Convergence Training Blog https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog Sun, 13 Jun 2021 19:09:35 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=5.1.3 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/cropped-vectorsolutions-icon-favicon-512x512-32x32.png Convergence Training Blog https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog 32 32 How IndustrySafe/Vector EHS Can Help Your Organization’s COVID Prevention Plan https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/industrysafe-vector-ehs-can-help-organizations-covid-prevention-plan https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/industrysafe-vector-ehs-can-help-organizations-covid-prevention-plan#respond Mon, 05 Apr 2021 18:46:52 +0000 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/?p=30780 Many employers are gearing up (or trying to sustain) their COVID-19 Return-to-Work efforts, and we’ve got an upcoming April 20 COVID/Return-to-Work webinar that explains 16 elements OSHA recommends for a COVID Prevention Plan and shows how organizations can implement those 16 elements with the help of Vector Solutions EHS software solutions (register now–16 Steps to […]

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Many employers are gearing up (or trying to sustain) their COVID-19 Return-to-Work efforts, and we’ve got an upcoming April 20 COVID/Return-to-Work webinar that explains 16 elements OSHA recommends for a COVID Prevention Plan and shows how organizations can implement those 16 elements with the help of Vector Solutions EHS software solutions (register now–16 Steps to a COVID Prevention Plan Webinar).

Partly to gear up for this, we had a discussion last week about how the Vector Solutions LiveSafe/WorkSafe mobile risk communication platform can be used in these efforts. This week (and immediately below), we’ve had a similar discussion about using the Vector Solutions EHS Management software as part of those return-to-work efforts.

Check out the recorded discussion below, click any of the additional resource links we’ve offered for you down there, and don’t forget to download our COVID Prevention Plan Checklist. 

The recorded discussion is immediately below–thanks to Danielle Goddard of Industry Safe/Vector EHS for sharing her knowledge with us. We’ve included links to some of the things discussed in the video as well–those as below the video.

Here are some of the links we mentioned in the video:

Hope that helps!

Let us know if we can answer any questions about COVID prevention plans, LiveSafe/Worksafe, the other Vector Solutions health and safety solutions, or anything else. And of course, be sure to help yourself to the COVID Prevention Plan checklist below before you take off!

 

COVID Return to Work Checklist Button

COVID-Return to Work Checklist

Download this checklist, based on OSHA’s January 29. 2021 “Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace,” to help keep the workers at your organization safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download Checklist

COVID Return to Work Checklist Button

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How LiveSafe/WorkSafe Can Help Your Organization’s COVID Prevention Plan https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/livesafe-worksafe-can-help-organizations-covid-prevention-plan https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/livesafe-worksafe-can-help-organizations-covid-prevention-plan#respond Tue, 30 Mar 2021 00:26:37 +0000 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/?p=30778 At Vector Solutions, we’re busy working with our customers to help them with their Return-to-Work efforts and COVID Prevention Plan and are scheduling a live webinar on April 20, 2021 (16 Steps to a COVID Prevention Plan) that you’ll find helpful if you’re looking for assistance with this. Of course, we offer a variety of […]

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At Vector Solutions, we’re busy working with our customers to help them with their Return-to-Work efforts and COVID Prevention Plan and are scheduling a live webinar on April 20, 2021 (16 Steps to a COVID Prevention Plan) that you’ll find helpful if you’re looking for assistance with this.

Of course, we offer a variety of products that can help you organization plan and implement a COVID Prevention Plan, and one of those is our WorkSafe offering from our partners at LiveSafe. We thought we’d invite Alex Brunjes of LiveSafe to tell us more about COVID prevention plans, OSHA’s recent COVID-related actions, and how employers can use the WorkSafe mobile risk communication platform to assist with COVID Prevention Plans.

Give Alex a listen below–we talk through all of the 16 elements that OSHA recommends in your COVID Prevention Plan in about 25 minutes–and check out the helpful COVID-related links we’ve got for you below the video as well.

When you’re done listening to Alex talking about COVID prevention plans and the LiveSafe mobile risk communication platform, we’ve also recorded an interview with my coworker Danielle Goddard discussing COVID and the Vector EHS management software by Vector Solutions. Be sure to check that out, too.

And of course, don’t forget to download our COVID Prevention Plan Checklist from the link you just passed or the button at the bottom of this page before you go!

Here’s our discussion with Alex talking about using LiveSafe to implement your COVID prevention plan.

Here are some of the links we mentioned in the video:

Hope that helps!

Let us know if we can answer any questions about COVID prevention plans, LiveSafe/Worksafe, the other Vector Solutions health and safety solutions, or anything else. And of course, be sure to help yourself to the COVID Prevention Plan checklist below before you take off!

 

COVID Return to Work Checklist Button

COVID-Return to Work Checklist

Download this checklist, based on OSHA’s January 29. 2021 “Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace,” to help keep the workers at your organization safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download Checklist

COVID Return to Work Checklist Button

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Tips for Better Construction Safety Training https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/tips-better-construction-safety-training https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/tips-better-construction-safety-training#respond Tue, 23 Mar 2021 23:01:23 +0000 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/?p=30729 Every safety professional in the construction industry is dedicated to improving safety and health, and part of that includes designing and delivering safety training. But not every safety professional has a basic grounding in some of the instructional design principles that make training more effective. And that’s where this article comes in. We’ll introduce you […]

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Every safety professional in the construction industry is dedicated to improving safety and health, and part of that includes designing and delivering safety training. But not every safety professional has a basic grounding in some of the instructional design principles that make training more effective.

And that’s where this article comes in. We’ll introduce you to some ideas that will improve your safety training and link you to resources, including ASSP national standards and OSHA materials, that will help all the more.

We hope you find this helpful–let us know if you’ve got any questions.

And don’t forget to download the Construction Safety Training Guide we’ve got for you at the bottom of this article!

Key Tips for Better, More Effective Construction Safety Training

Following these tips will GREATLY improve your current safety training programs.

Know Your Hazards

Every worksite, and every construction worksite, has its own unique hazards and risks. So there’s no single, easy way to create a list of hazards to create training around.

Instead, you’ll have to do what you’re good at–conducting job hazard analyses, doing inspections, getting safety observations from workers, reviewing your incident records and data, and so on–so you’ll know what the hazards are that you’re dealing with. And then you’ll need to keep on top of things in case things change, and keep in mind non-routine emergencies and create plans and training for them, and be ready to do it all over again at the next job site.

That said, there are some general trends when it comes to construction safety and health hazards. Two resources we recommend you check out are OSHA’s Fatal Four of construction safety hazards and the AIHA’s Focus Four of construction health hazards.

According to OSHA, the fatal four construction hazards are:

  • Falls
  • Struck-by-object
  • Electrocutions
  • Caught-in and/or caught-between

And according to the AIHA, the focus four construction health hazards are:

  • Manual material handling
  • Noise
  • Air contaminants
  • High temperatures

Additionally, OSHA’s document for construction safety management programs, OSHA 3886-Recommended Practices for Safety & Health Programs in Construction, includes the following list of common construction hazards:

  • Falls
  • Stairways and ladders
  • Scaffolding
  • Electrical
  • Trenching and excavation
  • Motor vehicle safety
  • Highway work zones
  • Hazard communication
  • Hand and power tools
  • Silica
  • Concrete and masonry products
  • Cranes, derricks, hoists, elevators, and conveyors
  • Welding, cutting, and brazing
  • Confined spaces
  • Residential construction
  • Steel erection
  • Fire safety
  • Emergency action planning

But we’ll repeat again, no two construction sites are the same and neither are the hazards.


