Today's workers have to learn many abstract concepts. And trainers struggle to find the best way to facilitate that learning. One way to aid learners is to use visuals that represent abstract concepts in a more concrete manner. We just wrote a post on the blog at OpenSesame that gives a bunch of tips on how to do just that. Here's where to go to check it out. The post gives some great tips

<!---image---> <!--end image--> Each year OSHA publishes their list of the top 10 most cited workplace safety standard violations. While there are always some shifts in ranking, the standards on the list remain remarkably consistent, year after year. To help trainers and safety representatives address these consistent problems, we've put together a list of resources to use while training

<!----> The new courses just keep on coming. We're in the middle of a year-long push to produce over 200 new paper manufacturing training courses. We're releasing about 50 new courses each quarter until the end of 2014. The first 50 courses, which include our new Introduction to Paper and Board Machines, Recausticizing Fundamentals, and Continuous Cooking Introduction courses, are available now

If you're currently using, or considering using a learning management system to help deliver and administer your workforce training, you've probably come across applications so stuffed full of features that you can't possibly imagine using them all. In this post we'll cut out all the fluff and focus on the six LMS features we feel are essential for effective workforce training. If

<!---image---> <!--end image--> It's tornado season once again. And each year around this time, we get a sobering reminder of how powerful, destructive, and deadly tornadoes can be. According to the National Severe Storms Laboratory at NOAA, about 1,200 tornadoes hit the US every year. They define tornado season this way: "The peak "tornado season" for the Southern Plains is during May into

<!---image---> <!--end image--> Recently, we've been writing a series of posts about using visuals to improve the effectiveness of your training materials. You can check out articles about organizing visuals to aid perception, directing the learner's eyes, reducing realism, and making abstract concepts more concrete. There are two more to come in this series, and then we'll be creating

Today's workers have to learn many complex things. The visuals in your training materials can help level the odds and make it easier to learn all those complexities. Want to know more? Check out the post we just wrote at OpenSesame's blog. The post gives some great tips for using visuals this way. Plus, it includes some cool examples from the Convergence Training retail training course

<!---image---> <!--end image--> I was booking a flight to Mississippi to help a new customer implement the Convergence Training Enterprise learning management system (LMS) and began sweating just thinking of the heat in the Magnolia State. And not only that, but the Golden State of California has a still-new law that mandates new cool-down recovery periods for workers. So I put two and two

Industrial Safety and Health News (ISHN) has announced the winners of their annual Reader’s Choice award, and lo-and-behold, we won our category! The Convergence Crane and Hoist Rigging Safety course is the 2014 ISHN Reader’s Choice Award winner for Best Safety Training Product. We've been developing a ton of new training content over the past couple years, in addition to continuing to add

<!--end image--> Each year OSHA publishes their list of the top 10 most cited workplace safety standard violations. While there are always some shifts in ranking, the standards on the list remain remarkably consistent, year after year. To help trainers and safety representatives address these consistent problems, we've put together a list of resources to use while training your workers

"Blended learning" is one of the hot buzz phrases in learning circles these days. The concept (learning via multiple instructional methods) has been around a long time, but has gained momentum over the past decade as computer-based and online training software has become more accessible and easier to pair with more traditional instructor-led courses. Blended learning is becoming more

It's an exciting world full of bling-bling, right? There's a lot of stuff that catches our attention, grabs our focus, and compels us to stay engaged. Sadly, that's often not the case with workplace training. Even now, training materials often lean on text-heavy PowerPoint presentations. But you can change that by adding well-designed visuals to your training materials. Want to know more?

We have been writing a series of posts over at the OpenSesame blog about how to design visuals within training materials to help your learners learn more effectively. The series has included posts on the following graphic techniques: Organizing on-screen visual elements to ease perception Using visual elements to direct the viewer’s eyes Reducing the processing load by reducing realism Using

OSHA puts out a list of the top 10 most cited violations every year. Many standards appear on the list each time. So we’re pulling together some things to help you train your workers about each. Here, we’ve got a list of resources about powered industrial trucks for you. Powered Industrial Truck Training Resources Forklift Safety e-learning course. View a sample and/or contact us to get the full course. Free powered industrial truck glossary (plus a lot more). Use the glossary from our blog and/or download a free copy for your LMS. Free powered industrial truck word game. Play the game from our blog and/or download a free copy for your LMS. Powered industrial truck checklists. Handy checklists from our friends at OSHA. Powered Industrial Truck FAQ What’s the regulation, again? 1910.178 (Powered Industrial Trucks) Does Convergence Training offer 3D animated training modules for operators of forklifts and powered industrial trucks? We’ve got a few you might be interested in. Check out our Forklift Safety and Forklift Training-Reducing Product Damage courses. How many citations were there? 1,993. Has OSHA listed the sections within the standard that were most commonly violated? Not yet for 2012, but here’s a breakdown of the violations in 2011. (We’ll update this when we have more current information from OSHA.) Does OSHA have a Safety & Health Topic webpage for powered industrial truck hazards and regulations? They’ve got several. There’s an introduction to powered industrial trucks, a second for hazards and solutions, one for loading and unloading, one for working with hazardous materials, and one for vehicle maintenance. Does OSHA have any eTools for the powered industrial truck regulations? Here’s OSHA’s Powered Industrial Truck (Forklift) eTool. Does OSHA suggest any daily checklists for the operators of powered industrial trucks? They’ve got several on their site. Two created by OSHA and the Industrial Trucking Association (ITA), and several more by the UAW-Ford National Joint Committee on Health and Safety. Has Convergence Training taken the information in those OSHA checklists and created free, downloadable Tasklists for companies that use the Convergence learning management system (LMS)? We made two Tasklists for pre-shift safety and operational inspections, one for PITs with internal combustion engines and one for electric-powered PITs. What about NIOSH? Do they offer resources too? Here’s a NIOSH publication called Preventing Injuries and Deaths of Workers Who Operator or Work Near Forklifts (catchy title, huh?). The post Powered Industrial Truck Training Resources (1910.178): OSHA’s Most Cited Violations appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

