Convergence Forklift Safety Course in the NEWS!

Convergence Training 2 Comments

As the economy rebuilds and hiring rates increase, employers everywhere are looking toward e-learning resources to satisfy compliance requirements and other corporate training needs. One such e-learning resource is Open Sesame, an online marketplace which sells Convergence computer-based safety training courses among thousands of other valuable HR and business-related titles.

In their Business News segment titled, “Portland Tech Startup Hosts Business Classes,” KGW News Channel 8 in Portland OR reports how companies like Convergence Training offer courses through Open Sesame’s e-learning marketplace. You’ll see a sample of Convergence Training’s Forklift Safety course at 01:21 in the broadcast.

Out of over 16,000 courses, Open Sesame chose to show a sample of our advanced, computer-animated training. That’s a genuine endorsement of our talented animators and instructional designers. Way to go, TEAM!

As always, you can see samples of all our courses HERE or visit OpenSesame.com and search for “Convergence Training” to see how we compare with other providers.

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Higher Temperatures Increase Heat Illness Hazards

Jeffrey Dalto Leave a comment

2011 was one of the top 15 hottest years on record. In the contiguous United States, for the period from June 2011 to June 2012, temperatures have been the hottest on record. Higher global temperatures increase the chances of extreme weather, like the severe drought that was seen in Texas this year, and the unusually high heat in England.

An increase in global temperature will lead to a higher likelihood of heat exhaustion and heat stress, so it’s important to recognize these hazards if you’re supervising outdoor workers, or if you are an outdoor worker yourself. High heat can cause body temperatures to rise to dangerous levels if precautions aren’t taken. Heat illnesses can range from heat rash and heat cramps to heat exhaustion and heat stroke. Heat stroke can result in death.

As OSHA points out on their website post about these increased heat dangers to workers:

“During heat waves we worry about the elderly, people who live alone, the homeless, and others. It’s time to make outdoor workers a part of that group.”

Convergence Training has a 13 minute video course meant to raise awareness of heat illnesses. Click here for a full description of our Heat Stress Causes course.

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Make Learning a Two-Way Interaction With Convergence LMS

Jeffrey Dalto Leave a comment

Think back to the worst and best learning experiences in your life. If you’re like most of us, your worst learning experiences probably include listening to a boring teacher or lecturer going on and on while you slump in your seat and fight the urge to fall asleep. And your best learning experiences probably include a great teacher who helped create interesting communications that you took an active part in.

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OSHA Revises Hazard Communication Standard (1910.1200) to Conform with Globally Harmonized System (GHS) for Chemical Labeling

Jeffrey Dalto Leave a comment

Maybe you know this already, maybe you’ve heard some whispers but don’t know the full story, or maybe you’re sitting in your chair right now, reading your computer screen and asking yourself “What the heck is this all about?”

Whether you know about this already or not, the fact is that labeling requirements in the United States for hazardous chemicals are about to change.

OSHA has updated their Hazard Communication Standard (1910.1200) so that it will comply with the United Nations’ Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals. In catchier terms, this is known as the Globally Harmonized System or simply the GHS.

The purpose of the change is to standardize chemical labeling requirements not just within the United States, but throughout the entire world.

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OSHA Offers Free Heat Safety App for iPhone and Android

Jeffrey Dalto Leave a comment

OSHA’s got a free heat safety app for iPhone and Android phones/devices, and we wanted to make sure you knew about it.

The app calculates the heat index for your site, displays a risk level for your workers, and even gives you precautions to follow to keep workers safe.

We’ve got the link for you to click so you can download the app below. It’s been hot this year, and this isn’t a bad tool to have in the safety and health toolbox.

Convergence Training is a training solutions provider with a long history of creating EHS training solutions.

Click the links to learn more about our training management solutions, eLearning course libraries, and custom training solutions.
Training Management Systems (LMS) eLearning Courses Custom Training

Here’s what you can go to download the app from the OSHA site.

You can get even more out of the app by backing it up with a fundamental understanding of the causes of heat stress. And we’ve got some stuff for you below to help with that.

Here’s a pretty informative article about heat stress here. Check that out if you’re interested.

This short article focuses on four ways to beat the heat (and heat stress).

OSHA’s got an entire website dedicated to Heat Stress, too–not just an app.

Want to know what causes heat stress? Our Heat Stress Causes eLearning course gives the straight skinny.

And of course, it’s important to know how to prevent heat stress and recognize its symptoms. Our Heat Stress Prevention and Symptoms eLearning course gives you what you need to know.

We know you’re reading this article because of a specific interest in heat stress and the app from OSHA, but why not download a free copy of our Guide to Effective EHS Training since you’re here, too?

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Effective EHS Training: A Step-by-Step Guide

Learn how to design, create, deliver, and evaluate effective EHS training by following these best practices with our free step-by-step guide.