Consider Your Entire Safety Management Program/System and the Place of Safety Training Within It

Your safety training program should be in a disconnected silo, separate from other aspects of your safety program. Instead, you should use a well-designed, integrated “systems” approach to safety in which your safety training and other safety measures complement each other hand-in-hand.

The OSHA safety management in construction document can help you with that, and of course there’s also the ANSI/ASSP Z10 standard to consult as well.

For more on this, check out our tips for construction safety management and our recorded discussion with safety professional Pam Walaski talking about systems approaches to occupational safety and health. Also, download these two infographics:

The Place of Safety Training within the Hierarchy of Controls

This is perhaps a subset of the point we made above, about ensuring your safety training program is integrated into your safety management program/system as a whole, but it’s important to keep in mind the position of safety training (which is a lower-level, administrative control) within the hierarchy of controls.

You’re safety professionals, so no doubt you understand the hierarchy of controls, but the basic idea is there are different ways to control a hazard and, when you’re brainstorming and implementing hazard controls, you want to try some controls (these are referred to as “higher-level” controls) before trying other controls (referred to as “lower level controls”). For example, it’s better to eliminate a hazard entirely (the highest-level control there is) than it is to give a worker PPE to protect against an otherwise uncontrolled hazard (the lowest level of controls).

Safety training is a lower-level control and is often grouped in the category known as administrative controls. That’s not to say that safety training can’t be helpful and doesn’t have a role, but you’ve got to keep in mind the best ways to truly keep workers safe and healthy.

If you’re new to this idea, read up on the hierarchy of controls here.

OSHA’s Safety Training Requirements

As a safety professional, simple compliance with OSHA or other regulators should never be the end goal. It’s the floor, not the ceiling.

That said, compliance IS a reality for employers. You’ve gotta do it. Plus, even if compliance shouldn’t be the end-all of your professional life, these requirements were created by well-intended people and they can help keep people and healthy.

To that point, you might want to check out this helpful OSHA Compliance Guidance on Training webpage, and in particular you might be interested in OSHA 2254, Training Requirements in OSHA Standards.


ADDIE or Similar Training Development Models

Most fields have models to help people work through processes in a step-by-step manner. For example, we just referred to the hierarchy of controls, which fits that description for safety professionals who are trying to select appropriate hazard controls.

The same is true in training development, as you’d guess. Good trainers don’t just make things up on the fly, and if they were creating safety training they wouldn’t just look at a regulation and transfer some key parts of it to a PowerPoint presentation.

Instead, they often work through models, and ADDIE is the most common one. Each letter in ADDIE stands for a different step or phase of the process: A for analysis, D for design, D for develop, I for implement, and E for evaluate.

Here’s a quick overview of the analysis phase of ADDIE:

  • Know a business goal the training is aligned to
  • Learn the actual job task the employees will perform
  • Know the employee’s current ability to perform the job
  • Know as much about the employees that will affect the training as you can
  • Begin a training evaluation strategy now, including finding the KPI the business goal is tied to and beginning measurements of that KPI

Here’s what happens during the design phase of ADDIE:

  • Write learning objectives for your training (more on this below)
  • Determine what the employees must do to successfully complete your training
  • Create tests/assessments for after training (yes, before you create the training itseslf)
  • Select the best instructional methods
  • Select the best training delivery methods
  • Chunk your training down into smaller, related bits

Here is a list of what to do during the develop phase of ADDIE:

  • Workbooks or similar materials for the employees to use during (and after) training
  • Guides for the instructor
  • PowerPoint presentation or similar materials
  • Other visual aids
  • Any materials/supplies/tools/PPE needed for hands-on training
  • Here’s what you should do during the implement phase of ADDIE:Work with employees and their managers to schedule the training
  • Inform managers/supervisors what the training is about and how they can continue to support the training on the job after the session is over
  • Get the room or computers or whatever you’ll need
  • Deliver the actual training (consider a beta test if possible)

And ADDIE ends with the evaluate phase, which typically includes evaluation at four different levels:

  • Level 1–learner reactions
  • Level 2–learning (tests)
  • Level 3-On-the-job behaviors
  • Level 4-Organizational results

The four-level training evaluation model, which is the most common in the training industry, is not the only model you can use. We’ve listed the names of some more below and you’ll find links to helpful videos on these other models a little further down in the article.

  • Brinkherhoff’s Success-Case Model
  • The Kaufman Model
  • The Phillips “ROI” Model
  • The Thalheimer LTEM Model

Now, ADDIE’s not the only instructional design model out there. There’s SAM, Llama, Agile, Design Thinking, and more. And there are actually different ways to “do” ADDIE, depending on what you include in each phase. But if you get a working knowledge of ADDIE down, you’ll be well-ahead of where you were if you were a novice on this topic, and you’re still plenty young with plenty of time to investigate alternatives and add-ons.

You can read more about ADDIE here.

Evidence-Based Training Practices

Beyond simply knowing a process for designing effective safety training, you should know that we are fortunate enough to live in a world with learning researchers who have studied what really makes training effective (in terms of comprehension, retention, and later transfer to the job) and what does not. Thanks to them, huh?

So that means we should focus on the so-called evidence-based training practices they’ve figured out for us. There are a LOT of these evidence-based training practices, and we’ll link you to a more comprehensive article specifically about them right below this bulleted list, but here are a few of the easiest and most impactful ones to begin integrating into the training at your construction sites:

  • Know the current level of knowledge of the employees and design your training to fill gaps
  • When training begins, activate their existing knowledge on that topic (ask questions, ask what they know, begin a discussion, etc.)
  • Use learning objectives
  • Remember that less is more
  • Use simple, conversational language
  • Tell stories
  • Provide demonstrations with explanations
  • Allow for practice with constructive feedback
  • Use examples and non-examples
  • Ask employees to summarize what they’ve learned
  • Ask employees to reflect on what they’ve learned
  • Provide multiple trainings spread out over time on the same topic instead of one-and-done training or once-a-year training
  • Provide training in a variety of different methods

Read more about evidence-based training practices here.

It also means we should avoid “learning myths”–things people THINK make training better even though they don’t or even though there’s no evidence behind the belief. Read more about learning myths here.

Learning Objectives

At the heart of any good training design is the issue of learning objectives.

Your learning objective(s) is/are what you want the learners to be able to DO when training is over. It’s the reason you’re developing the training.

It’s important to keep in mind that learning objectives should be a measurable behavior–something you can see, watch, or witness someone do. They shouldn’t be something vague or fuzzy or non-observable, like “know this” or “understand that.” Think, instead: operate a forklift.

Once you’ve got your learning objectives, then create your tests/assessments and then your training content activities and you’re pretty much done! Of course, make sure your tests, assessments, content, and activities are all directly mapped to those learning objectives, but you guessed that on your own, right?

For more on this, check out our recorded discussion about learning objectives with well-respected learning research professional Dr. Patti Shank and download a copy of our learning objectives guide.

Tests & Assessments

You also will want to create tests and/or assessments to determine if the learners CAN perform the learning objectives when the training is over. Remember, the key here is to make sure your test or assessment directly measures the learner’s ability to perform the learning objective.

So, if the learning objective is to operate a machine, don’t have a test that asks people to list the steps of operating the machine. Do you see how those two things aren’t the same? Are they being paid to go to work and operate a machine or to go to work and list the steps of operating the machine? The former, right?

For more, check out our recorded discussion with Dr. Patti Shank on creating learning assessments and multiple-choice questions in particular.

Blended Learning for Safety Training

One thing to know about any kind of training is that people learn better from a diversity of training experiences.

