Updated Course: Hand Tools for Electrical Work

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As you know, we update a large number of courses every year to keep up with regulatory requirements, to add fresh content, and to provide the best workforce learning experience possible.

As part of that effort, here’s a quick head’s up that we’ve updated our existing Hand Tools for Electrical Work course.

If you already have this course in our eLearning format, you don’t need to do anything to get the updated material. We’ll get it to you. “eLearning” format in this context means that you’ve got the course (in SCORM or AICC format) inside a learning management system (LMS) or you’ve bought a subscription to the course from us and currently stream it online from our website.

As always, please feel free to contact us if you have questions.

And if you don’t yet have the course, now’s the time, because it looks awesome!

Continue reading for more information about the updated course and to see a short sample video.

 

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New Course Added: Bloodborne Pathogens for Hospitality

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If you’re in the hospitality industry, you know bloodborne pathogens can be a serious safety issue at work.

As a result, and to keep you safeguard employee health and safety in hospitality, we’ve just released our new Bloodborne Pathogens for Hospitality training course.

The course explains the dangers of bloodborne pathogens, where one is likely to find them in the hospitality industry, precautions necessary to minimize the risk, and what to do in cases of suspected or accidental exposure.

For more information about this new course, including a short sample video and a list of the course learning objectives, read on.

 

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Near Miss or Near Hit? Which Do You Prefer—and Why?

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One of the many interesting controversies in safety and health (and quality, etc.) is what to call what many call a “near miss.”

Some say near miss; others say near hit; still others prefer terms like incident, event, and failure. And still other people use other terms.

Some might think it’s a meaningless point or simply a semantic issue. Others think the specific term we use for this is very important, however.

In this article, we provide an interactive, online poll to get your opinion and get the opinion of the larger community as well.

Take a moment, tell us what you think, and see what others think, too.

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New Course Available: Pallet Jack Safety

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If you’re involved in warehousing or make use of pallet jacks in any other application, you know they can be hazardous and can cause some serious injuries.

For that reason, we’re excited to release our new Pallet Jack Safety online training course, which just came out.

The course covers basic principles of operating a pallet jack and procedures for their safe use.

For more information, including the course learning objectives and a short sample video, continue reading.

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Top 10 Hazards OSHA Inspectors Will Look For at Your Workplace

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Every US safety manager is at least a little interested in knowing what happens during an OSHA inspection and how to better prepare. One way to prepare is to get insight into what OSHA inspectors are looking for. We attended a conference recently in which an OSHA inspector listed the top 10 things OSHA inspectors are looking for, and we’re sharing that list here. Of course, you don’t want to focus on just these 10 items but should keep in mind all OSHA compliance requirements and the larger goals of your safety management system as well.

We’ve provided that list below because we thought it might be (a) a good way to help you prepare for an upcoming OSHA inspection but more importantly (b) a good way to focus your general workplace safety efforts in hazard identification and control.

In addition to this article, you may also be interested in the following related articles:

Please share your own insights and experiences on this issue as well.

Remember to note confuse this with the more commonly-seen Top Ten OSHA Violations/Citations list, although we’ll make some points about how they’re similar as we go through the list below.

And finally, know that we’ve included a FREE GUIDE TO OSHA INSPECTIONS for you at the bottom of this article.

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New Course Added: Seven Basic Quality Tools

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For those of you in Quality, Quality Assurance (QA), or Quality Management, or just for those interested in all-things-Quality, we’re excited to announce the release of our new 7 Basic Tools of Quality course.

We’re guessing you know what the 7 tools are (but if not, don’t worry, we’ve listed them below). Continue reading to see that list and to learn more about the course. We’ve even included a short sample video.

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New Technologies for Safety Training: See Our Article in Professional Safety

There are lots of new technologies these days, and they’re influencing the ways we live our lives on a daily basis. You wouldn’t have been reading this article “online” 10-15 years ago. And there’s a good chance you’re even reading it on your phone, something that seemed unimaginable not that long ago. And those are just two quick examples.

Those technological changes are also affecting what we can and should do with safety training. That’s not to say the basics of how people learn have changed, because they have not, and it’s not to say our sole focus should be on technology and technological solutions, because it should not.

However, it is wise to keep up with these new technologies and see how we can leverage them to improve the quality of our safety training in addition to what we know and what we’re doing today.

Along those lines, we thought you might be interested in our recent article in the American Society of Safety Engineer’s (ASSE) Professional Safety January issue, which provides a (partial) list of some of the key technological issues to be aware of and brief explanations of how they are related to safety training.

We encourage you to get a copy of the article (even join ASSE) and read the entire magazine, but we’ve included our list below. The list was intended to be an introduction and not to be comprehensive or exhaustive, so let us know if you’ve got technologies you’d add or if you have more to say about any of the individual technologies and their application to safety training.

While you’re reviewing the list, don’t forget to click the black button at the bottom of this article to download a free copy of our Online Safety Training Buyer’s Guide Checklist, too.

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Contractor Orientations and Blended Learning Solutions

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What’s the best way to provide a site-specific safety orientation to contractors before they work at your site (or to visitors and vendors)? Is it with classroom-style, instructor-led training, field-based training and walk-arounds, or online training?

I have this discussion quite a bit and find that people generally think one way is better than the others. My answer to that is the same answer I always give for safety training and workforce training in general: a blended learning solution is probably the best way to do it.

A blended learning solutions means combining different training delivery methods, such a face-to-face training, online learning, and written materials, and even performance support that can be accessed via  a mobile device while on the job, to create a more comprehensive, effective orientation program for contractors. And you might be interested to know that the ASSE/ANSI Z490.1 standard on EHS training suggests blended learning solutions, too.

We’ll give you some more tips on how to use a blended learning solution for your site-specific contractor safety orientations below.

Even better, perhaps, we’ve included a free online contractor orientation buyer’s guide at the bottom of this article! 

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Who Is the Competent Person for Online MSHA Part 46 Training? (How to Get It Right!)

MSHA requires a “competent person” for all MSHA Part 46 training at surface mines. You probably know that, and our What Is a MSHA Part 46 Competent Person? article explains that general requirement in more detail if you’re interested.

But what about when a miner completes ONLINE TRAINING for their MSHA Part 46 training requirement? Who’s the competent person then?

And does that answer, about who’s the competent person, differ in various training scenarios? For example, is the answer different if you’re a surface miner who works for a big surface mining company and who completes online training at the worksite than if you’re an independent contractor preparing to come in to work at a surface mine where you’re not a full-time employee?

We’ll answer those questions for you in the article below.

And don’t forget to download our free Guide to MSHA Training Requirements at the bottom of this article.

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New Course Added: Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS)

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One of the new courses we released this past month covers the Canadian hazard communication Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System, or WHIMS, requirements.

WHMIS requires employers to inform workers about the hazards of chemicals in the workplace by labeling containers, providing safety data sheets, and training employees both to recognize hazardous materials and know how to protect themselves.

Continue reading to learn more about the course, including reading the learning objectives and viewing a short sample video.

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New Course Available: Woodyard Cranes

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Just a quick note here that we’ve released a new course on woodyard cranes as used in pulp-processing woodyards to handle those massive logs that get turned into pulp and eventually paper products.

The course explains a couple of typical designs of these overhead woodyard cranes and then explains operational principles and safety considerations.

Read on to watch a sample video and to review the course’s learning objectives.

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