Midlands
Forthcoming Events for 2008
| 28 February |
Regional Seminar at Worcestershire Rugby Club.
|
| 15 May |
Regional Seminar and AGM at Warwick Castle.
|
| September (date to be advised) |
Regional Seminar - 'Tree Root Trespass'
For further information contact Elaine Taylor
|
| 6 November |
Regional Seminar at Donnington Park.
For further information contact Elaine Taylor
|
2007 ....
ALARM Midlands 2007 joint
meeting with CIPFA Insurance Officer Group was held at
Staffordshire Fire & Rescue Service Headquarters at Stone on
7th March. As usual attendance from both groups
was well subscribed and the event exceeded our expectations in
every respect.
The day opened with a
welcome to all attendees and speakers together with a summary of
forthcoming events made by the Regional Chair.
The first item was a
presentation by Phil Farrar (of Risk Management Partners [RMP] who
are good friends of ALARM) on ‘Setting the Price’ which debated the
various aspects of Insurance premiums in the Public Sector and how
they are calculated, a topic close to our hearts at a time of a
really soft market. This was followed by a participatory session on
the subject which demonstrated the difficulties faced by
underwriters at present and how there are in reality two premiums
the scientifically based one and the commercially based one. As
usual Phil injected a degree of humour into the subject whilst in
no way diluting the content and left attendees with food for
thought for future renewals on this extremely complex subject.
Brown Jacobson’s Simon
White presented extensively on Cyber Risks and made the subject
come to life with some real life anecdotes and some warnings for
users. He proved the lie to whoever said that Lawyers have to be
boring!!
After lunch the fixed
agenda item of Open Forum (ALARM)/Points of Practise (CIPFA) was
ably presented by our own Robin Powell and as usual he teased out a
multitude of discussion issues.
A practical Risk
Management session was laid on by Staffordshire Fire & Rescue
Service, when the training school showed how to risk assess the
situation, stabilise the vehicle involved in an RTA ‘mock up’, and
extract the injured occupants with minimum aggravation to their
accident injuries. (The car was a mess though after its roof had
been cut off hydraulically)
Karen Seabright the
CIPFA Chair closed the day and thanked participants, presenters and
attendees for their part in making the day such a success.
Alan
Clarke
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Events of 2006....
ALARM Midlands first event for 2006 was the joint
ALARM/CIPFA meeting which was held at Leicester City
Council. This high attendance event boasted
a programme which was both educational and innovative.
The day started with a slick presentation on Speed Networking by
Elaine Taylor. It is envisaged that this skill will be a
valuable asset for us all as time constraints continue to be
tested. It was certainly thought provoking and demonstrated
an innovative way of exploiting the opportunities which membership
of ALARM offers.
A session followed on Witness Training. Peppy Marshall and
Sarah Tedstone of Weightmans (Solicitors) showed how to succeed in
court and what to avoid with many simple and commonsense tips on
how to remain a cool and credible witness in a civil court of
law. The playacting helped by adding a touch of
authenticity.
After lunch we moved on to a session on 'interactive skills'
where Ian Hughes of Wizz Training demonstrated that creativity is
alive and well. He showed that such aids as mind maps, active
listening and non-verbal communication (among other techniques) all
have a significant part to play in getting the message
across. The afternoon was rounded off with Robin Powell
chairing our ever-popular Discussion Forum / Points of
Interest.
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ALARM Midlands 2006 AGM and
Aspects of Business Continuity Seminar was held at the
prestigious Techno Centre in Coventry. This popular event boasted a
healthy attendance of approaching 60 members and an action packed
day of presentations and workshops.
The AGM opened the day with a summary of
previous events made by the Regional Chair and reports from
Jean Anslow (the treasurer) and results of local Election
of Officers ( who form part of The Steering Group) declared by Neil
Pearson. All four nominations were duly re-elected - Alan
Clarke, Jean Anslow, Nish Padhiar and Debbie Clements. Regrettably
subsequent resignations from Debbie, (Due to her departure form the
Public Sector) and Andrew Rewell, (Due to increased work
responsibilities) have been reluctantly accepted and our thanks as
a region go to both of them for there continued support of the
Steering Group together with our best wishes for the future.
Liz Taylor of PRM presented an illuminating
summary of how to sell the concept of Business Continuity to your
Authority with several practical examples and an insight into
persuasive techniques which can make the whole process more
compelling for an Authority’s perspective
The workshop orientated presentation from
Richard Blackwell of Marsh followed and allowed the participants an
opportunity to explore business continuity incidents in a desktop
environment. The meeting was spit into 5 groups and we
were all given a different disaster scenario that developed through
3 “moves” at the end of each the group had to report back and
Richard gave “constructive” feedback.
The meeting concluded with a talk from
Maddi Bali from Gloucestershire County Council gave an overview of
the “Gloucestershire Business Continuity Experience and how
business continuity planning has been implemented in her
authority.
Overall the day was very successful with
good feedback from Members who found the various sessions very
useful.
Alan Clarke