MCAA Safety Training Guide: Effective Techniques for

Safety Training Guide

Effective Techniques

for Engaging Safety Training

M C A A

SAFETY TRAINING GUIDE

Forward

There are few work requirements worse than having to participate in boring safety- training sessions. For close to 20 years I have witnessed and in many cases been the recipient of countless training sessions that fit into this category. Because training is an integral part of the occupational safety profession, I have worked hard over the years to find training methods and techniques that make safety training more engaging for the trainees. Through trial, error, and feedback from many trainees, I have learned safety training methods, techniques, and combinations of the two that help to make safety training topics more engaging and the training more effective. Please feel free to give us your feedback on this publication and any of the other MCAA Safety Excellence Initiative resources. We appreciate learning about your jobsite safety experiences and future safety resource needs. It is my hope that this guide will help you achieve the training results that you desire. I wish you the best of luck with your safety training endeavors. Your company’s bottom line depends on it. Peter G. Chaney, MS, CSP Director of Safety and Health


Introduction

This is not a technical guide. You won’t learn the specifics of safe confined space entry or fall prevention here. The purpose of this guide is to help you learn the most effective methods of teaching safety subjects to workers who may or may not want to learn them. Let’s face it. Occupational safety topics tend to be dull. It’s no wonder so many workers are turned off by the thought of having to suffer through a safety training session. When workers who feel this way show up for training, they are already disinterested. Their nonchalant attitudes make the trainer’s job extremely difficult. And, if the trainer’s initial training session isn’t pretty interesting, achieving effective learning at subsequent training sessions will be close to impossible. I knew one trainer who had forgotten more about safety than I will ever know. He was a walking encyclopedia on the subject of construction safety. He breathed, ate, drank, and slept safety every day. However, he was a terrible trainer. The trainees who had previously received training from him grew to dread his future training sessions. He quickly acquired a reputation for being a painfully boring presenter, and little to no learning took place at his training sessions because of it. There are several ways to make even the dullest of topics somewhat interesting and it is rewarding when workers approach you after a safety training session to tell you how much they were dreading the session, but that it turned out to be interesting and informative, and that the time went by very quickly. It’s not difficult to achieve this kind of results. In this guide we will explore several basic techniques that are fundamental to successful safety training. If you implement the techniques you learn from this guide, your training will be effective and your workers will look forward to future safety training sessions.

© 2003, Mechanical Contractors Association of America, Inc. All rights reserved. 3


Table of Contents

Preparation 7

First Impressions 9

Delivery Methods 13

Making the Training Engaging 19

Critical Safety Training Topics 21

Training Documentation 25

Appendix A – OSHA’s Training Requirements for Construction 27

Appendix B – OSHA Training Requirements for General Industry

(For work other than construction such as mechanical service and prefabrication shop work)

31

Appendix C – Safety Training Materials Available Through MCAA 35

Appendix D – State Plan States 37



Preparation

Preparation is the hard part of good training. I once witnessed a trainer conduct a session on How to Administer Effective Safety Training, i.e. a train the trainer course. The trainer was so unprepared he had to face away from the trainees to read his presentation word for word off the projector screen. That training session was terribly ineffective. However, this happens to even the most knowledgeable and experienced trainers who don’t take the time to prepare properly. Preparation takes time. The good news is that once you are prepared to train on a given topic it will be much easier to prepare to teach the same topic in the future, and will require only a fraction of the preparation time. If you’re already an expert on the topic you won’t require as much preparation time. However, if you’re not all that familiar with the topic, you will need to research it thoroughly. Research Finding information about your safety topic should be easy, particularly with the safety training resources available from MCAA and the Internet as a research tool. Obtain, as much information as you can about your topic, but make sure it’s applicable to mechanical construction and/or service work as appropriate. For example, most training material you find on hazard communication will adequately apply to both segments of our industry. However, training material on fall prevention and protection in construction won’t necessarily apply to mechanical service and prefabrication shop work. Listed below are several sources for obtaining information on mechanical industry safety topics. MCAA can provide you with current telephone numbers for these sources when you need them.

• MCAA: 800–556–3653 (ask for the Safety or Publications Department);

• Internet Search Engines such as: www.yahoo.com; www.google.com

• OSHA Training Institute

• OSHA’s Directorate of Construction

• American Society of Safety Engineers

Organize the Material • Study the training material and establish the training goals you want to

achieve. What specifically do you want the trainees to know or understand at the conclusion of the training? How can you best accomplish the goals in an interesting and effective manner?



Organize the Material (cont.) • Identify the specific points you want make during the training session based

on the established goals and determine how best to make them. It may help to generate an outline by listing the key points and writing out your strategy for addressing each point.

• Choose the method or methods you will use to deliver the training based on the length of the training session, the topic to be delivered, and your personal training strengths and weaknesses.

