PBPExecutiveReports

VOLUME 1

Safety
Training
Ideas Worth
Stealing
Never Hold a Boring Safety Meeting Again!
A SPECIAL REPORT
FOR SAFETY SUPERVISORS & MANAGERS

Safety Training Ideas

Worth Stealing
PBP Executive Reports are straightforward, fast-read reports designed for busy
executives. PBP Executive Reports excel at cutting the fluff, eliminating jargon
and providing just the information todays executives need to improve their
organizations performance.
This PBP Executive Report was compiled and edited by the staff of Supervisors
Safety Bulletin, one of the most respected newsletters serving the safety
profession. It delivers proven safety training ideas that will engage employees
and make your safety meetings more effective.

2008 PBP Executive Reports

All rights reserved.
370 Technology Drive
Malvern, PA 19355
800-220-5000
www.pbpExecutiveReports.com

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Executive Summary
Safety managers and supervisors know they can repeat safety advice and safety
rules until theyre blue in the face and it still may not be enough.
But thats exactly what it takes to raise safety awareness and keep it there
strong safety training followed-up with regular safety reminders.
The challenge is finding new ways to say the same thing, and fresh ways to
shake up safety talks.
Safety managers have been heard to say theyd give their right hand to find a
way to consistently deliver effective safety messages.
Well, fork it over because here it is.
This report is a compilation of proven safety training tips and ideas that managers
and supervisors can put into practice right away and get great results.
All the ideas are the practical kind of hip-pocket help supervisors can use to
instruct or inspire employees to work safely all the time.
Some of the ideas youll want to photocopy and pass out to employees. Others
youll want to work into your safety training sessions and discussion with workers.
For instance:
How will a juiced-up chicken get their attention? Thats on page 5.
Need to drive home the horrors of an excavation collapse? Try page 9.
Want a quick way to measure just how strong your safety culture is? Page 13 can
show you how.
Or how about the safety prizes no one wants to win? See page 2.
In all there are 65 great ways to improve training and keep your employees safe.

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The Executive Report

Safety Training Ideas

Worth Stealing
Training tip: Safety prizes they really
dont want to win
Day in and day out, people sometimes get sloppy with safety.
Heres an idea you can put to use to help drive home the need to work
safely all the time.
Get a wheelchair, crutches, an old leg or arm cast from a hospital, even
a neck brace, and display it in your workplace with a sign that reads:
Win Me!
Then tell your people, If you ignore safe work techniques, you can end
up winning one of these beauties for an afternoon or maybe even a
lifetime of pain.

Training tip: Pull those hazardous Supermen

back down to earth
If you have any of those people who think theyre supermen and
nothing will ever happen to them, try this story on them:
A flight attendant once asked former world heavyweight champion
Muhammad Ali to fasten his seat belt.
But Im Superman, the champ bragged. Superman doesnt need a
seat belt.
The attendant wasnt amused.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

Superman doesnt need an airplane! she shot back.

Now buckle that belt, champ!

Training tip: Preach off-the-job safety, too

If you consistently remind people that safety doesnt stop once they
punch the clock and head for home, youre doing them and your
organization a big favor.
A good safety attitude at home carries back into the workplace, plain
and simple.
The employee who wears hearing protection and eye goggles while
cutting the grass at home is going to follow safety rules at work, too.
Many employers have gone so far as to give workers eye goggles, or
other personal protective equipment, to take home for their own use.
Try it if you havent already.
Youre bound to like the results youll get back on the job.

Training tip: Fight roadway accidents

Most worker deaths and injuries happen on the highway. Get your
people to slow down by sharing this graphic description of what happens in
that very first second when a vehicle traveling at 55 mph hits a large
stationary object head-on.
1st tenth of a second: Front bumper and grille crumble.
2nd tenth of a second: Hood flies into windshield, back wheels leave the
ground. The lower frame stops, the rest of the car is still moving forward.
3rd tenth of a second: Steering column moves toward drivers chest.
4th tenth of a second: First two feet of vehicle are smashed, but rear end
is still going 35 mph. Driver is still going 55 mph!

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

5th tenth of a second: Steering column impales drivers lungs.

6th tenth of a second: Car frame still buckling as drivers head smashes
windshield.
7th tenth of a second: Doors fly open, seats break loose. Driver is
already dead.

Training tip: Avoid confusing rule updates

Sometimes updating safety rules can cause even more confusion among
some workers.
To avoid that problem, the next time you pass out new safety material,
leave every other page blank and ask workers to write down any questions
they have about the new rules.
Their questions will make perfectly targeted training points for your
next safety discussion.

Training tip: Heres proof your safety efforts work

Heres a concern many safety managers and supervisors have:
I do a good job with safety. But if I ever had to, could I prove it?
There is no foolproof way to prove you covered every base when it
comes to safety. But there are three things every supervisor should have on
hand or have access to to help build your case.
1. Written rules and training procedures. Be sure theyre specific to your
tasks. For instance: All employees must wear eye protection when
using the grinders and shredders.
2. Notes from safety meetings and training sessions. Test scores, sign-in
sheets and training materials should be kept on file.
3. Enforcement records. These demonstrate youve taken a clear stand that
safety violations wont be tolerated.

