SAFETY BLOG

Safety trainings in Ohio are becoming more common as liabilities have increased throughout the years.  Ohio is listed as a federal OSHA state and uses OSHA standards as their own.  More and more contractors in the State of Ohio are requiring their subcontractors to have OSHA safety training certificates to perform work on their projects.  These certificates equal a reduction in liability insurance and potential safety related problems for the contractors.  If you are a company that is engaging in a lot of work in Ohio, chances are good that you will be asked if your employees are OSHA safety certified.

Many contractors will require your base employees to have OSHA 10 certification and your management staff to have OSHA 30.  The 10 hour certification is a general introduction to the identification and abatement of hazards in the workplace, and the 30 hour certification is a more detailed examination of hazards and the OSHA standards that regulate and protect workers from them.  So the question arises, who can train our employees to get this safety certification?

You will not have to look far to find a OSHA Outreach trainer, but you will want to get an idea of how the information is presented.  Most people who sit through these trainings will tell you that it was the most boring training they have ever endured in their life.  Listen folks, it does not have to be that way.  To make this training a rewarding experience for your employees, you should be asking safety trainers for their experience and methods before deciding on which trainer to use.

Ask them if they have any personal experience mitigating workplace accidents or injuries, and whether or not they have been responsible for the safety of others in a workplace.  Generally, trainers who have been responsible for others or have dealt with workplace accidents tend to have more passion for the importance of safety.  That passion leads to more commitment to the education of employees.

Lastly, ask them how the information is conveyed to the trainees.  If the trainer says, "I use a power point presentation", that should raise a red flag to mean that they are going to just flip through slides and read what is on them.  Look for trainers that use multimedia and group activities in their trainings.  A mixture of power points, videos, case studies, group worksheets, discussions, and reenactments is an excellent way to convey important safety information and all the while keeping the audience engaged, thinking, and involved.

Bottom line, boring safety trainings identifies safety as a burden in the workplace.  Your employees will feel as though it is a burden that they are forced to carry.  Remember, being proactive instead of reactive in regards to safety is what you should be striving for.  Locating safety trainers that are not only experienced but entertaining as well, is a proactive step in lightening the load of safety in the workplace.