TOSHA Required Training

TOSHA standards and regulations that have training requirements are LAW. Failure to comply with the training requirements not only places your employees at risk but can also result in citations and civil penalties from TOSHA.

Why Should Your Workers be Trained?

No matter what reasons you come up with, they can all be condensed into three reasons. They are:

• It's good business
• It’s the right thing to do
• It’s the law.

It's Good Business

The direct costs of accidents and injury in the workplace include the medical costs associated with the incidents and workers compensation costs. However, there are a multitude of indirect costs that make up the bulk of the losses. These include the costs of loss of workers (replacement/training), spoiled product, damaged equipment, legal/clerical fees, disruption of workforce, and others. A single accident can cost a company as much as $3000, and if the same accident involves legal fees, the cost can climb to $10,000.

It's the Right Thing to Do

No one wants to see their employees and co-workers injured on the job. Lives and families can be destroyed in a few minutes when a workplace injury, illness, or fatality occurs. Training may not solve all problems and may not prevent all accidents resulting in workplace injuries and illnesses, but failure to have an effective training program is a component of most accidents.

It's the Law

TOSHA standards and regulations that have training requirements are LAW. Failure to comply with the training requirements can result in citations and civil penalties from TOSHA.

Of these three reasons for training employees, which is the most compelling in your facility?

Conducting Effective Training

Training given to employees as required by TOSHA laws must be effective training. “The proof is in the pudding,” and the pudding is what the employees learned during, and retained after, the training session. During a TOSHA inspection, compliance officers will interview employees to determine if the training was effective. Non-effective training is no training. Training records, while required to be kept by some standards, do not prove training. Employee recall of information they learned in the training session proves training.

There is a common myth that anyone with the key skills and information can train anyone else on those skills or information. Training adults is different from training children. Adults have preconceived concepts that often must be overcome, and adults need to know why they are supposed to do things a certain way. Telling adults to “Do it this way because I’m the boss” does not work.

And adults, after they have been trained, like to try out their new skills and information as soon as possible.