Introduction

This module will introduce you to general OSHA requirements for education and training. However, I will emphasize "getting beyond compliance" by addressing best practices in effective safety and health education programs. To learn more about safety education and training, be sure to complete OSHAcademy Course 703, Introduction to OSH Training.

The Big Picture

Safety education and training is extremely important to ensure all processes in your company's safety and health management system are effective. If this critical element is missing, none of the other system elements can, or will be effective. But, this element is often neglected or managed ineffectively because the benefits may not be immediate, tangible, and directly related to profits. Managers may find it difficult to see the long-term improvements in process and product quality that result from an effective safety education and training program. It's hard to see the big picture: to see the accidents that don't happen.

What are the OSHA training requirements?

It's outside the scope of this training module to cover all OSHA training requirements, but I'll point you to some good references that will help you determine those requirements specifically for your company. These references are in Adobe Acrobat format and require the free Acrobat Reader software.

Training Requirements in OSHA Standards and Training Guidelines. OSHA's Training Requirements Guide. Here's a great booklet that covers many OSHA training requirements and also gives you some ideas on training strategies.

Assessing Occupational Safety and Health Training: A Literature Review. This NIOSH sponsored report reviews data found in the literature reflecting the significance of training in meeting these kinds of objectives and outcomes. An analysis to identify factors underlying a successful training experience is also presented .

Beyond OSHA compliance

I want to make sure you firmly understand that, to be effective, your program must include safety education and safety training. But, how do the objectives differ between education and training?

Education and Training: What's the difference?

Safety education is effective in saving lives by primarily increasing our knowledge. Increased knowledge will improve attitudes and skills. For example, Gary, a recent student wrote:

"I stress to my co-workers that a life jacket is mandatory on deck. We hired a young guy who was a swimmer in college. He felt his swimming skills were such that he did not need the jacket. We educated him on hypothermia and that he could not save himself if he fell over in 35 degree water. Once he understood the hazard, he wore the jacket at all times, because he wanted to, not because he had to."

We educate to show why

There are many definitions for education. Within the context of occupational safety and health, education describes who, what, where, when, and most importantly, why safety procedure and practice are necessary. Education informs, persuades, and motivates to affect attitude.

The number one reason employees don't follow safety rules is that they don't know why they are important!

To make sure safety education and training is effective, it's necessary to tie the training to accountability. One of the most effective ways to do this is to emphasize the natural and system consequences that result from the appropriate application of what's being learned. Consequences represent the why in safety education.

Natural consequences describe the type of injury/illness that might result if we don't follow procedures. For instance...

• An employee breaks a arm or leg as a result of a fall.
• An employee escapes injury by properly using a personal fall arrest system.

System consequences describe the organizational response to performance. For instance...

• An employee would be subject to a disciplinary process for failing to comply with safety rules.
• An employee might be recognized for meeting goals or exceeding expectations.

Remember, we do what we do in the workplace because of consequences. Safety education and training must make consequences clear.

We train to show how.

Training, as a form of education, has a slightly different definition. Safety training is primarily concerned with affecting attitude through improving skills.

This is generally accomplished through demonstration -- showing how to safely accomplish the steps of a particular task or procedure. For instance...

• I might train someone how to accomplish the procedures for performing lockout/tagout of a machine prior to servicing or maintenance.
• I may train employees on how to properly clean up an incidental chemical spill.
• I might train a confined space entry team on how to perform emergency rescue procedures.

Why is education so important?

Earlier I said that education tells the "why" in a learning process. In safety and health, the why can save a person's life. By far the most common reason workers do not follow safety rules (or any rule) is that they don't understand why doing so is important. They don't understand the consequences.

For instance, I'll bet your company has a list of safety rules that they asked you to read when you were first hired. Did anyone discuss each rule with you at that time, and why that rule was important to follow? Maybe not. (There's always an exception to this, and if you are one...congratulations!) If you only have a list of rules, you may want to suggest incorporating a short paragraph explaining why the rules are important. Don't assume it's obvious.

