Here’s another one of our OSHA Basics series of articles.
In this one, we’re going to explain what a “vertical” standard is and what a “horizontal” standard is.
If that catches your attention or piques your curiosity, read on!
Author: Jeffrey Dalto
Occupational Asbestos Exposure and Mesothelioma
Did you know that there are about 3,000 new cases of mesothelioma, a disorder associated with exposure to asbestos, every year (in the US)? It’s true.
This is a high number, to be sure. And that high number becomes even more grave when you realize that diagnosed patients have a life expectancy of 12-21 months after diagnosis, that only 23% live longer than a year after diagnosis, and that on average, there are 2,500 mesothelioma related deaths in a year.
I recently met up with Shawn Tallet, a Health Advocate with the Mesothelioma and Asbestos Awareness Center (MAAC), and he shared those numbers above with me. Shawn’s been nice enough to tell us a little more about asbestos, asbestos exposure in the workplace, and mesothelioma in the interview below. Our thanks to Shawn, to the MAAC, and to all the good people working to help prevent asbestos-related illness and to help those who do suffer from it.
In addition to the information below, I’d point you to the MAAC’s blog, which has a lot of helpful articles on the topic. And we’ve included a short sample of our own Online Asbestos Awareness Safety Training Course at the bottom of this article as well.
OSHA Basics: OSHA Directives
Here’s another quick article in our OSHA Basics series, in which we explain basic, ground-level information about OSHA that you may not know. Hey, none of us were born with this information and you’ve got to learn it somewhere, right?
In this article, we’re going to explain what an OSHA Directive is. We hope you’ll find this helpful. They’re definitely good to know about in the context of OSHA inspections.
And with that to pique your curiosity, let’s get started.
On-the-Job Training (OJT): An Intro
On-the-job training, also commonly known as OJT, is a time-tested, popular, and effective workforce training solution. In fact, as we’ll discuss later in this article, it’s probably the single most commonly used form of training in workplaces. OJT is also sometimes known as direct instruction.
OJT comes in different forms, as you’ll learn below. It can be more or less successful depending on the several factors, including how it’s designed and the participants. We’ll cover that below, too. And it can make up different percentages of an employee’s overall workforce learning & development experience. Yep, we’ll touch on that below.
In this article, we’ll take a deeper dive into on-the-job training (OJT), explaining what it is, why it’s popular, why workplaces should use it, and how to use it so that it’s most effective in terms of helping workers develop skills they’ll need to perform their jobs effectively and contribute to the overall success of the company they work for.
If you know of us as a producer of online training courses for workforce training, you may be surprised we’re writing about OJT. But we strongly believe OJT is an important part of an overall blended learning solution for workforce training, and that’s why our learning management system (LMS) is designed to help administer not only online learning but also OJT and other types of training, such as instructor-led classroom training.
Free Downloadable Guides and More
From time to time, we create stuff that you can download for no cost right here from the Convergence Training blog. These include a wide variety of things (guides, interactive word games, checklists, etc.) on a wide variety of topics (online safety training, lean manufacturing, job hazard analyses, corrugated board manufacturing, and so on).
We figured you might appreciate it if we created one blog post that includes links to all those different free downloads we offer. And that’s what this post is.
Please note: Although there’s no financial cost for any of these downloads, we will ask for you name and email address.
Hope you find some downloads that are helpful for you! And let us know if you’d like us to make anything specific for you–we’ll see what we can do!
New Courses Released: June 2018
Here’s a list of the new and/or updated courses we released this past June, adding to our already impressive workforce training libraries.
Click the links to learn more about the courses, including see their learning objectives, watch a short simple video, and read a list of FAQs. You can buy them in multiple formats as well, including:
- Streaming online in pay-per-view or subscription format
- On a USB storage device
- In SCORM or AICC format for use with a learning management system (LMS)
New Courses
- DOT Reasonable Suspicion Supervisor Training–Alcohol
- DOT Reasonable Suspicion Supervisor Training–Drugs
- DOT Alcohol and Drug Testing for Drivers
- Business Ethics
Updated Courses
That’s our list for June. Stay tuned for July’s list, feel free to check our entire list of workforce training courses, and please do contact us with any questions you may have.