• Prepare your method of delivery. Sometimes this entails putting together a PowerPoint presentation, making overheads, or typing up a couple of case studies to hand out to the trainees. Other times you may only have to rehearse a brief presentation a few times. All of this is based on your chosen method of delivery and the length of the training.

• Try to keep from making your training too much about OSHA. Ironically, there appears to be a negative connotation about OSHA among workers, some of whom seem to mentally disengage from training when discussions involving OSHA occur. Perhaps they associate OSHA with boring safety-training requirements or long, hard to read standards and regulations. Remember that the purpose of the training is to teach workers how to protect themselves from workplace injuries. In most cases you can train workers to protect themselves and comply with OSHA standards without mentioning OSHA. However, in some cases you will have to include discussion about OSHA in the training.

Rehearse

• Rehearsal is part of the initial preparation process because it helps you organize your thoughts, polishes your delivery methods, and greatly enhances your comfort level. The more you rehearse your material the more comfortable you will be when you present it.

8 © 2003, Mechanical Contractors Association of America, Inc. All rights reserved.


First Impressions

Appear comfortable from the moment you greet the trainees until you leave them at the conclusion of the training session. Even experienced trainers get a stomach full of butterflies before they start a training session, but they try to appear to the trainees to be comfortable from the start. Doing so is critical. If trainees see a nervous trainer it will make them uncomfortable too. Some of them will disengage immediately while a select few may seize the opportunity to heckle the trainer. So if you aren’t comfortable when you start a training session, fake it as best you can. If you’re properly prepared, your confidence will build as the session goes on. Before the Training Session Begins There are several things trainers can do to improve their comfort level before the training begins. Let’s explore several of these practices. Preparation

• Nothing improves a trainer’s comfort level more than adequate preparation. One guideline says that for every hour of training you need 10 hours to prepare. You need to spend a lot of time preparing to achieve a quality training session. Preparation will also help you be much more comfortable with your ability to deliver the subject matter (see the section on Preparation for more information).

The Training Environment

• Long before the training session begins, become familiar with your training environment. Remember that when you are the trainer you are in charge. Be prepared to assert yourself whenever necessary to ensure that everything is arranged to your satisfaction.

• When your training session is on the jobsite, choose the quietest area possible. Excessive noise is distracting to trainees. Consider conducting the training early in the morning before things get started or when a particularly noisy trade is taking a break. I once made the mistake of scheduling a training session near to where a crew of masons was cutting brick and block. I had to postpone the training until the masons went on break. When you are forced to train in a noisy environment be commanding and project your voice as much as possible.

• If you have the luxury of a training room make sure the room setup meets your needs. Several times I have walked into a training room to find tables and chairs set up so close to where I was going to be presenting that I could have reached out and touched several of the trainees. These kinds of set-ups make me nervous. I always arrive early enough to rearrange the room setup if needed.



Audiovisual Equipment • A trainer’s worse nightmare is audiovisual equipment that breaks down during

training. I recently witnessed an unprepared trainer suffer through this very nightmare. He was following another trainer, but he had not taken the time to check out his AV equipment before the training session started. When his turn came he was formally introduced and received an appropriate ovation. Then with a room full of trainees watching and waiting, he attempted to attach his laptop to an LCD projector. However, something didn’t work right. Imagine how embarrassed he was when he couldn’t get things going. Ten minutes must have felt like ten hours. It was clear to me that the trainees were very, uncomfortable too. I’ll spare you the gory details, but the bottom line is the trainer lost his composure and ruined any chance he had of conveying his message to the trainees.

• Even when you test audiovisual equipment ahead of time it can still fail. Several years ago before slide projectors became obsolete my projector cut out in the middle of a training session. I assumed it was a blown bulb. I replaced the bulb, but still couldn’t get the projector to work. Fortunately, I had planned ahead. I had brought along paper copies of the slide text. I handed out the materials and continued with the training. The training was not as interesting without the projector, but I was able to salvage the training session. Unless you can sing and dance, always have a backup plan in case of AV equipment failure.

• Microphones are sometimes a necessary evil, but don’t use one unless it’s absolutely necessary. Too many things can go wrong with them and they frequently get in the way. However, sometimes the jobsite is too noisy or the training room is too big to get by without one. If you have to use a microphone, test it before the trainees start to arrive. Doing so can help you avoid an embarrassing start.

• If you’re in a training room and using audiovisual equipment, make sure you know where the light switches and dimmers are located. Work with them awhile so you can use them effectively throughout the training session. Don’t wait until a trainee complains about glare on the screen before you learn how to work the lights.

• There’s some comfort in having a table or podium between you and the trainees. If you don’t have a table or podium use a small crate, a box or anything else available that resembles a table. This way you can keep your notes and training materials right there in front of you. This practice often helps improve a trainer’s comfort level.



