OSHA Guidelines for Training Program Evaluation OSHA's Occupational Safety and Health Standards, CFR 29, Subpart: H - Hazardous Materials 1910.120 App E Training Curriculum Guidelines, serves as an effective guideline for evaluating all safety training. To make sure your company conforms with this guideline, you should: Conduct or direct an annual written audit of the safety training program. Ensure the training provider formally documents, approves and implements program modifications to address deficiencies. Maintain audit and the program modification documents at the training facility.

Suggested Program Quality Control Criteria

There are a number of suggested criteria for determining the quality and appropriateness of employee health and safety training.

1. Training Plan

The adequacy and appropriateness of the training program's curriculum development, instructor training, distribution of course materials, and direct student training should be considered, including:

• The duration and frequency of training. Is it too short, just right, or too long? Is training conducted at the right time and often enough?

• Course content. Is there too little, just enough, or too much?

• Training requirements of the various target populations. Does the plan cover management training as well as employee training?

• The process for the development of curriculum. Does it include appropriate technical input, outside review, evaluation, program pretesting?

• The inclusion of hands-on, demonstration, and instruction methods. Do all students practice dangerous procedures and practices during the training?

• Adequate monitoring. Is the trainer-student ration adequate and is the learning environment safe for students?

2. Program management, Training Director, staff, and consultants

The adequacy and appropriateness of training staff performance in delivering an effective training program should be considered. Below are some of questions you should ask when evaluating program management and staff:

1. How well does the training director demonstrate leadership in assuring quality of health and safety training?
2. To what degree do training staff show competency to meet the demands of delivering high quality safety training?
3. How clearly are staff duties defined?
4. What evidence shows that the training organizational structure suits the needs of the training program?
5. How appropriate and adequate are training methods used by the instructors?
6. Does training director and staff devote adequate time to the training program?
7. Are human and physical resources adequate?

3. Training facilities and resources Of course, training facilities and the resources required to conduct training need to be adequate and appropriate for safety training. The adequacy and appropriateness of the facilities and resources for supporting the training program should consider all of the following: The adequacy of space and equipment to conduct the training The quality of facilities for conducting hands-on training In the case of multiple-site programs, equipment and facilities at the satellite centers

4. Quality control and evaluation

It's important to set up programs to continuously evaluate the quality control function of the training plan. Adequacy and appropriateness of quality control and evaluation plans for training programs should be focus on ensuring appropriate course evaluation, feedback, updating, and corrective action. The following should also be considered:

• The quality of an advisory committee or outside reviewers
• The quality control and evaluations program to account for instructor performance
• The expertise being used within the quality control and evaluation program
• The role of student evaluations to provide feedback for training program improvement

5. Students You can't have an effective training program without students! So, it's important to consider the adequacy and appropriateness of the program for accepting students. This part of the evaluation should consider the following: Assurance that the student already possess the necessary skills for their job, including necessary documentation Appropriateness of methods the program uses to ensure that recruits are capable of satisfactorily completing training Review and compliance with any medical clearance policy

6. Institutional Environment and Administrative Support Any effective safety training program will depend on the adequacy and appropriateness of the institutional environment and administrative support system. To evaluate this part of the training program, be sure to consider the following: Adequacy of the institutional commitment to the employee training program Adequacy and appropriateness of the administrative structure and administrative support

7. Summary of Evaluation Questions

Key questions for evaluating the quality and appropriateness of an overall training program should include the following:

1. Are the program objectives clearly stated?
2. Is the program accomplishing its objectives?
3. Are appropriate facilities and staff available?
4. Is there an appropriate mix of classroom, demonstration, and hands-on training?
5. Is the program providing quality employee health and safety training that fully meets the intent of regulatory requirements?
6. What are the program's main strengths?

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.