If your company attempts to institute change in any part of the safety and health program (or any other program), the effort will fail if the company only trains people how to change without educating in such a way that not only informs, but also motivates and persuades workers that the change is necessary and in everyone's' best interest.

It's all about "Show and Tell"

Safety education and training doesn't have to be difficult or expensive: it's not rocket science. So, what is probably the best and most common method to train specific safety procedures? On-the-job show and tell.

Seven-Step On-The-Job (OJT) Training Process

Safety training should be simple training. Hopefully, it's done where the task is performed. Hopefully the supervisor - the person responsible for the worker's safety - is conducting the training. Why...? Well, if a supervisor isn't knowledgeable enough to train safe procedures, how can he or she properly supervise, discipline, or recognize safety behaviors adequately? (Sorry...got on my soap box again.)

On the next two tabs, I've included a simple six-step OJT training process that helps to ensure new employees don't get hurt while being trained. Now I know that might sound funny, but it's happened. Especially notice in step 3 that the employee must get permission to continue. That's a critical component of the safe procedure.

Step 1. Introduction. State and discuss the learning objectives and answer any questions the employee may have. Discuss the acceptable standards of knowledge and performance. Tell the trainee what you're going to train. Emphasize the importance of the procedure to the success of the production/service goals. Invite questions. Emphasize the natural and system consequences of their performance. The natural consequences describe the hurt or health that automatically results. The system consequences are those consequences the organization applies as a result of an employee's performance; discipline or positive recognition.

Step 2. Trainer shows and tells. In this step the trainee becomes familiar with each work practice and why it is important. Review the initial conditions for the procedure. Demonstrate the process, carefully explaining each step as you go. Answer questions and continue to demonstrate and explain until the employee understands what to do, when and why to do it, and how to do it.

	Trainer:	EXPLAINS and PERFORMS each step.
	Learner:	OBSERVES each step and QUESTIONS the trainer.

Step 3. Learner tells - Trainer shows. This step is necessary when exposure to hazards inherent in the procedure could cause serious harm. It protects the trainee because the trainer performs the procedure. The trainee explains the procedure to the trainer, while the trainer does it. This gives the trainer an opportunity to discover whether there were any misunderstandings in the previous step. The trainee also responds to trainer questions.

	Learner:	EXPLAINS each step and RESPONDS to questions.
	Trainer:	PERFORMS each step and QUESTIONS the trainee.

Step 4. Learner shows and tells. The trainer has the trainee do it. The trainee explains the step, gets permission to perform the step and then carries out the step. This step is very important when training tasks that might result in serious physical injury or death if not performed correctly. The learner may try to perform the task too quickly, increasing the probability of an injury. Requiring permission helps prevent this from happening.

	Learner:	EXPLAINS the step, gets PERMISSION and then PERFORMS each step.
	Trainer:	Give PERMISSION and OBSERVES each step, ask QUESTIONS as the trainee performs.

Step 5. Conclusion. Recognize accomplishment - “Good job!” Reemphasize the importance of the procedure and how it fits into the overall process. Tie the training again to accountability by discussing the natural and system consequences of performance.

Step 6. Document. Training documentation should be more than an attendance sheet. See the sample training certification document on the next page. It represents one possible way to document training. Strong documentation includes:

• Trainee's and trainer's name.
  
• Date of training.
  
• Subject(s) being trained - procedures, practices, related policies, rules, etc.
  
• Certification - trainee and trainer signatures.
• Trainee statement of understanding and intent to comply.
  
• Trainee statement that he/she was provided opportunity to practice.
  
• Trainer statement that testing of knowledge and skills was conducted.
  
• Trainer statement that student demonstrated adequate knowledge and skill.
  

Step 7. Validate. At some point in time after the conclusion of the OJT session, observe and question the employee to validate that the training has been successful and that the employee has developed a proper attitude related to the work.

Recognition goes along way!

REVIEW QUIZ

This is an open book review quiz. It's important to complete this quiz as some of the final exam questions are derived directly from the questions within this module quiz. Immediately after submitting the quiz, you will receive a web page containing your answers and the correct "book" answers.