How To Create An Online Safety Course To Meet OSHA General Industry Requirements?
Workplace safety training has often been seen as expensive and disruptive to operations and business activities. Many start-ups deem an online safety course to be a cost to organizations that brings little gain.
Unfortunately, employees from all types of industries are injured year after year due to accidents or end up in the hospital due to unassessed situations that basic workplace online safety courses and training could have avoided.
Investing in workplace health and safety training is money well spent. There are numerous benefits to workplace health and safety training, including benefits for the employer and, most notably, the employee. Businesses with successful health and safety training programs benefit from fewer workplace injuries and lawsuits, better employee satisfaction, and lower insurance rates.
Here are a few steps recommended by the OSHA(Occupational Safety and Health Administration) to design and implement effective online safety training:
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Determine What Safety Training is Required
Organizations should first ask themselves whether safety training in the workplace is the real solution to the problem at hand. If the answer is yes, they should determine what kind of safety training is required, like personal protective equipment training, food safety training, confined space training, construction safety training, and environmental safety training. Only once they have the answer to this question should they move forward.
When problems arise from the quality of work rather than the workplace environment itself, preparation is the most efficient way to solve them. If problems arise from employees’ motivation or attitude, workplace safety training courses are less effective in correcting these problems.
It is important to analyze the type of issue when assessing employee performance issues in order to determine the best solution. An online training course is most successful in resolving the lack of knowledge of an employee about proper procedures or use of equipment.
Identify the safety training requirements of the workplace
The next step is to accurately determine the exact learning needed to address the gap in knowledge that the workplace safety training courses will address. This process involves determining the specific details that an employee needs to know in order to perform the job safely.
Conducting a work risk assessment is a reliable method for determining the level of online safety training required. This process documents every step of a task while identifying and analyzing potential safety hazards along the way.
By taking the time to evaluate the process, the organization can translate high-risk activities into a priority training plan.
Clearly identified objectives and outcomes of safety training
Upon clearly identifying training needs, it is important to set learning outcomes and objectives for safety training in the workplace. Effective learning goals need to be transparent and observable so that learning can be assessed at a later date.
Learning outcomes should use descriptive, action-oriented terminology to precisely describe the desired ability or actions. Thorough and details learning objectives allow employees and employers to understand the expected training result.
Develop Learning Activities For Workplace Safety
After the learning goals are clearly identified, the learning activities in the online safety course that support those goals have to be developed. Businesses should consider the techniques, materials, and resources needed to communicate the message most effectively. The sort of training that is selected (e.g., group, one-to-one, etc.) should take the audience, their environment, and specific skills into account.
Ideally, learning programs will include opportunities for staff to demonstrate their training skills and knowledge. These tasks must directly relate to the actual job of the employee and include lessons organized sequentially in accordance with the position.
Conduct Safety Training
Now that all the material is ready, the training should be launched, and learning should be delivered in a simple and structured way. Provide the learners with an overview of the online safety course to maximize learning and to ensure they understand that the course is relevant to their situation.
Using the lessons learned to keep employees engaged and inspired in the learning and encourage learners to engage and practice their new skills along the way. Participation in conversation and the integration of real-life examples into the discussion are great ways to internalize new information.
Evaluate The Efficacy Of The Workplace Safety Training Program
Once the online safety training is completed, its effectiveness in achieving defined goals must be assessed. There are two ways to perform an assessment: ask the learners for input by sending them a questionnaire or by having an informal conversation. This will provide valuable insights into the effectiveness of the course and how it could be improved going forward.
Last note
Looking for online safety courses? Look no further! Coggno has an extensive list of courses that meet OSHA general industry requirements. You can have a look at our course catalog here.
