Introduction:

In 2023 it is common practice to conduct Workplace Safety Training. Employers are finally recognizing that they have a responsibility to train their employees on the hazardous tasks/settings in their workplace. However, there are certainly ways to properly conduct safety training and methods that are not effective. We’ll discuss the most effective modes of Safety Training, and how you can effectively create/select the most effective safety training for your workplace. 

Training is not Presenting

When asked if your workplace conducts safety training, on the surface that can be a simple yes or no question. When we take a step back and think about what training is, many employers are actually presenting and not actually training. What is the difference?

Training: The action of sharing information to develop skills. Training takes place with student involvement and activities. Training includes the elements below:

• Hands on practice of a specific skill
• Workshops used to teach students the mechanics of a subject
• Group discussion that stimulates the students thought process by sharing information from different experiences and points of view
• Visual aids such as props, demonstrations, and experiments 

Presenting: Involves listening to information to learn a skill or understand a subject.

Presenting is conducted most often through lecture format as means to communicate specific information on desired subjects. B42L asks many of its partners/prospective partners “How do you conduct your safety training”. The most common responses we receive are found below:

• “We have monthly safety meetings where everyone comes together for a 30min-1hr lecture on a specific topic”
• “We have our employees watch safety training videos on a regular basis covering necessary topics we are required to cover per OSHA guidelines”
•  “We conduct field safety discussions on topics that are relevant to our workplace”

What is the goal of Safety Training? 

The primary goal of any safety training is to outline a specific task/hazard, and communicate how to accomplish the task safely while avoiding injury and incident.

The National Training Laboratories (Bethel, Maine) has conducted research on the modalities of learning and created a Learning Pyramid that shows student retention rates using different forms of training. Retention rates of learning are found in percentages below.  *Note official Learning Pyramid can be found at https://www.ntl.org/.  

What does your team think about your Safety Training?

This learning pyramid is far from an “end all be all” as it pertains to the effectiveness of your safety training. But it is an excellent starting point when you are evaluating if your training is effective or not.

Are your employees retaining the safety training you provide? How many times have you presented a topic, and 4 hours later you are observing someone engaged in the opposite of the desired behavior that was just discussed? Although working safely is heavily influenced by outside factors including time pressure, personal beliefs, and human behavior, it is important to understand that if employees are not produced with a convincing argument to work safe (effective safety training), they will choose the most convenient way to accomplish the task. Remember, just because it is convenient, does not make it safe.

After your training is defined, it is equally important to identify if it is effective or not. If you are performing the same training over and over again, and still suffering the same incidents, are you really accomplishing anything? Or are you simply checking the box for compliance?  

What you can track, you can measure. 

It is best practice to track the types of incidents your company incurs. Ask yourself the following questions when you review the incidents in your company:

• What work tasks are producing incidents?
• What level of training do the involved workers have?
• What kind of training have they been put through?
• Is my computer based safety training, or power point lectures effectively preventing reoccurring incidents?
• When was the last time we refreshed, updated, or enhanced our training?
• What could I do to enhance my safety training and make it more effective?
• Can I accomplish this by myself?

Being honest with yourself

Creating effective safety training is not an easy task. In 2017, The Association for Talent Development conducted a survey and found it takes on average 28 hours to develop a 1hr. Instructor Led Training. That study is found below. 

https://www.td.org/insights/how-long-does-it-take-to-develop-one-hour-of-training-2017

Knowing that you do not have all the time and resources to constantly audit your safety training, and measure for its effectiveness, it is recommended you audit your entire safety training program on an annual basis, and aspects of it more often when there are incidents. 

Audit and Enhance your Safety Training

B42L strives to construct well thought out, informative, and effective safety training to its partners. Remember, effective safety training is difficult to master and often times expensive. 

Allow B42L to work with you to enhance your safety training program at a cost effective level. Our team has found simple yet effective ways to teach and train skills that stick. 

For more information on all of B42L Safety Services, reach out to info@b42l.com or call 412-216-9427. 