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Training tip: Juiced-up chicken gets attention

Got a good electrician in house?
Then put him or her to work making an electric chicken sizzler.
Its a simple device that runs electricity through a chicken leg.
When you turn it on, the chicken sizzles, pops and smokes just like
human flesh and usually from the inside out!
The safety point is the danger of exposure to electrical current.
One safety manager said the demonstration drew the only standing
ovation hed ever seen at a safety meeting.

Training tip: Safety label hunt helps raise awareness

Heres a good way to raise safety awareness among employees at your
next safety talk send them on a safety label hunt.
Split people into groups and give them 10 minutes to walk around your
facility and come back with a list of as many safety labels as they can find.
Theyll be surprised whats out there when theyre looking for them.
A single ladder, for instance, can have four to six safety labels on it!
Fire extinguishers will be an obvious find. But most pieces of common
office equipment have warning labels, too.
Wrap up the meeting by discussing a few of the labels, why the labels
are there, and what injuries/illnesses theyre meant to prevent.
Remember: This exercise is simply about raising awareness.

Training tip: Worth repeating Brains over

brawn is safer
Every supervisor from time to time has to deal with the strong young
brute who wants to do too much physically.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

Its a safety hazard you dont need.

Heres a story to tell that will help convince the person that brains over
brawn is always safer:
An older worker was getting fed up that the strong young co-worker
wouldnt stop bragging about his feats of strength on the job.
Said the old man: Ill bet you $100 that I can haul a load in this
wheelbarrow over to that building and you wont be able to haul the
same load back to this spot.
Youre on! cried the young guy.
The older worker grabbed the wheelbarrows wooden handles.
Hop in, he said.

Training tip: Give them good training

with sharp cutting tools
Cutting tools can range from scissors, razors, saws and knives to
pruners, chisels and snips.
While each works a different way, they all have similar hazards and
safety precautions.
When you train people, always follow the tool manufacturers directions
for proper use.
Then be sure to include these safety ideas, too:
1. Never substitute the wrong tool for the job.
2. Dont try to catch a cutting tool if it is falling.
3. Never keep the tool in your pocket; use the sheath.
4. Pass tools to others handle-first and never toss them.
5. Replace broken, bent, dull or damaged cutting tools.

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Training tip: Be prepared to stay safe

Good preparation is the key to staying safe. When discussing safety
preparation with your people, you can share this real-life OSHA case:
A Colorado rancher and his wife of 30 years needed to round up their
sheep as a dangerous blizzard approached.
They kept two separate flocks atop their 10,000-foot mountain home.
The wife got separated from her husband while chasing down the
second flock. She hadnt planned on being out that long, so she was
wearing only her tennis shoes, blue jeans, a jacket and gloves.
The storm set in hard as darkness fell. The husband sent to town for a
search party. It came too late. His wife was found frozen to death the next
morning.

Training tip: Focus training to reduce the

top 4 worker injuries
You can help reduce injuries among your people by targeting your safety
efforts at the four most common workplace injuries.
Here they are:
1. Back injuries. One in five injuries at work involves the back. Training
and common sense are keys to prevention. On heavy lifts, be sure your
people talk it through and have enough help to make the lift easier.
When training, focus on posture and best lifting techniques.
2. Being hit or hit against. Workers are too frequently being hit by
something, or hit against something. Training should focus on keeping
workers aware of hazards and using proper PPE, like hard hats, goggles
and gloves.
3. Falls. On the ground, the biggest reasons for falls are poor shoes and
unlevel or slippery surfaces. Focus training there. In the air, falls are best
prevented by using the proper safety gear.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

4. Machine/equipment accidents. Machines start unexpectedly, get jammed

or dont have safety guards. These are the villains of machine/equipment
injuries. So is not watching where youre going on moving equipment.

Training tip: Tap into staff talent to give

safety a big lift
It pays to look for natural leaders on your staff and let them run with
the ball when it comes to safety.
Heres a good example of how to do it, courtesy of a safety manager we
know at Black & Decker:
A 23-year-old ex-convict with a talent for making music videos was
also a natural leader. So we set him loose.
The guy shot a safety video about a dangerous process pouring hot
metal and set it to rap music.
That video got more buy-in for safety than anything we could have
done with our usual training efforts.
And once people saw that we actually let this guy run with the ball,
they became enthused enough to come up with their own original safety
training ideas, too.

Training tip: Quiz them twice for results that stick

If you normally give people a quiz after youve trained them on a work
or safety procedure, experts say you can boost retention by giving the same
quiz before the training, too.
It turns out most people will get drawn into comparing the answers they
guessed on the first quiz with the answers they knew on the second quiz.
Simply stated, doing the comparison helps get them more involved and
motivated, and that makes them more likely to remember the information.

