News from ASSE

June 12, 2001
See what speakers at Safety 2001, the American Society of Safety Engineers' annual conference and exposition in Anaheim, Calif. had to say about environmental, health and safety issues.

Ergonomics Public Forum Registration Begins Today

Those looking to take part in one of OSHA's three public forums scheduled to take place this summer can begin to register today.

Assistant secretary of labor, R. Davis Layne, told attendees at ASSE's Safety 2001 professional development conference and exposition in Anaheim, Calif. Monday that will be made available on the GPO website, at www.gpo.gov, or at OSHA's website at www.osha.gov.

In addition to signing up to speak at the one of the forums or to simply submit comments to Chao regarding ergonomics issues, information posted on the sites will also give details about the forums and how to register to attend one of the sessions.

Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao is using the forums to determine whether the public wants to reconsider imposing ergonomics legislation and how to create a new standard.

Layne said the information generated in the one-day public forums schedued to take place in Washington, DC on July 16; in Illinois on July 20; and in California on July 24, will be used to define:

  • what qualifies as an ergonomics injury,
  • how to prove that an ergonomic injury is, in fact, work-related, and
  • cost-effective ways government officials can address the issue.

Chao and senior Department of Labor officials will participate in portions of the forums, along with other stakeholder groups. Layne said all comments and information generated by the forums need to be presented to Chao by Aug. 3.

Chao has set herself a September deadline to identify the final course of action on the issue. Her options include new rulemaking, voluntary guidelines, technical assistance to companies, partnerships, or some combination of these possibilities.

Aging Workforce Tops List of Safety Concerns in European Nations

Preventative action is the weapon Hans-Horst Konkolewsky that the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work and the European nations are using to combat the most significant roadblock facing safety and health professionals in years to come: an aging workforce.

Konkoewsky, the director for the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work, told attendees at the ASSE Safety 2001 Conference and Exposition in Anaheim, Calif. Monday that lucrative retirement packages are prompting workers to leave the workforce at an earlier age than ever before. Early retirement is becoming so problematic, in fact, that when it comes to safety and health because it is leaving labor force without skilled workers who are not only have experience performing their jobs productively, but also safely.

"Now instead of working 45 to 50 years on the job, many workers are opting to retire after just 35 or 40 years of service," Konkolewsky said. Making the issue even more challenging is the fact that there is a decreasing number of young workers to replace these retirees. For that reason, the European Union is beginning to looking into creating legislation that would not only reduce the financial incentives prompting workers to retire early, but also explore ways of luring retired workers back into the workforce.

"One study the agency conducted found that 40 percent of retired workers say they hope to find another job," Konkolewsky said, adding that government officials find the statistic encouraging in the sense that it makes the job of getting retirees back on the job less intimidating.

According to Konkolewsky, an aging workforce isn't an issue confined to Europe. Instead, he said, it's more of a global issue that safety and health professionals worldwide, particularly those in the United States, will have to deal with in the next decade. And when it comes to keeping older workers on the job somewhat past their prime, a greater emphasis needs to be placed on the link between safety and health on the job and employability, he said.

"What we have here is a changing work population that is not only bringing with along with it new risks, but is also putting new groups of workers at greater risk," he said. "Add that to the fact that many work conditions are not improving and are beginning to pose higher physical and mental challenges, and what we see is that it is going to take cooperation and communication between safety professionals to ensure that ideas are being shared, not only between companies, but between nations."

by Melissa Martin

Ensure a Return Your Training Investment

Companies have been investing in safety training for years, often with little attention paid to the return they are getting on this investment. A speaker at the ASSE conference explains how companies can increase the odds that the training they implement will provide the greatest value.

When was the last time your workers were excited about a safety training session and not only remembered what was taught but took that knowledge and used it on their jobs?

Too often, according to Michael S. Melnik, M.S., OTR, training often falls short because workers attending the classes do not want to be there or have other things on their minds. Worse, the training may be just plain boring, said Melnik, president of Prevention Plus in Minneapolis, on Monday during the American Society of Safety Engineers Professional Development Conference in Anaheim, Calif.