In case you missed it, OSHA just published a new electric power generation, transmission, and distribution rule. To be exact, the announcement was made April 14, 2014, and the rule goes into effect on July 10, 2014 (that "go live" date is now coming up soon). But, OSHA DID delay compliance and enforcement guidelines for some of the requirements. See below for more on that. According to OSHA, the changes: Update the Electric Power Transmission and Distribution for Construction standard, issued in 1972 Update the Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution for General Industry (Operation and Maintenance) standard, issued in 1994 Harmonize the two standards (general industry and construction) so the same rules apply generally to the same kinds of work Update the standards so they’re based on the latest consensus standards and improvements in electrical safety technology OSHA’s provided lots of information here. In addition, we’ve gathered that information up and presented it below (relying heavily on their handy Fact Sheet and FAQ, parts of which we’ve directly copied and pasted below so you get the words from the horse’s mouth). What are the significant changes in OSHA’s new electric power generation, transmission, and distribution rule? Significant changes include: General Training The degree of training must be determined by risk to the worker for the hazard involved. Qualified workers must have training to recognize and control or avoid electrical hazards present at the worksite. Line-clearance tree trimmers must have training to distinguish exposed live parts and to determine the voltage on those parts, and they must have training in minimum approach distances and how to maintain them. It is no longer necessary for employers to certify that workers are proficient in safe work practices Host Employers and Contractors Host and contract employers must share information with each other on safety-related matters and must coordinate their work rules and procedures. Fall Protection On and after April 1, 2015, qualified workers must use fall protection when climbing or changing location on poles, towers, or similar structures unless climbing or changing location with fall protection is infeasible or creates a greater hazard than climbing or changing location without it. Fall arrest equipment must be capable of passing a drop test after exposure to an electric arc with a heat energy of 40.5 +-cal/cm2 if the workers using the fall protection are exposed to flames or electric arc hazards. On and after April 1, 2015, work-positioning equipment must be rigged so that workers can free fall no more than 0.6 meters (2 feet). Information on the inspection of work-positioning equipment appears in appendices to the standards. Minimum Approach Distances and Insulation Revised minimum approach distances become effective on April 1, 2015. Information to help employers establish minimum approach distances appears in appendices to the standards. Protection from Flames and Electric Arc Hazards The employer must assess the workplace to identify workers exposed to flame or electric-arc hazards. No later than January 1, 2015, employers must estimate the incident heat energy of any electric-arc hazard to which a worker would be exposed. No later than April 1, 2015, employers generally must provide workers exposed to hazards from electric arcs with protective clothing and other protective equipment with an arc rating greater than or equal to the estimated heat energy. Information on protecting workers from flames and electric arcs appears in appendices to the standards. De-energizing Transmission and Distribution Lines and Equipment Multiple crews working together on the same lines or equipment must either: (a) coordinate their activities under a single worker in charge and work as if all of the employees formed a single crew; or (b) independently comply with the standard and, if there is no system operator in charge of the lines or equipment, have separate tags and coordinate de-energizing and re-energizing the lines and equipment with the other crews. Protective Grounding Employers may use insulating equipment other than a live-line tool for placing grounds on or removing grounds from circuits of 600 volts or less under certain conditions. Information on protective grounding for de-energized lines appears in appendices to the standards. Underground Electrical Installations Special precautions apply when employees perform work that could cause a cable to fail. Electrical Protective Equipment The Electrical Protective Equipment for Construction standard applies to all construction work, not just electrical power generation, transmission, and distribution work. That standard also replaces the existing construction standard’s incorporation of out-of-date consensus standards with a set of performance-oriented requirements that is consistent with the latest revisions of the relevant consensus standards. The final rule recognizes a new class of electrical protective equipment, Class 00 rubber insulating gloves. The standards adopt new requirements for electrical protective equipment made of materials other than rubber. Foot Protection In addition to revising the Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution, and the Electrical Protective Equipment standards, OSHA also revised the General Industry Foot Protection standard to clarify that an employer must ensure that workers use protective footwear as a supplementary form of protection when the use of protective footwear will protect the workers from electrical hazards, such as static-discharge or electric-shock hazards, that remain after the employer takes other necessary protective measures.   Source for above section: OSHA Fact Sheet Now, let’s look in more detail at some FAQs about the new OSHA electric power generation, transmission, and distribution rule. When does it take effect and when will it be enforced? The revised 1910.269 and Subpart V will be effective July 10, 2014, but the compliance deadline for some provision on fall protection, minimum approach distances, and arc-flash protection is being extended to April 1, 2015. Also, OSHA has announced an interim enforcement policy stating that enforcement for MOST of the new requirements won’t begin until October 31, 2014 as long as an employer is complying with the General Industry regulations. Where is the rule published? Here is OSHA’s new Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution rule.. Has OSHA created compliance aids for the new rule? There’s a helpful webpage, a fact sheet, an FAQ, and a minimum approach distance calculator. Stay tuned for more, too. Who has to comply with 1910.269? Employers that operate or maintain electric power generation, transmission, or distribution lines or equipment. Who has to comply with Subpart V? Employers with employees who perform construction work on electric power transmission or distribution lines or equipment. In terms of compliance with Subpart V, what does "construction work" mean? OSHA notes that "construction work" includes the erection of new electric transmission and distribution lines and equipment and the alteration, conversion, and improvement of existing transmission and distribution lines and equipment. What more can you tell me about the required Transfer of Information from Host to Contractors? Well, let’s define some terms first, shall we? A host employer is an employer that operates, or that controls the operating procedures for, an electric power generation, transmission, or distribution installation at which a contract employer is performing work covered by the standard. The host employer DOES NOT HAVE TO BE the entity that hired the contract employer. A contract employer is an employer, other than a host employer (above), that performs work covered by the standard under contract. What must a host employer tell the contract employer before work begins? According to the new electric power generation, transmission, and distribution rule, before work begins the host employer must inform the contract employer of: The following characteristics of the host employer’s installation when they are related to the safety of the work to be performed-nominal voltages of lines and equipment; the maximum switching-transient voltages; the presence of hazardous induced voltages; the presence of protective groups and equipment grounding conductors; and the locations of circuits and equipment, including electric supply and communication lines and fire-protective signaling circuits The following conditions when they are related to the safety of the work to be performed and known to the host employer-the condition of protective groups and equipment grounding conductors, the condition of poles, and environmental conditions relating to safety Information about the design and operation of the host employer’s installation that the contract employer needs to make the assessments required by the standard Other information about the design or operation of the host employer’s installation that is (1) known by the host employer, (2) requested by the contract employer, and (3) related to the protection of the contract employer’s employees. What information must a contract employer provide to the host employer before work begins? Before work begins, the contract employer must advise the host employer of any unique hazardous conditions posed by the contract employer’s work. Also, the contract employer must advise the host employer of any unanticipated hazardous conditions found, while the contractor’s employees are working, that the host employer did not mention; the contract employer must provide this information to the host employer within 2 working days after discovering the hazardous condition. Is the host employer now required to supervise contract employers’ employees or report observed violations of the standard? No, but see the discussion of the information-transfer provisions in Section V of the Federal Register notice for a more complete explanation of host-employer responsibilities. Do the contract employer’s employees have to follow the host employer’s work rules? No, but the host employer and contract employer must coordinate their work rules and procedures so that each employee of the contract employer and the host employer is protected as required by the standard. What about the fall protection provisions? Some of the more common questions are answered below. What different types of fall protection equipment does the standard require? Depending on the circumstances, the standard requires one of three types of fall protection: Personal fall arrest system. A system used to arrest an employee in a fall from a working level. Fall restraint system. A fall protection system that prevents the user from falling any distance. Work-positioning equipment. A body belt or body harness system rigged to allow an employee to be supported on an elevated vertical surface, such as a utility pole or tower leg, and work with both hands free while leaning. What forms of fall protection must employers use to protect employees working from aerial lifts? The standard requires employers to protect an employee working from an aerial lift using one of the following: A personal fall arrest system, or A fall restraint system. What forms of fall protection must employers use to protect employees working from a pole, tower, or similar structure? The standard requires employers to protect an employee working at heights of more than 1.2 meters (4 feet) on a pole, tower, or similar structure using one of the following, as appropriate: A personal fall arrest system, Work-positioning equipment, A fall restraint system, or Other fall protection meeting Subpart D of OSHA’s general industry standards or Subpart M of OSHA’s construction standards, as applicable. A guardrail system meeting one of those standards is an example. Must qualified employees climbing or changing location on poles, towers, or similar structures use fall protection? Generally yes. Starting April 1, 2015, the standards require qualified employees climbing or changing location on poles, towers, or similar structures to use fall protection, unless the employer can demonstrate that climbing or changing location with fall protection is infeasible or would create a greater hazard than climbing or changing location without it. (Note that "climbing" includes going up or down the pole, tower, or other structure.) What about the minimum approach-distances? Common questions about the minimum approach distances are listed (and answered) below: How does the standard set minimum approach-distance requirements? The standards require the employer to establish minimum approach distances that employees must maintain from exposed energized parts. The employer must base those distances on formulas set by the standard or follow default minimum approach-distance tables contained in the standard. How does the standard treat maximum transient overvoltages? No later than April 1, 2015, for voltages over 72.5 kilovolts, the employer must determine the maximum anticipated per-unit transient overvoltage, phase-to-ground, through an engineering analysis. Alternatively, the employer may assume a maximum anticipated per-unit transient overvoltage, phase-to-ground, in accordance with the following table: Voltage Range (kV) Type of Current (ac or dc) Assumed Maximum Per-Unit Transient Overvoltage 72.6 to 420 ac 3.5 420.1 to 550.0 ac 3.0 550.1 to 800.0 ac 2.5 250 to 750 dc 1.8 Does OSHA provide guidance on establishing minimum approach distances? Yes. Appendix B to the standard provides tables listing minimum approach distances for conditions common in electric power transmission and distribution work. Employers may use these tables to establish minimum approach distances under the exposure conditions covered by the tables. (Note that the final rule permits employers to continue to use the minimum approach distances in the old standards until March 31, 2015.) In addition, Appendix B provides guidance on: How to comply with the minimum approach-distance requirements in the standard, How to use portable protective gaps to limit maximum transient overvoltages at the worksite and thereby reduce minimum approach distances, and How to calculate minimum approach distance when employers use portable protective gaps. And, in addition to that, OSHA has provided an online minimum approach distance calculator. What requirements does the standard adopt for employees who are unprotected from energized parts? The standards contain two requirements related to employees working near energized parts without electrical protective equipment or live-line tools: When an employee uses rubber insulating gloves or rubber insulating gloves and sleeves as insulation from energized parts, the employee: Must put on the gloves and sleeves in a position where he or she cannot reach into the established minimum approach distance, and May not remove the rubber insulating gloves and sleeves until he or she is in a position where he or she cannot reach into the established minimum approach distance. When an employee performs work near exposed parts energized at more than 600 volts, but not more than 72.5 kilovolts, and is not wearing rubber insulating gloves, being protected by insulating equipment covering the energized parts, performing work using live-line tools, or performing live-line barehand work, the employee must work from a position where he or she cannot reach into the established minimum approach distance. What about the arc-flash protection provisions? Common questions and their answers are immediately below. What must an employer do to protect employees from hazards posed by flames and electric arcs? In general, the employer must: Assess the workplace to identify employees exposed to hazards from flames or from electric arcs; Make reasonable estimates of the incident heat energy of any electric-arc hazard to which an employee would be exposed; Ensure that employees exposed to hazards from flames or electric arcs do not wear clothing that could melt onto their skin or that could ignite and continue to burn when exposed to flames or the estimated heat energy; Ensure that the outer layer of clothing worn by an employee is flame resistant under certain conditions; and With certain exceptions, ensure that employees exposed to hazards from electric arcs wear protective clothing and other protective equipment with an arc rating greater than or equal to the estimated heat energy. What are the deadlines for compliance with the arc-flash protection requirements? The employer must assess the workplace for arc-flash hazards by the effective date of the final rule. In addition, the employer must ensure that employees do not wear clothing that could melt onto their skin or that could ignite and continue to burn by the effective date of the final rule. By January 1, 2015, the employer must make reasonable estimates of incident energy. Finally, the employer must provide protective clothing and other protective equipment meeting the arc-flash protection requirements of the final rule by April 1, 2015. Must employers pay for the flame-resistant and arc-rated clothing and other arc-flash protective equipment required by the standard? Yes. As required by OSHA’s general rules on employer payment for personal protective equipment (29 CFR 1910.132(h) and 29 CFR 1926.95(d)), employers must pay for the flame-resistant and arc-rated clothing and other arc-flash protective equipment that the electric power generation, transmission and distribution standards require. Has OSHA provided any guidance on how to how to perform the required assessment and how to estimate incident heat energy? Yes. Appendix E to the standard provides tables listing incident heat energies for common exposures found in electric power transmission and distribution work. Employers may use these tables to estimate incident heat energy under the exposure conditions covered by the tables. In addition, Appendix E provides guidance on: How to assess the workplace for flame and electric-arc hazards; Selecting a reasonable incident-energy calculation method under various conditions; Selecting reasonable parameters for use in calculating incident heat energy, including: Selecting a reasonable distance from the employee to the arc, and Selecting a reasonable arc gap. Has OSHA provided any guidance on how to select the protective clothing and equipment required by the standard? Yes. Appendix E to the standard provides guidance on: How to select clothing that does not ignite, How to select protective clothing with an acceptable arc rating, and When the standard requires arc-rated head and face protection. Source for above section: OSHA FAQ Hope that helps. Let us know if you have questions or comments, or if you foresee any particular challenges you’ll face as you try to comply with these new regulations. The post New Electric Power Generation, Transmission, and Distribution Rule Published by OSHA appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