While computers, recording technology (cell phones/tablets) and streaming services have evolved the capabilities of completing safety training, the question remains, is computer based learning and video based safety training as effective in eliminating workplace incidents/changing behavior as it is sold to be?

Before we answer that question it is important to remember that everyone has different goals when it comes to workplace safety performance. 

Most decisions such as the strategy to complete safety training, particulars of your safety policies, and going above and beyond OSHA minimum requirements, bottle down to how you want your Safety Culture to perform and what you want it to look like. 

As we look at the Safety Culture Maturity Matrix Below there are several reasons you may elect to utilize Computer Based Safety Training to accomplish your objectives. Some of the main explanations that we receive include:

• Compliance: The organization is concerned that their internal safety trainings are not OSHA compliant. Therefore they elect to purchase external training that are normally in the form of safety training videos that are in fact OSHA Compliant.
• Spread out Workforces: Many workforces are not centralized to one building/reporting location anymore. Workers are dispatching straight from the house and work remotely. It can be difficult to schedule the entire workforce to travel to one location for a routine LOTO Awareness Training. For this reason many companies elect to utilize computer based safety trainings. Each worker gets an account, and is assigned training that they can complete at their discretion. 
• Round the Clock Work shifts: Even if it is physically feasible to have all of your workers at one centralized location, rolling shifts demand multiple training sessions are conducted to accomplish the task. These businesses way out the pros and cons and elect to utilize computer based safety training in order to not tax their in house safety professional.
• Signing the roster: You can conduct the most in depth, useful, and informative safety training but inevitably someone will forget to sign the training roster or right “chicken scratch” to the point that you have no idea who actually sat through the training. These companies look at computer based safety training as a way to ensure everyone who attends training, can be accounted for. 

These arguments for computer based safety training are valid but what is the goal and purpose of Safety Training? As a Safety Professional your number one job is to prevent incidents from occurring and to maintain a positive safety culture that employees are confident & competent in.

What are workforces saying about Computer Based Safety Training?

In a survey published by Kaltura in 2019, 67% of employees said they do not give a training video their full attention. They skim through videos, watch videos without sound, or listen to it while doing something else. Only 28% say that they always pay attention to training videos.

There are certainly other statistics that would point the other direction and showcase the benefits of conducting computer based safety trainings, however it is always important to vet the source of the studies. More and more often advertising agencies pay for surveys and can manipulate data to suggest that buying their product will solve all of your problems. 

If simply complying with governmental standards is your goal, by all means, conduct as much computer based safety training as you desire. ( Keep reading for our solution to this problem). 

B42L Approach To Safety Training

Whether is is a simple tool box talk, a full on slide deck presentation, or an 8hr training with us, our goal with all of our Safety Training is to make sure the message is communicated effectively, and that is keeps workers safe.

How B42L Conducts Safety Training

B42L takes the same approach when creating any form of safety discussion. 

1. Ensure it is compliant with all OSHA requirements. Even though we want our message to be unique, in order for us to lower our partner’s risk, we must communicate the necessary information for legal purposes. 
2. Make it understandable & relatable. There is nothing worse than a monotone safety training video that utilizes technical language and tone. These types of trainings do not engage the worker regardless of how many “Knoweledge Checks” are embedded into the video. Workers must feel at some level connected to the message that is being delivered to them or they will disengage. 
3. Make it interesting. All B42L toolbox talks, slide deck presentations, and blended learning trainings (lecture based/hands on components), are designed with the student/worker in mind. We outline statisitcs that get the worker thinking, give real world examples the worker could come across, and outline thought provoking language that keeps the worker receptive. 
4. Make it trackable. All technology is not created equally. There are many benefits of using technology to aid in completing safety training. The technology B42L uses to track the completion of safety training/record keeping is meant only to verify training has been completed, and to add to the overall experience. Too often Safety Training Products are utilized improperly and become the end all be all of completing safety training. All of our rosters are time stamped upon completion, with rolling rosters. Training can be completed/viewed remotely and in the field at any time. After completing, participants simply click a link, and type their credentials. See, we accomplished effective safety training without completely throwing a menial task at our workers!