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Training tip: Drive home the horrors

of an excavation collapse
Unsafe trenching is all too common. Heres how you can raise awareness
and drive home the horror of being crushed by tons of earth:
Give workers a balloon 1/4 full with water.
Have them squeeze the balloon from the bottom and watch the water
push up. Thats also what happens inside the body when the weight of
falling earth squeezes organs up into the chest cavity.
Thats why many times workers trapped in an excavation collapse with
their head above ground still suffocate! The heavy earth makes it
impossible to expand the chest and take a breath.
Thats not a pretty sight for co-workers/rescuers, either.

Training tip: 2 keys to remember when

recognizing people
Motivating employees to work safely is every supervisors challenge.
Or at least it should be.
Many firms have safety award ceremonies once or twice a year. But how
best to keep your people focused on safety every day?
Thats life in the trenches, right? When considering recognition ideas, it
helps to remember:
1. People are different and like to be recognized in different ways. Dont
assume everyone gets turned on the same way. One persons safety
trophy proudly displayed in the family room may be anothers basement
junk.
2. You cant motivate people. They must commit to motivate themselves.
What you can do is set the stage for them to want to work safely. Some
like gifts, others plaques or memos. Some respond to talks about their
children or about having a healthy future or retirement.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

Training tip: Dont let your safety rewards

backfire on you
A pat on the back for a job done well and safely can go a long way.
But there are times it can go a long way in the wrong direction and
actually de-motivate people.
Here are four ways your safety recognition efforts can backfire, and
how not to let that happen:
1. Inconsistency: Inconsistent rewards confuse people because they dont
know whats expected of them. Have a clear standard of what gets
rewarded, then be sure to stick to it.
2. Lateness: A pat on the back days or weeks after the fact loses its impact.
Reward them right away.
3. Wrong size: The reward should fit the deed. Someone whos gone 10
years without an accident merits more than someone with a lesser
achievement.
4. Staleness: Reward programs tend to get stale after a year or so. Update
the program regularly.

Training tip: Extra safety precautions

for older workers
Older workers suffer fewer injuries than younger ones, but those injuries
tend to be more serious and result in more days away from work.
As the number of older workers grows, it pays for supervisors to focus
more attention on their needs.
Here are the top injuries to older workers:
1. Falls due to loss of balance or slower reaction time
2. Sprains from less flexibility
3. Overexertion in heat or cold, and

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4. Injuries built up from years of doing the same tasks.

So, what can a supervisor do to help prevent these injuries?
Try to reduce demanding activities in hot or cold climates, like climbing
a ladder or repeated heavy lifting.
Always make sure floors and walkways are clear and flat as possible
and that lighting is adequate.
It will also help if you can find ways to help workers get around
stooping and bending.
Lastly, dont hesitate to talk with your older people if you suspect
theyre struggling with a certain job.
Listen for what is specifically causing a problem. Sometimes something
as simple as a pair of gloves or cushioned inserts in the shoes can head off
problems.

Training tip: Easy way to shake up safety toolbox talks

Some employees may see safety as a hassle. But you know its really
about keeping them healthy.
To drive that point home, every once in a while make employees bring
in pictures of their families to show around and talk about during safety
meetings.
The message is obvious and effective: When it comes to working safely,
you dont do it for the company, you do it for yourself and your family and
friends.

Training tip: Turn their commuting complaints

into training
If your workplace is like most, your people come in each morning and
soon start complaining about that lame-brain driver they encountered on
the ride in.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

So why not turn those gripe-fests into a safety training session? The real
enemy here is aggressive driving.
Here are three key points to discuss:
1. The best way to not become an aggressive driver is to adjust your
attitude. Forget the idea of winning. Driving to work is not a race.
Everyone will get where theyre going, if they drive safely.
2. You can avoid getting ticked off at others by putting yourself in their
shoes. Ever been lost, unsure of the road or looking for the right turn?
Not fun when people honk at you, is it? Then give others some leeway,
too.
3. There will always be bad actors who break the rules or drive rudely. Let
them go. Its not your job to enforce the rules of the road or dish out
punishment by teaching them a lesson. Keep your cool and live to
work and play another day.

Training tip: Clearly identify translator

with special-colored hat
If you have a Spanish-speaking work crew, theres usually one guy whos
bilingual and translates safety rules or work instructions.
What some companies do is give that guy a special-colored hard hat or
vest. If everyone else is wearing white or yellow, give him a blue one.
Some companies say it even helped when an OSHA inspector showed
up. It showed the supervisor took the extra effort to make sure safety and
work instructions were properly communicated.

Training tip: Illustrate your No. 1 safety concern

Safety training cant just be pie in the sky. It always pays to tailor your
safety training to the specific hazards your workers may face.
For Dave Walline, corporate safety leader at Owens Corning in Toledo,

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Ohio, hand injuries were a major issue.