One way to provide that kind of diversity is to offer a blended learning solution to employees. This means to deliver training in multiple different delivery formats–maybe classroom, plus online, plus virtual reality, plus microlearning, plus a community of practice, for example.

So when you’re thinking about your safety training program, mix it up a bit.

For more on this, get our Blended Learning Solutions Guide.


Evaluating Safety Training Effectiveness

A final thing to think about is that once you’ve delivered your safety training, you want to evaluate it to see if it’s been effective.

The most common training evaluate method is the Kirkpatrick Four-Level Training Evaluation Model, in which you evaluate training at the following levels:

  • Level 1, reaction: surveys from the learners right after training
  • Level 2, learning: tests/assessments right after training
  • Level 3, on-the-job behaviors: observations of later performance on the job to see if the training “transferred”
  • Level 4, effect on business goals: how did the training, learning, and on-the-job behaviors affected a larger business goal

You can read more about the Kirkpatrick evaluation model here.

If you REALLY want to take a deep dive, check my interviews with learning researcher Dr. Will Thalheimer on Four Common Training Evaluation Models and Dr. Thalheimer’s LTEM Training Evaluation Model.

Add Some Online Safety Training Capabilities

Although face-to-face training can be GREAT, and we encourage you to use it when it’s appropriate, if you’re not yet using online safety training, it’s a good time to start.

Consider the following:

Even better, see if you can find a solution that includes complementary:

Keep in Mind Special Considerations of a Construction Workforce

Training in the construction industry isn’t the same as training in the software industry, at a bank, or even in a manufacturing facility.

In the United States, at least, many construction workers speak something other than English as their first language. Often times, this will be Spanish. And in some cases, these workers won’t be conversational (or able to read and write) in English at all. You’re probably already aware that OSHA requires you to provide safety and health training in a language the workers can understand, but here’s your reminder.

Additionally, the construction workforce is a mobile one that’s often spread out over space (and working at different times). You’re going to need to think outside of the box a little more than a compliance manager at a bank who simply has people walk into a conference room or log into a desktop computer at their workstation to complete training. An effective blend of field-based training and online training can help here.

And finally, construction is unique because of the multi-employer aspect of it, including the use of contactors. Check out our contractor LMS for more on this.

Additional Resources to Improve Your Safety Training

We’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the ANSI/ASSP Z490.1 national standard for EHS training and the ANSI/ASSP Z490.2 national standard for online EHS training (note: the author of this article helped to create Z490.2 and is currently helping to update Z490.1). Go check those two standards out.

In addition, check out the following recorded webinars we’ve put out:

We hope you find this article helpful. Let us know if you need help or have questions, and have a great day!

Before you go, download our comprehensive Guide to Construction Safety Training (below).

Construction Safety Training Guide Btn

Construction Safety Training Guide

Learn to use, design, deliver, and evaluate safety training more effectively in the construction industry. Includes tips on how people learn, evidence-based training design, safety training within safety management, and the hierarchy of controls plus links to helpful resources.

Download Free Guide

Construction Safety Training Guide Btn

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Tips for More Effective Construction Safety Management https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/tips-effective-construction-safety-management https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/tips-effective-construction-safety-management#respond Tue, 23 Mar 2021 02:31:35 +0000 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/?p=30731 Back  in 2016, OSHA published OSHA 3886, Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs in Construction. We encourage you to read the entire OSHA publication, and believe your construction safety management system or program will benefit from doing so, but in this article, we’re going to pass along some of the key points from the […]

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Back  in 2016, OSHA published OSHA 3886, Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Programs in Construction. We encourage you to read the entire OSHA publication, and believe your construction safety management system or program will benefit from doing so, but in this article, we’re going to pass along some of the key points from the OSHA document on construction safety training management.

In particular, we’re going to call out OSHA’s tips for getting started with construction safety management programs (which we already turned into a construction safety management–getting started infographic for you–and OSHA’s tips for key elements to include in your safety management program–which, again, we’ve turned into an infographic for you as well.

Enjoy the read, let us know if you’ve got questions, and let us know if you would like to know about our safety training products–online safety and health courses, learning management systems, EHS management systems, mobile risk communication platforms, and more.

Construction Safety Management: Getting Started & Focusing on the Key Parts

The OSHA document on construction safety management has a LOT of material in it, but it has two handy sections on (1) getting started and (2) key elements.

Let’s take a look at each of those to help you improve the safety and health at your construction work site(s).

9 Tips for Getting Started with Construction Safety Management

OSHA recommends these nine steps to getting started with your construction safety management program:

  • Always set safety and health as the top priority: Safety and health is just as important as getting the job done.
  • Lead by example: model safety by walking the walk and, in particular, talking with employees about safety daily.
  • Implement a reporting system: create a system employees can use to report near-misses, incidents, and safety observations; make sure there’s never any retaliation for making a report; and work hard to gain the workers’ trust so they’ll use the reporting system.
  • Provide training on the real safety and health hazards workers face at your construction worksite, making sure to teach workers how to work safely once those hazards are controlled. Keep in mind the place of safety training within the hierarchy of controls. Check out our extended article on construction safety training tips and be sure to download our construction safety training guide.
  • Conduct inspections to spot hazards: be sure to talk with workers while you’re doing this, as often they’ll know more about the hazards than you do.
  • Collect hazard control ideas: get hazard control ideas from as many sources as possible–remember diversity often breeds innovation.
  • Implement hazard control ideas: once you’ve collected those hazard ideas, assess them, pick the ones that seem most suitable, and implement them. Be sure to create a mechanism for evaluating their effectiveness as well (think of something like the PDCA Cycle here).
  • Address emergencies: life won’t be ordinary and run-of-the-mill every day. Emergencies WILL happen (just think of the COVID pandemic that began in 2020, for example), and then add your arguably-more-expected hurricanes and tornadoes and earthquakes and fires and similar emergencies. Plan ahead for the these emergencies and be ready for them.
  • Make improvements: note that earlier we talked about evaluating your safety management program and the PDCA cycle (which is taken from “continuous improvement” methods). Never stand pat in your safety management program–keep evaluating and improving over time.

Download an infographic with these same “getting started with construction safety management” tips.


10 Key Elements of Construction Safety Management to Focus On

Once you’ve got that safety management program started at your site(s), here’s what OSHA recommends you focus on:

  • Management leadership: Have all levels of management, from top-management to lower-level managers and supervisors, communicate and demonstrate their commitment to safety and health at your site.
  • Worker participation: Get workers involved in all phases of your safety management program. This includes contractors and temporary workers. Keep lines of communication active, two-way, and based on trust and respect.
  • Hazard ID and assessment: Create procedures for identifying hazards–don’t leave this to chance. Do this on a regular basis and with involvement of workers. Be sure to consider “routine” conditions and emergencies as well. Once hazards are identified, prioritize them for control.
  • Hazard prevention and control: Come up with a variety of ideas for controlling hazards; select the “best” ideas; and implement them. Keep in mind the hierarchy of controls.
  • Education and training: Provide safety and health training to all workers and managers. This should include everyone’s role within the safety management program; hazard identification; and how to work safely in the presence of (controlled) hazards.
  • Safety management program evaluation and improvement: Create regular, routine mechanisms for evaluating controls and your safety management program and improving it when necessary (including but not limited to when things are new and when things change).
  • Communication and coordination for employers on multiemployer worksites: Be sure that employees at multiemployer worksites cooperate, coordinate, and communicate about safety and health issues effectively. See OSHA for more on multiemployer worksites.

Download an infographic with these same “key elements of a construction safety management” tips.