Download our free white paper below, too, with 10 real stories from 10 real customers who adopted our online training courses and saw real benefits!
Benefits of Online Safety Training
Wondering if you should make the plunge with online safety training? This guide gives 10 reasons why, each based on experiences at real companies like yours.
ANSI/ASSP Z490.2 Update: Another Update, Plus Talk on “Shalls” and “Shoulds”
As you may know, Jeff Dalto of Convergence Training is part of the sub-committee creating the upcoming ASSP/ANSI Z490.2 standard for online EHS training.
As a result, this gives us the ability to periodically update you on developments with the creation of that standard. For example, in recent updates we discussed the meaning of the phrase “online safety training” and the use of the Delphi Method to create the new standard.
In this update, we’re going to tell you a few things we discussed and worked on in our most recent meetings, as well as point out something important about the structure of many standards like this that also has importance for OSHA compliance (hint: it involves words like “shall” and “should”).
Customer Success Story: Westway Feed Products
From time to time, we like to highlight customers who are experiencing success with their workforce training while using our products, such as our learning management systems (LMS) and online training courses.
In this article, we’re going to look at Westway Feed Products, and their HSE Regional Specialist Amy Myers.
Westway uses our Enterprise learning management system to assign, deliver, and track training and uses a number of different titles from our online training library, including training on topics such as safety, HR, and more.
We’d like to thank Amy for her time in conducting this interview and for the role she played in adopting Convergence for Westway’s training needs. And we’d like to congratulate her on the great work she’s doing, as well as congratulate everyone at Westway for working together to make a safer, more efficient organization.
Read on to learn how Amy, Westway, and the Westway employees have benefited from using Convergence Training products.
OSHA Basics: Letters of Interpretation (LIs)
As part of our OSHA Basics series, in which we explain some basic information about OSHA, we’re turning our attention to OSHA’s letters of interpretation.
If you’ve never heard of a letter of interpretation, they’re worth knowing about.
Or, maybe you’ve heard of them, but have always been a little curious about what they are. If that’s the case with you, we think we can help you out.
Or maybe you’re just curious about how to find OSHA’s letters of interpretations so you can read them yourself. Again, we’ve got you covered.
OSHA Basics: The General Duty Clause–5(a)(1)
In this installment of our OSHA Basics series, we’re going to give you a quick introduction to OSHA’s so-called “General Duty Clause.” The General Duty Clause is found in Section 5 of the OSH Act–5(a)(1), to be exact. And in general terms, it’s OSHA’s requirement that employers provide employees with a safe work environment that’s free of recognized hazards.
You probably know OSHA has many specific safety & health requirements for specific safety and health hazards–things like welding fumes, airborne particulates, and confined spaces, for example. But you can probably also understand that there may be unsafe, hazardous working conditions that aren’t covered by a specific OSHA standard. That’s the situation that OSHA’s General Duty Clause was created to cover–it’s a bit of a safety at work catch-all.
Read on to find out what the General Duty Clause is, how it’s related to an employer’s responsibility for occupational safety and health, and how an OSHA inspector might cite an employer for violating the General Duty Clause.
OSHA Online Reporting Deadline: July 1, 2018
For many (but not all) employers, July 1, 2018 is the deadline for submitting your calendar year 2017 form 300A, the Summary of Work-Related Injuries and Illnesses, using OSHA’s still-relatively new online submission portal.
To find out which employers have to submit their 300As on July 1, and to find out where to do that, read on.
Tips for Reducing Laceration Hand Injuries in the Workplace
Lacerations, especially to the hands, are perennially one of the top workplace injuries. In fact, here’s what one customer told us recently: “Hand injuries account for about 1/3 of my company’s total injuries. We take every opportunity to raise Hand Safety awareness.”
Not only do cuts hurt, but they can sideline employees for days, weeks—sometimes even permanently: just about every job requires a worker to have healthy hands. Cuts are also more costly than most employers realize.
The good news is that lacerations are largely preventable. Proper training and PPE are important but, cutting to heart of the problem, so is choosing tools that are as safe as possible.
We asked TJ Scimone of Slice Inc., to talk with us about cutting hazards in the workplace and different methods workplaces and workers can use to protect themselves. We’re very pleased to have TJ share his experience and knowledge in the interview below.