6 ways eLearning can improve your workplace safety training and offer a competitive advantage for potentially high-risk industries such as oil and gas, transportation and manufacturing, and many others.
We all know that on-the-job training is an important part of workplace safety, but just how efficient–and effective–that training is comes down to how it’s delivered.
While instructor-led training remains an important part of workplace safety, advances in eLearning have introduced new ways to improve engagement, retention and cost savings.
Safety training experts say eLearning has the edge over traditional learning in potentially high-risk industries like oil and gas, transportation and manufacturing, with many of those companies requiring ongoing, up-to-date training to meet safety regulations and compliance.
The introduction of augmented, virtual and mixed realities into the training environment has been a gamechanger for workplace safety. There is simply no better way to recreate a high-risk environment without the fear of injury, where employees can engage in dangerous activities and safely learn from their mistakes.
When training courses are offered online, there is no limit to their reach; learning can happen anytime, anywhere. Not only is this an efficient delivery of workplace safety training, it can also be easily updated, quickly providing geographically dispersed employees with the most current safety knowledge available.
The importance of consistent workplace safety training cannot be overlooked, and eLearning can help ensure everyone has the same information at the same time. This is especially important when it comes to compliance and best practices, where departures from core materials may be noncompliant, or worse, dangerous. Online learning means that the same high-quality training can be standardized and delivered in the same way, always.
We know that workplace safety training costs can be lowered when offered online, saving the expense of getting all employees to the same location at once. But another, sometimes unseen benefit of eLearning is the reduction of work-related injuries or accidents, reducing overall costs, including those associated with injury, illness and insurance claims.
According to Cisco, video will account for 82 percent of all consumer internet traffic in 2020, thanks to advancements in technology and lower costs for video design. Video has the ability to clearly highlight specific safety risk situations or hazards, and can accurately illustrate the proper response in a way that allows for a more immersive experience. Add to that the ease with which engaging, high-quality video can be created and streamed, and video comes up as the fan favourite for workplace safety training.
No two training programs are exactly the same, but they all have to be accurate. Even those in the same industry sector have different cultures, operating locations, and internal organizational and supervisory structures. That’s why using platforms that provide flexibility to customize eLearning experiences are ideal to meeting the unique safety needs, goals, values and culture of a specific organization.
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