Audiovisual Equipment (cont.) • When the trainees start to arrive, engage a few of the early birds in

conversation and joke with them. You could say something jokingly like…“I know you guys just can’t wait for these safety-training sessions to come around,” or “the training today is going to be real easy. All we’re going to do is read the OSHA manual.” This approach does two things. It shows the trainees that you are aware of their concerns about a dull training session and it engages them in conversation, which will help increase your comfort level.

Watch Out for Traps

• About three minutes before I was going to be introduced to a large group of trainees, the contractor came to me with a list of names and announced that those listed were company safety award winners. He wanted me to present the awards by calling each winner up to the front of the room one at a time. Against my better judgment I agreed to do it. However, as I started to call out the names I realized that some of them were extremely unusual and very difficult to pronounce. I muddled through it, but I butchered the pronunciation of several names. Some of the award winners were annoyed and the other trainees became distracted. What should have been a very nice worker recognition ceremony turned into an uncomfortable event. As a result the training session was mediocre at best. I obviously didn’t make a very good first impression. In hindsight, I should have asked the contractor well ahead of time whether he wanted me to do anything other than the designated training. It would have taken only a few minutes to learn the correct pronunciation of those workers names. The bottom line is that if you are the trainer, you are in charge. If you see a red flag out there, fix it before you get started.

Starting the Training Session

• To help get rid of the pre-game jitters start out with a well-rehearsed, brief introduction of yourself (if the trainees don’t already know you). Don’t bore them. They really don’t care who you are or what credentials you have acquired. They’re only interested in a painless training session. However, the brief introduction will give you a chance to settle your nerves while talking about a subject you could present in your sleep.

• Go over the topics for the training session and how you plan to address them. Put together a brief topic outline for short training sessions like toolbox talks or an agenda for longer ones. Review the outline with the trainees topic by topic to give yourself the opportunity to emphasize that you won’t be standing up there lecturing to them the whole time. Point out that there will be workshops, videos, group activities, competitions, etc., whatever you’re planning to use to supplement the lecture part of the training. This will relax your trainees. You’ll see the relief on their faces, which will help you relax as well.



Starting the Training Session (cont.) • Take the time to explain the training materials you will be using for the

session. If you have distributed handouts, let the trainees know whether you want them to follow along page by page or if the handouts are intended only for use as a reference at a later date.



Delivery Methods

There are numerous methods for delivering safety training. It’s important to remember that the methods of delivery you choose and making the subjects interesting often go hand in hand. The key to successful training is to figure out how to make it fun. Many trainers successfully use humor to get their points across. Others use stories or competitions. Experience will help you learn what works best for you with your personality and the specified topic. You obviously wouldn’t use humor when describing a recent jobsite fatality, but humor often works when describing an incident that didn’t result in injury. I once saw a safety guy get after several workers who had taken off their hardhats in a mechanical room. He took off his own hardhat to use as a prop while reiterating its purpose. Before putting his own hardhat back on he turned to leave and whacked his head on a low hanging pipe. Even the safety guy with the aching head had to laugh out loud. Lecture

• Whatever you do, don’t lecture too much. Although there are a few gifted safety topic lecturers out there, they are rare. Most of us are contractors, foremen, project managers, safety officers, etc. We’re not professional speakers. Even the best lecturers get awfully boring after awhile. Some lecture is fine, especially if it’s a short training session like a toolbox talk, but don’t overdo it. Even a toolbox talk can be conducted without lecture.

• An otherwise dry lecture can be made engaging if you add in real life experiences or true stories that relate specifically to the training topic. Be careful not to get so caught up in storytelling that you forget to make your point. Storyteller lecturers sometimes stray so far from the main subject that they run out of time to make their point.

• When you lecture, audiovisual aids will help keep things moving. They not only provide something other than a talking head for the trainees to look at, but also help you get back on track if you lose your train of thought. Some of the most popular audiovisual lecture aids are:

PowerPoint Presentations

• Computer-generated PowerPoint presentations replace the carousel slide projectors of the past. With PowerPoint you can incorporate, photographs, charts, graphs, and create text slides for your key training points. All you need is a laptop computer, PowerPoint software, and an LCD projector.

Overhead Transparencies

• Many trainers still use overhead transparencies because they can write on them with colored grease pencils throughout the training session. The transparencies are projected onto the screen by an overhead projector. All you need is the projector, blank transparencies, and grease pencils to get started.



Overhead Transparencies (cont.) You can also use your computer to generate training materials and print them out on blank transparencies to create permanent transparencies, which you can still write on throughout the training session.

Flip Charts

• Flip charts are large blank pads of paper held up by easels. They’re sometimes useful for small training groups because trainers can write key training points, new ideas, or anything else they want on the charts where the trainees can see them.