Two Final Tips for Improved Safety and Health at Your Construction Site(s)

Before we go, we’d like to offer two last tips for you.

First, while every construction site is unique, and so are its hazards, OSHA has identified its “fatal four” safety hazards and the AIHA has identified its “focus four” health hazards for the construction industry. Be well aware of these hazards and how to control them.

The so-called “fatal four” safety hazards are:

  • Falls
  • Struck-by-object
  • Electrocutions
  • Caught-in and/or caught-between

And the so-called “focus four” health hazards are:

  • Manual material handling
  • Noise
  • Air contaminants
  • High temperatures

And second, remember to use evidence-based training practices instead of learning myths.

Before you go, download our free construction safety management infographic, below! 

Getting Started with Construction Safety Management Button

Free ‘Getting Started with Construction Safety Management’ Infographic

Download this free infographic, based on OSHA’s Recommended Practices for Safety and Health Management in Construction document, to get started with safety management in construction.

Download Free Infographic

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Some Digital Tools to Assist Your COVID/Return to Work Plans https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/digital-tools-assist-covid-return-work-plans https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/digital-tools-assist-covid-return-work-plans#respond Mon, 15 Mar 2021 21:42:44 +0000 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/?p=30601 Some organizations have been able to continue working during the COVID-19 pandemic “just” by having workers work from home. Sure, there were hiccups along the way as we all figured out online collaboration tools like Jira or Trello, messaging tools like Slack, and how to deal with Zoom fatigue, but for most organizations and workers, […]

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Some organizations have been able to continue working during the COVID-19 pandemic “just” by having workers work from home. Sure, there were hiccups along the way as we all figured out online collaboration tools like Jira or Trello, messaging tools like Slack, and how to deal with Zoom fatigue, but for most organizations and workers, these COVID-related challenges were things we could handle (now, juggling that working from home while taking care of your kids and getting them to complete school from home at the same time is an issue for a different article).

But not all organizations could do that. For example, a lot of industrial or manufacturing organizations didn’t have that kind of luxury. The same was true in the construction industry. No doubt you can think of other organizations that had to deal with COVID return-to-work issues in a more immediate, “we need to be at work together” kind of way.

OSHA recently published a COVID/Return to Work guidance, and that guidance includes 16 different elements employers should include in their COVID Prevention Plans. In the article below, we’ve linked you to the OSHA guidance, listed the 16 elements, and shown you how digital tools created by Vector Solutions can help your company implement each of them.

We wish you luck with your own COVID return-to-work program and are here to help if you’ve got any questions.

Digital Solutions to Help Your Return-to-Work Efforts During the COVID Pandemic

In their January 29, 2021 COVID guidance, OSHA recommends that employers create a COVID Workplace Prevention Plan with the following 16 elements:

  1. Establish a single workplace coordinator for COVID issues
  2. Identify where and how employees could get exposed to COVID while at work
  3. Identify measures to help control the spread of COVID, keeping the hierarchy of controls in mind and realizing no single solution will solve the problem
  4. Adding supportive policies and practices to help protect workers at high-risk
  5. Creating a system for communicating with workers about COVID-19 issues
  6. Educate and train workers about COVID-19 and the procedures and policies related to COVID-19 mitigation and control at your organization
  7. Have workers who are sick, potentially sick, exposed, or potentially exposed to COVID isolate/quarantine
  8. Put in place policies, procedures, and other actions to reduce the negative outcomes for workers who are isolating/quarantining
  9. Isolate workers who show symptoms of COVID at work
  10. Create enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures in case people who are positive or suspected to be positive enter your facility
  11. Provide employees guidance on screening and testing for COVID-19
  12. Record and report COVID infections and deaths to OSHA
  13. Create a way for employees to raise concerns about COVID-19 anonymously and ensure there are protections for any worker who does raise concerns
  14. Offer COVID-19 vaccinations freely to employees and provide training workers about the safety and benefits of vaccination
  15. Once workers begin getting vaccinated, make no distinctions between workers who have been vaccinated and workers who have not and maintain the same sets of rules (masks, hand hygiene, physical distancing, etc.) for both sets of workers
  16. Comply with other relevant OSHA standards 

To assist with those 16 elements, Vector Solutions offers the following digital safety and health tools:

  • Mobile risk communication & intelligence platform
  • EHS management software (JHAs, incident investigations, reporting/recording, and more)
  • Safety data sheet (SDS) management software
  • Online health and safety training courses and learning management systems

We’ll walk you through a few ways you can use the digital safety and health tools

This is important for all employers, but it’s especially important for employers listed on the even-more recent OSHA National Emphasis Program for COVID with its targeted inspections, which OSHA released in mid-March, 2021.


Mobile Risk Communication & Intelligence Platform

Through our membership in the Vector Solutions family, we’re proud to partner with LiveSafe, makers of a mobile risk communication & intelligence platform. LiveSafe has a COVID/Return-to-Work feature set known as WorkSafe that can help you organization with the following items from OSHA’s guidance:

  • Assign a single workplace coordinator for COVID issues
    WorkSafe won’t assign this person for you, but you can use WorkSafe to specify this person as a COVID point of contact in the application, which makes it very easy for all employees to communicate with that single COVID point of contact.
  • Adding supportive policies and practices to help protect workers at high-risk
    Again, it’s up to your organization to create the policies and practices, but WorkSafe makes it easy to distribute them to workers and allows you to organize them in a way that employees can easily find and review them on their own.
  • Creating a system for communicating with workers about COVID-19 issues
    WorkSafe is all about communication. Easy, safe, convenient, quick, trackable, and anonymous when necessary.
  • Educate and train workers about COVID-19 and the procedures and policies related to COVID-19 mitigation and control at your organization
    While much of your safety and health training may be distributed through your LMS, you can use the WorkSafe mobile communication platform to push out timely COVID-related news, procedure changes, and so on.
  • Have workers who are sick, potentially sick, exposed, or potentially exposed to COVID isolate/quarantine
    Once you’ve created policies along these lines, you can use WorkSafe to push these policies out to workers and inform them. Also, employees can use WorkSafe to report that they’re infected or possibly infected without coming to work.
  • Put in place policies, procedures, and other actions to reduce the negative outcomes for workers who are isolating/quarantining
    This is another case where it’s up to your organization to create the policies and procedures but, once they’re created, you can use WorkSafe to communicate these out to workers, supervisors, and managers.
  • Isolate workers who show symptoms of COVID at work
    Use WorkSafe to communicate in advance to workers what they should do if they begin to feel ill at work and allow them to use WorkSafe to report sickness at work when possible symptoms first appear.
  • Provide employees guidance on screening and testing for COVID-19
    Use WorkSafe to inform employees of your screening and testing policies but also to show them where, on a MAP, they can go for screening and testing.
  • Create a way for employees to raise concerns about COVID-19 anonymously and ensure there are protections for any worker who does raise concerns
    WorkSafe comes with a “make this anonymous” reporting option so when employees do choose to raise an issue with your assigned COVID point of contact, that issue will arrive anonymously if the employee chooses that option.
  • Offer COVID-19 vaccinations freely to employees and provide training workers about the safety and benefits of vaccination
    Use WorkSafe to inform workers of your vaccination policies and also to direct them to the location at which they can get vaccinated.
  • Once workers begin getting vaccinated, make no distinctions between workers who have been vaccinated and workers who have not and maintain the same sets of rules (masks, hand hygiene, physical distancing, etc.) for both sets of worker
    Again, this comes down to using WorkSafe to distribute this policy out to workers, supervisors, and managers once you’ve created it.