In the early 1900s, when my grandfather was just a little boy, he left his home in Lithuania to come to America. He settled and grew up in Pennsylvania, where he worked in coal mines for many years when he was young. When he got older, he moved to Detroit, where he worked at Ford’s Willow Run plant. There, he helped to make the B-24 bombers that played a role in helping the United States come out on the right side of WWII. (My grandmother also worked on the line at Willow Run, by the way.) But those years in the Pennsylvania coal mines caught up my with grandfather, and he passed away of black lung disease when I was just a kid. I have only a few memories of him, and my grandmother lived twenty more years as a widow. It’s a sad story for me and my family, but it’s newsworthy because it’s common-many American miners died of black lung disease back then. But tragically, that’s not just part of the distant past. According to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), black lung has played a role in the death of at least 76,000 miners since 1968. In addition, more than $45 billion in federal compensation benefits has been paid to miners disabled by black lung and to their survivors. And even today, miners continue to be diagnosed with black lung-in fact, black lung rates have increased in recent years. And that’s why MSHA published a new rule in April to lower the rates of respirable coal mine dust-the stuff that causes black lung. And that rule is set to go into effect soon-August 1, 2014. What all that said, let’s take a closer look at this new MSHA Coal Mining Dust rule. Need help training your miners? Check out our Learning Management System (LMS) for mine operators and our mining safety courses. What is "black lung?" Black lung is a lung disease caused by inhaling certain dusts. Miners experience black lung after inhaling dust while working in mines. The disease typically builds up over long periods of time as a result of dust exposure. It can damage a miner’s ability to breath, causing disability and even death. It is also sometimes called "coal worker’s pneumoconiosis." Is black lung curable? There’s no way to cure someone who has black lung. But, the disease is completely preventable, and that’s what this new new MSHA coal mining dust rule is designed to do. How are silicosis and mesothelioma related to black lung disease? They are all lung diseases caused by breathing dangerous dusts. Breathing asbestos particles in dust leads to mesothelioma; breathing crystalline silica dust leads to silicosis; and breathing dusts present in coal mining operations leads to black lung. These three lung diseases belong to a family of lung diseases known as pneumoconiosis. As a result, black lung is sometimes called "coal miner’s pneumoconiosis." When does the new MSHA coal mining dust rule go into effect? The initial effective date is August 1, 2014. Additional parts of the rule take effect February 1, 2016 (eighteen months later) and more parts go into effect on August 1, 2016 (twenty-four months after the initial effective date). See below for more details about each of the three effective dates. Where can I read the final rule? Here’s the text of the final rule. What are four "highlights" of the rule that MSHA identifies? MSHA identifies the following four big highlights of the rule: Lowers levels of allowable dust concentrations Calls for newer technological means to monitor and measure dust levels Requires immediate corrective action when dust concentrations are too high Improves medical surveillance system for detecting the disease in its early stages What specific changes have been made to the acceptable levels of dust concentration? Reduces the overall dust standard from 2.0 to 1.5 milligrams per cubic meter of air Cuts the standard in half, from 1.0 to 0.5 milligrams per cubic meter of air, for certain mine entries and for miners with pneumoconiosis Requires mine operators to conduct thorough on-shift examinations of dust controls and verify controls with written certification Tell me more about changes to dust concentration sampling and measuring: Requires more frequent sampling of areas known to have relatively high dust levels, such as those closest to the production area Changes the method of averaging dust samples, which previously allowed miners on some shifts to be exposed to levels above the standard Requires sampling for the full shift a miner works to ensure protection for all working hours, rather than stopping measurement after 8 hours, as under the previous requirement Requires dust samples to be taken when mines are operating at 80 percent of production, as opposed to the previous 50 percent requirement, so that samples are more representative of actual working conditions Requires miners in high-risk occupations to wear and use continuous personal dust monitors (CPDMs) to provide real-time sampling results. These will provide readings that mine operators can use to take immediate action to correct dust conditions Tell me more about the newly required "immediate correction actions:" Requires immediate action when dust levels are high instead of allowing days or weeks of miners’ exposure to unhealthy dust Requires that, for MSHA-collected samples, MSHA will issue a citation for any single, full-shift sample at or exceeding the citation level Tell me more about changes to the medical surveillance of miners: Expands surveillance to include surface as well as underground coal miners Adds lung function testing to existing x-ray requirements What parts of the new rule come into effect at each of the three effective dates? August 1, 2014: Compliance determined based on a single, full-shift sample obtained by MSHA Immediate corrective action required if a single, full-shift sample obtained by an operator finds an excessive level of dust Method of citing overexposures and averaging samples obtained by operators is changed Term "normal production shifts" is redefined, requiring underground mine operators to collect respirable dust samples when production is at least 80% of the average production over the last 30 production shifts Full-shift sampling required Number of positions to be samples at surface mines increases Training and certification strengthened for persons who conduct sampling Excessive concentration valuation (ECV), a new concept created to account for possible margins of error in sampling, goes into effect. Citations will only be issued when a sample meets or exceeds the ECV (which is shown in a table in the new rule) New improved record-keeping and accountability requirements implemented Expanded medical surveillance requirements implemented Transfer rights for miners with coal workers’ pneumoconiosis (Part 90 miners) extended to surface miners February 1, 2016 Use of continuous personal dust monitors (CPDMs) required to monitor coal mine occupations exposed to highest respirable dust concentrations, as well as all miners with evidence of black lung (Part 90 miners) Sampling frequency in in underground mines increased Miners receive information on respirable dust levels more quickly August 1, 2016 Concentration limits for respirable coal mine dust in coal mines reduced from 2.0 to 1.5 milligrams per cubic meter of air Standard for Part 90 miners and for air used to ventilate places where miners work is reduced from 1.0 to 0.5 milligrams per cubic meter of air What documents did MSHA create to help explain the new coal mine dust rule? There are quite a few. Check out the ones linked below: MSHA Coal Dust Rule Fact Sheet MSHA Coal Dust Rule New Release Coal Dust Rule Collaboration with Industry for Compliance News Release MSHA Coal Dust Regulation Summary by Effective Dates MSHA Coal Dust Rule Q&A Sampling and Compliance Overview Note: The articles on MSHA’s website linked above served as sources of this article; in some cases, explanations of the new rule are directly copied from these source documents so you can get the words straight from the horse’s mouth. Our thanks to the men and women at MSHA for creating these materials. The post New MSHA Coal Mining Dust Rule Takes Effect August 1, 2014 appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

