Importance Of Skills Demonstrations And Retraining

Important Training Requirements

No matter the training strategy used, it is essential to ensure employees practice before being exposed to actual hazards in the work environment. Some of the key requirements are stated or implied in OSHA rules. Three of the most important are:

• Demonstration: Workers should have the ability to demonstrate that they have both the knowledge and ability to safely perform a hazardous task or procedure before they are allowed to begin work. The tests to determine if students have adequate knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) is as follows:

• If they can teach the instructor how to perform a procedure, they have demonstrated adequate knowledge. To prove employees have adequate skills, the instructor can evaluate employees in the learning environment.

• To determine an employee’s abilities, a competent person can evaluate the employee while performing the workplace procedure.

• Retraining: Any time the employer believes a worker lacks adequate knowledge or ability to perform a task safely, that worker should receive retraining to improve their proficiency.

• Certification: Employees who must perform a hazardous task or procedure should be certified as “qualified” by the employer. In most instances, an attendance roster, by itself, will not be considered adequate documentation for most safety training.

Ultimately, the employer is responsible for certification. It’s also important to realize that OSHA does not “certify” anyone qualified to do anything… they just don’t do it.