Download Free Guide

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Arc Flash Safety Video Gets Review: “Highly Recommended”

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Our new course Arc Flash Safety received its first online, customer review. It reads:

“I found “Arc Flash Safety” to be a well produced, effective tool for communicating hazard risks and required mitigation techniques associated with working on and around energized electrical equipment. The content begins with basic information, becomes more specific with time, and is delivered in lay person terms. The graphics serve to create understanding, maintain attention and interest, and reinforce key learning points. I highly recommend this DVD for anyone desiring to stimulate a general awareness through all levels of their organization, motivate additional learning, provide refresher awareness training for experienced personnel, and affect positive behavioral change.”

-Steve S., from Georgia

Thanks, Steve, for the thoughtful review. We very humbly agree.

As Steve points out, our courses begin with basic information and become more in-depth as the course goes on. This “layering” approach is an important part of good instructional design, especially when communicating with an audience that is relatively new to the information you are teaching. For instance, for our arc flash course, we began with a simple primer on how electricity works, and the basic science behind arc flashes and arc blasts, and then we layered on more complex ideas, such as what common electrical work scenarios lead to these incidents, and how NFPA 70E guidelines protect against risks.

A common mistake in many introductory, awareness-raising safety courses is that they do not layer the information in such a way. For instance, the course might immediately start to discuss electrical regulations and guidelines. But if your audience doesn’t even have a good idea of what the general hazard is, and why they should be afraid of it, the motivation and ability to absorb the more technical information is not going to be there.

As Steve also says, the visual graphics and animations of the course “create understanding, maintain attention and interest, and reinforce key learning points.” We couldn’t have put it better ourselves. Besides the educational value from seeing concepts illustrated visually, the Convergence style aims to engage workers. When it comes to safety and health training, sometimes the biggest challenge is just getting your workers to sit still and watch the training. With our dynamic 3D animations, one of the hardest parts of the learning process—getting the attention of your audience—is accomplished.

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Valve Performance Video Now Available

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You may know how valves work, but do you know how to select the right valve for the job based on its performance characteristics? If not, this is the course you’ve been looking for. Learn all the basic concepts and terms for evaluating a valve, including those for the amount of fluid that can flow through a given valve in a period of time, the distance the valve stem travels from the open to closed position and the relationship between the valve travel distance and the corresponding changes in flow rate. You’ll also discover how the performance of a valve can change after it’s installed in a real system with varying conditions, how well a valve can withstand pressure and prevent leakage, and how control systems can be used to increase the efficiency of valves.

Our Valve Performance course includes training and test materials for the following subjects:

  • Valve coefficient
  • Stroke
  • Flow characteristics
  • Pressure classes
  • Shutoff classes
  • Actuator-controlled valves
  • Control loops
  • Rangeability

Visit BuyBetterTraining.com for details on how to purchase our Valve Performance dvd.

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Modernize Your Workforce Training to Increase Efficiency

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A message from Kenny Dellavalle, Operations Manager of Convergence Training

The most successful modern businesses are ultra-efficient and advanced in everything they do, including how they educate their workforces. Successful businesses understand that a good training program more than pays for itself—it makes money.

A good training program educates workers quickly, minimizing downtime. A good training program distributes knowledge throughout an organization, where and when it’s needed. A good training program ensures workers have the correct information, across the organization, and this minimizes mistakes. In some industries, a good training program keeps workers physically safe by educating them about hazards. With all of these benefits, a good training program makes money.

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Sexual Harassment Awareness Video Now Available

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In 2010, more than 11,000 sexual harassment claims were filed with the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The EEOC states that it is illegal to harass a person (an applicant or an employee) because of that person’s sex. Sexual harassment can include unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. This course defines the term “sexual harassment” and explains the different forms it can take. It also delves into the negative effects sexual harassment has on both an individual and on the workplace as a whole, and suggests appropriate responses to sexual harassment.

Our Sexual Harassment Awareness course includes training and test materials for the following topics:

  • Definitions of sexual harassment
  • Different types of sexual harassment
  • Effects of sexual harassment
  • How to respond to sexual harassment

Visit BuyBetterTraining.com for details on how to purchase our Our Sexual Harassment Awareness dvd.

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Crane and Hoist Rigging: A New Safety Training Video

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Crane and Hoist Rigging is the newest training course to enter our growing Safety and Health library. This is an introductory course for general industry or construction workers who work on or near cranes or crane rigging.

Topics covered include:

  • Common rigging and sling materials
  • Types of common sling hitches
  • Types of common hardware components
  • Basic safe rigging practices

During the research, writing, and production of this course we received input from James Headley, the founder and Executive Director of The Crane Institute of America. The Crane Institute of America is one of the largest crane training facilities in the United States. They provide hands-on training on mobile cranes, overhead cranes, tower cranes, and rigging, and they hold classes at more than 80 locations in the country. Headley also serves as the CEO of Crane Institute of America Certification (CIC), an organization recognized by OSHA that provides accredited certifications for crane operators, riggers, signalpersons, and inspectors.

