6 OSHA Training Tips
BY AsphaltPro Staff
We know Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10-hour and 30-hour training programs are set up as keystones for ensuring the safety and well-being of employees across various industries. The asphalt industry, like others, employs safety managers who ensure OSHA rules and regs are implemented correctly—among myriad other elements of an asphalt company’s safety culture. This month, we’re fortunate to hear from Elis Enano, a safety professional with six years of experience in both construction and manufacturing industries. She writes about OSHA compliance, safety standards, training procedures and other matters relevant to workplace safety and accident prevention. In the safety training realm, she has seen room for improvement.
“As a safety professional, I have observed many common mistakes that reduce the efficacy of workplace safety training programs,” she wrote.
She provided six areas to focus on when trying to educate your teams on safety and accident prevention:
- Customization;
- Comprehensiveness;
- Presentation;
- Interactive Learning;
- Resource Availability; and
- Reinforcement
Let’s take a quick look at each of these areas to see how Enano recommends improvement for your OSHA safety training in your asphalt operation.
Use a customized training approach
Enano suggests performing a needs assessment to pinpoint any gaps between existing and desired levels of knowledge, skills and attitudes about safety. If you fail to perform a comprehensive needs assessment before developing your training program, you could be wasting time and resources on topics not relevant to your team or overlooking areas your team needs help with.
“During my time in the field, I’ve observed managers, under pressure to meet tight deadlines, rushing through the needs assessment phase,” she shared. “Since the assessment creates the foundation of the training, the hasty approach resulted in training programs that missed out on many nuanced safety issues that were crucial for effective safety training….it is essential to analyze workplace hazards, risks, regulations, and performance metrics while engaging employees and stakeholders to identify their learning requisites and preferences.”
Cover it all
Comprehensive training coverage in OSHA training means you’re addressing all mandatory topics and relevant aspects of workplace safety. Enano reminds us this includes covering a wide range of subjects such as hazard identification, emergency procedures, equipment use and regulatory compliance specific to the asphalt industry.
It’s how you say it
Different people learn in different ways, which makes your presentation “technique” crucial for communicating safety information to employees. By using engaging methods such as visual aids, interactive activities, and real-life examples, trainers have a better chance of conveying information to workers and helping them understand and retain it.
“Unfortunately, many trainers miss out on case studies and interactive techniques and create presentations that cannot keep the students engaged,” Enano wrote. “In my experience, the best training sessions are those where the trainer converses with the students instead of simply bombarding them with information.”
She also stresses the importance of providing plenty of time for a Q&A session during OSHA training. “Overall, mastering effective presentation techniques is essential for delivering impactful OSHA training that promotes a culture of safety in the workplace.”
Get workers active in learning
As part of your presentation, consider how interactive you can make the training experience. This goes above and beyond an interactive Q&A session. The concept of interactive learning integration in OSHA training is designed to enhance learning for workers. You want to get everyone more engaged for a deeper understanding and to retain more information—have group discussions and exercises, include simulations, incorporate hands-on demonstrations.
Give them access to resources
It may seem obvious, but you want to make sure you provide access to resources and tools for effective learning. This includes safety manuals and reference materials but also includes personal protective equipment (PPE) and emergency response resources.
“In one of the sessions that I observed, the trainer overlooked ensuring that each participant had access to the required safety gear, such as gloves, goggles and helmets,” Enano shared. “This resulted in a disjointed and incomplete training experience.”
You want to prioritize training in a space with adequate space, lighting and equipment to facilitate learning and skill development.
New Online Portal Simplifies Application Process for OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Programs
Follow up for safety success
Don’t forget to reinforce workplace safety training with follow-up measures—such as consistent feedback, practical application, acknowledging workers’ achievements—post-training. If you fail to reinforce training, workers can forget new safety skills or revert to old, unsafe habits.
Through the six tips sketched here, you can improve your OSHA and other safety training programs to foster a safer work environment. Your effective training methods can cultivate a safety culture where all workers are equipped with the knowledge, skills and attitudes they need.
Enano would like to provide these important external sources for the audience as references:
https://www.oshaoutreachcourses.com/blog/health-hazards-and-the-importance-of-osha-training/