Safety training doesn’t automatically count as employee engagement. It’s more than just attending live training or completing computer-based courses.
Employees need to be involved in developing and presenting the training to be truly engaged in it.
This is a requirement for the Voluntary Protection Program.
Here’s a good example of how a VPP company got its employees engaged in safety training.
‘Eye of the driver’
Marvin Windows employees realized they had issues with forklift operators and close pedestrian encounters.
The employees realized they needed workers who weren’t forklift operators to realize how difficult it can be to navigate among pedestrians – and how difficult, in general, it can be to drive a forklift.
Using GoPro-style cameras on forklifts, operators recorded video of driving from their point of view.
These were compiled into a video, “Eye of the Driver.”
Employees were actively involved in recording, editing and presenting the videos in safety training sessions.
Other workers were now able to see the dangers pedestrian traffic creates for forklift operators.
The videos are innovative, fun and high-quality.
It’s a benefit to Marvin’s overall safety program too, because having employees create these videos helps to develop a larger library for training.
It’s important for companies that want to encourage their employees to develop their own safety training to provide the resources needed, including guidance from an EHS professional on any pertinent regulations on the training topic.
Having employees develop and present training helps them to be truly engaged in safety.
(Adapted from a presentation by Brad Baptiste, OSHA Regional VPP Manager, Denver, at VPPPA’s Next Level Safety conference)