Headley is also the author of “Rigging,” a widely-respected field handbook that includes practical instruction on how to use rigging and slings, as well as lifting capacity charts for a wide range of hardware.

Mr. Headley’s extensive crane experience helped us ensure that we were choosing the most useful information for our introductory-level course. His review of the finished visual aspects of our training was also very valuable to ensure that we were showing realistic setups for the crane and rigging components.

Convergence is very proud to release this highly-visual and easy-to-understand course. We feel it will be a valuable part of introductory or refresher safety and OSHA compliancy training for industrial facilities that use overhead cranes. It would also be a good companion piece or follow-up to our Overhead Crane training courses (Overhead Crane Basics & Overhead Crane Operational Safety).

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Heat Stress Causes Video Now Available

Convergence Training 2 Comments

Heat stress or heat exhaustion is a serious concern for people working in extreme temperatures indoors and outside. Each year thousands of people are affected by heat stress and some even die as a result. Our Heat Stress Causes course provides training on how to avoid the dangers posed by heat exhaustion. Learn about different types of heat stress, from relatively harmless heat rashes to potentially deadly heat stroke, and learn their symptoms and causes.

Our Heat Stress Causes course includes training and test materials covering the following topics:

  • What is heat stress
  • Factors that can contribute to heat stress
  • How to regulate body temperature
  • What influences your body’s ability to tolerate heat

Visit BuyBetterTraining.com for details on how to purchase our Our Heat Stress Causes dvd.

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New Electrical Arc Flash Safety Training Course

Convergence Training 6 Comments

Arc Flash Safety is one of our newest courses. It’s an introductory-level course meant to educate industrial workers about the hazards of electrical arc blast and arc flash in their workplace.

This was one of our more challenging subjects to produce. Electricity is a very complex subject. It is also a very serious subject because the hazards involved can be so deadly. There is just so much information on electrical safety, and all of it is important. To create an introductory course aimed at raising awareness of arc flash hazards, tough choices had to be made about what would and wouldn’t be included. Because our course is aimed at a lay audience of general industry workers, not electrical workers, our goal was to communicate the basic causes and hazards of arc flashes without going into too much detail on voltage, components, and specifics like that.

Contributing to our production process was Bob Ruggles, the founder and CEO of Electric Diagnostic Surveys. His company does safety consulting and training on NFPA 70E regulations and compliancy, creating an electrical safety program, and general electrical safety training. (Read more about Bob Ruggles and his company at the bottom of this blog entry.)

Ruggles’ input was valuable in ensuring that we were choosing the most pertinent information to include. One of his major contributions was suggesting that we do a visual animation of the electrical safety boundaries (Arc Flash Protection Boundary and the electrical shock boundaries), because they were very important concepts and he had never seen a very clear visual method to teach them. This ended up being a great addition to the course content.

The visual aspects of this course were a challenge, also. For one thing, we had no reference for how to best illustrate how an arc flash happens. While it seems like a simple concept on the surface (basically it’s an electrical explosion), when you get down to the scientific causes of it, it is very complex. We wanted to illustrate the basic causes behind the arc flash without including too much visual detail that would confuse a lay audience. Another challenge was in creating a realistic MCC (motor control room) for our main virtual “set.” Ruggles’ long-time electrical expertise was very valuable in ensuring that our illustrations and animations were both accurate and easy-to-understand.

We’d also like to thank the Arc Flash Forum, an online forum moderated by Jim Phillips. We used this forum for asking questions of experienced electrical workers, as well as getting informal reviews of some of the visual aspects of the course. Online forums like these have a wealth of knowledge and are invaluable for asking questions and learning about other peoples’ experiences.

Here’s a rundown of the topics included in our Arc Flash Safety course:

  • What an arc flash is
  • How an arc flash happens
  • Common causes of arc flash
  • NFPA Hazard Risk Categories
  • The Flash Protection Boundary
  • Tips on reading electrical warning signs and labels
  • The importance of PPE and Lockout/Tagout procedures
  • What NFPA 70E is

Visit BuyBetterTraining.com for details on how to purchase our Our Arc Flash Safety dvd.

More about Bob Ruggles: Bob has been in the electrical field for more than thirty years. He started his career as a journeyman electrician and later became the owner of an electrical contracting company. He has also been an OSHA instructor and an inventor of award-winning safety products for the electrical industry.

Bob had a close friend, an experienced electrician, die from being electrocuted at a worksite. This experience made Bob see the need for more serious workplace training that drilled home the very real dangers of electricity. As a result, he started his own electrical safety training company in 2004. In his live training sessions, Bob includes the story of his friend’s electrocution so that attendees learn that electrical accidents can happen to anyone, no matter how experienced. The story also gives his audience an emotional connection to the material, which helps them remember why electrical safety is important.

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