Stop! Don’t Gamble with Your Agency’s Training Budget Member Recognized for Excellence in Risk Management

Stop! Don’t Gamble with Your Agency’s Training Budget

Isn’t it ironic that the first two things that get cut with a tight economy and reduced budgets are training and travel? We all know that the one thing that can have the greatest benefit to any organization is training. And statistics prove, too, that one of the most important things done to retain talented employees is to provide them with opportunities for training and development. To that end, the Authority’s annual risk management conference is the yearly opportunity to learn, network, and grow both personally and professionally.

For 2011, we’re betting the farm that you’ll like what we have planned. First of all, we’ve renamed the event, which is now called the Risk Management Educational Forum. Why the change? Because, we’ve learned that the most important thing people want in our conference is education and training; and the new name better represents what it truly is. Secondly, we have special things planned, centered on our theme.

It seems only like yesterday, though, when we were in Santa Barbara for the 2010 conference. It was truly memorable, where participants were able to sit back, listen, and reflect on a wide variety of risk management principles, concepts, and ideas. Some were conceptual; others were ready for implementation back at work. For example, Tim Davis and Kelly Trainer, partners with the law firm of Burke Williams and Sorenson, led an engaging opening session of The Shadowy Underworld of Employment Practices that tested everyone’s fundamental understanding of complex employment issues. Davis and Trainer used real-life stories to reinforce how well-trained managers can troubleshoot legal issues before they become problems, or worse yet, claims. Bob Nagle, from RJN Investigations, shared thought provoking insights into workers’ compensation fraud. They say “seeing is believing,” and Nagle’s actual surveillance footage of perps in action demonstrated the audacity of a few “injured workers.” Other sessions focused on legal liability updates, creating a culture of safety, updating human resources policies, and employment law updates. Attendees were left wanting more and asking themselves what they could do to elevate, change, or improve their agency’s risk management philosophy.

We’re calling the 2011 Educational Forum Don’t Gamble with Risk Management, and it’s planned for October 26 – 28 at the Hyatt Grand Champions Resort in Indian Wells. No matter what game of risk you're talking about – recreation, public safety, land use, public works or employee relations – don’t leave risk management to chance.

One more thing: the Authority’s Executive Committee is sensitive to the cost of professional development for your agency, particularly in these times of fiscal constraint. As such the Executive Committee has again waived educational forum registration fees for members. It’s time to stack the odds in your favor, so ante up and place your bets on our three-day educational forum. All you have to do is take care of lodging, and we’ll take care of the rest, including all your meals.

Go big by joining us in Indian Wells and learning more about the risks of probability, odds, and luck!

Member Recognized for Excellence in Risk Management

The City of West Hollywood has been chosen to receive a 2010 B.E.S.T. Project of the Year Award from the Southern California Chapter of the American Public Works Association (APWA) for the City’s Robot Sewer Inspection program. APWA is a professional association of public works leaders throughout the U.S. and Canada, and has a Southern California Chapter that includes more than 1,400 members. The purpose of the Chapter’s awards program is to recognize public agencies for their outstanding projects and programs, and to share the wealth of good ideas. So, when an Authority member demonstrates innovation in risk management, we want to share the news!

The City of West Hollywood is the first city in California to use the state-of-the-art Solo robot, which is the first autonomous sewer inspection robot. The Solo is designed to inspect eight-inch to 12-inch sewer pipes without supervision. Pipe inspections are carried out so that cities can understand where problems occur, and can plan preventative maintenance and repairs.

Solo simplifies the challenges of inspection and deployment of multiple robots by a single crew, which increases productivity in terms of the amount of sewer pipe that is able to be inspected in comparison to systems using conventional closed circuit television. The Solo’s capabilities have paved the way for once-challenging inspections, such as wet weather inspection and night-time inspection. Unlike existing technologies, the 20-pound portable robots do not require on-site trucks or generators, resulting in increased safety, significant emissions reductions, and minimal public disruption.

When performing inspections, the Solo is lowered into a manhole, and deployment information is programmed into a field laptop computer. The Solo robot travels through the sewer pipeline on its own until it senses it has reached the next manhole, and then returns. The 360-degree camera creates a virtual video that allows the entire inspection to be reviewed off-line as if the user is operating a camera in real time. In addition, the use of the robotic video equipment is 30 percent lower in cost than the use of traditional closed circuit television cameras.

For more information, contact Sharon Perlstein with the City of West Hollywood, sperlstein@weho.org. or (323) 848-6383.