The Occupational Safety and Health Act (1970) was implanted to ensure safe and healthful working conditions. The result is the setting and enforcement of standards through proper training, outreach, education and assistance. Through the act, OSHA was created as part of the United States Department of Labor. The OSH Act applies to most private sector employers and their workers, as well as some public sector employers and workers in all 50 states and certain territories under federal authority.
OSHA Education and Training
Education and training are important activities for teaching and informing managers and workers about workplace hazards and controls in order to help create safe and productive work environments. Proper education and training also provides managers and workers with a better understanding of the program itself, so that they can contribute to its ongoing development and implementation.
In general, OSHA education and training serve to provide employers, managers and workers with:
An understanding of how to perform their work safely while avoiding the creation of hazards that might place themselves or others at risk.
Awareness of potential workplace hazards, including how to identify, report, and control them.
Specialized training, where work can entail unusual hazards.
Additional training may be required to support specific roles assigned to employers, managers, and workers. Some individuals or groups may need specialized training to ensure that they can fulfill their roles in offering leadership and direction for the program. Also, for workers assigned specific roles in the program (such as incident investigation), there be training required to ensure their preparedness in those functions.
OSHA training offers a practical way to promote health and safety in the workplace. Proper training achieves this purpose by informing workers about workplace hazards and their rights as employees. The availability of training has increased considerably in recent years, as a result of the government’s commitment. A train-the-trainer format, along with other initiatives, can play an important role in this regard. The government works cooperatively with commercial enterprises to continue improving the program and frequently introduces a variety of changes designed to increase effectiveness.
eLearning for OSHA Training
By offering OSHA online training, workplaces can utilize cost-effective education measures to help meet the legal framework OSHA requires for businesses. Effective OSHA training can help workers identify, avoid, and resolve potential workplace hazards. Online training provides an affordable way for smaller companies to support OSHA compliance efforts, while also helping to build an environment of workplace safety.
Some of the specific benefits of eLearning for OSHA compliance training can include:
Cost-Effectiveness
eLearning reduced or eliminates many of the costs associated with classroom-based, in-person training such as travel, venue fees, catering, instructor fees, and the costs of distributing printed learning materials. And with eLearning, there is no need to pull your employees away from their job duties as they can conduct their training activities after hours.
Convenience
eLearning allows your employees to accomplish their training at any time and place that is convenient for them. All they need is an Internet access. And with eLearning, many activities can even be completed offline.
Self-Paced
One of the challenges with classroom-based training is that students must learn at the pace set by the instructor. In contrast, eLearning allows students to learn at their own pace, so they can revisit difficult or important materials as many times as they need to before moving on to the next section.
Communication and Collaboration
Many eLearning platforms offer tools that support group or one-to-one communications. These tools can be valuable assets to support learning and provide avenues for collaboration and program feedback.
Measurement
eLearning makes data collection much easier than classroom-based training. This data can then be analyzed to provide valuable information as you look to revise and improve your OSHA training program over time.
LMS Portals for OSHA Compliance Training
LMS Portals provides a cloud-based platform for eLearning. Our system allows you to easily deploy and manage your own branded and customized eLearning portal to support OSHA and other training initiatives.
Contact us to discuss a customized OSHA Compliance Training
eLearning portal for your organization.