Interactive Hazard Training

Many companies today struggle with getting employee safety training to stick. Most employee training sessions consist of watching professional videos and/or teaching in a classroom setting. Although these traditional methods are effective, employee engagement is often low, resulting in employees retaining less information. Interactive hazard training encourages a higher level of employee engagement, which improves training effectiveness and the company’s safety culture. Also referred to as simulator, mock-up, or scenario-based training, interactive hazard training immerses employees in an environment they can experience rather than read or watch about.

During interactive training, employees can practice site-specific safety priorities in a controlled environment. By utilizing a controlled environment, employees can gain hands-on experience without risk of injury. Companies that have successfully implemented interactive hazard training say that using past company incidents best emphasize the importance of safety. Using real-life examples allows employees to fail safely. For instance, employees can install items they will be working with, such as a valve, at ground level instead of at height, preventing an equipment drop or a fall event.

Training in a controlled environment not only provides hands-on experience for employees, but also allows instructors to identify insufficiently trained employees.  By using interactive hazard training, instructors can know that they can trust their employees to work safely on the jobsite. Instructors can even provide feedback by observing reactions and pausing simulations during training sessions. According to The Leader Volume 2, Issue 4, one company utilizes a basketball-court-sized hazard simulator. In the simulator, employees must identify hazards in staged environments and recommend solutions in timed exercises. The employees evaluate the staged environments looking for gaps in safety coverage and then offer improvements, such as moving a ladder to a safer position.

Interactive hazard training is an opportunity for companies to increase safety and productivity during employee training by cultivating a successful safety culture. Employees can engage with training rather than reading or passively watching a video. These methods also improve instructor feedback and assessment of employee proficiency. When employees can practice correct procedures in a hands-on environment, the safety culture improves.