I spend a lot of time working with new customers in the manufacturing sector who are just beginning to use our Convergence Training learning management system (LMS) at their workplace. At many of these businesses, a large part of the workforce is older and nearing retirement. These older workers are very experienced and have a lot of knowledge about the processes, procedures, and machines in their workplace. Unfortunately, that information is typically just "in their heads" — it’s rarely written down, documented, or recorded in any way. As these more experienced workers retire, the manufacturing companies are scrambling to hire newer, younger workers to take their place. These workers are ambitious and work hard, but they know only a fraction of the stuff they need to know to operate as effectively as the more experienced workers they’ll need to replace soon. Naturally, our customers want to facilitate the transfer of critical knowledge and skills to these new workers. Ideally, they can get the new hires up to speed quickly, and they can capture that critical knowledge before the more experienced workers retire. Unstructured Following/Shadowing Programs (And How They Don’t Effectively Close the Skills Gap) Normally, by the time I’ve begun working with one of these customers, they’ve already tried to set up a knowledge transfer process by creating job-shadowing (or "following") programs. You know what I mean — a less-experienced worker is told to follow a more experienced worker around the work site and "soak up" all the knowledge and skills possible. The idea SOUNDS good, and sometimes it works well. But often, the results are less than encouraging. There can be a number of reasons for this. For example, it may be because the more experienced worker doesn’t really want to pass along the knowledge. Or, maybe he or she wants to, but lacks some of the interpersonal skills necessary to be an effective mentor. Another common reason these programs fail is that they have no real structure. For example, it may not be clear exactly what the less experienced worker is supposed to learn. So, whether or not the new worker learns the truly critical information is left up to chance — sometimes they do, sometimes they don’t. Close the Skills Gap With Structured OJT When a customer describes their informal job shadowing procedures, and tells me that it was ineffective and that they’re frustrated with the lack of knowledge transfer, I often suggest they’ll have more success with a formal, structured on-the-job training program. The structured OJT program would include clearly defined roles, expectations, objectives, and standards. Having these in place will not only help the inexperienced worker learn more, it also makes the experience more satisfying for the experienced worker (since it’s clear what they should be doing). Elements of a Structured OJT Program Here are some simple steps you can follow to set up a structured OJT program: Create a team with defined roles Create an OJT team with individuals filling three roles: the new worker acting as the trainee, the experienced worker as the mentor, and a supervisor who pairs the trainee and mentor, helps guide them through the shadowing process, and supervises the OJT program. Select an effective mentor Not every experienced worker is an effective trainer/mentor. Select mentors based on their interest in passing on knowledge, their communication skills, and their understanding of training basics, most importantly adult learning principles. Read more about adult learning principles here. Clearly define the learning objectives You can’t assume that the experienced mentor will automatically know everything to teach and will remember to cover it all. Start creating the program by coming up with a list of the knowledge, skills, and attitudes that you want the trainee to acquire during the mentoring process. Read more about learning objectives here. Identify the trainee’s skill gap Once you’ve identified the learning objectives, determine which of them the trainee can already perform. There’s no need to train someone to do something he or she can already do. The gap between the learning objectives and what the trainee can do now is the skill gap that must be closed. Determine the necessary training activities With the skill gap determined, list the training activities the learner should complete to acquire the necessary knowledge and skills (the learning objectives). Create a plan for assessing skills and knowledge Don’t count on your mentor to simply guess if the trainee has mastered all the training. Create a defined set of assessments to determine what the trainee knows and/or can do. Check out the Convergence Mobile app, which is useful for in-the-field assessments of job skills. Create a training plan Once you’ve identified the list of training activities and the appropriate assessments, print out a list and then have all three members of the team read, review, discuss, and sign the list. This training plan becomes an official agreement between all members. Some Additional Thoughts for Closing Your Skills Gaps Use a blended learning approach Blended learning approaches that incorporate different types of training, such as written materials, online computer-based training, hands-on/in-the-field training, and instructor-led training, have been shown to be more effective than programs that use only one type of training. When you create that list of training activities, consider blending methods for the greatest benefit. Pick the activity type based on training effectiveness, delivery cost, training logistics, and other considerations. Read more about blended learning here. Use a learning management system (LMS) A learning management system (LMS) can be a helpful way to assign, deliver, credit, and report on training programs like these. Check out the learning management systems by Convergence Training here. Conclusion By replacing an unstructured, poorly-defined job-shadowing program with a structured, well-conceived OJT mentoring program, you’ll find you can greatly increase the transfer of knowledge and skills from your more experienced workers to your less experienced workers. This ability to effectively "pass down" knowledge and skills is critical, as it will help you close the skills gap that your younger employees and/or new hires typically face. Need help getting this set up at your workplace? Contact us and see what we can do for you.     The post Closing the Skills Gap with Structured On-The-Job Training (OJT) appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