So for his next safety meeting, Dave brought in a jar of peanut butter, a
loaf of bread, a baby doll and a package of diapers.
Then he asked workers to change the babys diaper and make a peanut
butter sandwich with one arm tied behind their backs.
The point was clear: If you lose the use of one hand, itll be very
difficult to do even some of the simplest tasks in life.

Training tip: How strong is your safety culture?

There really is no specific set of standards that identifies the perfect
safety culture.
But there are some general and observable characteristics that identify a
good safety culture.
1. Your people look for and correct hazards. Do they? If so, its a sure sign
that your continued efforts to help them be safer workers is paying off.
2. Your people wear PPE. If people are slipping now and again and not
using the proper PPE, its a sign that complacency is setting in. An
accident is likely to follow.
3. Safe work is respected. People sometimes stand in awe of the seasoned
veteran who knows his job in and out. Does the person who always
works the safest get the same level of respect?

Training tip: Real men ask for help

Every supervisor has to keep an eye out for excessive macho behavior
that can be a safety danger to everyone.
Far too many workplace injuries occur when someone attempts a job
alone like lifting something when he or she should have asked for help.
Its OK to tell these people that real men ask for help. And let them
know its just smarter, too.

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Training tip: Safety slogans worth spreading around

If youre ever hunting for just the right thing to say to an employee
whos not buying into your safety efforts, youre not alone.
The U.S. Navy has a long list of safety quotes and slogans it uses to
drive home its message.
Here are a few:
A safer you is a safer me.
A worker who doesnt follow safety rules is a fugitive from the law of
averages.
Working safely is like breathing, you never want it to stop.
Electricity can turn you off.
If you think safety is a pain, try a leg fracture.
Alert today, alive tomorrow.

Training tip: Foul-Up Forum weeds out

safety problems
For your next safety meeting, try having a Foul-Up Forum where you
encourage workers to talk about mistakes, safety shortcuts and unreported
near-misses.
People can learn more from slip-ups than from successes if you can get
them to open up about unsafe things they may have done.
But getting them to share honestly can be tough.
Some firms offer rewards for employees who tell these tales.
But the most important rule for these sessions is: No discipline or
reprimands for those who come clean.
The goal is to educate.
People whove tried this say that they tend to have more success the

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second or third time around.

So, if you dont get any good responses from people at first, dont give
up after one shot.

Training tip: Safety stand down gets them

to stop and think
If you ever grow tired in your daily battles for safety, you can take heart
in NASAs plight.
From a workplace safety standpoint, 2007 was a tough year at Cape
Canaveral.
In February, a worker fell off a roof and died. Then no one locked and
secured the nose wheel of the shuttle Endeavor, and it pitched forward
while in tow.
Someone also put too much pressure in Atlantis coolant loop and blew
its seals and valves.
Then came March. Thats when the arm of Discovery was dented by a
moving platform. A few days later, a metal container was dropped on
Endeavor, cracking its cooling ties.
The following week, a repair crew accidentally set a roof on fire, almost
igniting a solid rocket booster!
NASA responded with a two-hour safety stand down to encourage
workers to stop and think.

Training tip: Dont let safety get foiled

in a single second
It takes a minute to write a safety rule.
It takes an hour to hold a safety meeting.
It takes a week to plan to good safety program.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

It takes a month to put that program into operation.

It takes a year to win a safety award.
It takes a lifetime to prove youre a safe worker.
But it only takes a second to destroy it all with one accident.
Thats why it pays to take the time to help people work more safely.

Training tip: Keep your eye on the

Big 3 causes of stress
When people are stressed its more likely injuries and accidents will
happen.
So supervisors want to stay on the lookout for the Big 3 causes of
workplace stress:
Change
Lack of control, and
Growing workloads
If any of these are happening in your workplace or if all are happening
at once it may be time to consider stress-reducing programs or techniques
for your people.

Training tip: What to look for first in a safety walk-thru

Youve been asked to walk through another area of your facility to try
and spot hazards.
What do you look for first?
Here are the top eight hazards the military asks its civilian supervisors
to be on the lookout for:
1. Overloaded electrical circuits
2. Blocked aisles, passages

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3. Electrical cords in walkways

4. Chemicals improperly stored
5. Missing or old fire extinguishers
6. Slippery or uneven floors
7. Poorly maintained ladders, and
8. Missing safety or exit signs.

Training tip: Training thatll get them right

between the eyes
If your people use safety goggles or face shields, heres a way to drive
home the need to wear them:
One supervisor we talked to used a digital camera to take close-up
pictures of workers. Then she cropped out everything but the eyes, blew
them up and printed them out.
She hung the pictures at the next safety session on eye protection and
workers had fun trying to guess whose eyes were whose.

