The Agency Outreach & Training unit of the State Office of Risk Management offers a variety of safety, health, risk management, and workers’ compensation training for state agencies.

Check the calendar for course dates. Some courses offered during the year are train-the-trainer courses. Our goal is to persuade and motivate you to deliver more effective training for your agency. The train-the-trainer courses will help you enliven your delivery by complementing your program with slide show presentations and helping you phrase messages to motivate listeners. In addition to these courses, most of our classes can be customized for your agency. Our team can work with you to create specialized training that incorporates pictures of your facilities, agency policies and procedures, or whatever will work best in your agency to keep your workforce well-trained and working safely. Many dates have been left open for these agency-specific trainings. To request this type of training, contact steve.shearman@sorm.state.tx.us. For other information, call Steve Shearman at (512) 936-1477.

Most training courses offered by SORM are free to state agency employees. Space is limited, so signing up early is your best bet. Class dates/locations are subject to change.

* * NOTICE: SORM is discontinuing Basic First Aid & CPR training. For information and to find alternate sources for this training, please click here. * *

Course Designed For:
Claims coordinators, risk managers, supervisiors, and workers' compensation investigative staff.

Class Size: 10-40 participants per class.

Class Times: 3 hours

This program focuses on the human element in determining root cause(s) involved in a mishap. Several analytical models are introduced and the concepts applied through group exercises using "thinking out-of-the-box" approach.

Course Designed For:
Any employee involved in accident investigation.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin.

Class Times: 2 hours

This class seeks to educate agency personal in rudimentary accident investigation for work-related injuries. Instruction on how to compile an "investigation kit" along with standard guidelines and tips on possible fraud and abuse detection. This class is recommended for any agency personal who are involved in accident investigation.

Course Designed For:
Newly appointed additional duty safety personnel.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin.

Class Times: 7 hours

A basic overview of essential safety elements expected in an effective, proactive mishap prevention program. The four components covered are:

• Historical Perspective: A basic overview of a safety program and the interaction of safety and applicable provisions of the Texas Workers' Compensation Act. The focus is on prevention.
   
• Hazard Identification: This section deals with identifying and reporting safety issues or concerns focusing on work conditions and work practices. The emphasis is on prevention through motivation and involvement of all employees in identifying and reporting mishap potentials.
   
• Mishap Investigation: This portion of the program focuses on the human element in determining root cause(s) involved in a mishap. Several analytical models are introduced and the concepts applied through group exercises using a "thinking out-of-the-box" approach.
   
• Training: Participants will learn how to implement and document functioning safety training modules that are customized to their area of responsibility.

Course Designed For:
Any employee.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 1 hour

Anger is an emotion that we all experience. When anger occurs, do we handle it properly? This class examines anger, its causes, and what the effects of anger can be. The discussion includes signs of anger, both outward and hidden, why anger can be both negative and positive, and how anger affects the relationship you have with co-workers. We will also discuss how to handle anger in a more positive manner and give some anger management ideas.

Course Designed For:
Employees at all levels, aimed at preparation and response to office emergencies.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 1 hour, by request

Students of this class will be able to define HIV, Hepatitis B, and Hepatitis C and be able to identify the methods of transmission and discuss prevention techniques. This course is certified by the Texas Department of Insurance for 1 hour of continuing education credit for workers' compensation adjusters.

Course Designed For:
Any non-management employees.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 2.5 hours

This course provides state government workers (non-management) with techniques on solving conflicts and developing a plan of action, and also provides some communication skills and problem solving skills in order to help solve conflicts in the workplace.

Course Designed For:
All employees for whom driving is an essential function.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin.

Class Times: 4 hours

Basics of safe driving are covered in this class. Subjects such as stopping distance, driving while drowsy, road rage, seat belts, and habitual violations will be discussed. Videos, lecture, and class participation and discussion are all used to help inform and remind employees of the rights, responsibilities, and privilege of being behind the wheel. This course cannot be used for ticket dismissal.

Course Designed For:
Personnel required to assess workstations.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin.

Class Length: 3 hours

This course is an overview of ergonomics and the reporting process. Participants will learn about risk factors, employee involvement in an ergonomic program, effective application of ergonomic principles, and tools needed for assessments. Participants will also complete a job analysis and assessment of a workplace.

Course Designed For:
Risk managers and operators of 15 passenger vans.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 10 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Times: 1.5 hours

This course looks at the unique hazards associated with operating 15 passenger vans. Topics covered include:

• van accident facts;
• the primary mechanism of van rollover accidents;
• van driving tips;
• a NTSB case study conducted on a tragic North Texas van accident; and
• steps for an agency van safety program.

This course meets the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration recommendations that 15 passenger vans be driven by trained personnel. It's recommended that students complete a Driving Safety course prior to attending.