OSHA puts out a list of the top 10 most cited violations every year. Many of the same standards appear on the list again and again. So we’re pulling together some things to help you train your workers about each. Here, we’ve got a list of resources about electrical wiring hazards for you. Electrical, Wiring Methods Training Resources Arc Flash Safety e-learning course. View a sample and/or contact us to get the full course. Electric Shock e-learning course. View a sample and/or contact us to get the full course. Electrical Safety General Awareness e-learning course. View a sample and/or contact us to get the full course. NFPA 70E e-learning course. View a sample and/or contact us to get the full course. Free OSHA Electrical, Wiring Methods Glossary (plus a lot more). Use the glossary from our blog and/or download a free copy for your LMS. Free Electrical, Wiring Methods Word Game. Play the game from our blog and/or download a free copy for your LMS. Electrical, Wiring Methods FAQ What’s the regulation, again? Electrical—Wiring Methods, Components, and Equipment for General Use (1910.305) Does OSHA have a Safety & Health Topic webpage for electrical hazards and regulations? Yes, two. There’s one for general industry and one for construction. Does OSHA have any eTools for the electrical regulations? Yep, three. One for the electrical standard as a whole, a second for electrical contractors, and a third for electrical generation, transmission, and distribution. Does OSHA have a free downloadable publication to help control electrical hazards? Why yes, they do have an online document titled Controlling Electrical Hazards. Does OSHA offer any checklists to help small businesses comply and avoid hazards? Here’s a handbook for small businesses (scroll down a little more than half way to find the electrical section). What about NIOSH? Do they offer electrical safety resources too? Glad you asked. Here’s a series of electrical safety resources from NIOSH. The post Electrical, Wiring Methods (1910.305): One of OSHA’s Most Cited Violations appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