Obtaining and Maintaining a Mature Safety Culture

This is not an overnight task to complete. Like all things it takes time, focus, and consistency. However we have seen it done for those organizations who are truly committed to maintaining safe working conditions for their teams. 

The more often you engage your employees, demonstrate your value in their safety, and invest in their well beings, you will see a massive positive safety culture shift. Simply having them tune into the latest episode of “Safety Training Video Series” will not yield the results that all of the tech companies claim it will. 

If you’re interested in becoming a Fractional Partner with B42L or learning more about our Safety Training Solutions,  please reach out to info@b42l.com or call 412-216-9427.

Introduction:

Building a successful safety culture is a simple task, but why is it so hard to accomplish? Over the years the B42L staff has worked with stellar safety cultures, and some that needed some help. Here are some trends we see.

Understaffed In House Teams

Some businesses are stuck in what we call “the in between stage”. They don’t necessarily have the need for a full-time safety professional, and if they do, the safety professional is swamped. Additionally, safety as a function can be dumped onto HR’s lap. Although some HR Managers do a great job at the juggling act, we have seen many HR Managers get equally as burnt out trying to perfect a positive safety culture and fulfill their core set of HR tasks.

Even if a positive safety culture is achieved, it is normally gone with the wind when overall business priorities shift.

Management Commitment

In certain cases, management is not committed to safety. Although this is becoming less common, there are certain organizations that “check the box” of safety to “check the box”. The business is not affected by injuries/incidents, and management views safety from a compliance perspective. These compliance based cultures, typically do not change unless there is a severe injury or fatality. It is unfortunate that some businesses still operate in this manner, however we have found that when safety is prioritized and management is sold on the idea, even the worst safety cultures can improve.

Complex Businesses

The workload for a safety professional can be exhausting. There are only so many hours in the day and we have seen businesses who specialize in many different operations tend to succeed in certain areas, but struggle in others. The safety professionals in these scenarios tend to focus their energy on the positive aspects of the business, and hope nothing goes wrong with the other arms of the business. They tend to have a generally positive outlook on safety, but disorganization can interrupt positive changes.

Quick Growth

Growth in business is always exciting. However, if companies scale too quickly, or do not calculate safety into their growth, a poor safety culture can quickly shut the entire operation down. Management can be committed to safety in these scenarios, but it can get overshadowed with quick expansion, or newfound territories. These businesses typically have great intentions, but the old expression is, “Don’t put the cart in front of the horse”. Safety staff, systems, procedures, and policies need to be accounted for anytime there is sudden growth in an organization.

Post Incidents

We have seen businesses with “knock out” safety programs suddenly get flipped upside down after an incident occurs. The improper management of incidents can leave a bad taste for both employees, and customers. Unfortunately there are scenarios where one incident results in the loss of a key account, leading to the loss of jobs awards, and projects. The lack of work and productivity can tarnish all of the programs that were previously implemented and the safety culture falls apart.

Fractional Partnerships Promote Healthy Safety Cultures

Working with a safety consultant can seem unnecessary, and at times is!  Other times, working with a safety consultant can be the missing piece in the success of your safety culture. If you do decide to work with a safety consultant, your team can benefit by focusing on the items you have augmented out to computer-based training, safety videos, and webinars.

Feedback we have received from dozens of partners is that computer based training, and safety videos do not provide the value they were told they would receive.

When you work with a partner who is dedicated to your operation, your needs, and provides solutions, your employees notice that action. They appreciate the investment regardless of what brand is printed on the hard hat. However, the safety consultant better believe in what they are doing.

There are horror stories of safety consultants who are not invested in their customers. They show up, do the bare minimum, and go home.

At B42L Safety Consulting, we are passionate about the work we perform. We value our partners, and we value their people. As second generation safety professionals, our team is dedicated to its mission of “Helping others save lives”. For this reason alone, we have organically grown into the most sought out, and respected Safety Consulting Company in the PA/WV/OH Tri-State Area. Our partners believe in us, and we work tirelessly to provide both common sense, and complex solutions to their unique challenges. 

