In the latter part of the twentieth century, trade groups and government agencies emerged to develop standards and rules dealing with the safety of industrial processes and facilities. The Chemical Society and the EPA are examples. As these policies were established, training and assessment courses in the regulations themselves and the ways to adhere to those regulations became more and more important. Most of the time, training in the rules and compliance were handled by firms “internally” or by trade associations.
It wasn’t until the late 1970s that private training businesses appeared that were established for the intention of offering such training on a commercial basis. Twenty five years ago, educators at The University of Findlay established courses created for meeting the expanding need for training. The UF difference was that it didn’t concentrate solely on the regulations and compliance; it provided in deptheducation on response to industrial and environmental incidents, as well as the recovery tasks connected with such events.
In the ensuing years, SEEM served the growing need among Environmental Health and Safety workers beyond routine industrial safety inspections and environmental remediation methods to incident prevention and response management. By recruiting leading trainers and building one of the most innovative EHS training centers in North America, SEEM established an ability to train private and public sector clients from a more complete “all hazards” standpoint.
This all hazards practice teaches not only technical analysis, procedures and equipment, but also threat assessment, response management and multi-agency coordination. In recognition of this well-rounded approach to environmental, safety and certificate iv training and assessment, SEEM changed its name to The All Hazards Training Center. ‘Findlay All Hazards’ offers over sixty adult-education training and certification programs, most of which are customized to the organization’s unique requirements and delivered at their locations.
While Findlay All Hazards has one of the most highly regarded EHS degree programs, The All Hazards Training Center readies countless industry individuals with the knowledge, planning tools and hands-on exercises needed to execute their essential part in preserving their community’s health, safety and security. However, the requirement is not always just training. Findlay also provides facility safety and threat assessments, collaborative emergency response plan development and live exercise planning and implementation.
These expanded offerings consist of: • Plan Evaluations and Audits • Threat & Safety Assessments • Exercise & Simulation Development • National Incident Command System • Disaster Preparedness Planning • Job-Specific Training Materials • Conflict Resolution Training Findlay’s approach has proven successful, as measured by the numbers of industry workers it trains. In 2010 alone, they trained over 11,300 people in 530 courses at almost 300 different sites in 45 states, plus Canada and Mexico.Recently, Findlay’s Industrial Safety and Security trainers have developed programs to address an issue of urgent significance – the threat of workplace harrassment and violence.
New reports show that eighteen thousand acts of workplace violence take place throughout the country daily. Findlay presents custom training to help managers and safety/security personnel recognize the underlying issues that spawn workplace violence and implement positive actions to prevent violence, rather than respond after the fact.Findlay All Hazards is even pioneering the use interactive, simulation-based Violence Prevention Training. These DVD-based training tools help staff develop ability to handle and de-escalate potentially dangerous events.