Wondering what  to consider when choosing an LMS?  If so, you’re in good company. Many companies realize that an LMS can help their training program, but they have no solid ideas of what to look for, how to evaluate the LMS itself, or how to evaluate the LMS provider. Adopting an LMS is a big decision, and not one to rush into. Even with time and caution, it’s a tough process to choose the right one. And choosing a poor one can really set you back, wasting time, money, and momentum. To make the process easier, we’ve created a guide to lead you through the LMS decision process. Here’s an overview of topics we’ll cover: Identify and consult with stakeholders Determine business needs Where to get your LMS: Open source, build-your-own, or buy? Evaluate the LMS General functionality Important features Check out the learning management systems from Convergence Training-we have several, each designed for businesses in specific industries or of different sizes. 1. Identify and Consult With Your Stakeholders Be sure to identify all of the stakeholders at your company and try to get their needs, opinions, and buy-ins early. Who are the stakeholders, and why are they important when choosing an LMS? Stakeholders are a critical component of any significant project, program, or activity. Within your organization, the individuals or groups that are stakeholders in the LMS decision include anyone who can affect, be affected by, or feel affected by, the implementation of a new learning management system. Consider your employees first Start by thinking of your end users (the employees who will take their training from the LMS). What are their needs? How will they view and complete training? What types of training are they familiar with? How comfortable are they with technology and online systems? Next, the LMS administrators Next, think about your future LMS administrators. What will they need to do with the LMS? What are their content creation, assignment, and reporting needs? How will the LMS help them be more efficient and effective at administering your training program? And finally, the other LMS stakeholders Finally, get together with other departments that will want a say in the LMS decision. This may include Training/Development, Safety, Human Resources, IT, and Executive Leadership. Each of these departments will have unique needs and valuable insight. Create an LMS evaluation team From this collective group of stakeholders, create a team that includes representatives from each department mentioned above, and have them actively participate in the LMS evaluation process. You have a better chance of selecting the best LMS for your company if you get their help, and you’ll also get more buy-in than you would if you were to go it alone. 2. Determine Your Needs Once you’ve identified your stakeholders, you might be tempted to start evaluating LMSs. But that, my friend, would be a classic case of putting your proverbial cart in front of the proverbial horse. Instead, take some time to figure out your company’s learning and business needs. Once you’ve got those in hand, it will be much easier to choose an LMS that meet those needs. To do this, start by asking (and answering) the following questions: What are your company’s training needs? What kind of training materials do you want to deliver? Do you have specific assignment needs, such as materials that are assigned every year, or every three years? What kind of data do you need to capture when the training is completed? What are your current training problems and challenges? Consider your current training solution. What are the biggest headaches, frustrations, and challenges you’d like to solve? What are your current limitations? Are there things you’d like to do with your training program that you currently can’t? What are they? How will your choice of an LMS be affected by future company growth? Think about your company’s potential for growth over the next five to twenty years. How will that factor into your current and future learning management needs? For example, will you expand to multiple locations, creating a need for distance learning capabilities? When you complete this process, you should have a substantial list of all your current and future business and learning needs. 3. Where to Get Your LMS: Open Source, Build You Own, or Buy? There are two more things to think about before you go shopping for an LMS. First, do you need one? It’s possible that the research you’ve done so far has shown that you don’t, at least not at the present time. If that’s the case, you can stop reading this guide now, and maybe pick it up again in a year or two. Second, assuming you DO need an LMS, you might consider alternatives to buying one from an LMS provider. There are two: Open source LMS An open sourced LMS is a free, openly licensed set of software, where the copyright holder provides the right to study, change, and/or distribute the software to anyone at anytime, for any reason. This software is typically developed publicly, with many collaborators.  The best-known open source LMS is probably Moodle, but there are more, too—here’s a list of ten open source LMSs. Initially, setting up an open source LMS is free and painless (it’s already been created for you) but  that can change once you begin using it. Is your IT department willing and prepared to begin customizing it and supporting it? Is there a budget for this? Will you ever get it into a shape that works well for you? These important questions balance the "gee wow" factor of getting something for free. Build your own Another option is to build your own LMS. As with open source LMSs, this may not be as easy or inexpensive as it seems. An LMS may appear to be somewhat simple, but the good ones use intuitive interfaces and clever programming to mask some very complex operations. If an LMS provider has been in the business for ten or fifteen years, you can be sure they have struggled with challenges that you’d face, have brainstormed identified solutions, and have incorporated those into their LMS already. Do you want to go through that same process, even if building an LMS isn’t what your company does for revenue? You may be better off leaving this to people who are in the business already. 4. Evaluate the LMS Evaluating the provider Finally, you’re ready to begin evaluating LMS providers and their LMSs. Here’s a list to consider when choosing a provider. Experience Did they just start doing business, with a barely tested LMS? Or have they been around for a long time? There are clear advantages to experience. Choose an LMS provider with a proven track record Ask the provider if they have customers like you, and ask which features of the LMS work well for those customers. LMS training materials and training staff Even with the most intuitive LMS, you may need help learning the software. Make sure the provider offers a range of training materials—instructor-led sessions, webinars, e-learning videos, manuals, and job aids. Dedicated support staff At some point, you may have support needs. Does the company have a dedicated support staff? What does support cost? Is the support staff responsive and friendly? How do you reach them? Ongoing updates You’ll want a system that’s uniformly consistent, but that also has a steady stream of new features and updates. Diverse staff and professional experience Does the staff of your LMS provider include learning professionals, software programmers, user interface experts, and support personnel? How about people with subject matter expertise relevant to your industry? Implementation and learning & development support You don’t want to choose an LMS provider who’ll take your check and run. Does the LMS provider offer LMS implementation guidance? What about guidance on learning & development basics, such as how to perform training needs analysis or how to create your own training materials? Do they have a blog or online forum where they offer help? Do you like the people? Let’s face it—you’re going to be partners with this company, and that means you’ll be partners with the people who work there too. Are the people a good fit for you? Do they talk your language (metaphorically, that is)? Are they responsive? Friendly? Knowledgeable? First steps If you’re comfortable with the LMS provider, look closely at the LMS itself before you begin vetting the system. View a demo Before viewing a demonstration, gather your list of necessary LMS functions, so you’ll be well prepared during the actual demo. Try to absorb as much information as you can during the demonstration. You can do this by asking questions, having the provider demonstrate functionality, and having them explain how the LMS would work with your company’s needs. Having the opportunity and the time to properly kick the tires will go a long way towards choosing an LMS that meets your needs. Don’t rush yourself at this stage. Talk with current users No matter how thorough the demonstration, there will be things you won’t know or can’t anticipate until you begin using the system and hitting it hard. See if the LMS provider can get you in touch with someone from a company who is currently using their LMS. Arrange to have a private discussion in which you can get that person’s honest feedback. Don’t just settle for an "I like/don’t like it" answer—instead, prepare a list of questions in advance for this discussion, and remember to ask if the customer thought the LMS provider was helpful when issues did arise. Contact Convergence Training to set up an LMS demo today. 5. General Functionality You’re probably already familiar with the basic features of an LMS. People usually seek out an LMS because they’re looking for a way create, import, assign, deliver, track, and report on the training being done at their facility or throughout their organization. Each LMS does those things a little differently and each has its own subset of features that make it unique (read our list of must-have lms features here). Do your research and make sure the system you choose is fit for your purposes, but also consider the following general tips that can often get overshadowed by flashy features: Ease of use This is the first point in this section because it can’t be stressed enough. Your work is hard enough, and training is hard enough. There’s no reason for you and your employees to struggle to learn to use an LMS on top of that. Choosing an LMS that is intuitive and easy to use can really help to get administrators and learners excited about a new system. This point is especially important  if your workforce includes people who weren’t born with a mouse and keyboard in their hands and therefore aren’t always comfortable with computers. Hosting options: cloud-based or on your own server Your LMS provider shouldn’t handcuff you into one solution. Want your LMS on your own network? That should be an option. Want a hosted, web-based solution instead? Again, that should be up to you. Remember, there are many, many solutions out there, and with a little due-diligence you should be able to find a good fit for your organization. Reliable with 24/7 uptime You’re going to want your LMS to be accessible to all workers (and administrators) at all times. Day shift, swing shift, night shift, weekday, and weekend. Ask the provider for documentation about their reliability and "up-time." Security Is your training data secure? Ask for an explanation of the system’s security measures. Scalability Want to use the LMS at just one site? Or do you want to use it at 40 sites spread over the globe? Have it your way-the LMS should meet your needs now and in the future. Single sign-on If you use single sign-on (SSO) at work already, see if LMS login can be included in this. Possibility of customizations One size doesn’t fit all. Ask if the LMS can be customized, and if so, ask which features can be customized. And remember to find out which customizations would be free, and which would come at a cost. Branding You’ll want your LMS to include your company’s branding. Check to see if your company name, logo, and/or other branding can be included in the LMS (for example, the in the URL and/or Home page). Mobile compatibility Is the LMS compatible with mobile devices? Wouldn’t it be nice to take training onto the floor, into the conference room, or even on the road? Wouldn’t it be great to perform administrative features away from your desk? Integrate with your other software systems at work You may want your LMS to be integrated with other software systems at work, including your human resources information system (HRIS). Check to see if this is possible and, if so, exactly what that means and how it works. 6. Specific Features With those general items considered, now it’s time to look in more detail at the specifics. Consult your list of needs and cross-reference them against the following general areas. Managing your personnel Consider the ease of creating, editing, and deleting user records. Find out if the provider can automate some of this for you, and learn the different ways you can group employees for assignment and reporting purposes. Training materials Does the LMS facilitate all the types of training you do know and will do in the future? Can you import your own training materials? Does it include tools to help you create your own training materials? Are the import and creation tools easy to understand and use? Can you update training materials to create new versions? Assignments What are your assignment needs? Does the LMS support them? Is the assignment process simple yet powerful and flexible? Can you create mandatory assignments and optional elective-based training? Training delivery options What are your training delivery needs? Does the LMS facilitate training that’s delivered online PLUS training that takes place in the real world? Can it deliver pre-training materials? Can you preview training without first assigning it? Can employees refer back to previously completed training for reference? Credit for completed training What can the system credit automatically, and what must (or can) you do manually? What kind of completion data does the system capture? Automation What does the system do automatically so that you won’t have to? Change training assignments based on your employee’s new job role? Send notifications to employees at key training moments? Send reports to department heads on a recurrent basis? Reporting Does the system’s reporting functionality fit your needs? Are the reports logical and easy to read? Is it easy to run reports on the information you’ll need most often? Can you set up reports to be generated and delivered on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis? Security roles What will your LMS administrators need to do? Does the LMS come with a security role system that can support your needs? Language capabilities Can the interface of the LMS support multiple languages? How does the LMS work with multi-language training materials? More Information Use the information above as a starting point and go out and explore different options. And print off our LMS checklist below to help you evaluate systems on a feature-by-feature basis. The post Choosing an LMS: How to Get it Right the First Time appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