Workshops

• Your own creativity is the only limitation you have with regard to developing workshops for safety training. During the workshops the trainees should be solving something such as an anticipated or ongoing safety problem. They can work independently or you can put them in groups at your choosing. One contractor had a terrible time with lower back injuries in his company. He now has a physical therapist come in from time to time to conduct a workshop on proper lifting techniques and lower back stretching and strengthening exercises. The workers don’t just sit around and listen to the trainer. They actually practice properly lifting objects and stretching/strengthening their backs.

• Workshops can also be used to get workers thinking about how to solve anticipated problems. Getting trainees thinking about a solution ingrains in them the significance of the hazard, and they don’t even realize that critical learning has occurred. In one situation a company bid on a job that required the removal of old pipe, which had been covered with a lead based paint. The contractor was fairly certain that his company would get the bid. The problem he gave to the small crew who would be working the job follows: “If we get the bid how are we going to do this job safely?” The crew quickly identified the lead hazard and came up with the idea of removing sections of paint from the pipe with a non-toxic paint remover, and then cutting the pipe only where the paint had been removed. Just from being part of that workshop the crew will always be aware of the potential hazards associated with painted pipe.

Videotapes and DVD

• It would be hard to count the number of safety training videotapes/DVDs that are available today. They are very popular because our culture has been programmed to watch presentations on screens such as television sets, movie theater screens, and computer monitors. This is a great way to provide training if you follow certain guidelines.



Videotapes and DVD (cont.) • Don’t use generic safety training videos/DVDs unless there is no alternative.

When mechanical construction and service workers see a safety video/DVD filmed in a widget manufacturing plant, many of them disengage immediately because they feel that the content doesn’t apply to them.

• Many training videos/DVDs are much too long. The producers try to pack in every conceivable detail about a topic instead of focusing on the most important points. Always preview a video/DVD before you show it. If the video/DVD seems too long or is dull (i.e., it shows graphic after graphic of listed training points), the odds are good it will bore the trainees.

• Discussion is necessary after every video/DVD even if it’s brief. Make sure the trainees know how and where the training applies to their jobsite. Relate the training to incidents that have occurred in your experience as a construction professional. Ask the trainees to share their related experiences and answer any questions they have for you.

Case Studies

• Case studies are a great delivery method for safety training. The idea is to give the trainees the details of a case that occurred, which is also relevant to your training topic. You can deliver the case verbally as part of a lecture or you can provide it to the trainees in written form. If you’re going to make a training project out of it, it’s best to have it written out so the trainees can refer back to it if necessary. Then get the trainees to work together to determine how the case could have been prevented or handled better. In most safety training cases, the major problem is how to prevent recurrence of the incident or injury. For example, when training on slip/trip hazards I give my trainees the following case:

While on a jobsite one day in the summer I witnessed a pipefitter walking down a set of concrete stairs in a new building, which was still not completely under roof. It had been raining and the stairs were wet. This guy was on his way to a break room and was not carrying anything while descending the stairs. He slipped and reached out to grab what should have been a handrail. However there was no handrail. There were only sections of sheet metal installed by the general contractor, which had been screwed into the studs to serve as temporary fall prevention barriers. While grabbing for something to stop his fall the pipefitter caught the top of the sheet metal with such force that it cut three of his four fingers to the bone.

• After giving the trainees the case, I ask them to work together to solve it (if

it’s a large training group, I break them up into smaller groups) by answering the following questions.



Case Studies (cont.) ! What are the hazards involved in this case?

! Could the hazards have been prevented?

! Should the hazards have been identified and corrected before the incident?

! What should have been done to either prevent or correct the hazards?

! Whose responsibility was it to prevent or correct the hazards?

! What would you do if while working, you identified the hazards?

! What would you suggest that the company do to prevent recurrence?

• Each group appoints one person to stand up and report its solution. This generates questions, discussion and banter, which is usually pretty fun. This is one of my favorite methods. A lot of learning takes place with this method.

Demonstrations

• Demonstrations can help make safety topics engaging. I once had a small group of mechanical construction workers who had to work in an environment where respirators were required. These workers hadn’t used respirators previously and weren’t real happy about the whole process. I was called upon to provide the required training and to fit-test each of them so they could be matched with an appropriate type and size of respirator. Before the training started I identified one of the comedians in the group and got him to agree to help me with the fit-test demonstration. Toward the end of the training, right before the fit-testing was scheduled to begin, we conducted the fit-test demonstration. When this very comical pipefitter put on a respirator, got inside of the transparent fit-test booth, and began performing the ridiculous- looking but required fit-test exercises, the other trainees howled with laughter. As a result of the demonstration, all of the trainees became very relaxed about the fit-test process and sailed through their own fit-tests without the usual anxiety.

