps, or five miles, is a figure that’s routinely suggested to complement a healthy lifestyle. Further studies have found that Americans were accumulating about 5,900 daily steps on average, a far cry from the recommended 10,000.

TargetSolutions’ employees amassed millions of total combined steps to make “Steptember” and “Walktober” a massive success, Jones said.

Client Services Manager Jennifer Antinone claimed victory for both months by walking a blistering 360,039 steps in October and an insurmountable 382,302 steps in September. That translates to an invigorating 180 and 191 miles walked, respectively.

“The walking events at TargetSolutions help promote an active lifestyle at work, which keeps us fresh throughout the day,” said Antinone. “It is so important to stay healthy and engaged and these events promote both of those things.

“I had the opportunity to walk with several co-workers that I don’t interact with regularly and even conducted a few meetings while walking laps around the building.”

Are you interested in setting up a similar credential to track steps at your organization? If so, please contact TargetSolutions at (800) 840-8048 to learn more.

TargetSolutions recently sponsored a webcast by Calibre Press titled “De-Escalation & Conflict Resolution for Public Safety Personnel.” A recorded version of this presentation is now available inside TargetSolutions’ Community Resources application.

Public safety personnel have been searching for ages to find the perfect method on how to deal with erratic civilians. Unfortunately, a universal answer for resolving all of the various types of conflict first responders face doesn’t exist.

As Lt. Jim Glennon of Calibre Press explains in the webinar “De-escalation & Conflict Resolution for Public Safety Personnel” – which is now available inside TargetSolutions’ Community Resources – there is no cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all method for properly communicating during high-stress situations.

“When we get calls, people want to know what are the phrases we should use? What’s the canned program we should enlist? And there is no canned program,” said Glennon. “You can go to classes where they say ‘don’t use these words, but use those words.’ I’m wary of those.”

As Glennon points out, the constant overarching requirement of police officers, firefighters, EMTs, and other safety personnel is to engage people, though frequently this is easier said than done.

Tremendous stress during emergency situations can elicit a whirlwind of raw emotions. Other factors, such as substance abuse and mental health issues, reinforce the idea that communication in these scenarios is unpredictable.

“What I found was your own personality has to be involved with other human beings. You can’t just take on someone else’s system when trying to engage other human beings.”

Lt. Jim Glennon, Calibre Press

This engaging 63-minute training webinar, which is available inside Community Resources and can be delivered and tracked through the TargetSolutions platform, features video clips of real scenarios that highlight communication breakdowns. During the overview, Glennon interprets each example independently rather than approaching each event with a black and white list of do’s and don’ts.

“This webinar is valuable for those in law enforcement, EMS, the fire service, and more,” said Tim Riley, who previously served as a fire chief with Dunedin Fire Department (Fla.) and now works as a Product Specialist with TargetSolutions. “It’s important that we remember it’s not your emergency. Nobody ever called because they did something intelligent; so likewise, it’s important to never become part of the problem. This webinar discusses the challenges public safety personnel face in these types of scenarios.”

“De-escalation & Conflict Resolution for Public Safety Personnel” was produced by Calibre Press and sponsored by TargetSolutions. For more information on this valuable recorded webinar now available inside Community Resources, please contact TargetSolutions at (800) 840-8048.

Originally serving as an account manager for CentreLearn, Amy Akczinski has been with the organization for more than five years. The Pennsylvania native is now focused on the Mid-Atlantic region, where she works to help agencies maximize their online training systems.

Amy previously served in the banking and insurance industry and is always looking to provide her clients with the best experience possible.

“Hearing the happiness and relief from an administrator when they realize how our system will make their lives easier is probably my favorite part of the job,” Amy said. “I have respect for the customers we support and know they are using our systems to help save lives.”

Amy explains her hobbies outside of work as “wherever the wind blows me that day.” Check out this Q-and-A to learn more about Amy Akczinski:

 What is your favorite food?

Spaghetti

What is your favorite sport?

Horse racing

What is your favorite type of weather?

Cloudy with a chance of meatballs

Would you rather dine in or take out?

Take out

What is your favorite restaurant?

Mother’s house

If you could travel to any country tomorrow, where would you go?