Learn more about the Vector Solutions WorkSafe mobile application here, and check out our interview which the makers of the LiveSafe/WorkSafe platform, too.

EHS Management Software

Vector Solutions also includes yet another partner of ours, IndustrySafe. IndustrySafe makes the Vector EHS management software system you can use for JHAs, incident investigations, OSHA Reporting, and more. Vector EHS can help you with the following items from OSHA’s 16-point guidance:

  • Identify where and how employees could get exposed to COVID while at work
    Vector EHS includes a job safety analysis/job hazard analysis module to assist with COVID hazard identification.
  • Create enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures in case people who are positive or suspected to be positive enter your facility
    Vector EHS also includes a procedures module for creating and implementing new procedures, such as these for cleaning and disinfecting.
  • Record and report COVID infections and deaths to OSHA
    At the heart of Vector EHS is the ability to record and report injury and illness data, including illness and fatality data for work-related COVID cases. This includes completing your OSHA 300 forms, annual online submission, EHS injury/illness/fatality data dashboards and analytics, and more.
  • Comply with other relevant OSHA standards 
    This is a broad point, so it’s hard to get specific on how Vector EHS can help with this, but just as there’s a lot to OSHA standards not covered in the COVID guidance, there’s a lot to Vector EHS we haven’t mentioned yet, too.

Learn more about the Vector Solutions Vector EHS management software here and check out our interview with the makers of the Vector EHS Management software, too.

Safety Data Sheet (SDS) Management Software

A new feature of our Vector EHS management software is a safety data sheet (SDS) management module. The Vector EHS Safety Data Sheet module can help you with the following elements from OSHA’s COVID prevention plan list:

  • Create enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures in case people who are positive or suspected to be positive enter your facility
    All of that cleaning and disinfecting may very well mean chemicals that fall under OSHA’s Haz-Com standard. And that means you’ll need safety data sheets (SDS) and will have to give employees access them. Vector SDS can help with this.

Learn more about the Vector Solutions Safety Data Sheet (SDS) management software here.

Online Health & Safety Training Courses & Learning Management System (LMS)

Finally, Vector Solutions makes a learning management system (LMS) for training management and administration and online safety and health courses to further assist you with your safety and health training needs. The Vector Solutions LMS and online safety and health training courses can help your organization with the following elements of the 16-point COVID prevention plan list from OSHA:

  • Identify measures to help control the spread of COVID, keeping the hierarchy of controls in mind and realizing no single solution will solve the problem
    Although health and safety training shouldn’t be your primary control, it’s likely to be one element in that combination OSHA mentions.
  • Creating a system for communicating with workers about COVID-19 issues
    Your organization can use the Vector learning management system (along with WorkSafe) for communicating with employees around COVID.
  • Educate and train workers about COVID-19 and the procedures and policies related to COVID-19 mitigation and control at your organization
    Use our online COVID health and safety training courses for training workers on the basis of COVID, and create your own training materials for organization-specific training on COVID. PLUS, deliver and track that training with our LMS.
  • Have workers who are sick, potentially sick, exposed, or potentially exposed to COVID isolate/quarantine
    Include this point in your health and safety training.
  • Create enhanced cleaning and disinfecting procedures in case people who are positive or suspected to be positive enter your facility
    Your workers will need to know about your new cleaning and disinfecting policies; will need to know their roles in those new policies; and will most likely need some additional Haz-Com training as well.
  • Provide employees guidance on screening and testing for COVID-19
    Finally, use our online health and safety training courses and tools to teach employees about the purpose and safety of the vaccines, how and when to get vaccinated, and more.

Learn more about the Vector Solutions online health and safety training courses, learning management system (LMS), and mobile learning applications here.

Speaking of health and safety training related to COVID-19, check out our blog article on OSHA’s requirements for COVID & safety training AND the complementary online COVID safety and health training courses our parent company Vector Solutions is offering.


Conclusion: Let Vector Solutions Help Your Organization Mitigate COVID Risks and Get To Work (Safely)

We’re all in this pandemic together until we’re all out of it, so we hope you found this article helpful for your return-to-work efforts whether you’re interested in getting any of the software tools we’ve mentioned above or not.

That said, if you ARE interested in one or more of our software solutions (or the online safety and health training courses), please contact us and we’ll be happy to help you determine if they’re the right fits for your needs.

Before you go, don’t forget to download the Return to Work/COVID checklist immediately below! 

 

COVID Return to Work Checklist Button

COVID-Return to Work Checklist

Download this checklist, based on OSHA’s January 29. 2021 “Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace,” to help keep the workers at your organization safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download Checklist

COVID Return to Work Checklist Button

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OSHA Launches National Emphasis Program for COVID-19 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/osha-launches-national-emphasis-program-covid-19 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/osha-launches-national-emphasis-program-covid-19#respond Mon, 15 Mar 2021 18:01:10 +0000 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/?p=30693 On March 12, 2021, OSHA announced a National Emphasis Program (NEP) titled National Emphasis Program – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). The purpose, as OSHA’s NEP explains, is “to ensure that employees in high hazard industries or work tasks are protected from the hazard of contracting SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the cause of […]

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On March 12, 2021, OSHA announced a National Emphasis Program (NEP) titled National Emphasis Program – Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19).

The purpose, as OSHA’s NEP explains, is “to ensure that employees in high hazard industries or work tasks are protected from the hazard of contracting SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2), the cause of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). ”

We’ll provide more details for you about this new OSHA/COVID National Emphasis Program below. Remember this comes pretty soon after the January 29, 2021 COVID guidance from OSHA.

Also keep min mind that we’ve created a 16-element COVID/Return to Work checklist for you based on the OSHA guidance and that our parent company Vector Solutions is offering complementary online COVID safety and health training courses for you to use.

As we do every time we write about an OSHA publication, we’ll begin by encouraging you to read the OSHA COVID National Emphasis Program for yourself.

The Origins of this New OSHA COVID National Emphasis Program

Back on January 21, 2021, President Biden directed the Secretary of Labor and OSHA “to launch a national program to focus OSHA enforcement efforts related to Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) on hazardous conditions that put the largest number of workers at serious risk, and on employers that engage in retaliation against employees who complain about unsafe or unhealthful conditions or exercise other rights under the Act.”

This National Emphasis is OSHA’s follow-through on that executive order by President Biden.

Target of OSHA’s COVID NEP

OSHA explains that it’s their plan to target “establishments that have workers with increased potential exposure to this hazard [COVID–ed.] and that puts the largest number of workers at serious risk.” Additionally, OSHA’s NEP explains their goal is to target “industries and worksites where employees may have a high frequency of close contact exposures.”

NEP Outlines a Three-Pronged Approach to COVID Reduction

The NEP spells out a three-pronged approach from OSHA that includes:

  • Inspection targeting
  • Outreach to employers
  • Compliance assistance

Industries Targeted for Inspections as a Result of this New OSHA COVID National Emphasis Program

OSHA explains that they believe most of these targeted inspections will take place in general industry and, in particular, in health care.

