Every year, employees lose their lives, or succumb to serious injuries due to accidents at the workplace. Even though they may not directly be responsible for the accidents that occur, they still must suffer through the affects of being absent from work. There is also the matter of hefty compensation packages that companies have to address.
Training Mandates
In most cases, workplace disasters are a result of employees not being aware of impending dangers around them. It is important that this message is spread amongst the workforce. Training on scenarios of specific incidents should be performed to show employees how they can safeguard themselves. Organizations are legally obligated to provide training on all safety parameters, as mandated by OSHA. According to OSHA, employers are mandated to train, test and certify, and maintain completion records of said training. Any violation of these regulations will result in legal implications and hefty fines/penalties.
Types of training include the following:
- Fire extinguisher training
- Manual Task Safety Training
- Hazards Identification Training
- Self Driving Training
- Avoiding Slips, Trips, and Falls Training
- Electrical Safety Training
Training Challenges and how E-Learning can Help
Safety training is meant to make safety an integral part of the company’s culture. However, employees do not always take an interest in the trainings, since they may find the information basic and boring. Companies still need to impart this training regardless, however e-learning can assist this common issue.
E-learning is a cost effective way that provides training for employees anywhere and anytime. It also allows companies to create customized safety courses based on individual company roles and responsibilities, with an emphasis on the unique situations they may face. Here are a few strategies for making engaging and lively training:
- Create short videos. Videos provide heightened levels of interaction and capture the attention of your learners. Concepts that you are trying to impart can be woven into the context of hypothetical scenarios.
- Real images add a realistic look to the course, and give learners a clear understanding of what can go awry.
- Avatars, or digital characters, are good for guided learning when it comes to safety training. These characters can generate a bond with learners as they train them.
- Scenarios are great to use when you are trying to introduce risk-based situations.
- Gamification is the most engaging tactic in digital learning. It encourages learners to get involved through a sense of competiveness. This makes learning the content substantially more relevant.
Certification and Record Maintenance
Online training makes it extremely easy to track the completion of safety courses by using a Learning management System (LMS). After learners have completed the final quiz and obtain a satisfactory score, they will automatically receive their certification. Scores and certification will all be saved by the LMS, and the performances of all employees can be compiled into reports. Safety regulators such as OSHA accept these reports as evidence that safety training has been performed.
A safe work culture can be fostered through the development of well thought out training courses. These courses can safeguard the lives of your employees, eliminate risks, and improve overall productivity.
Florin A. is Advertising professional at Linked organisation, an Ireland-based marketing and client experience consultancy that assists corporations in the Ireland produce powerful customer experiences.