Safety and Health Programs: Training for Employees, Supervisors and Managers

An effective accident prevention program requires proper job performance from everyone in the workplace. As an owner or manager, you must ensure that all employees know about the materials and equipment they work with, known hazards and how to control those hazards.

Each employee needs to know the following:

• No employee is expected to undertake a job until he or she has received proper job instructions and is authorized to perform that job.
• No employee should undertake a job that appears unsafe.

You may be able to combine safety and health training with other training sessions, depending upon the types of hazards present in your workplace.

Here are some actions to consider:

• Ask your OSHA state consultant to recommend training for your worksite. The consultant may be able to conduct training while he or she is there.
• Make sure you have trained your employees on every potential hazard that they could be exposed to and how to protect themselves against those hazards. Then, verify that they really understand what you taught them.
• Pay particular attention to your new employees and to employees who are moving to new roles within the organization. Since they are learning new operations, they are more likely to get hurt.
• Train your supervisors to understand all the hazards faced by the employees and how to reinforce training with quick reminders and refreshers, or with disciplinary action, if necessary.
• Make sure that your top management staff understands their safety and health responsibilities and how to hold subordinate supervisory employees accountable for their actions.