• If you include demonstrations in your training make sure you are well prepared and well rehearsed. During a fall protection seminar I witnesses a new trainer attempt to put on a fall arrest harness. He had just stated with conviction how easy it was to don the harness, but discovered that the harness had become inverted and tangled in transit. It took him several very long minutes to get it untangled.



Quizzes • Believe it or not, the use of quizzes can be a fun training technique. The way

to make it fun is to state up front that the quizzes are a training tool and that no one will see how the trainees answer the questions. Once they complete the quizzes go over the questions and provide the answers one at a time. Tell brief stories that relate to the questions as you go over them and ask the trainees to share their experiences that relate to the questions. When you create the questions make them four or five answer multiple-choice questions. Keep them challenging, but not too difficult. You can use humor in some of your answer choices, but don’t be too trite or corny. Throw them a few curve ball questions because they make for lively dialog and a few laughs when you go over the questions.

Toolbox Talks

• Toolbox talks are probably the most frequently used training method in our industry. They are usually short-duration training sessions that focus on a single topic. If presented properly they are very effective. Here is how to properly present a toolbox talk.

Preparation

• Obtain a previously produced toolbox talk that provides information on a topic that you believe is important for your jobsite. MCAA has several sets of toolbox talks if you need them.

• If you don’t have access to a set of toolbox talks or can’t find one that addresses a topic you need, you can do a little research and generate your own.

• Read the toolbox talk to be sure that you understand it and try to anticipate what questions you will be asked by the trainees.

• Make photocopies of the talk (one for each trainee). Presentation

• Pass the toolbox talk out to the trainees and have them read it.

• Tell the trainees to ask questions at any time throughout the session.

• Go over the key points in the talk. Convey your own jobsite experiences or true stories you have heard that relate to the topic.

• Ask the trainees to convey their own experiences or true stories that relate to the topic.

• Ask the trainees if they understand the key training points and allow time for their questions.



Presentation (cont.) • Give the trainees buy-in by asking them whether they have any ideas for

improving the jobsite’s safety. Follow-Up

• Document the training.

• Make sure you find the answers to any questions that you couldn’t answer when you were delivering the toolbox talk.

• The next time you conduct a toolbox talk, start by answering any leftover questions from the previous toolbox talk.



Making the Training Engaging

If you want your training to be effective you have to find ways to make it fun, interesting, and therefore, engaging. A group of workers I was preparing to train had previously endured a number of lackluster safety training sessions. I had to capture their attention immediately if I was going to achieve the expected training results. My topic was excavation safety. I thought hard about how to engage the workers early on in the training session. Fortunately, a colleague had a short videotape of a mechanical construction worker being extricated from a caved-in excavation. I showed the video at the outset of the training session and the impact was invaluable. When that video was playing you could have heard a pin drop. It’s often the little things that make the difference between an effective and an ineffective training session. Here are some tips to help you achieve effective safety training. Shock ’em

• When a worker gets injured on a jobsite, co-workers will stand around and talk about the injury. The more severe the injury the longer they will talk about it. This phenomenon can go on for days and sometimes weeks. The point is that shocking stuff gets peoples’ attention. One safety professional has numerous photographs of injured workers that he has taken over the years. He shows the photos to trainees on a big screen and describes the incidents that caused the injuries. He uses the combination to train both new and experienced workers. The workers are engaged every time, the whole time.

True Stories

• Even if you don’t have photographs you can still paint a picture with a good story. Make sure your stories are relevant to the training topic. If you’re not a gifted storyteller, rehearse it a couple of times to yourself before you tell it. If you can lace in some good stories throughout your lectures you will vastly improve the degree of learning that takes place.

Competitions

• Large groups of trainees often work best in groups competing against each other. One technique is to divide trainees up into small groups and give each group a set of written questions. Have each group appoint a spokesperson to state the group’s answer and accompanying rationale. When the groups are finished working on the questions, read each question aloud one at a time and ask each spokesperson to respond. Have each group report out before you tell them the correct answer. Keep score as you go along. This technique results in a tremendous amount of banter between the groups, which is a lot of fun for the trainees. It also generates a lot of questions and useful dialog about the topic.



Testimonials

• Testimonials can be excellent attention getters, too. I witnessed a burn victim describe his ordeal in a training session. His story was riveting. While describing his ordeal he stated that just before the incident occurred, he thought about what he should do to prevent a potential fire. The point of his presentation was that he didn’t believe “it” could happen to him, but it did anyway. He wanted the trainees to change their way of thinking and to understand that “it” can happen to them if they choose to shortcut safety on the jobsite. If you have access to a victim or a witness of an incident and it applies to your topic, ask them to help you out by presenting a testimonial to the trainees. Most of them will be happy to do it.

Break-Up the Training Methods

• When you are called on to conduct a longer training session, it’s critical that you use several training delivery methods. You can lecture for a short time, but then switch to something else like a short training video/DVD, a case study, workshop, or whatever works best for you. You can always go back to lecturing for short periods and then switch again to another training method.

