Water Well Journal
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/515025
It is usually a good idea for the employer to keep a record of all safety and health training. Records provide evidence of the employer's good faith and compliance with OSHA stan- dards. Documentation can also supply an answer to one of the first questions an accident investigator will ask: "Was the injured employee trained to do the job?" The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 doesn't address specifically the responsibility of employers to provide health and safety information and instruction to employees. Even so, it does require: "Each employer shall comply with occupational safety and health standards promulgated under this Act." As it is, more than 100 of OSHA's current standards con- tain training requirements. Therefore, OSHA has developed voluntary training guidelines to help employers provide the safety and health information and instruction needed for their employees to work at minimal risk to themselves, their fellow workers, and the public. The guidelines are designed to help employers: • Determine whether a worksite problem can be solved by training • Determine what training, if any, is needed • Identify goals and objectives for the training • Design learning activities • Conduct training • Determine the effectiveness of the training • Revise the training program based on feedback. The development of the guidelines is part of an agency- wide objective to encourage cooperative and voluntary safety and health activities among OSHA, the business community, and workers. These voluntary programs include training and education, consultation, and protection programs. The guidelines provide employers with a model for design- ing, conducting, evaluating, and revising training programs. The model can be used to develop training programs for a variety of occupational safety and health hazards identified at the workplace. Additionally, it can assist employers in their efforts to meet the training requirements in current or future occupational safety and health standards. A training program designed in accordance with these guidelines can be used to supplement and enhance the company's other education and training activities. OSHA encourages a personal- ized approach to the information and instruction programs at individual work- sites. By doing so, employers are able to provide the training that is most needed and that applies to local working conditions. Assisting with training programs or identifying resources for training is available through OSHA full-service area offices, state agencies which have their own OSHA-approved occupational safety and health programs, OSHA- funded state onsite consultation programs for employers, local safety councils, and the OSHA Office of Training and Education. OSHA's voluntary training guidelines follow a model that is designed to be one even the owner of a business with few employees can use without having to hire a professional trainer or buy expensive training materials. Using this model, employers or supervisors can develop and administer safety and health training programs that ad- dress problems specific to their own business, fulfill the learn- ing needs of their own employees, and strengthen the overall safety and health program of the workplace. Among the many benefits to be had, an effective program of safety and health training for workers can result in fewer injuries and illnesses, better morale, and lower insurance premiums. Training workers how to properly perform a job is time and money well spent. The employer should regard job safety training as an investment, not an expense. WWJ Alexandra Walsh is the vice president of Association Vision, a Washing- ton, D.C.–area communications company. She has extensive experience in management positions with a range of organizations. Twitter @WaterWellJournl WWJ June 2015 33 DACUM Codes To help meet your professional needs, this article covers skills and competencies found in DACUM charts for drillers and pump installers. DO refers to the drilling chart and PI represents the pumps chart. The letter and number immediately following is the skill on the chart covered by the article. This article covers: DOA-4; DOC-12; DOD-4, 5, 8; DOJ-6; DOK-2, 4, 8, 9, 14; DOL-1, 2, 10; PIB-2, 9; PIE-2; PIG-1, 2, 3 More information on DACUM and the charts are available at www.NGWA.org.