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Vital Fall Protection Training to Abate Accidents

Posted by Joshua Fleishman on Tue, Oct 30, 2012 @ 02:00 PM

Falls & Workplace Safety

According to OSHA's commonly used statistics, the leading cause of worker's deaths on construction sites were falls. In fact, 35% of total deaths in the field of construction for CY 2011 were from falls.

It is also OSHA's number two most frequently cited standard violation in FY 2011 (29 CFR 1926.501).

How can falls be reduced?

First, we must look at how OSHA requirements help with reducing these accidents. OSHA requires that fall protection be provided at elevations of four feet in general industry workplaces and six feet in the construction industry. In addition, OSHA requires that fall protection be provided when working over dangerous equipment and machinery, regardless of the fall distance.

Fall Protection TrainingOSHA requires employers to provide working conditions that are free of known dangers. The company must provide required personal protective equipment at no cost to workers. Floors in work areas must be kept clean and dry (as much as possible). 

(Quoted from OSHA's website):

To prevent employees from being injured from falls, employers must:

  • Guard every floor hole into which a worker can accidentally walk (using a railing and toe-board or a floor hole cover).
  • Provide a guard rail and toe-board around every elevated open sided platform, floor or runway.
  • Regardless of height, if a worker can fall into or onto dangerous machines or equipment (such as a vat of acid or a conveyor belt) employers must provide guardrails and toe-boards to prevent workers from falling and getting injured.
  • Other means of fall protection that may be required on certain jobs include safety and harness and line, safety nets, stair railings and hand rails.

Fall Safety HarnessOSHA wants to help reduce (hopefully eliminate) these accidents, and Safety Training Services, Inc. is here to facilitate as well.

 

 

ContactSTS Logotoday and let us help you by providing "Real Experience. Real Training. Real Results."

 

Tags: safety training, Fall protection training, OSHA fall protection

5 Points On Outside Training Over In-House Training

Posted by Joshua Fleishman on Tue, Oct 02, 2012 @ 10:30 AM
Every day, companies must make effective decisions about their business. Operator Safety and the correct delivery system for that training is certainly a decision that has to be appropriate, effective and economical.
 

The Question: Should you have a supervisor or senior employee be your trainer or should you hire an outside training company?

Here are a few points to consider in that decision:

'Money' photo (c) 2009, Andrew Magill - license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0/

Universal Language of “Money” – outside trainers are without question less expensive compared to the organizational risk, salary differential, overtime and cost of retraining a new trainer if the current one leaves the company. Dollar for dollar, an outside trainer has little downside risk for the company since there is no loss of expertise when the trainer leaves the organization. You get exactly what you need, whenever you need it; regardless of any personnel changes within your organization.

Consistency of Quality – outside trainers maintain the same quality and consistency of training in both their course content and the delivery of that content. High quality training is their commodity; and they are counting on your complete satisfaction. They have more objectivity and are free from internal social or political biases so often affecting a company’s internal training results.

Compliance and Updates - changes often occur in safety and compliance with OSHA training regulations. Outside trainers can update the customer, keep them compliant and informed of new developments and interpretations by OSHA that may affect the company. Outside firms have personnel regularly available with the experience in the training industry to offer their customers additional and on-going counseling and advice regardless of the specific topic.

Outside TrainingFlexibility and Mobility - training firms can conduct training in most venues and locales regardless of distance or accommodations. They are focused on getting the training done correctly and not on the “sacrifice” they are making for the company in terms of their other duties. Contracted Trainers carry literally suitcases of training equipment and materials that allows them to conduct a session in almost any situation, geographic location or audience.

 

Credibility/Record Keeping – outside trainers bring a resume of experience in training competitors, similar industry companies, and leading industry companies. The client gets the direct benefit of these diverse and experienced trainers. This experience and know-how is very hard to find in-house for the average company. Trainers are often former supervisors, managers and safety professionals that have done the job themselves successfully and have the skills and training to deliver training for others. Lastly – record keeping is extremely important to the company in order to validate the students training credentials to the company and certainly to OSHA when requested. Professional training firms maintain these records very well, both in printed and electronic forms. 

 

Contact STS Today!

Tags: safety training services, outside training, osha training program, in-house training