Marathon Training Sessions

• If you’re ever required to conduct a marathon training sessions such as the OSHA 30-hour Construction Standards Course, a safety management training course, or any other extremely long training, use as many trainers as you can throughout the training. It’s much more productive to have fresh faces implementing a variety of training methods than to have a single trainer throughout the whole session.

Putting Trainees on the Spot

• A cardinal sin of many trainers is to put a trainee on the spot by calling on him to get in front of the group to help with a demonstration or singling out a trainee with a direct question when he has not raised a hand in response to it. Once you embarrass or upset a trainee, the learning comes to a halt. It also distracts other trainees who are now afraid of being embarrassed by the trainer. Many trainees become so distracted by the thought of being called on that their learning stops too. If you need to use someone for a demonstration, ask the person ahead of time. If he says no, keep asking other trainees until someone agrees to do it.



Critical Safety Training Topics

There are two key reasons to conduct safety training. The first is to ensure that your company is in compliance with local, state, and federal laws, codes, standards, etc. The second and most important reason is to help your workers protect themselves from jobsite hazards. Although there are safety benefits to some of the compliance requirements, those requirements and what’s really hurting mechanical construction and service workers are not always the same thing. However, both are loss control issues. By complying with established training requirements you are helping to control your dollar losses by avoiding regulatory fines. By training your workers to protect themselves from jobsite hazards you’re helping to keep your workers’ compensation insurance premiums to a minimum and avoiding numerous out-of-pocket costs that relate to worker injuries. To help you determine what federal OSHA requires with regard to safety training, see Appendix A, which lists the training requirements for construction and Appendix B, which lists the training requirements for general industry (mechanical service work and prefabrication shops). Remember that about half of the states have their own occupational safety and health regulations, which are at least as stringent as federal OSHA’s, but in some cases much more stringent. These states are called “state plan states.” If you’re not sure about your state, see Appendix D. If your state is a state plan state, contact MCAA (800-556-3653) to find out about your state’s safety training requirements. Don’t call your local OSHA office. Let MCAA do that for you. Mechanical construction and service contractors with limited safety training resources should focus their training efforts where they can do the most good. To help you determine where you should focus your training let’s take a look at how mechanical construction and service workers are really getting hurt. Manual Handling of Materials

• Injuries that occur in the mechanical industry during the manual handling of materials are predominantly lower back injuries. Focus your training on:

! Getting materials delivered as close to the work area as possible;

! Consistent use of materials moving equipment such as forklifts and carts; and,

! Proper manual lifting techniques.

• We are also still experiencing quite a few sheet metal cuts. Focus your training on:

! General awareness; and

! Use of leather work gloves when handling sheet metal.



Struck By Objects • In our industry being struck by objects usually means being hit by a tool or

building materials that are falling from aerial lifts, scaffolds, ladders, or upper levels. Focus your training on:

! Hardhat use;

! Erecting barricades underneath overhead work areas; and,

! Using toe boards and when necessary, wire mesh on lifts, scaffolds, and upper levels.

• We are still getting struck by construction vehicles. Focus your training on:

! General awareness of high traffic areas;

! Sensitization to back-up alarms; and,

! Use of reflective safety vests/clothing. Falls

• About fifty percent of our falls are from ladders. Focus your training on:

! Preventing the practice of leaning out from a ladder;

! Preventing the practice of climbing ladders with tools or materials in hand;

! Proper selection, inspection, and placement of ladders; and,

! Properly securing ladders.

• We are still falling out of aerial lifts and off scaffolds. Focus your training on:

! Proper use of guardrail systems;

! Securing aerial lift gates or chains; and,

! Preventing the practice of stepping up on mid-rails.

• Many of our falls are from working surfaces as opposed to elevations. Slips or trips cause most of these falls. Focus your training on:

! Good housekeeping; and,

! Proper placement of extension cords, welding hoses, tools, equipment, and materials.



Objects in the Eye • We are still experiencing a lot of eye injuries from objects in the eyes. Focus

your training on:

! General awareness of eye hazards;

! Proper selection of safety eyewear;

! Proper fit of safety eyewear; and,

! Proper use of safety eyewear. Vehicle Accidents

• We experience an inordinate number of vehicle accidents in our industry. This is particularly true of mechanical service workers because they spend much more time on the road than their construction counterparts. Most of our accidents are our vehicles running into other vehicles from behind. Another common incident involves other vehicles running into our vehicles from behind. Focus your training on:

! Awareness of common mechanical industry vehicle accidents;

! Prevention of tailgating;

! Proper signaling;

! Allowing enough distance before changing lanes;

! Planning ahead to allow enough time to prevent rushing; and,

! Defensive driving in general.