Need to get a brand new hire with no experience in the papermaking industry trained before he or she can hit the floor on the clean up crew? Or do you want to get someone from converting ready to work on a paper machine? Or maybe you need to train workers to prepare them for a new position on the paper machine, as they move from Winder Operator to 5th Hand? If so, papermaking friend, then this is the post for you. At Convergence Training, we do a lot of work with companies in the paper industry. And we often hear similar stories from these papermakers: they’ve got a large number of very experienced workers who are nearing retirement, they’re hiring a lot of new workers to fill those positions, and they’re struggling to get  these new hires up to speed quickly enough. We tell our customers that there are a couple of things they can do. One thing they can do is use our learning management system (LMS) to deliver structured OJT training that pairs experienced workers with less experienced workers. (You can read our previous blog post about using structured OJT to close the skills gap here). And another thing they can do is to use training materials that include visuals directly related to the papermaking process. We’ll discuss that use of training materials with visuals below. Contact Convergence Training to see how we can help you with your papermaking training needs, and check out out Pulp, Paper, Tissue, and Corrugated Board training libraries. Better Training Uses Visuals Learning experts have conducted many studies beginning with two groups of people, both novices in a specific content area (such as papermaking). Each group was trained on the same topic, and that training included all the same words. However, the training provided to one group included no visuals, while the training provided to the other group included visuals. After the training, the people in each group were given tests to determine what they learned. The results were dramatic-the people who completed the training that included visuals consistently learned significantly more than the people in the other group did. An Example of Better Training for New Hires: Exhaust Gas Scrubbers with Visuals The courses in the papermaking libraries (pulp, paper, tissue, and corrugated) created by Convergence Training take advantage of special power of graphics to help your new employees get up to speed quickly on essential paper-related training topics. For example, check out the short sample below taken from our Exhaust Gas Scrubbers training course. (Presenting information in small "chunks" like this is another instructional method that helps new workers, and one we’ll discuss in its own blog post later.) You can see for yourself-no pun intended-how effective the visuals make this papermaking training. You can use this tip when you’re creating training materials on your own-just remember to add relevant visuals to your training materials. Or, if you’d like to take advantage of the papermaking training materials by Convergence Training that incorporate life-like visuals, 3-D animations, and more, contact us and let us know what you need. Sources: For more information about the studies described above, please see the book Building Expertise: Cognitive Methods for Training and Performance Improvement by Dr. Ruth Colvin Clark, pp. 34-40.     The post Better Papermaking Training for New Paper Makers: Get New Employees Up to Speed Fast With Visuals appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

If you administer a learning management system (LMS) at your workplace, or even if you’re just thinking about getting one, you may be focused on mandatory training assignments. And that makes sense. There’s a lot of training that you’ll want to be 100% sure your employees complete: job-based training about their current position at your workplace, mandatory safety and compliance training — You can probably add more items to the list yourself. Thinking of getting an LMS? Check out our free LMS buyer’s guide or check out the Convergence Training learning management sytsems.  But What About Elective Training? With all that focus on mandatory training assignments, it can be easy to lose track of the value of making elective training available on an optional basis. What are some reasons to make optional elective training available to your workers, you ask? We’ll list a few below. Your Workers Are Adult Learners-And Adult Learners Are Self-Guided Learners Research into how people learn shows us that adult learners like to be in charge of their learning. They want to make decisions about what they learn and when they learn it. Making elective training available for your workers is one way you can create a workforce learning program that addresses this desire. Let Your Workers Train "Up" for the Next Job Position Many times, employees have their eyes set on the next job in the pecking order. Or the next several jobs. Consider a brand new hire at a manufacturing facility. She may currently hold the entry-level job that all new hires are put into, but she’s probably excited to move up the ladder, filling other positions that come with more challenges, responsibilities, respect, rewards, and a bigger paycheck. You can assign mandatory training to that new hire to make sure she knows how to do her current job, but you can also make elective training available so she can train up for the next positions on her line of progression. This works well for her, and it also works well for you-as one of your goals is probably to get new workers up to speed and into more critical job roles in a short time. Help Your Employees Cross-Train to Fill Multiple Job Positions Many of our customers have to train their employees to fill multiple job roles instead of just one. For example, many paper converting facilities require their workers to know how to operate all of the machines in a converting line. One way to get employees cross-trained quickly is to make mandatory training assignments and then make other training related to other, related jobs available on an elective basis. This will help your employees become more useful to your workplace, which is to their advantage and which helps you too. And it will make it easier for you to cross-train workers to fill all the jobs at your site. Turn Your Training Library Into an Easy-to-Access Reference Library By making elective training available to your workers on an optional basis, you can turn parts of your training library-or the whole thing-into a workplace reference library. This is great for a few reasons, including: Helping workers know how their job fits into the ‘big picture" at work Making training available to workers on a "just in time" basis when they need to view it at the workplace Making training available in the field as a job aid (or work support) to reduce the need for rote memorization Making training in the form of manuals, SOPs, and troubleshooting guides available to maintenance workers in the field How Can Convergence Training Help You Make Elective Training Available To Your Workers? The Convergence Training learning management systems (LMSs) allow LMS administrators to make mandatory training assignments as well as make elective training available to workers on an optional basis. And not only that, the Convergence Mobile app lets your workers retrieve, view, refer to, and complete training on a mobile device right in the field-it can be as easy as scanning a barcode on a machine or in a work area to summon up the correct training materials. Need more information? Contact us and let us know how we can help you. The post The Benefits of Optional, Elective-Based Training At the Workplace appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