Training tip: 4 keys to steering clear

of trouble with OSHA
Many employers never have any contact with OSHA, so theyre not
always sure what it takes to get in trouble with the safety agency.
Its easier than you think.
The agency typically uses a four-step approach to making its citations
and fines stick:
1. A condition or activity presented a hazard to an employee. Thats a
fairly straightforward standard. You dont need to memorize every
OSHA rule to know that if an employee is exposed to a workplace
hazard, or is doing something hazardous, its probably against some

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OSHA rule or another.

2. The hazard was recognized. Like many other laws, ignorance is often no
defense. The law expects employers to be aware of the hazards in their
industries.
3. The hazard was likely to cause death or physical harm. Thats what
workplace safety practices are all about sending people home in one
piece.
4. There was a feasible way to eliminate or reduce the hazard. Most firms
that fight OSHA fines take this approach and argue there was nothing
they could do about a hazard. Its an argument that rarely flies.

Training tip: 3 keys to improve any

safety training effort
What makes the difference between safety training that sinks in and
safety training that goes in one ear and out the other?
Here are three easy steps in the setup and follow up that research
shows get the best training results:
1. Invite them personally. E-mail is the best way to reach a large number
of people at once. But when you can, inform each peron face-to-face about
an upcoming safety session. Let them know why its important for them to
be there and what theyll get out of it.
2. Give them a choice. Research shows that when you can give workers
a choice of when to take a required safety training course, buy-in is greater.
3. Be sure to follow up. One of the best ways to assure success of a
safety training effort is to touch base with people after the training to
discuss how much theyve understood and retained.

Training tip: Licorice shows the value of stretching

Many companies have turned to pre-work stretching routines to help

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people reduce strains and sprains.

Theyre valuable programs because warmed-up muscles and tendons are
less likely to tear, break or strain.
Heres a good way to get worker buy-in and show people clearly why
warm-up stretching is worthwhile.
Take a few pieces of licorice candy, like Twizzlers, and set them in the
refrigerator. Take a few other pieces and either warm them slightly in a
microwave or set them in the sun for an hour.
Next, gather your group of employees. Take the warmed-up licorice and
pull both ends. It stretches out quite nicely to a long length, sort of like a
warmed-up muscle or tendon.
Now grab hold of the ends of the cold licorice and pull.
It snaps instantly.
Note: One safety expert told us he got 80% voluntary participation in a
stretching program after doing this demonstration for employees.

Training tip: 3 keys to include in every

safety training session
Any safety trainer can increase his or her effectiveness by practicing and
using these three techniques:
Speak simply: When training, always use the language your people
understand. Dont speak over their heads in an attempt to impress
them.
Create a sense of team: Limit references to the company and statements
like I want ... . Instead, key on we, and things we can do as a
team. Look for examples that emphasize how one co-worker can help
another.
Leave time for Q&A: The surest way to alienate someone is to ignore
his or her questions. On the other hand, answering questions gets people
engaged and clarifies any misunderstandings.

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Training tip: Spouses Affidavit

I, _______________, hereby authorize my spouse to work without PPE
and to ignore safety rules.
I will, without complaint, perform the following duties in the event
he/she is blinded or crippled:
Lead him/her wherever he/she needs to go.
Help him/her dress and eat.
Teach him/her to do housework so I can get a job to support us.
Teach our children to dance, play ball, swim, fish, etc.
Describe the scenery to him/her on our next vacation.
Describe the way our kids eyes lit up at Christmas.
Tell him/her how great our child looked at graduation, and later at the
wedding.
_________________________
(Spouses signature)

Training tip: Can you spot substance abuse

in the workplace?
An employee under the influence of drugs or alcohol is an accident
waiting to happen.
Firms and supervisors have been held responsible when an impaired
employee injures himself or others.
The key is to know how to spot substance abusers before they can cause
a problem.
The U.S. Department of Labor says substance abusers are more likely to:
be absent or late
make mistakes

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take risks
get in an accident, and
file a workers comp claim.
Another key is to keep an eye on a suspected workers performance and
behavior.
Clues to look for in a workers performance are poor work quality,
brief, unexplained disappearances from the job, carelessness, errors in
judgment and risk-taking.
Behavioral clues include ongoing financial problems, high turnover of
friends, overreacting to criticism, poor personal appearance and excessively
blaming others.

Training tip: Safety training foods (yes, you

read that right)
You probably have a good feel for what your best safety training tools
are. But what are your best safety training foods?
If you havent tried any, you may not be getting the biggest bang during
safety meetings.
1. Consider the egg. Raw eggs are perfect for driving home the need to
wear goggles. And they puncture with about the same resistance as an
eyeball. Put a couple of eggs in a dish to show workers what could
happen to their own eyes.
2. Melons are good. Melons work great because they cut and slice just like
fatty human tissue. Is there a safety issue in your place over cuts to the
arms, legs or trunk? Bring in a melon, or a half-green tomato, and show
them exactly what you mean.
3. Dont forget hot dogs. Raw wieners stuck in the fingers of a glove are a
good replica for the real deal. Better yet, frozen ones break just like
bones. Smash em, stomp em, cut em up and watch your trainees
squirm.

