Not Having a Safety Training Program is Risky Business!

“There’s a time for playing it safe and a time for…

risky business.”

While Tom Cruise’s character in “Risky Business” may disagree, when it comes to workplace safety, there’s no room for risky business.

It was recently released that Washington State had twice as many fatalities than the national average last year. With a total of 52 work-related deaths in Washington, and hundreds of injuries, Attorney Christopher Childers correlates the increase in deaths and injuries with the increase in workers compensation. As a result of the struggling state budget, State Labor and Industries has had to cut site inspectors.

While this news is startling, there are many affordable solutions to preventing the number of work-related injuries and deaths from occurring.

First, the Department of Labor and Industries recently adopted new rules and regulations to promote a safer workplace, which will help workers become aware of the dangers they need to consider in order to perform safely in the workplace.

While rules and regulations are an excellent way to promote and bring awareness to dangers in the workplace, safety training is the best way to educate and inform employees on how to work safely in the workplace. Trained employees are taught how to make the safest decision on the job-site, and are educated on how to work safely, yet efficiently in the workplace.

Safety training doesn’t cost in the long run. It pays – by educating employees  how to work safely to prevent and avoid accidents from occurring, ultimately reducing the number of employee injuries, deaths and costs in the workplace.

Compliance safety training doesn’t have to be complicated, nor difficult to implement into your employees daily routine. Get your employees trained quickly, and for a price that won’t break your budget by visiting Vivid Learning Systems . Get educated on the courses you need to keep your employees safe and on the job-site.

Check out the course catalog and take a course demo!

How to Improve Your Training Content With Good Visual Design

Content is only half the battle. Effective use of visual design can make or break a training presentation. 

When you think about effective training courses, what comes to mind?

If you’re like most learning professionals, well-researched lessons and impeccably worded test questions are most likely essential for a successful presentation. Other factors such as syllabi, participant materials, and effective multimedia use may also top your list of must-have presentation components.

There is no question that all of these elements are important to creating great courses, whether delivered online or face-to-face. In our preoccupation with content, however, we often overlook one equally fundamental element of developing training: good visual design. Studies show that including pictures and graphs improves learning and recall. A study performed by researchers W. Howard Levie and Richard Lentz found that a group following directions that included both text and diagrams performed an astounding 323 percent better than a comparison group that followed the same directions without the illustrations.

To say the least, visual design is a powerful component to any training program. Good visual design doesn’t just enhance learning. It affects the way learners perceive course content. More than 80 percent of the information our brains process is visual, so the conclusions we draw about the validity of information are influenced by how the information is presented.

Receive your free copy of At First Sight: Improving Your Training With Good Visual Design and learn from our strategic learning experts how to improve your training content with effective visual design techniques.

Top Five Need-to-know Requirements Related to Safety and Health Training

The length and complexity of Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards may make it difficult to find all the references to training. The challenges include identifying the training subjects required per business type, and then determining which employees need training, in what subjects, and how often.

Don’t get confused, get the facts! Download your free copy of the “5 Warnings of OSHA Training Regulation”, and learn the top five need-to-know requirements related to safety and health training, and how to identify the proper training program for your organization.

Download “5 Warnings of OSHA Training Regulation“

Miners on Discovery Channel’s “Gold Rush: Alaska” Fail to Meet MSHA Requirements

‘Reality’ gave an entirely new meaning to miners on the show “Gold Rush: Alaska” last week when two mines on Porcupine Creek were shut down by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for failing to meet federal training requirements.  

Thirteen citations and two compliance orders were issued to both the Big Nugget Mine and the Jim Nail Placer Mine in August 2011, which resulted in temporarily shutting down both mines.

Citations are given for lesser violations made against MSHA, whereas compliance orders are larger violations issued to mines who are non-compliant with federal regulations.

Failing to meet MSHA training requirements caused both mines to shut down temporarily; preventing them from operating the mine.

While unfortunate, miners are often left with no choice, but to shut down mining operations for failing to meet MSHA compliance training requirements. Mine operators can better prevent their mine from getting shut down by simply abiding by the MSHA training regulations.

Don’t let your mine get shut down, get your miners trained through MSHA Training Online.

MSHA Training Online provides miners training for MSHA Part 46 and MSHA Part 48, as well as:

Automated certificates

• Receive your certificates instantly to prevent violations from occurring

Ability to track instructor-led training

• Track, report and record when instructor-led training was issued to know when miners need refresher and additional training

Online delivery of suggested MSHA topics

• Additional information is provided to help miners practice compliance on the mine site

Bottom line: We hate hearing and learning about preventable situations like the compliance citations issued at Porcupine Creek last August, but are confident in preventing future compliance citations through manageable training programs. At Vivid Learning Systems we’re equipped to deliver training for your employees through our online MSHA certified training program. Get miners trained, and compliant for the mine site today. Visit mshatrainingonline.com to get started.