Course Designed For:
New supervisors who have employees who routinely work with and are exposed to chemicals in the workplace. This course is also recommended for new risk/safety managers or those assigned the duty with limited experience in the public sector.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin.

Class Length: 1.5 hours, by request

This basic course covers the Texas Hazard Communication Act (HCA), Chapter 502 of the Health and Safety Code, and its companion Act, the Public Employer Community Right-to-Know Act, Chapter 506. Emphasis will be on:

• Maintaining a written hazard communication program; an outline of minimum requirements that must be met when employees are exposed to hazardous chemicals;
   
• Purpose and content of a workplace chemical list;
   
• The purpose and how to read a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS); and
   
• Labeling requirements.

Course Designed For:
Risk managers, supervisors, and employees at all levels.

Class Size: 10-50 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 1/2 hour, by request

This course covers the impact of heat-related illnesses, both to businesses and the individual employees, why it happens and how to recognize the symptoms and treat the condition.

Course Designed For:
Risk managers, representatives of entities with charge and control of state buildings, facility managers, and owners and managers of buildings or offices leased to the state

Texas Senate Bill 599 requires that the State Office of Risk Management (SORM) will "provide updated information on maintaining safe indoor air in state buildings."

This bill also mandates that state agency risk managers, representatives of entities with charge and control of state buildings, facility managers, and owners and managers of buildings or offices leased to the state must review the updated Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) information annually.

Go to http://www.sorm.state.tx.us/Risk_Management/IAQ/IAQIntro.php for the online training.

Course Designed For:
Risk managers, purchasing managers, contract managers, and anyone who purchases insurance for a state agency, requires insurance from vendors/ contractors, or reviews insurance certificates.

Class Size: 20-40 participants per class; minimum 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin.

Class Times: 4 hours

Your position requires knowledge of insurance. The only insurance you have ever had to purchase or know anything about is your personal automobile or homeowners insurance. Here is an opportunity to learn more than you ever wanted to know about insurance.

• Isn't the state self-insured or have sovereign immunity? Statutory review of these issues.
• What is insurance? Learn about the different lines of insurance.
• What does liability mean? Learn the basics of "insurancese."
• How do I know what the policy says? Learn how to read an insurance policy, what is important to know.
• What insurance should I require a contractor to have? Learn when to require what line of insurance.
• The contractor gave me an insurance certificate, doesn't that mean he has insurance? Learn how to review an insurance certificate to see if the contractor has fulfilled the contract's insurance requirements.

Requisite: Bring a copy of your personal automobile policy to class.

Adobe PDF Document from Insurance 101 Class

Course Designed For:
Risk managers, safety officers, supervisors, and employees.

Class Size: 5-25 participants per class

Class Length: 3 hours

This course covers regulations, procedures, and practices to work safely in spaces defined by OSHA and RMTSA Guidelines as permit-required confined spaces. The course is designed to teach employees to recognize the spaces and their hazards, recognize the health effects of exposure, and the responsibilities for the confined spaces participants.

Course Designed For:
Supervisors, risk managers, and employees at all levels.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 1 hours, by request

This class takes a look at back safety: what it is; what things to be cautious of; and ways to help safeguard your back on and off the job. Protecting your back at work helps keep productivity up and costs down. But it also helps YOU, the employee.

Course Designed For:
Current PIT trainers, Risk Managers

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 10 participants per class for classes outside of Austin.

Class Length: 3 hours

This course is a train-the-trainer class. The course discusses the OSHA and RMTSA guidelines for powered industrial truck (PIT) training and safety. Discussion will also include developing or improving agency PIT training programs to certify PIT operators. This is NOT a forklift operator certification course.

Course Designed For:
Maintenance and facilities workers, supervisors, and risk managers.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 10 participants per class for classes outside of Austin.

Class Length: 4 hours

Designed for maintenance and facilities workers, this course addresses the practices and procedures necessary to safely disable machinery or equipment, thereby preventing the release of hazardous energy while employees perform servicing and maintenance activities. The course outlines measures for identifying, controlling, and isolating hazardous energies from electrical, mechanical, and energy sources.

Course Designed For:
State of Texas employees who wish to become notary publics.

SORM no longer offers this training.

An online training video is available on the Texas Secretary of State's web site at www.sos.state.tx.us/statdoc/zip-instr.shtml.

Course Designed For:
All employees.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 1.5 hours

This is a basic ergonomics class intended to help employees understand the risk factors related to jobs and personal health and to help employees complete a self assessment on their workstations in improve productivity and eliminate ergonomic problems.

Course Designed For:
Any employee who works in an office environment.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 2 hours

This course is designed to give the student a basic overview of office safety. Discover the reasons for slips, trips, and falls in the office and ways to prevent them. The class also recognizes how office housekeeping issues affect safety in the workplace; points out basic office ergonomics and proper load handling and lifting techniques; and explains safe electrical usage and reasons to know the office emergency procedures.