Because workers may not be excited about attending another safety training session, their attention will be short and their retention of what was taught may last no longer than the time it takes to walk back to their workstation. "Training and education are never more expensive than when they do not achieve the desired results," Melnik said.

One of the best ways to ensure the greatest return on investment from your training is to evaluate the effectiveness of your efforts, making changes where necessary, Melnik said. Without a process, it remains difficult for companies to effectively identify whether their training dollars are being well spent.

Training programs are one of the most visible opportunities for a company to demonstrate a commitment to the health and wellness of their employees or to demonstrate that these programs are a necessary evil that take a back seat to productivity and quality. Putting together quality training programs and putting these programs into the context of an ongoing process that invites safe behaviors, Melnik said, is the only sure way to get the greatest return on investment.

It has become quite clear to Melnik, a consultant to numerous organizations over 15 years, that there are a series of variables that impact the success of an education and training session. As a company is putting its program together, simply acknowledging the role of these variables, and attending to them when possible, will have a dramatic impact on the success of a training class.

Inclusion. Involve the employees in the development of the education sessions. Allow them to contribute to the content based on their perceived needs.

Respect. Schedule training in a way that is respectful of the employee population. Schedule classes when the employees are fresh and awake, not when the shift is over and everyone is tired. Does the length of the class or scheduled breaks take into account the attention span that most people have for this kind of training?

Communication. Choose the method of presentation (and presenter) based on the needs of the audience. Determine how the workers will learn best, what information is most essential and most practical, and how the information will be communicated on an ongoing basis.

Consistency. Information presented in the sessions should be compatible with what is taking place in the work environment.

Flexibility. If it is found that a particular training class is not being received well, if possible, determine what the problems are and remedy the situation before training continues. This demonstrates that the training is more than just something that the company wants to complete.

Commitment. If information is presented to the employees at one point in time, the company needs to be committed to helping the employees remember and use this information on a regular basis. "The value of training is directly affected by the opportunity to use this information once the class is over," Melnik said.

Creativity. There is a tremendous amount of room for creativity in a training session. Incorporating hands-on activities, going out into the work area to do problem solving or mixing up the mediums you use to convey the information can go a long way toward increasing the value of a training session. "To be effective," Melnik said, "a training program needs to focus as much on method of presentation as it does on content."

Fun. Many people and organizations have forgotten that fun is an option when it comes to training programs. Humor and fun are extremely powerful teaching tools, and audiences are often more likely to remember something that was fun or funny, rather than something that was dry and boring.

Accountability. Make sure there are clear expectations about what is supposed to happen now that the training is complete. Clearly communicate to the workers what the company expects them to do differently now that they have been trained.

Recognition. Recognition simply means acknowledging employees' efforts as a part of a training program. This can mean calling attention to the efforts of individuals or work groups that have demonstrated safe work practices as well as catching people "doing things better" following the training. For years, safety and injury prevention was about catching people "doing things wrong," which made it feel like a negative-consequence program. Recognizing peoples' efforts to do things better invites people to "get caught" and receive positive feedback for doing things right.

Organizations spend an incredible amount of time, energy and money implementing training programs for their employees. Once training programs are considered "the normal course of business" and handled the same aspects of their business, the more likely they are to receive the greatest return on their investment.

by Todd Nighswonger

Sponsored Recommendations

3 Essential Elements for a Strong Safety Culture

March 13, 2024
Organizations globally have increased their attention on safety culture: trying to figure out what it really is and the aspects that are necessary to develop and sustain it. And...

Making the Case for Occupational Health Software

March 13, 2024
Deciding to invest in Occupational Health (OH) software can be a challenging leap for many organizations. This article will equip businesses with insightful strategies for effectively...

Fighting the Flu: Solutions for the Workplace

March 13, 2024
Seasonal flu continues to wreak considerable havoc both on individual wellness, as well as on our business continuity and productivity. Explore these solutions for protecting ...

Preventing SIFs with Digitization: Reduce Serious Injuries and Fatalities with Technology

March 13, 2024
This eBook discusses the origins of SIF prevention, outlines principles, models and tools available to EHS leaders to better detect and address SIF potential in their business...

Voice your opinion!

To join the conversation, and become an exclusive member of EHS Today, create an account today!