In particular, Appendices A and B list industries that will get special attention from OSHA (the numbers below are NAICS codes). As OSHA did, we’ll give you the list within the health care industry first:

Targeted Industries within Health Care:

  • 621111-Offices of Physicians (except Mental Health Specialists)
  • 621210-Offices of Dentists
  • 621610-Home Health Care Services
  • 621910-Ambulance Services
  • 622110-General Medical and Surgical Hospitals
  • 622210-Psychiatric and Substance Abuse Hospitals
  • 622310-Specialty (except Psychiatric and Substance Abuse) Hospitals
  • 623110-Nursing Care Facilities (Skilled Nursing Facilities)
  • 623210-Residential Intellectual and Developmental Disability Facilities
  • 623311-Continuing Care Retirement Communities
  • 623312-Assisted Living Facilities for the Elderly

Targeted non-Healthcare Industries:

  • 311612-Meat Processed from Carcasses
  • 311611-Animal (except Poultry) Slaughtering
  • 311615-Poultry Processing
  • 445110-Supermarkets and Other Grocery (except Convenience) Stores
  • 452112-Discount Department Stores
  • 493110-General Warehousing and Storage
  • 561320-Temporary Help Services
  • 722511-Full-Service Restaurants
  • 722513-Limited-Service Restaurants
  • 922140-Correctional Institutions
  • 11xxxx-Agriculture, Forestry, Fishing and Hunting
  • 236XXX-Construction of Buildings
  • 237XXX-Heavy and Civil Engineering Construction
  • 238XXX-Specialty Trade Contractors
  • 311xxx-Food Manufacturing
  • 3121xx-Beverage Manufacturing
  • 321xxx-Wood Product Manufacturing
  • 322xxx-Paper Manufacturing
  • 32412x-Asphalt Paving, Roofing, and Saturated Materials Manufacturing
  • 32419x-Other Petroleum and Coal Products Manufacturing
  • 325xxx-Chemical Manufacturing
  • 326xxx-Plastics and Rubber Product Manufacturing
  • 327xxx-Nonmetallic Mineral Product Manufacturing
  • 331xxx-Primary Metal Manufacturing
  • 332xxx-Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing
  • 333xxx-Industrial Machinery Manufacturing
  • 334xxx-Computer and Electronic Product Manufacturing
  • 335xxx-Electrical Equipment, Appliance, and Component Manufacturing
  • 336xxx-Transportation Equipment Manufacturing
  • 33711x-Wood Kitchen Cabinet and Countertop Manufacturing
  • 3399xx-Other Miscellaneous Manufacturing
  • 44422x-Nursery, Garden Center, and Farm Supply Stores
  • 445xxx-Additional Food and Beverage Stores
  • 4523xx-General Merchandise Stores, including Warehouse Clubs and Supercenters
  • 4851xx-Urban Transit Systems
  • 4852xx-Interurban and Rural Bus Transportation
  • 4854xx-School and Employee Bus Transportation
  • 485991-Special Needs Transportation
  • 491xxx-Postal Service
  • 54142x-Industrial Design Services
  • 811219-Other Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance
  • 81131x-Commercial and Industrial Machinery and Equipment (except Automotive and Electronic  Repair and Maintenance

Retaliation Protection and Whistleblower Protection Program

Another primary focus of the new OSHA COVID National Emphasis Program is to “ensure that workers are protected from retaliation.” OSHA says they’re doing this by preventing retaliation when it’s possible, by distributing anti-retaliation information during their own inspections, through outreach efforts, and also by “promptly referring allegations to the Whistleblower Protection Program.”

When Does This National Emphasis Program Expire?

The NEP is set to expire no more than 12 months from its effective date.

We hope you found this update on OSHA, COVID, and OSHA’s new National Emphasis Program helpful. Before you close this window, be sure to download the Return to Work checklist below. 

COVID-Return to Work Checklist

Download this checklist, based on OSHA’s January 29. 2021 “Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace,” to help keep the workers at your organization safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download Checklist

COVID Return to Work Checklist Button

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Tips for Getting More Employees to Get the COVID-19 Vaccination https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/tips-getting-employees-get-covid-19-vaccination https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/tips-getting-employees-get-covid-19-vaccination#respond Thu, 11 Mar 2021 22:25:38 +0000 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/?p=30662 One way for companies to “return to work” and work in a safe, healthy, sustainable manner during the COVID pandemic is to have employees get vaccinated (of course, there are other ways, too–check out our article on creating a COVID prevention plan at work and get our 16-point COVID/Return-to-Work Checklist for more ideas). Sounds easy, […]

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One way for companies to “return to work” and work in a safe, healthy, sustainable manner during the COVID pandemic is to have employees get vaccinated (of course, there are other ways, too–check out our article on creating a COVID prevention plan at work and get our 16-point COVID/Return-to-Work Checklist for more ideas).

Sounds easy, right? Well, not so much, really.

First, there are issues of logistics–how will employees get those shots? And then there will be times in which employees may not want to get the vaccination for any number of reasons.

The flat-out truth is that you may not reach the point at which 100% of the employees in your organization get immunized. But there are some things you can do to increase the percentage of employees who do and maybe even get them vaccinated sooner instead of later. We’ll share some ideas below.

Some Things to Consider When Trying to Increase The Number of Employees Who Get COVID-19 Vaccinations

You can just leave this issue to chance, and maybe things will work out well, but by doing just a few simple things, you’ll probably increase the number of employees who get vaccinated and maybe even earn some good-will from employees as well. Here are a few ideas.

Offer the COVID Vaccine at Your Workplace

See if you can make it easy for employees to get vaccinated by making vaccinations available right at your workplace. The CDC offers this directory of Health Departments to make this easier for you.

…Free of Charge

And, if there’s a cost associated with getting employees vaccinated and/or vaccinated at your workplace, consider covering that expense for the employees.

Reduce Employee’s Workload So They Won’t Get Behind While They’re Getting Vaccinated

Try to avoid creating a situation in which an employee may choose to not take time to get vaccinated because he/she knows they’ll get behind in work as a result. Lighten the workload a little to make it easier for people to use that time to get vaccinated without coming back and feeling swamped.

Pay Employees While They’re Being Vaccinated

Can you pay employees while they’re being vaccinated as if they’re working normally on the job, without having to use sick time they might need for something else later in the year?

Pay Them If They Have Adverse Reactions to the Vaccination and Need Time Off to Recover

You may have heard sometimes people suffer adverse reactions to the vaccinations. This can include things like fever, chills, and muscle aches. Your employees have probably heard about this too.

Considering letting them know they can take time off if they DO have an adverse reaction–without having to use their holiday time or sick time.


Inform Employees of the Facts about COVID-19 and the COVID Vaccinations

There’s a lot of good, credible information about COVID-19 and the COVID vaccinations out there. And there’s also still things we don’t know–COVID is an emerging issue, after all.

And on top of what we know and what we don’t know, there’s also a lot of disinformation out there for any number of reasons and from any number of sources. And let’s be honest–while you may (and should) try to provide helpful information and clear up misconceptions, you’ll likely not win this battle entirely.

Regardless, it’s good to provide training and information to employees about COVID and the COVID vaccines. Our parent company, Vector Solutions, has created a series of online COVID safety and health training courses you can use for free as part of their “Vector Cares” project. We’ve got a couple of key ones for you below, but be sure to check out all of the courses.

Here’s a course on the basics of COVID, and here’s a course on the COVID vaccines to help you with this.

Use Behavioral Economics to Make Employees More Likely to Get Vaccinated

Our last suggestion is to use a powerful tool from the “behavior change toolbox:” behavioral economics.

If you’re not familiar with behavioral economics (we’ve discussed it a number of times in the past, such as in this discussion of Daniel Kahneman’s Thinking, Fast and Slow and this discussion of Dan Ariely’s The Upside of Irrationality, plus we touched on it in these discussions with Julie Dirksen on supporting behavior change at work and Arun Pradhan on facilitating change at work, and PLUS we cover some of this in our discussion of Made to Stick by the Heath Brothers), it’s the idea that humans don’t always act as entirely rational “actors,” make decisions for any number of reasons (sometimes these are irrational or straight-up “wrong”), and that by using insights from behavioral economics, including things like “nudge,” we can direct behaviors and choices in more desired directions.

