OSHA Online Training for Apprentices and Trainees

OSHA safety training helps protect workers and their families from tragic accidents. Each year, thousands of managers and employees enroll in an OSHA online education course and learn how to spot, remove, and safeguard against workplace hazards. OSHA training is especially important for new hires, many of whom are newcomers to the industry.

A Preventable Accident

In July 2014, a young Delaware man sustained a severe cranial injury after falling one story from an unprotected balcony during a job training session. OSHA investigators found that the company, Reybold Homes, Inc., failed to provide adequate safeguards, which could have prevented the accident.

A Lack of OSHA Safety Training

While it’s understandable for a new hire to arrive with little or no safety training, it’s vital for companies to provide this training before sending the new worker into the workplace. Preventable accidents can permanently change the victim’s life; spinal injuries, broken limbs, or brain damage impact career prospects and can lead to long term disability. Accidents like the Reybold Homes incident also cost a business time, money, and reputation. OSHA fined the company $70,000 for failure to implement the minimum legal safeguards, which would have greatly reduced the risk of falling and protected the worker from serious injury if he fell.

Reybold Homes incurred an additional $7,000 fine for failure to train the worker. An OSHA online training course in either general industry or construction teaches the basics of fall prevention and would likely have prevented the accident.

OSHA Pros President William Mizel explains how OSHA safety training can help businesses avoid unnecessary costs and tragedy: “A Fall Protection class for sure, but the OSHA 10 & 30 Hour Construction courses cover fall protection as part of the Focus Four (Hazards) and could have been enough to eliminate the accident.”

OSHA Guidelines help Prevent Falls in the Workplace

In the United States, falls account for more deaths in the construction industry than any other accident. Twenty-seven percent of all workplace deaths in Delaware in 2013 resulted from falling. To provide vital safety information and help businesses and workers stay up to date, OSHA maintains a fall prevention web page that outlines the latest fall protection guidelines and requirements. Workers and managers can print out and review posters and fact sheets, or watch videos that provide step-by-step tutorials on how to eliminate fall hazards.

Prevent Falls with OSHA Online Training

OSHA safety training online is an effective and convenient way for new workers to learn how to protect themselves in the field. OSHA Pros offers 10-hour and 30-hour safety course options in both construction and general industry. While the courses may differ in a few special topics, all of them teach students how to identify and prevent situations that may result in a fall. Topics covered related to fall prevention include personal protective equipment (PPE), barriers, scaffolding, and operating at different elevations.

After workers enroll in OSHA online training, they can complete the course at their own pace under the guidance of qualified OSHA instructors. Graduates of the course will earn an OSHA wallet card and have the knowledge and skills required to protect themselves from falls and other Focus Four hazards.