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Training tip: Top-notch toolbox talks

Toolbox talks should be as effective as formal safety training.
They should be less than 15 minutes and take place right where the
work takes place.
The key is to focus on three to five main safety issues for a specific job.
Also, good toolbox talks:
1. Are held regularly so people come to expect them
2. Encourage participation, and
3. Focus on the good and bad for example, safety problems as well as
jobs well done.
Remember to keep a record of your talks, including date, time, place
and those in attendance.

Training tip: Getting the most impact

out of safety photos
Photos are a great way to drive home safety messages.
There are a ton of pictures online, classics such as the forklift being used
to lift another forklift, which in turn is lifting its load to a high perch.
Or the guy standing on the stepladder changing a light bulb. Only
problem is the metal stepladder is sticking out of a swimming pool!
One safety director we are aware of uses images to great effect.
She starts her presentation with a series of more humorous images, like
the guy on the stepladder.
But she also throws in some very serious photos.
These are pictures of hospital beds, funerals, an orphans home, even a
widow left behind trying to sell the house she can no longer afford to keep.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

Training tip: Add a twist to emergency drills

to make them real
Next time your people practice an emergency evacuation drill, heres a
twist you can add thatll improve their chances of getting out safely should
the real thing ever happen.
Have a safety team member stand in front of the normal emergency exit
and block it with a large cardboard sign that says fire.
In other words, that exit is unusable because its the source for the fire
alarm.
This forces people to think on their feet and find an alternate safe path
out of the facility.
Supervisors tell us the first time theyve tried it, a few employees actually
died in the drill.

Training tip: Got any tough guys? Tell em this story

If you have a few tough guys who ignore minor hazards, you can tell
them this true story:
On July 25, 1911, Bobby Leach went over Niagara Falls in a barrel
and survived!
Years later Leach was walking on the street when he slipped on an
orange peel. No big deal, right?
Wrong. His leg broke and it had to be amputated. Then an infection set
in. He eventually died of gangrene!

Training tip: Should you let them borrow safety gear?

More companies are turning to the practice of encouraging employees to
take home safety gear for weekend projects.
Its not for every firm, and each supervisor and manager needs to

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consider whether or not it fits the particular work setting.

But the idea has two benefits:
It raises safety awareness. Workers who use safety gear at home are
safety-conscious, and will use it at work, too.
Its cost effective. Employees injured at home drive up your companys
overall medical costs.

Training tip: Be sure your ergonomic upgrades

include lefties
If youre considering ergonomic upgrades, be sure to consider the needs
of left-handed employees.
Southpaws, who are 10% of the population, approach work from a
different angle, literally.
That could have an impact on any equipment, tool or workstation
changes you might make.

Training tip: Recreating a near-miss video

drives home safety
You probably have a written form you use to document and analyze
near-misses.
But your workers might learn a lot more if you recreate the near-miss on
video.
Have the worker involved explain what happened, step by step, and the
fallout.
Then let the camera shift to you, so you can explain how to avoid such
an incident in the future.
A five-to-ten-minute video makes a great safety training session.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

Training tip: Most training forgotten in 30 days;

what to do
Studies show that a month from now your employees will only
remember 10% of the safety training they received today!
Worse, that 10% may not be the most important part of the training.
So how can you get people to remember more?
1. A little at a time. Avoid cramming a lot of material into a long session.
Instead, feed bits of safety information out in 10-to-15-minute intervals.
2. Rely on previous experience. When teaching a new safety idea or
technique, start with what employees already know and build on that.
3. Make them part of it. Let people participate in training. When you can,
let them pick the color of their safety gear or the style of their safety
glasses. Ask their opinion of a safety process, or suggestions to improve
safety.
4. Keep it real. Always be sure the ideas you teach are relevant to the jobs
your people are doing. Then give them time to practice what theyve
been taught.

Training tip: Instead of a to-do list,

try a stop-doing list
Most supervisors at some point have given employees a to-do list of
things to get done.
But have you ever tried passing out a stop-doing list?
A stop-doing list of unsafe behaviors is a great way to help people see
and remember the types of actions that can lead to injuries.
Clearing a machine jam by hand, would make the list. So would
lifting heavy objects without help, and speeding.
Always tailor the list to fit your own operation.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

Training tip: Sometimes its OK to just

let them grumble
Do you have people who tend to complain about safety procedures?
Let em.
Just make them do it on paper.
Here are three reasons why:
1. Once its written in black and white, theyll see their complaint is trivial
when compared to the safety value.
2. It gives them an outlet to vent.
3. Itll give you good insight into whether someone has enough training.
Frustration is often a sign of insufficient training.

