Create an Annual Safety Training Plan for Better Efficiency

COVID-19 has changed many of the ways businesses operate, including how organizations provide safety training to their employees. With social distancing and other safety and hygiene protocols in place at the office, and employees working remotely, in-person training has become a much more difficult endeavor.Now more than ever, online safety training remains a viable, safe and effective method to ensure your employees stay current in their training and understand how they are to perform their duties and responsibilities. A high-quality online employee training program also can create greater efficiencies, lower costs, and better profit margins for your organization.
The first step an organization should make before starting an online safety training program is to develop a plan. A safety training plan is a document that contains all the details about the safety training. Everything from the schedule, down to the different types of course training, will be found in a safety training plan.

Creating an annual plan, with proper execution and follow-through, will be a valuable asset to your business. A good plan will keep your company on track and focus time and resources in a much more effective method. For schools, especially with the uncertainty of full reopening schedules due to the pandemic, having a training plan in place is a prudent way to be prepared for the start of a new school year.But where to start? Before you can come up with a training plan, decide what your organization really needs. Evaluate the current situation of your organization and determine what needs to be changed and what needs to be strengthened.

Next, identify all the goals that the training plan has to meet once the employees are able to complete the training program. After you set your goals, determine all the tasks that employees will have to do for the current year so that they will be able to reach the goals.

Once you know the goals for your training, you can now create your safety training plan for the year.
Your plan should include these key elements:

Evaluation of current training needs. OSHA advises that companies should ensure that training programs cover these three areas: General company safety policies and procedures; job specific or site specific training, and OSHA required training. An audit of your current safety training topics can quickly pinpoint areas of strength and weakness in your organization.

Development of training guidelines. These should be developed and reviewed in detail with all supervisors and/or trainers.

List of subjects or topics that need to be included. These should be broken down into initial training and ongoing training.

Schedule of training developed. Have a date and time scheduled to provide continuity and consistency to the training. A schedule will keep you on track.

Understanding of the obstacles that will need to be overcome. These can include conflicts in production schedules, vacations, and holidays.

Documentation. Always document the training provided. This will include an outline of the training provided and document the names of individuals who completed the training.

Some items that you would include in your plan for an on-site program, don’t need to be tracked when utilizing a learning management system that offers online safety training. These include support materials and training aids, which are already provided. There also is no need to set anything up in your facility or provide handouts. There are also no worries with trainers not being able to cover the subject material. At the end of online training, employees are given the opportunity to test their knowledge received from the training, eliminating the need to keep track of quiz answers.

Creating an effective plan for your online safety training program will reward your organization and employees with a safe and productive workplace.

Christian Brothers Risk Management Services can help you determine which online safety training courses are right for your organization. We have online training courses available for Employment Practices, Fleet Safety, Human Resources, Risk Management for the Workplace, Safe Environments, Smart Adults - Safer Children (SASC), Student-Related Risks, and Workplace Safety.