So to get back to my point, the idea is we can use insights from behavioral economics and nudge theory to make employees more likely to get vaccinated. This idea is discussed more fully in this article at Human Resources Executive, but here are a few of my favorite points from the article:

  • Focus on messaging about real/potential losses instead of on gains
  • Focus on short-term wins over long-term ones
  • Tell stories, don’t share data or stats (this is mentioned in detail in the Heath brothers book I already mentioned)
  • Make the mention and the goal social
  • Reduce the amount of conscious decision-making employees have to make to get the vaccination (this is in line with what we discussed re: Kahneman’s system 1 and system 2)
  • Don’t focus purely on money in messaging–talk about social benefits

Conclusion: Increasing the Number of Employees Who Get Vaccinated against COVID IS within Your Powers

We hope this article gave you some good ideas for getting more employees vaccinated. Good luck with your return-to-work efforts and check out this CDC webpage for even more tips.

And be sure to download the Return to Work checklist below. 

COVID Return to Work Checklist Button

COVID-Return to Work Checklist

Download this checklist, based on OSHA’s January 29. 2021 “Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace,” to help keep the workers at your organization safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download Checklist

COVID Return to Work Checklist Button

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HOP, Safety Differently, Safety-II, HPI, Resilience Engineering & More: What Are They? https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/hop-safety-differently-safety-ii-hpi-resilience-engineering https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/hop-safety-differently-safety-ii-hpi-resilience-engineering#respond Thu, 11 Mar 2021 17:37:46 +0000 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/?p=30561 [Quick note: you can download the guide from the bottom of this page or just click here.] Have you heard of things like Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), Safety Differently, Safety-II, New Safety, the “New View” of Safety, Resilience Engineer, and Human Performance Improvement (HPI) and wondered what they’re all about? Ever wanted to learn […]

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[Quick note: you can download the guide from the bottom of this page or just click here.]

Have you heard of things like Human and Organizational Performance (HOP), Safety Differently, Safety-II, New Safety, the “New View” of Safety, Resilience Engineer, and Human Performance Improvement (HPI) and wondered what they’re all about? Ever wanted to learn more? Even wanted tips from the people who really know? Ever wanted some guidance on how to begin implementing it at your own workplace?

If so, we think you’ll find this guide helpful, insightful, practical, and even a little fun to read (plus don’t forget our 5 Principles of HOP infographic.)

We asked some of the leading experts in the world to help introduce “new safety” to you in this guide (note that we’re using “new safety” simply as a catch-all term to include all the different terms–HOP, Safety Differently, etc.–that we listed above) and we’re very thankful that so many chose to share their experience and knowledge with us (thanks to all the contributors!).

We asked each of the contributors to answer the following questions:

How would you define “new safety?”

What’s the most important thing a safety professional should know about new safety?

How would you recommend a safety professional begin implementing new safety?

What resources do you recommend people check out to learn more about new safety?

The contributors include, in alphabetical order:

Martha Acosta, Nippin Anand, Andrea Baker, Andrew Barrett, Carsten Busch, Eric Buschard, Rosa Antonia Carillo, Tristan Casey, Bob Edwards, Joe Estey, Ron Gantt, Sam Goodman, Tanya Hewitt, Daniel Hummerdal, Adam Johns, Clive Lloyd, Gareth Lock, Jeff Lyth, Charles Major, James McPherson, Michael Phillips, Ivann Pupulidy, Becky Ray, Steven Shorrock, Brent Sutton, Pam Walaski, Sean Walker, Gary Wong, and Marc Yeston (once again, thanks to all of them!). 

In addition to this guide, you might also find these related articles and recorded discussions of interest:

Recorded Discussion with Todd Conklin: 

Recorded Discussions with Ron Gantt: 

Recorded Discussions with Carsten Busch:

Recorded Discussion with Bob Edwards:

Recorded Discussion with Andrea Baker: 

Recorded Discussion with Helen Harris: 

Recorded Discussions with Pam Walaski:

Recorded Discussions with Jennifer Serne:

Recorded Discussion with Adam Johns:

Recorded Discussions with Joe Estey:

Recorded, On-Demand Discussion with David Provan (David wanted to contribute to this and then got super-busy, so sadly we missed out on him in this round. We DO hope to add additional contributors over time and David’s at the top of our wish list!):

Recorded, On-Demand Webinar with Pam Walaski: 

Recorded, On-Demand Webinar with Jennifer Serne 

We think you’ll find this guide insightful. Download it now and come back to let us know what you think!

New Safety Guide Button

Intro to “New Safety” Guide

What we’re calling “New Safety” here goes by a variety of names–HOP, HPI, Safety Differently, Safety-II, Resilience Engineering, and more. Download the guide to learn more about it from many of the world’s top experts.

Download Guide

New Safety Guide Button

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10 Easy Steps to a Safer Return-To-Work During the COVID Pandemic https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/10-easy-steps-to-a-safer-return-to-work-during-the-covid-pandemic https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/10-easy-steps-to-a-safer-return-to-work-during-the-covid-pandemic#respond Wed, 10 Mar 2021 22:11:03 +0000 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/?p=30653 As the COVID-19 pandemic grinds on (though mercifully, it seems, with a light at the end of the tunnel), many companies are trying to sustain their return-to-work efforts or initiate them. Back in January, OSHA released a guidance that’s a help to these companies, and we encourage you to check that out. We even created […]

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As the COVID-19 pandemic grinds on (though mercifully, it seems, with a light at the end of the tunnel), many companies are trying to sustain their return-to-work efforts or initiate them.

Back in January, OSHA released a guidance that’s a help to these companies, and we encourage you to check that out. We even created a COVID Return to Work Checklist based on the guidance that we think you’ll find helpful and that we encourage you to download.

Below, we’re going to list 10 easy things with a lot of “bang for the buck” that your organization can do to help make your return-to-work efforts safer and healthier for everyone at your organization as the pandemic continues. Please feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments below.

Here’s a quick list of 10 things you can do that are pretty easy and will really help with your COVID mitigation efforts.

1. Isolate sick workers from the rest of your workforce.

If a worker is infected with COVID-19, even if that worker has no symptoms or mild symptoms, have him or her stay at home or work from home.

2. Quarantine workers who might have been or have been exposed to COVID-19.

In some cases, you may realize workers may have been exposed to COVID-19 even if they don’t yet test positive. Quarantine those workers to keep them away from other workers (or encourage them to stay home or work from home if possible).

Need a refresher on isolation and quarantining? Here’s a handy video from the CDC to help.

3. Put “physical distancing” into effect at your workplace.

COVID-19 is more likely to spread if people are close contact–such as within six feet–for an extended period of time.

By having people stay further than six feet from one another, you can reduce the risk of having COVID spread from person-to-person at work.

4. Install physical barriers to keep workers separated when “honor system” physical distancing won’t work or isn’t as practical.

Sometimes it’s not easy or sustainable to simply tell people to stay six feet or further away from one another at work.

In those instances, pull out your inner-safety-ninja, fall back on the hierarchy of controls, and put in an engineering control: barriers that keep people apart.

5. Have everyone at work wear face masks.

Face masks work. Have employees use them. Make sure they fit securely.

6. Improve the ventilation at your workplace.

If you improve the ventilation at your workplace, there’s less of a chance for airborne COVID particles to transfer from an infected employee to another employee. Open the windows and consult this OSHA guidance on COVID and ventilation for more details.

