18 Sep PRODUCING AN OSHA SAFETY AND HEALTH PROGRAM – PART 4 OF 4
This is the fourth and last part of this series concerning producing a Safety and Health (S&H) Program under OSHA guidelines. The first article concerned management leadership and employee involvement. In the second article, we discussed conducting a worksite survey. The third article concerned hazard prevention and control, and this article will involve the training aspect of an S&H Program.
Management must ensure that all personnel on site have received sufficient training to understand their S&H responsibilities and how to fulfill this important job requirement. Initial training should occur prior to beginning work with an introductory S&H program. The length of the training should conform to the risk inherent to the job, and to the knowledge required to conduct the job safely. All required training must be conducted according to regulatory requirements. For example, if an air purifying respirator may be necessary as part of the employee’s job, respirator training should be conducted prior to his/her beginning work. S&H training must be an important part of each employee’s periodic job evaluations. Training records should be complete, up-to-date, and should be kept in a central location. This record keeping should be an important aspect of the record keeper’s job performance.
Management must ensure that qualified personnel conduct all training. Suggested ways of implementing training include:
• List of annual training topics with the name of the trainer and his/her qualifications.
• Yearly training classes and schedules.
• Individual employee training records with evidence of subject mastery.
• Each person’s required annual training and the schedule for attending the classes.