One of the most effective ways to keep workers safe while on the job is to provide training. OSHA believes training is essential to any safety and health program and as an employer, you will need to meet their standards for training and education.
While training is often different from facility to facility, there are general training needs that every workplace will need to address. Initial training is mandatory before workers even begin their job and training covers five areas of occupational health and safety: emergency information, safety procedures for the employee’s specific job, PPE, area hazards, and safety communication. It is important to train workers on all five subjects, train any new hires, and offer periodic refresher courses. When you have identified a new workplace hazard, or a new hazard is introduced to the facility, potential hazard training must take.
Depending on your facility and the specific hazards present, you will want to check OSHA’s standards for specific training topics and how often you will need to conduct refresher training. For instance, OSHA specifies frequency of training for confined spaces, fire extinguishers, machine guarding, etc. Incremental trainings may be required by OSHA every other year or every three years. You will also want to
During an inspection, the OSHA inspector will check for the appropriate recordkeeping documents, including those on safety training. Once an employee has received and completed training, you will want to prepare a document that includes who took the training, the day the training took place, and the means used to verify the training was understood. Aside from compliance, it is beneficial to keep a record of all safety and health training as the documentation can be helpful in case of an incident investigation. A good rule of thumb is to document more than what OSHA requires.
If you would like to learn more about OSHA’s standards for training and the resources offered, check out their compliance guide on training.
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