For an even deeper dive, check ASHRAE’s Guidance for Building Operations During the COVID-19 Pandemic.


7. Use personal protective equipment to protect employees as appropriate.

You don’t want to default to PPE immediately (keep in mind the hierarchy of controls), but you may well ultimately decide that PPE such as gloves and tight-fitting respirators are called for.

8. Provide supplies such as flowing water, soap, disinfectants, tissues, and trash cans so workers can practice good hygiene.

Workers can’t practice good hygiene and cut down of COVID transmission risks if they don’t have the supplies. Make sure they’ve got what they need at work free of charge and in convenient locations.

9. Have the workplace cleaned and disinfected on a regular basis.

Set up procedures and schedules to be sure the workplace is cleaned on a regular basis and cleaned well.

10. Provide safety training and communication about COVID to employees.

Provide safety and health training to employees about COVID in general and about your organization’s COVID-related policies.

If you put these 10 steps into effect, you’ll be well on your way to creating an effective COVID prevention plan at work that keeps employees safe, healthy and working while allowing your organization to continue operating and making money. Good luck and let us know if you have any questions.

Check out this article for more on OSHA’s recommendations for COVID safety training and check out the “Vector Cares” series of complementary courses on COVID-19 our parent company Vector Solutions is offering.

Let Vector Solutions Assist You With Return-to-Work During the COVID Pandemic

If you’d like some additional help, Vector Solutions offers the following digital EHS and risk-management tools to help with your COVID prevention plan:

And be sure to download the Return to Work checklist below. 

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COVID-Return to Work Checklist

Download this checklist, based on OSHA’s January 29. 2021 “Protecting Workers: Guidance on Mitigating and Preventing the Spread of COVID-19 in the Workplace,” to help keep the workers at your organization safe and healthy during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Download Checklist

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OSHA’s Top Ten Citations, 2020 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/oshas-top-ten-citations-2020 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/oshas-top-ten-citations-2020#respond Mon, 08 Mar 2021 23:41:26 +0000 https://www.convergencetraining.com/blog/?p=30609 Every year, OSHA releases a list of the 10 standards most for which OSHA field agents most commonly issue citations to employers for violations. To be honest, the list is largely the same every year. In most years, the same 10 standards appear on the list. Sure, some years one or two new standards will […]

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Every year, OSHA releases a list of the 10 standards most for which OSHA field agents most commonly issue citations to employers for violations.

To be honest, the list is largely the same every year. In most years, the same 10 standards appear on the list. Sure, some years one or two new standards will make it, but it’s generally the same 10. And in most years, the order from 1-10 is pretty much the same, too. Again, sometimes specific standards move up and down a few slots, but there’s not a TON of movement and Fall Prevention & Protection is typically the most cited violation.

So in a normal year, this isn’t exactly the most dramatic show in town.

But of course in 2020, we had the COVID pandemic, so you may be wondering if that had any influence on the list. We’ll give you the full run-down below.

Before we do, though, since we’ve already mentioned COVID and OSHA and since there still IS a pandemic going on out there, please feel free to download our COVID-19/Return to Work checklist, which is based on OSHA’s January 29, 2021 COVID guidance.

Additionally, since this article is about OSHA compliance, violations, and citations, you may be interested in our Guide to OSHA General Industry Compliance and our Guide to OSHA Construction Compliance.

And with that set, let’s take a look at OSHA’s Top Ten Citations for fiscal year 2020.

Before We Start the Top Ten List, What About COVID-Related Violations and Citations?

Being the sharp safety professional that you are, you know OSHA has no standard that’s specific to COVID-19. Instead, employers that get citations for things related to COVID-19 are getting cited for existing standards that are not specific to to COVID but are related. You know, things like Haz-Com, Bloodborne Pathogens, Ventilation, Respirators, PPE, and so on. (Keep Respirators in mind, because that will come up again later).

Additionally, OSHA can cite an employer for violating the General Duty Clause and the employer’s responsibility to provide a safe and healthful workplace for employees in COVID-related cases.

In fact, OSHA published a list of commonly issued citations related to COVID-19 not so long ago. Their list included:

  • 1910.134, Respiratory Protection
  • 1904, Recordkeeping and Reporting Occupational Injuries and Illnesses
  • 1910.132, Personal Protective Equipment
  • The General Duty Clause

So keep all that in mind when considering this year’s OSHA’s Top Ten list. Additionally, we wrote up a different article on Applicable OSHA Standards to Keep in Mind While Implementing COVID Protection Plans at Work, too. That will be of help to you as well.


OSHA’s Top Ten Citations List

OSHA always releases the first view of the Top Ten Citations list at the National Safety Council’s (NSC) annual Congress and Expo. Here’s the list for fiscal year 2020 via OSHA and the NSC:

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 5,424 violations
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 3,199 violations
3. Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,649 violations
4. Scaffolding (1926.451): 2,538 violations
5. Ladders (1926.1053): 2,129 violations
6. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147): 2,065 violations
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 1,932 violations
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,621 violations
9. Personal Protective and Life Saving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,369 violations
10. Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,313 violations

OSHA’s Top Ten in Previous Years

Here’s the OSHA’s Top Ten List for 2019:

1. Fall Protection – General Requirements (1926.501): 6,010 violations
2. Hazard Communication (1910.1200): 3,671 violations
3. Scaffolding (1926.451): 2,813 violations
4. Lockout/Tagout (1910.147):  2,606 violations
5. Respiratory Protection (1910.134): 2,450 violations
6. Ladders (1926.1053): 2,345 violations
7. Powered Industrial Trucks (1910.178): 2,093 violations
8. Fall Protection – Training Requirements (1926.503): 1,773 violations
9. Machine Guarding (1910.212): 1,743 violations
10. Personal Protective and Lifesaving Equipment – Eye and Face Protection (1926.102): 1,411 violations

If you compare the 2019 Top Ten and 2020 Top Ten lists, they’re pretty close. The biggest change that occurs to me is that OSHA issues fewer citations in 2020 than they did in 2019. Maybe OSHA inspectors were working harder to assist employers because of the COVID pandemic, making use of the additional discretion OSHA offered them if employers were showing good faith efforts to comply, and were focusing less on enforcement activities. Make of that what you will.

Another smaller change is Respiratory Protection moving from 5 in 2019 to 3 in 2020. Again, maybe that’s because of COVID-19.

If you want to compare this year’s list to even more years, we’ve got a historical tracking of OSHA’s Top Ten Citations going back to 2014 for you.

Conclusion: Vector Solutions Can Help You Comply with OSHA’s Safety Regulations

We hope you found this overview of the OSHA’s Top Ten Citations for 2020 and past years helpful. Although COVID-19 gets a lot of attention–and rightly–obviously employers still have to worry about workers falling from heights or the hazards in a confined space or any of the other hazards the OSHA standards were written to help safeguard against.

To help employers create safer, healthier workplaces for employees (and, secondarily, comply with OSHA regulations), Vector Solutions has pulled together the following product offerings you may be interested in:

  • LiveSafe Mobile Risk Communication Platform
  • Vector EHS Management Software
  • Safety Data Sheets (SDS) Management System
  • Online Safety and Health Training Courses (including our complementary “Vector Cares” online courses about COVID-19)
  • Learning Management System (LMS) for training administration

Let us know if we can be of assistance in any way. And stay safe and healthy out there, friends!

And don’t forget to download our Guide to OSHA General Industry Compliance before you go! 

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Free OSHA General Industry Compliance Guide Download

Download this free guide to assist with meeting your organization’s OSHA general industry compliance requirements.

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