Workplace illnesses and injuries can have a devastating effect on a company’s workforce and their bottom line. In the United States, employers pay roughly $1 billion per week in worker’s compensation costs. And with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) increasing monetary penalties for safety violations, businesses and organizations simply cannot afford to gloss over employee safety training. Below is a look at the benefits of using a Learning Management System (LMS) for safety training and the specific ways that virtual safety training can enhance a company’s risk prevention initiatives.

Who can benefit from online safety training courses?

The United States Department of Labor (DOL) recommends that safety education and training be a top priority for every employer, whether you are a part of a large or small business. Training should be provided to business owners, supervisors, managers, and all workers who are employed by a company. While there is a need for safety training in virtually every industry, there are some industries that require comprehensive safety training. They include the following:

  • Construction companies and employers of people who operate lifts and powerful equipment
  • Healthcare organizations and any entity that employs workers who handle hazardous materials
  • Manufacturing companies and businesses that feature heavy machinery and welding equipment
  • Businesses within the HAZMAT industry that involve exposure to dangerous chemicals and materials
  • Transportation companies and businesses that involve the operation of specialized vehicles

 

How can an LMS minimize risk in the workplace?

The key advantage of an LMS for risk management is the ability to provide a lifelike simulation of common hazardous or dangerous situations without risking employee welfare. Whereas traditional safety training methods may include live demonstrations that could pose a risk to employees, an LMS introduces employees to vital safety information using a virtual reality platform that poses no risk to participants or employees.

What type of material can be featured in online safety courses?

To be most effective, learning for safety purposes should be engaging and interesting for employees. Additionally, safety courses must cover key elements recommended by the DOL. While some variance in safety training requirements exists among different industries, the DOL recommends that safety training courses cover the following:

  • The skills and knowledge required to safely perform work and avoid risky or hazardous situations
  • The proper way to report and control common workplace hazards
  • Specialized training tips for employees whose work involves unique risks and challenges

In accordance with these recommendations, effective online safety training for employees may include courses that feature the following safety procedures:

  • Video simulation of proper lifting techniques to help prevent back injuries at a packaging company
  • A guided tour of each step to report an unstable scaffold or other hazard at a construction site
  • Simulation of hospital employees properly handling and disposing of blood-borne pathogens

 

What are the key benefits of using online safety training courses?

With their comprehensive design and user-friendly format, online safety training courses help companies avoid employee injuries and costly monetary penalties. In addition to enabling employees to receive training from their preferred location with their favorite mobile device, an LMS for safety training offers a variety of advantages to employers. Below are five key benefits of using online safety training courses. 

1) Employees receive the most current information. Safety regulations are constantly changing, requiring employers to revise their safety training materials on an ongoing basis in order to prevent safety violations. Online safety training for employees is advantageous because safety content can be quickly modified in a matter of seconds from any location. 

2) Safety training material can easily be standardized. Standardization of training material is critical in industries that emphasize safety. Organizations such as the International Federation of Standards Users (IFAN) point to the need for standardization education and training. Using an LMS for safety training supports standardization because all employees are exposed to exactly the same content using the same mode of delivery. 

3) You can easily train a multi-language workforce. OSHA and other agencies dedicated to employee safety require that employees receive training and instruction in a manner or language that is “understandable to employees.” This means that safety training material must be presented in a foreign language if employees receive their job instructions in a language other than English. Online safety courses can easily be modified to meet the linguistic needs of a diverse workforce. 

4) Shift work is not interrupted. Many employees who receive safety training engage in shift work. Traditional safety training methods hinder productivity because they are administered during an employee’s work shift. Online safety training courses offer a greater degree of flexibility because they do not have to be administered during an employee’s shift. 

5) Companies can effectively demonstrate compliancewith industry safety standards. Demonstrating compliance with industry safety standards is critical to the success of most businesses. Using a compliance LMS for safety training enables training managers to maintain robust employee training records, thereby fulfilling key documentation requirements.

 

The Bottom Line

The rapidly evolving safety landscape requires companies to adapt their training material swiftly while keeping employees engaged and interested in learning how to prevent injury. An LMS for safety can help minimize risk in the workplace by offering a versatile, adaptable means of simulating risky scenarios.

Contact the online training experts with Knowledge Anywhere to find out how you can minimize risks in your workplace. As a leading online safety training company, we can introduce you to our eLearning suite and help you make sure that your employees receive safety training in an efficient, comprehensive format. We look forward to helping you implement a stellar safety training initiative!

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