Course Designed For:
Risk Managers, Safety Officers, and all interested employees.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 1 hour

This course outlines previous flu epidemics/pandemics and describes the local and wide-ranging impacts of this serious health crisis. Students will learn ways these out breaks have been addressed in the past, as well as current thinking on how to reduce the impact on the individual employee and the agency as a whole. Practical information on prevention and good health/office guidelines is included.

Course Designed For:
All employees.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 2 hours

On or off the job, we are living in a world that many of us did not grow up in. Today, we can face dangers in the form of bombs, biological hazards, chemical hazards, radiological hazards, nuclear hazards, elaborate suicides, and terrorism. Situational awareness is the key. This class discusses how to be a tough target for a predator, how to avoid being taken to a private location, how to attract attention to those nearby who can help, and how to have an exit strategy.

Course Designed For:
Risk managers, supervisors, and employees at all levels.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Times: 2 hours, by request

This course covers the causes and preventative measures of slips, trips, and falls in the workplace. Learn the common causes for injuries and how to identify hazards and apply corrective actions. Discusses the reasons for slips, trips, and falls along with identifying unsafe conditions. This course is aimed primarily at maintenance and custodial staff, but can be tailored for specific agency requirements.

Course Designed For:
Anyone interested in stress reduction.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 1 hour

This course is an introduction to stress management. Class discussion includes defining how stress works, distinguishing the causes and effects of stress in your body, and why stress management is important to your health. Some stress management techniques are included in course materials.

Course Designed For:
Agency directors, managers and line supervisors at any level of the organization.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Length: 3 hours

The key in a highly visible and proactive occupational safety and health program is management support. Directors and managers create and foster the safety culture. Supervisors are the direct link between top management and the workforce but are also responsible for quality training, development of a positive safety culture, and safe work practices. This course is designed to help agency management and supervisors integrate safety management into their overall management program, improve their safety management skills, and gain employees' active participation in the total agency safety effort. Participants will examine and evaluate:

• The value of an effective and integrated safety program as a multiplier to the agency safety staff;
• Discussions on behavior safety management;
• The use of analyses information to understand the safety climate and determine the strengths and weaknesses in safety management; and
• Components of organizations safety including recognizing and anticipating unsafe conditions and acts, communications, accident investigations, and safety training.

Course Designed For:
For new risk managers or for designated risk managers with limited experience in state agencies. This course is also suitable for experienced risk managers who may want a refresher in the duties and responsibilities of risk management.

Class Size: 1-20 participants per class. Course offered in Austin only.

Class Times: 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

The course is designed for newly appointed risk managers and assumes limited or no experience in performing the risk management function in a state agency. This course covers the role of risk management as an integral component of the Texas Workers' Compensation Act, the specific duties and responsibilities of a state agency risk manager, and the assigned individual’s role in the Risk Assessment and Loss Prevention evaluation process.

Course Designed For:
Maintenance and facilities workers, supervisors, and risk managers.

Class Size: 10-30 participants per class; minimum of 20 participants per class for classes outside of Austin when combined with another course.

Class Times: 4 hours

This course discusses what qualifies as a trench and provides an explanation of excavations. It also includes discussion about proper protective systems for shoring. The objectives are to define what an OSHA-designated competent person is, as well as safe work practices, inspections, soil conditions, hazards, and rescue procedures.

Course Designed For:
All claims coordinators (new and old), risk managers, and their support staff.

Class Size: 8-25 participants per class. Course is usually offered in Austin and during Regional Open Enrollment Training events only, but special circumstances may allow otherwise.

Class Times: 16 hours

A two-day comprehensive course addressing the function of the agency claims coordinator. The class will consist of a general overview of workers' compensation in Texas and its many facets. Some of the subjects addressed are forms and reporting, income benefits, return-to-work programs, and new updates.

This course is certified by the Texas Department of Insurance for 16 hours of continuing education credit for the licensed workers' compensation adjuster.

Course Designed For:
SORM employees and Texas state agency claims coordinators, HR personnel, safety officers, and risk managers seeking a workers' compensation adjuster license.

Class Size: 1-20 participants per class. Course offered in Austin only.

Class Times: 40 hours

This course provides the hours and testing required by the Texas Department of Insurance (TDI) for a workers' compensation adjuster license. The 40-hour course is held over five days in one week and is free of charge. Upon completion of the course and a passing grade on the final examination, the student is exempt from taking the examination required by TDI.

Students are responsible for the fees associated with fingerprinting and application with TDI.

Course Requirements and Guidelines
The following requirements and guidelines are set forth by TDI and are not open for interpretation by SORM. Failure to meet them will result in invalidation of your certification process.

• You must present a valid governmental entity-issued picture ID on the first day of class.
• You must complete 40 hours of class time to receive credit.
• You must be on time for class each day.
• You must return from all breaks timely.
• You must re-present a valid governmental entity-issued picture ID to take the exam.