Need to train a worker with no job experience in your industry about all the safety hazards at your site before they can begin working? Or maybe you have to get a new employee acquainted with the safe work practices of a new position he or she just moved into? If so, read on-this post is for you. Training a newly hired employee about all the critical safety aspects of a job is  tough work. If you’re a safety manager in charge of safety training, we’re not telling you anything you don’t already know. But what can you do to make your safety training better? One of the smartest things you can do is to use training methods that are proven to work better with learners who are new to the content area. In your case, that means they’re new to safety issues related to working at your site, and/or safety issues related to working a specific job. We’ll be writing a series of articles explaining different techniques for getting these "novice learners" up to speed in the coming weeks. In this post, we’ll look at one of the most effective: using visuals in your training. Contact Convergence Training now for help with your safety training, or check out our learning management systems and safety training e-learning courses. Better Visuals Equal Better Training Learning experts have led many studies that begin with two groups of people, both novices in a specific content area (such as safety at your workplace). Each group was trained on the same topic, and that training covered all the same concepts using the exact same words. However, the training provided to one group included no visuals, while the training provided to the other group included visuals. After the training, the people in each group were given tests to determine what they learned. The results were dramatic-the people who completed training that included visuals consistently learned significantly more than the people in the other group did. An Example of Better Safety Training for New Employees: Crane and Hoist Rigging Safety The courses in the Safety Training library and other workplace-safety libraries created by Convergence Training take advantage of the explanatory power of visuals to help your new employees get up to speed quickly on essential safety topics. Using these courses will help you get workers trained on safety fundamentals-and on the work floor-more quickly. And that will improve your bottom line and your safety record. For example, check out the small excerpt below taken from our Crane and Hoist Rigging Safety training course. You can see for yourself-no pun intended-how much more effective the visuals make this training on rigging. And you can imagine how similar visuals can help you train your workers on other topics-or, if you don’t want to imagine, check out the samples of our safety training library. You can use this tip when you’re creating training materials on your own-just remember to add relevant visuals to your training materials. Or, if you’d like to take advantage of the safety training materials by Convergence Training that incorporate life-like visuals, contact us and let us know what you need. Sources: For more information about the studies described above, please see the book Building Expertise: Cognitive Methods for Training and Performance Improvement by Dr. Ruth Colvin Clark, pp. 34-40.   The post Better Safety Training for New Employees: Using Visuals appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

OSHA puts out a list of the top 10 most cited violations every year. Many of the same standards appear on the list again and again. So we’re pulling together some things to help you train your workers about each. Below, we’ve got a list of  respiratory protection training resources for you. Need help with respiratory training or other safety training needs? Contact us and we’ll help out. Respiratory Protection Training and Informational Resources Respirator Safety e-learning course. View a sample and/or contact us to get the full course. Escape Respirators and SCSRs e-learning course. View a sample and/or contact us to get the full course. Escape Respirators and SCSRs (for MSHA) e-learning course. View a sample and/or contact us to get the full course. Free Respirators Interactive Glossary. Free Respirators Word Game. Respiratory Protection FAQ What’s the regulation, again? 1910.134 (Respiratory Protection) Does OSHA have a Safety & Health Topic webpage for respirator-related hazards and regulations? Sure do. Here’s OSHA’s Safety & Health Topic page for Respiratory Protection. Does OSHA have any eTools for the respirator regulations? Yep, here’s OSHA’s Respiratory Protection eTool. Does OSHA provide any other helpful resources? Quite a few. How about these? A bulletin titled General Respiratory Protection Guide for Employers and Workers An OSHA guidebook called Small Entity Compliance Guide for the Respiratory Protection Standard A second guidebook called Respiratory Protection The OSHA Respirators Quick Card A guidebook on Assigned Protection Factors An OSHA memo that presents Questions and Answers on the Respiratory Protection Standards A fact sheet on the difference between respirators and surgical masks What about NIOSH? Do they offer resources too? NIOSH has few, too, including: A webpage on Respirators A guide for Selecting Respirators The NIOSH Respirator Trusted-Source Respirator page The post Respiratory Protection Training Resources (1910.134) appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.

Want your newly hired miners to really remember their training? Need to train a worker to perform a new task, such as operating a dozer, and later know how to perform that task in the field? If so, this post is for you, my friend. Getting a newly hired miner up to speed on all of the critical safety aspects of mining is a tough job. If you’re a safety manager in charge of safety training at a mine site, you already know this. But what should you do about it? One of the smartest things you can do is to use training methods that are PROVEN to work better with learners who are new to the content area. In this case, that means new to safety issues related to working at your mine, and/or related to working a specific task at your mine site. We’ll be writing a series of articles explaining different techniques for getting these "novice learners" up to speed in the coming weeks. In this post, we’ll look at one of the most effective: using visuals in your mining training. Contact Convergence Training to see how we can help you with your mine safety training program. Better Training Uses Visuals Learning experts have conducted many studies that begin with two groups of people, both novices in a specific content area. Each group was trained on the same topic, and that training covered all the same concepts using the exact same words. However, the training provided to one group included no visuals, while the training provided to the other group included visuals. After the training, the people in each group were given tests to determine what they learned. The results were dramatic-the people who completed training that included visuals learned significantly more than the people in the other group did. An Example of Better Mining Safety Training for New Learners The courses in the mining safety training library and other safety training libraries created by Convergence Training take advantage of the power of visuals to help your new employees get up to speed quickly on essential safety topics in mining. For example, check out the small excerpt below taken from our Physical Characteristics of Surface Mines training course (presenting information in small "chunks" like this is another instructional method that helps new workers, and one we’ll discuss in its own blog post later). You can see for yourself-no pun intended-how much more effective the visuals make this training on surface mine characteristics. And you can imagine how similar visuals can help you train your workers on other mining safety topics-or, if you don’t want to imagine, check out the samples of our mining safety training library. You can use this tip when you’re creating training materials on your own-just remember to add relevant visuals to your training materials. Or, if you’d like to take advantage of the mining safety training materials by Convergence Training that incorporate life-like visuals (plus our learning management system specially designed for mine operators), contact us and let us know what you need. Sources: For more information about the studies described above, please see the book Building Expertise: Cognitive Methods for Training and Performance Improvement by Dr. Ruth Colvin Clark, pp. 34-40.     The post Better Mining Safety Training for New Miners: Using Visuals to Increase Learning appeared first on Convergence Training Blog.