Just returned from a road trip where I provided First Aid/CPR training at a number of locations throughout northern California. A road trip is usually the easiest and most convenient method of travel when doing First Aid Training because of all the equipment needed (mannikins take up lots of room). I can sing to my favorite songs…out loud…something I’m not allowed to do when hearing people are present. It’s a nice break from my regular routine. Not this trip though.
While driving, my phone would arbitrarily restart. Every time it turned off and on, my map was gone. Now I’m not sure that my phone knew the most inconvenient moment to cut out, but it seemed like it did. Just when a decision was needed whether to keep heading straight or turn right or left it would stop and I was clueless as to what to do.
The only way to stay on course was to get off the freeway, find a safe place to pull over, restart my map and then I’d try to memorize the next few steps in my journey.
A fun ride turned into an unpredictable nightmare. I was on edge, not having a clear vision of my path.
A road trip is similar to training. Either you have a clear idea where you are going with your training or it’s a nightmare.
In the past two newsletters, we’ve covered how to determine training needed by employee classification and establishing an effective training program.
Today’s topics: Methods to ensure everyone attended training and training documentation.
The only way to know if everyone is trained is to review and track training by subject matter and employee. Example, in a toolbox talk everyone at work the day of training had chop saw training. A few months later an employee who was absent the day chop saw safety was covered has a serious injury accident with the chop saw. The company was under the impression that everyone was trained on chop saw safety, but in reviewing the sign in sheet realized the injured employee did not attend training.
Cal/OSHA (California Occupational Safety and Health Administration) or Federal OSHA will request training documentation for the injured employee. Without it, there is a probability of 2 serious citations issued. Each citation includes a fine. For illustrative purposes, we’re using $8700 as the fine for each serious citation. Depending on the size of the company and other criteria, the fine may be more or less than the example. Instead of an $8700 penalty for the injury, company must now pay an additional $8700 for failure to train or a total penalty of $17,400.
Documentation
At a minimum, classroom training documentation should include a description of the subject matter, the date, the names and signatures of the attendees, and the name and signature of the instructor.
Best practices suggest that training records be kept for the duration of employment.
There are two ways to track employee training –
- The old-fashioned method with a spreadsheet
- Using a computer tracking program.
The spreadsheet requires someone to record the information and is subject to human error when posting data. Also, paper training documentation must be submitted to the office in a timely manner.
Computer-generated tracking programs will automatically record the data and documentation is submitted electronically,
Both require a human to review the data and when there are gaps, ensure that employee is provided makeup training.
Closing Points
If you already have training tracking software and would like to outsource its management let me know. We also provide custom safety training material to meet your specific needs
If you need assistance in setting up your safety training program or have any questions, please contact me for a FREE consultation, [email protected].
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