Being “Safe” and being OSHA compliant are not always the same thing. The Federal Department of Labor, Occupational Safety & Health Administrations developes standards that establish the minimum level of protection to Employees. The OSHA standards may not protect all employees from some possible “unsafe actions”. OSHA Training therefore is the minimum training that can be provided to employees. Other safety training that recognizes procedures and policies above and beyond the OSHA standards is a smart choice and recommended by safety professionals.
The Fact is, an Employer and it’s employees could be OSHA compliant and still have incidents and injuries. Safety training taught as a behavior helps to bridge the gap between being OSHA compliant and having Zero incidents & injuries. Weekly, and even more effectively Daily safety training and discussion help the employee to behave in a safe manner. My key to training is to make sure the individual gets the information they need. The cause of many incidents can be linked to Inattention and lack of knowledge. If you expect someone to know something, then you have to be sure they received the information in the first place. What may be common sense to one person may not be common to others. We learn through what we see, hear and experience. If someone elses experiences are different from ours then our common sense will not be the same. we either know it or we don’t. If we weren’t told it or understood it, then we won’t know it. Being told again or refresher training helps the employee to retain the information they need to know.
Richard Cagan
803-371-5168