Training Documentation

There are several reasons for carefully documenting all safety training (including toolbox talks). The most important ones are as follows:

• If you can’t prove that your workers have received the required safety training you are subjecting yourself to regulatory citations and fines from OSHA.

• If you can prove that you have established appropriate company safety rules, conveyed those rules to your workers, provided your workers with appropriate safety training, provided your workers with the appropriate equipment, and are implementing an aggressive disciplinary action program to enforce the safety rules, you have an affirmative defense against OSHA citations and fines.

• If you are involved in a civil or criminal lawsuit because of a worker injury, training documentation will help you in establishing your defense.

• If you document the training, it will be much easier to keep track of who has had what safety training.

Before you start any safety training session, prepare a training documentation sheet. Type the date the training will take place and a brief description of the training that will be conducted. Type each worker’s full name under the description and provide a space next to it where the trainees can sign their names immediately after the training is concluded. Make sure each trainee signs his name and then file the documentation sheet in a secure location.



Appendix A – OSHA Training Requirements for

Construction

29 CFR Part 1926 Subpart C General Safety and Health Provisions

General Safety and Health Provisions Safety Training and Education Employee Emergency Action Plans

Subpart D Occupational Health and Environmental Controls Medical Services and First Aid Ionizing Radiation Nonionizing Radiation Gases, Vapors, Fumes, Dusts, and Mists Hazard Communication Lead in Construction Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response

Subpart E Personal Protective and Life-Saving Equipment Hearing Protection Respiratory Protection

Subpart F Fire Protection and Prevention Fire Protection

Subpart G Signs, Signals, and Barricades Signaling

Subpart I Tools-Hand and Power Powder-Operated Hand Tools Woodworking Tools

Subpart J Welding and Cutting Gas Welding and Cutting Arc Welding and Cutting Fire Prevention Welding, Cutting, and Heating in Way of Preservative Coatings

Subpart K Electrical Ground-Fault Protection



Subpart L Scaffolding

Scaffolding-Training Requirements

Subpart M Fall Protection Fall Protection-Training Requirements

Subpart N Cranes, Derricks, Hoists, Elevators, and Conveyors Cranes and Derricks Material Hoists, Personnel Hoists, and Elevators

Subpart O Motor Vehicles, Mechanized Equipment, and Marine Operations Material Handling Equipment Site Clearing

Subpart P Excavations General Protection Requirements

Subpart Q Concrete and Masonry Construction Concrete and Masonry Construction

Subpart R Steel Erection Fall Hazards and Special Training

Subpart S Underground Construction, Caissons, Cofferdams, and Compressed Air Underground Construction Compressed Air

Subpart T Demolition Preparatory Operations Chutes Mechanical Demolition

Subpart U Blasting and Use of Explosives General Provisions (Blasting and Use of Explosives) Blaster Qualifications Surface Transportation of Explosives Firing the Blast

Subpart V Power Transmission and Distribution General Requirements Overhead Lines Underground Lines Construction in Energized Substations



Subpart X Stairways and Ladders

Ladders Training Requirements

Subpart Y Diving Commercial Diving Operations

Subpart Z Toxic and Hazardous Substances Asbestos 13 Carcinogens Vinyl Chloride Cadmium Benzene Coke Oven Emissions 1,2-Dibromo-3-Chloropropane Acrylonitrile Ethylene Oxide Formaldehyde Methylene Chloride



Appendix B – OSHA Training Requirements for General

Industry

29CFR Part 1910 Subpart E Means of Egress

Employee Emergency Plans and Fire Prevention Plans

Subpart F Powered Platforms, Manlifts, and Vehicle-Mounted Work Platforms Powered Platforms for Building Maintenance-Operations-Training Care and use Appendix C, Section 1

Subpart G Occupational Health and Environmental Control DipTanks-Personal Protection Inspection, Maintenance, and Installation Hearing Protection Training Program

Subpart H Hazardous Materials Flammable and Combustible Liquids Explosives and Blasting Agents Bulk Delivery and Mixing Vehicles Storage and Handling of Liquefied Petroleum Gases Contract Employer Responsibilities Mechanical Integrity Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Hazardous Waste Cleanup Workers New Technology Programs

Subpart I Personal Protective Equipment Personal Protective Equipment Respiratory Protection Respiratory Protection for M Tuberculosis

Subpart J General Environmental Controls Temporary Labor Camps Specifications for Accident Prevention Signs and Tags Permit Required Confined Spaces The Control of Hazardous Energy (Lockout/Tagout) Lockout or Tagout Devices Removed Outside Personnel

Subpart K Medical Services and First Aid Medical Services and First Aid



Subpart L Fire Protection Fire Protection Fire Brigades Training and Education Portable Fire Extinguishers Fixed Extinguishing Systems Fire Detection Systems Employee Alarm Systems