Nowhere, I love it here

Who is your favorite musical artist/band?

Adele

Do you know any languages aside from English?

Sarcasm

What is your favorite book?

The Da Vinci Code

What was the best concert or play you’ve ever been to?

Monty Python’s Spamalot on Broadway

Would you like to require members of your organization to obtain approval before officially enrolling for an upcoming event? That’s what TargetSolutions’ latest round of enhancements make possible.

New functionality provides platform managers with the ability to create events requiring approval for enrollment. Administrators and supervisors can choose to receive a notification e-mail informing them after a user has requested enrollment for an upcoming event. They can then accept or deny permission.

“For many organizations, managing event attendance is challenging,” said Product Manager Misty Pratt. “Sometimes a manager can’t just allow everyone to attend, whether that’s because of necessary qualifications for the event, seating limitations, or any other potential reason why attendance may be limited.

“This new enhancement gives administrators and supervisors the ability to have greater control over their users’ event attendance. It helps administrators and supervisors ensure the right people are attending the right events.”

Misty Pratt, TargetSolutions

Here are some of the new features to the upgraded Events application:

• An event creator can now see who has requested enrollment to an event. They can also approve or deny their users’ requests.
• An event creator can provide other administrators and supervisors with the ability to accept or deny a users’ attendance.
• An event creator can turn on e-mail notifications for when a user requests enrollment in an event, so all stakeholders are informed of the pending enrollment.

If you would like more information on the Events application, please click here. If you have any questions, please contact us at (800) 840-8048.

Recent updates to TargetSolutions’ Events application provide platform managers with more control over who attends upcoming events.

Speeding contributes to nearly one-third of all fatal crashes. In fact, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) reports that 13,000 lives are lost each year due to speeding and more than $40 billion is lost each year due to accidents where excessive speed is a factor.

These types of incidents are extremely costly to all types of organizations and highlight the need for TargetSolutions’ driver safety training.

The versatile Dangers of Speeding online training course explores the ramifications of speeding, identifies legal considerations, and explores appropriate speeds on a case-by-case basis.

Featuring eight learning modules and a 10-question exam, this course is an important addition to every organization’s training program, including emergency vehicle operators and large vehicle drivers.

Objectives of this course include:

• Describe the pervasiveness of the problem and understand why drivers speed
• Discuss the legal consequences of speeding
• Analyze the dangers and costs of speeding
• Identify stopping distances
• Explain how to avoid speeders
• Discuss how to determine the appropriate speed for each circumstance

If you have any questions about TargetSolutions’ online training catalog, please contact us today at (800) 840-8048.

TargetSolutions is proud of its EMS course catalog, which features more than 160 hours of accredited training hours for EMS continuing education. Possibly even more important, however, is the fact TargetSolutions has received “organizational accreditation” from the Commission on Accreditation for Pre-Hospital Continuing Education (CAPCE).

TargetSolutions originally became a CAPCE-accredited organization in March of 2014. In the past, only a portion of TargetSolutions’ computer-based EMS catalog was approved for CAPCE credit. Now, nearly every EMS training course meets CAPCE requirements, giving providers more access to TargetSolutions’ course content nationwide.

“The fact we are organizationally accredited is significant because it means that CAPCE hasn’t just approved individual course titles, but it has also approved our entire course creation process,” said Director of Content Lauren Crosby. “Our content development team works extremely hard to create and maintain an outstanding library of EMS continuing education. Having CAPCE approve our process across our entire catalog reflects that hard work.”

TargetSolutions’ CAPCE training catalog features 161 hours of approved continuing education for all levels of EMS personnel and can be taken for CEUs in all CAPCE-regulated states. CAPCE approved courses have been added to TargetSolutions’ certified credentials inside the Manage Credentials application, which enable agencies to package required training to efficiently deliver, document and report EMS continuing education.

Please note, in July of 2016, the Continuing Education Coordinating Board for EMS (CECBEMS) changed its name to the Commission on Accreditation for Pre-Hospital Continuing Education (CAPCE). If you have any questions about TargetSolutions’ online training catalog for EMS recertification, please contact us today at (800) 840-8046.