Training tip: Use an injury to help raise

safety awareness
Heres how one supervisor used an injury to boost safety.
An employee named Will was injured. The supervisor made up a 14-by20 inch red sign that simply asked Hows Will?
He moved the sign to different locations every week or so. It became a
simple, effective reminder that accidents can, and do, happen.

Training tip: Help em learn with hands-on safety talks

Someone once described a lecture as information that comes out of the
mouth of one, into the notebooks of many, without going through the mind
of anyone.
Dont let that happen during your safety talks.
A great way to make these talks interactive is to pass around props
workers will be using on the job. For instance, if your people use cut-

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resistant gloves, bring some for them to hold while youre talking.
Or if you want to discuss the usefulness of steel-toed shoes, let people
drop a heavy weight on a pair of them to prove the point.
In short, making your meetings as hands-on as possible also helps make
them memorable.

Training tip: Spice up Hazcom training

with food for thought
Got chemicals?
If so, you no doubt warn your people not to eat around them. But you
still might be worried about the one guy with the hefty appetite and the
pack of peanut butter crackers stuffed in his back pocket.
Heres an idea: At your next safety talk, bring some packs of crackers to
hand out to those who attend. You can get them dirt-cheap at a Sams Club
or a similar wholesaler.
When youre ready to pass them out, pour a chemical you use over the
crackers first, then ask who wants some. Youll get no takers. Then let
them know thats exactly what they could be consuming if theyre sneaking
snacks on the job.

Training tip: 3 good safety attitudes

We all know what bad safety attitudes are: Nothing will happen to me,
safety takes too long, etc.
But whats a good safety attitude? Here are three:
Safe work is efficient work
Working safely is a skill, and
People respect safe work habits.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

Training tip: Be sure people know

how to report problems
A recent study found that many workers who suffered injuries from
machinery didnt know who to tell when the equipment was first acting up.
In other words, they attempted to fix a machine problem themselves
because they didnt know who to report it to.
Remind your people regularly about the procedures they should follow
if they have a problem with machinery.

Training tip: Youre as good as your people

in safety matters
The safety of your people directly reflects upon your own supervisory
skills. Put another way: Youre as good as your workers.
So how do you make them better at safety?
Usually this space is reserved for hands-on tips and ideas you can put
into practice right away.
But it never hurts to have some safety management techniques that work
for you over the long haul, too.
For instance, when observing safety conditions, always ask yourself
these six questions:
1. Are employees in the right area?
2. Are they paying attention?
3. Are they using PPE?
4. Are they using correct equipment?
5. Is equipment working properly?
6. Are there other obvious hazards?
Those six questions help to prevent accidents. Now here are six more to

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ask yourself after an accident or near-miss:

1. Was the worker careless?
2. Did the worker obey safety rules?
3. Were conditions unsafe?
4. Did the worker take shortcuts?
5. Is the worker accident-prone?
6. Should the worker have been in that area?

Training tip: 4 steps to make safety training

more effective
You spend so much time each day keeping things going that its often
tough to find time to make training sessions interesting.
But by keeping a few simple things in mind, you can make your safety
training more effective.
Try these four steps:
1. Keep it moving. Its good not to get stuck on any one topic for too long.
Some people use a timer as a reminder. Ask an employee to set the timer
for you at the start of each topic. That also lets everyone know time is
important.
2. Use handouts. Handouts that reinforce the information you tell workers
are great training aids. People read them later. And if you give people
handouts that cover the next training topic, it gives them a jump on
that, too.
3. Leave em laughing. The power of humor can keep people interested.
Industry publications, newspapers and the Web offer safety-related
cartoons that can help you drive home a point.
4. Make tests count. Test employees at the beginning and end of each
training session. That way people can compare their before and after
scores and see how much theyve really learned.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

Training tip: Emergency practice

If youre putting together a first-response team to deal with emergencies
like shut-offs, injuries and small fires, this training idea could be helpful.
Draw up a facility map showing hallways, doors, rooms and stairs.
Give each emergency team member a copy of the map and a list of how
many first-aid kits, fire extinguishers and safety cut-off switches your
facility has.
Next, send them on a search of the facility to find those items. Have
them mark clearly on the map where these safety items are located.
Result: Theyll likely never again forget the location of these important
and life-saving devices.

Training tip: The supervisors role in creating

a safety culture
Safety rests with the employee, but it starts with the supervisor!
Len Jannaman, VP of DuPont Safety Resources, has developed six key
steps supervisors should follow to enhance workplace safety.
Here they are:
1. Set a good example. Observe all safety rules yourself, especially
wearing PPE when required. Discuss safety with employees every day in an
enthusiastic way, and make sure safety has its proper place on your priority
list.
2. Know the operation. Understand the entire process and know how
safety rules apply to each part of the work. Keeping an eye out for nearmisses and injury trends is also key.
3. Anticipate risks. Safety-conscious supervisors think ahead. They ask
experts for help and are active in identifying risks and hazards.
4. Discuss hazards. When youve learned something that might prevent
an injury, share it! Encourage workers to discuss hazards and be receptive

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to ideas to make sure safety questions are answered before the job starts.
5. Flag unsafe conditions. Every time you walk through an area should
be an on-the-spot inspection for hazards, with corrections made
immediately.
6. Follow up. Good supervisors boost safety by consistent follow-up,
which encourages individual accountability.

