Robert Warren, the City of Arlington's Risk Manager, was recently recognized as the top in his field by the Texas Chapter of the Public Risk Management Association.
Warren, whose career in Arlington began in 2014, accepted the prestigious 2017 Risk Professional of the Year award earlier this month at the association's annual conference in Galveston.
"This was unexpected," Warren said. "There's a lot of great risk managers out there all across the state. I'm honored to receive this award."
With more than 12 years of experience in the risk management field, Warren began his professional safety career as a unit risk manager at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice in 2005. In 2011, he was promoted to risk manager for TDCJ's 40,000 employees. Warren completed a Master's degree in Occupational Safety and Health in 2012, while overseeing the risk functions at the Criminal Justice Department.
As Arlington's Risk Manager, Warren's responsibilities include management of the City's risk and safety programs, oversight of the third-party claims administration for both workers' compensation and general liability, and management of the drug and alcohol and insurance and risk transfer programs.
Under Warren's leadership, the City of Arlington's Risk Management Division has been able to put more than $4.5 million back into the City budget as well as provide protections for the City through comprehensive elimination, reduction and transfer of risk exposures. These efforts include some of the following:
- Safety (Elimination/Reduction) - Successful implementation of a revised City Safety Policy to address the key elements of management commitment/employee involvement, accident investigations, inspection, and training which paired with improved claims administration has resulted in significant reduction in claims expenditures for the past three years. Fleet safety efforts have resulted in a 13 percent reduction of auto liability accidents and a 36 percent reduction in claims costs. The City of Arlington was the recipient of the 2017 Our Driving Concern Texas Employer Traffic Safety - Exemplary Award.
- Contractual Risk Transfer - Standardization of insurance requirements for City contracts and training for department staff to ensure adequate protections are provided, including revisions to the airport minimum insurance standards impacting operations and lease agreements at the Arlington Municipal Airport. Significant contract negotiations include Bell Helicopter (Textron) lease agreement, General Motors Pedestrian Bridge agreement, Texas Rangers lease agreement, and implementation of the first public autonomous vehicle shuttle service, Milo.
- Insurance - Implementation of new insurance programs to include a Tenant User Liability Insurance Plan (TULIP) for special events at City facilities, parades, and neighborhood block parties, Cyber Risk Liability insurance, and volunteer accident coverage. These coverages implemented have allowed for protections not only to the City, but our customers and stakeholders which has created an opportunity for an increase for participation in City programs. In 2017 the City was successful in negotiating a $2.5 million settlement for a May 2016 hail storm impacting a significant number of City facilities and fleet. The City has also engaged in a comprehensive review of the assigned property values through a detailed review of the property schedule as well as scheduled appraisals to ensure an accurate identification of property risk exposures. In 2017, there has been implemented a specific focus on identifying and coordinating appraisals related to fine art maintained by the City in effort to capture these assets and provide adequate protections for their values.
- Pre-employment and Volunteer Screening - implemented revisions to the pre-employment and volunteer screening programs to increase the effectiveness, accuracy, and efficiency of the process, and allowing the City to recognize cost savings.
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