Subpart N Materials Handling and Storage Servicing of Multi-Piece and Single-Piece Rim Wheels Powered Industrial Trucks Moving the Load Crawler Locomotives and Truck Cranes

Subpart O Machinery and Machine Guarding Mechanical Power Presses Mechanical Power Presses-Instructions to Operators Training of Maintenance Personnel Operator Training Forging Machines

Subpart Q Welding, Cutting, and Brazing General Requirements Oxygen-Fuel Gas Welding and Cutting Arc Welding and Cutting Resistance Welding

Subpart R Special Industries Pulp, Paper, and Paperboard Mills Laundry Machinery and Operating Rules Sawmills Logging Telecommunications Derrick Trucks Cable Fault Locating Guarding Manholes Joint Power and Telecommunications Manholes Tree-Trimming Electrical Hazards Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Grain Handling Facilities Entry into Bins, Silos, and Tanks Contractors



Subpart S Electrical Safety-Related Work Practices

Content of Training

Subpart T Commercial Diving Operations Qualifications of Dive Team

Subpart Z Toxic and Hazardous Substances Asbestos 4-Nitrobiphenyl Alpha-Naphthylamine Methyl Chloromethyl Ether 3, 3’-Dichlorobenzidine (and its salts) Bis-Chloromethyl Ether Beta-Napthylamine Benzidine 4-Aminodiphenyl Ethyleneimine Beta-Propiolactone 2-Acetylaminofluorene 4-Dimethylaminoazobenzene N-Nitrosodimethylamine Vinyl Chloride Inorganic Arsenic Lead Cadmium Benzene Coke Oven Emissions Bloodborne Pathogens Cotton Dust 1, 2-dibromo-3-Chloropropane Acrylonitrile (Vinyl Cyanide) Ethylene Oxide Formaldehyde 4, 4’Methylenedianiline Ionizing Radiation Testing Posting Hazard Communication Occupational Exposure to Hazardous Chemicals in Laboratories



Appendix C – Safety Training Materials Available Through MCAA

MCAA Safety Training Kits MCAA produces new safety training resources each year. The most popular safety resources made available by the association are the safety training kits. Each kit includes the following.

• A 12 to 14 minute safety training videotape;

• A set of 20 pocket guides (one for each trainee), which highlight key training points; and

• A training documentation system. MCAA produces new, mechanical industry specific safety training kits every year. Training kits on the following topics are currently available.

• Safety orientation for mechanical construction;

• Fall protection in mechanical construction;

• Mechanical construction and service vehicle safety;

• Safety orientation for service workers;

• Manual handling of materials;

• Personal protective equipment for mechanical construction and service workers;

• Safety orientation for plumbers;

• Eye injury prevention;

• Bloodborne pathogens;

• Working safely in excavations;

• Entering confined spaces safely;

• Safe forklift operation;

• Scaffold safety;

• Working safely around heavy equipment;

• Asbestos awareness in the mechanical trades;

• Hazard communication in the mechanical trades



MCAA Toolbox Safety Talks MCAA also has several sets of toolbox safety talks. The talks are single page short duration training sheets that focus on individual topics that are specific to the mechanical industry. Each set has 52-talks to represent one talk for each week of the year. Each set also includes an information guide on how to conduct a toolbox safety talk. MCAA will occasionally produce new sets of toolbox safety talks. MCAA’s current library of toolbox safety talks includes:

• MCAA Toolbox Safety Talks (Volume One);

• MCAA Toolbox Safety Talks (Volume Two);

• MSCA Tailgate Safety Talks; and

• PCA Tailgate Safety Talks. Safety Training Materials for Supervisors MCAA currently has two supervisor training videotapes available on:

• The profitability of safety; and

• Accident Investigation.



Appendix D – OSHA State Plan States

Important Information About State Plan States The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970 encourages states to develop and operate their own safety and health programs. OSHA approves, monitors and partially funds the programs. The states listed below are referred to as state plan states: Some state plan states have promulgated standards and regulations that are more stringent than federal OSHA requirements. If your state does not appear on the chart below your company is required to comply with federal OSHA standards and regulations (some state plan states have adopted the federal OSHA standards and regulations).

• Alaska • Arizona • California • Connecticut • Hawaii • Indiana • Iowa • Kentucky • Maryland • Michigan • Minnesota • Nevada • New Jersey • New Mexico • New York • North Carolina • Oregon • Puerto Rico • South Carolina • Tennessee • Utah • Vermont • Virgin Islands • Virginia • Washington • Wyoming

NOTE: Connecticut, New Jersey, and New York plans cover public sector (state and local government) employment only.


Publication SE45

Mechanical Contractors Association of America, Inc.1385 Piccard Drive • Rockville, MD 20850–4340301–869–5800 • Fax 301–990–9690 • www.mcaa.org

http://www.mcaa.org

Documents

MCAA Safety Training Guide: Effective Techniques for