Training tip: Morning safety training

better than afternoon
Research shows that it really does matter what time of day you schedule
safety meetings especially if you want your people to take part and
contribute good ideas.
Workers were two to three times more likely to pick up on ideas,
remember them and offer other ideas when meetings were held in the
morning.
By contrast, two in three workers daydreamed more frequently during
afternoon meetings.
Lesson: Even if you cant hold every safety meeting in the morning, try
to hold your most important sessions before noon.

Training tip: Heres just the ticket

to boost safety inspections
If you require your people to inspect equipment, material, machines or
vehicles for safety problems before they use them, heres a great idea.
Get a stack of tickets that youd use for a 50-50 drawing and hide one
of the tickets somewhere on or inside the equipment. Put it someplace
where people will see it only if they really do a thorough inspection.
Tell folks to give the ticket to you or their safety rep after they find it.
At the end of each month, put the tickets in a hat and draw one or two out

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to award small prizes.

Its another way of encouraging people to be thorough when doing their
inspections.

Training tip: Stump the supervisor

challenges them to learn
Heres an idea that will help keep your people focused on safety and let
them have some fun, too. But be careful its at your expense.
Split your employees into teams of five or so and let them review all the
safety lessons theyve learned.
Then, each week for a one- or two-month period, have one team try to
come up with a safety question for you. Tell them that if they stump you, if
you cant answer their question, youll buy pizza or donuts.
Its a great way to keep safety lessons fresh in their minds.

Training tip: Spice up eye protection training

with this idea
Get two watermelons (pumpkins will also work) and four raw eggs.
Draw a face on the melons, cut two eye sockets and sink the raw eggs into
the sockets.
Put eye goggles on one melon and cover both melons with paper bags.
During your talk, lift the bags off the melons. That alone will get a
laugh. Then take a pointer and crack it across the melon with the safety
goggles. The eyes are protected.
Next, take off the goggles and tell them these are your eyes without
PPE, and let er rip.
Let your most recent safety violator clean up the mess.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

Training tip: How a pat on the back

can do safety wonders
If you have any doubt that positive reinforcement in safety pays off,
consider this real-life example from Rockline Industries, Inc., in Springdale,
Ariz.
A pat on the back can do wonders.
The company, once on OSHAs Watch List, improved its incident rate
67% over three years.
A major reason for the turnaround was supervisors staying diligent on
the production line.
Supervisors and managers record nearly 300 (safety) observations per
month, the company said, 88 to 90% positive. Its the positive
reinforcement aspect that is so valuable.
Lesson: If you havent made positive reinforcement an essential part of
your safety routine, perhaps its time to consider it.
If you have, nice job and keep up the good work!

Training tip: Improve safety by fining em

for minor infractions
Theres an easy answer for handling employees who commit major
safety infractions: Discipline.
But what do you do with the folks who sometimes break minor safety
rules?
Why not fine them?
Consider handing out safety tickets to those who commit these small
infractions.
The fine? Require them to do a five-minute presentation on how to do it
right at the start of their next work shift.

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

Training tip: Show the hazards of stored energy

Complicated machines can have three or more sources of energy:
electric, pneumatic, hydraulic, kinetic, spring-loaded, gravity-fed, etc.
Thats why its important for people to know when a machine is
absolutely, 100% de-energized.
Try this at your next safety talk to make the point about the dangers of
stored energy.
Get a large rat trap, not a mouse trap, a rat trap. Theyre only a couple
bucks.
With workers gathered around you, stick a pencil in the trap and snap it
shut.
The pencil will easily break in two.
Then ask people how much money it would take for you to have them
stick their finger in that trap.
Five dollars? Ten dollars? Fifty?
Youll probably find that no amount of money would be worth it.
Then ask if theyd stick their hand or finger in a machine that hasnt
been properly locked out.
Would they do it for the amount of money they make in an hour?
A day? A week?
Its a great attention-getter.

Training tip: Close calls are wake-up calls:

Get em to report
Close calls or near-misses are common in the workplace. But too often a
close call ends with a couple of thankful workers saying Whew! and not
much else.
Workers who dont report a close call often cite fear of being

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SAFETY TRAINING IDEAS WORTH STEALING

reprimanded, red tape, ruining a safety record or embarrassment as their

reasons.
So, the next time you discuss near-misses with your people, re-emphasize
the need for them to report these incidents.
Tell them that if they keep silent about a close call, they may certainly
avoid having to deal with it.
Then ask them how theyll explain themselves to a co-worker who ends
up in a wheelchair because of a hazard that they knew existed, but didnt
want to talk about.

Page 35

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