You know safety education and training are absolutely essential for your workplace, particularly when you’re in hazardous conditions. According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, in 2021 alone, there were more than 5,000 fatal injuries in the workplace. There were more than two million non-fatal injuries.
If any of those occurred in your space, you may be left wondering how to prevent the problem in the future. Fortunately, there are a few simple steps you can take, and it begins with OSHA training for your employees. What is the purpose of OSHA, and what are the benefits of OSHA training? Take a closer look.
Understanding OSHA
The purpose of OSHA is a fairly simple one. The goal is to make certain workers have safe, healthy workspaces. In 1970, Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Act in response to an increase in the number of workplace fatalities.
At the time, safety training was almost completely unregulated in the workplace, and the number of potential hazards was incredibly high. With the passage of OSHA, though, much of that changed.
The organization’s real responsibility is to ensure that workplace hazards are both identified to employees and that employers are doing what they can to help workers remain safe around those hazards.
There are a few different ways OSHA achieves its goals. They’re most commonly associated with workplace inspections and fines for noncompliance. The reality, though, is that they do so much more.
They build out safety guidelines for employers to follow to ensure companies and their employees know what a risk and how to keep the potential for problems to a minimum is. They also offer a number of different training programs to help deal with those risks and educate employees on what they can do to stay safe in the workplace.
Some Common Workplace Hazards
There are a number of potential workplace hazards employees face every day, and OSHA training can help employers ensure that their team members are familiar with each type of hazard. Common potential problems come from chemical storage in the workplace, the equipment used, exposure to noise, and fires. Employees could experience something as simple as a slip and fall or something as serious as a musculoskeletal injury or chemical burn.
Is OSHA Training Certification Required for Employees?
OSHA training certification is not required in every situation. It depends a bit on your company, what they do, and what hazards are present. Even in spaces where it is not required, though, it can be incredibly helpful both to you and to your employees.
The Benefits of OSHA Training for Your Company
What are the benefits of OSHA training? It covers a number of different topics. It works to help employees identify safety and health hazards in the workplace. It also covers both health and safety management. In some courses, incident investigation and record keeping are covered as well.
The benefits are enormous for your company, too. Initially, you’ll see one quick benefit – the financial one. A team that has been carefully trained to avoid and deal with hazards makes sense because you’ll see any potential accident costs go down, which will reduce lost workdays and decrease your overall workers’ compensation cost. It can also prevent damage to your equipment.
More than that, though, you’re going to help your team members become more effective every single day. Employees who know they’re safe and valued are more likely to increase production rates, which means good things for your bottom line.
Maybe the best part, though, is the fact that once your team is OSHA trained, you’re less likely to experience continual inspections from OSHA compliance officers, ensuring that your business is complaint free and that you won’t have to pay those costly fines. OSHA-trained team members will quickly help you spot any violations or unsafe conditions so you can deal with any problems before they happen.
OSHA 10 vs OSHA 30
If you’re ready to consider OSHA training for your employees, you’ll need to understand better what type, of course, might work best. Essentially, you have two from which you can select.
OSHA 10 is entry-level training. This is a great course for workers who are not in a supervisory role. It’s dubbed OSHA 10 because it takes 10 hours to complete the training. In the course, workers learn to identify workplace hazards. They also learn what they can do to correct them and avoid them completely. This course works well for small to mid-size companies, and it helps to build a culture of workplace safety.
OSHA 30 is far more intense. It’s a course workers who deal with hazardous sites or managers should absolutely take. In fact, it’s required for any employee who will be performing activities that could put them in contact with hazardous substances. Additionally, worker responsibilities and general worksite safety are covered in the course. It takes 30 hours to complete the course, and it can be tailored to meet the needs of your specific company.
Are there Other OSHA Safety Training Courses?
In most cases, you can get a general OSHA safety training course that helps you learn more about the requirements in a specific workplace and provides employees with some knowledge of first aid, fire protection, and your company’s emergency action plan. In most cases, the training company tailors these specifically to the needs of employees in a given space.
Need OSHA Training? Labor for Hire Can Help
At Labor for Hire, we can help you meet your OSHA safety training needs. Not only do we offer contract workers who are already safety trained, but we also offer some of the best OSHA safety training courses in the area. Our experienced instructors offer solutions for any organization that will help your company remain compliant with OSHA Guidelines and provide you with the numerous benefits of OSHA training for your employees. To learn more about how we can help, contact us today.