Working with B42L Safety Consulting

Some Safety Consulting companies only allow you to utilize the work they perform if you have an existing contract.  We believe you don’t solve one problem just to create another one. When you partner with B42L Safety Consulting, understand that if you decide to part ways, you own the work we deliver. We are confident that when we deliver services, you’ll ask yourself how else we can aid you. 

Inquire about our Fractional Partnerships Today!

Call 412-216-9427 or email info@b42l.com

Introduction:

There is no question that there is a Labor Shortage in America. The inability to find quality, competent, and hardworking employees is crippling businesses every day. The big question is, when will it end? 

The short answer is. It won’t. It is only going to get worse for many businesses. Over the last 3 years more American’s have switched occupations, retired early, or left the corporate workforce to pursue multiple side gigs that offer more flexibility to their lives. This is why more and more every day businesses are having to find new ways to still accomplish their tasks, without burning out the remaining workforce who is on their last leg.

What are the Proposed Solutions?

Employers have tried nearly everything from increasing pay, extending benefits, offering new incentives, and allowing workplace flexibility, but the problem of employee retention and keeping up with inflating operating costs is still growing. Businesses are strung out and now beginning to feel the pain of taking out cheap debt during the era of low interest rates and free money that was handed out during COVID.

Today’s Current Safety Professional

The profession of Safety/Risk Management/EHS has felt the same workforce turnover that most other occupations have felt since the great reshuffle. In addition, when many baby boomers retired early, the younger generations missed out on valuable on the job training and were thrusted into Management Positions with little to no experience. Today’s current Safety Professional’s do not have the resources, time, or funds to properly manage safety in the workplace. Safety has been “dummed down” to safety videos, generic programs, and insufficient procedures.

That is where B42L Safety Consulting comes in.

Over the last 7 years B42L Safety Consulting has been slowly and organically serving its customers with high quality Safety Training Services. Over time, all of B42L Safety Consultants have also gained valuable industry specific experience in areas of Construction, Oil & Gas/Energy, Manufacturing, and General Industry.

B42L has morphed into the premier and most sought out Full Service EHS Consulting Company in the PA/WV/OH Tri-State Area by offering a line of new services. These Services include:

• Onsite Safety Audits
• Routine OSHA Compliance Safety Training
• Policy/Procedure/Program Development
• Safety Days
• Safety Assurance Programs (Safety on Speed Dial)

We lump these daily services that a normal Safety Professional would complete into a product we call Fractional Partnerships.

Why Fractional Partnerships Make Sense in 2023?

As outlined above corporations are finding it increasingly difficult to find & hire competent EHS Professionals to work, and keeping those same workers is becoming more expensive as workers are job jumping for quick pay raises.

B42L Fractional Partnerships are designed to enhance your EHS Team not replace it. The idea is to Fraction a list of duties away from your core Safety Team, and allow B42L Safety Consulting to fulfill those obligations for you. This takes pressure off of your internal team to complete all the duties they are tasked with completing, and provides you ASSURANCE that your compliance items will still be completed should a member of your staff jump ship to another opportunity. 

When you become a Fractional Partner with B42L Safety Consulting you are getting a guranteed partner for 12-24 months for a fraction of the price it costs to find, onboard, train, retain, and pay a full time safety member on your staff.

Our partners are locked into affordable, fixed costs that allow you to operate your business without stressing about your safety program. 

Our group of Consultants have decades of experience identifying safety concerns, addressing deficiencies, and evolving safety cultures. 

All consultants have degress in Safety Mangement/Public Health, industry specific certifications, and first hand knowledge of solving problems. 

The Best Part of Fractional Partnerships?

The best part of Fractional Partnerships, is all Fractional Partners can “pause” services to account for slow seasons. We will not bill you during slow seasons. Free up your cashflow during slow months, and pick back up when the time is right. 

Inquire about our Fractional Partnerships Today!

Call 412-216-9427 or email info@b42l.com