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The Occupational Safety and Health Association (OSHA) wants to create the safest working spaces. It enforces various regulations and practices that keep your workplace and workers safe and healthy. As part of OSHA compliance, workers must undergo training. However, OSHA training programs come in numerous courses and variations. They vary by purpose and industry. Knowing which OSHA training course you should take ensures your business fully complies with OSHA. The training provides knowledge and skills that improve your worksite’s health and safety.
What Type of Training Is Available?
As with any learning opportunity, OSHA compliance sessions come in myriad versions. Each variation tackles different subjects, procedures, and work atmospheres. There are three important considerations that pertain to workplace health and safety training: mandated OSHA training, state safety plans, and training administration certification.
OSHA Health and Safety Training
The most common type of training is the generic mandated OSHA training for employees. This type of learning opportunity comes in multiple forms. However, no matter the industry or specific topics it pertains to, the overall goal of this type of training aims to implement and enforce general health and safety standards in compliance with the department of labor’s protocols. All employees must take OSHA health and safety training for a business to gain compliance and meet governmental health and safety practice standards.
State Safety Plan Training
To follow OSHA standards, some states follow individual safety plans. State plans must meet or exceed federal OSHA guidelines and only pertain to employees within that state. Since state plans diverge from generic OSHA compliance courses, they come with their own specific training modules. They cover more location-specific legalities and enforce practices that comply with other protocols set in that area. Currently, 22 states adopt unique safety plans, including Alaska, Hawaii, North Carolina, and Washington, among many others. But most state OSHA plans contain differ from federal OSHA requirements in ways that do not pertain to the healthcare or veterinary healthcare fields.
Training Administration Certification
In order to conduct a training session on your own, you need a training administration certification. There are many ways to take an OSHA compliance course, from online sessions to OSHA-hosted training classes. In-person training requires a facilitator to ensure all necessary topics get covered and compliance and proof or training certification can be awarded. Like with many educational roles, you must ensure sufficient mastery of the subject matter before officially hosting a training session on your own.
Online vs. In-Person Courses
No matter the type of training you choose, there are two major ways to undergo the courses: online and in-person. Both training methods provide a set of pros and cons. Whether you choose online or in-person depend on different factors, including:
- Learning preferences.
- Accessibility to space or electronics.
- Number of people who need training.
- Scheduling and free-time.
Choosing a live versus a digital course doesn’t change what you learn in training.
What Are the Differences in OSHA Compliance Courses?
A farm and a medical center are very different, and so are their dangers. All workplaces create and operate in a unique atmosphere. Different workplaces have different exposure risks and best practices for health and safety. OSHA separates workplaces into four main categories: general industry, construction, maritime, and agriculture. Each category splits into various industries, with certain courses pertaining to certain fields.
Each worksite undergoes training that covers universal safety standards and worksite/industry-specific lessons. OSHA compliance courses vary based on workplace dangers and other industry-specific regulations and practices. Diverse training courses ensure each workplace, no matter the type, operates under optimal health and safety standards that best fit their particular situation.
How To Know Which Course Is for You
Finding the right training course improves your business’ OSHA compliance and implementation of effective health and safety protocols. There are numerous factors to consider when finding the training course you need to complete, from classification to mandatory requirements.
Classification Type
Under the four major OSHA classifications are further specified sectors. For example, office work, retail, warehousing, and healthcare are within the general industry cluster. Knowing what classification you fall into helps you decipher the topics you need to cover and the safety standards that affect your workplace.
Training Objectives
Training courses should include general safety and health provisions that remain the same in every workplace, along with standard and sector-specific topics. The right course for you should include:
- Industry-specific hazards.
- General and workplace environmental controls.
- Personal protective equipment related to your job.
- Machinery handling.
- Other specified standards pertaining to your type of work.
Each classification features different training objects that stem from various subparts deriving from the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR).
Medical OSHA Training Courses
Proper health and safety protocols play a huge part in medical spaces. From bloodborne diseases to toxic chemicals and multiple people’s lives at risk, healthcare worksites come with a lot of high risks and high stakes. Although healthcare jobs come in numerous variations, they all tend to get grouped together. However, at Gamma Compliance Solutions, we’ve split them up into three major groups: general healthcare, veterinary, and dental. Our training courses for each medical industry include more workplace-specific protocols and practices to optimize the training you receive and the health and safety standards you implement.
General Healthcare
Like all industries, general healthcare OSHA training features the basic universal health and safety topics. It also has more healthcare-centered regulations. Unlike dental and veterinary training, our medical office courses cover the more general safety standards of the healthcare field. Prominent factors included in the training include:
- Mandatory documentation
- Recordkeeping standards
- Hazardous drug exposure
- Bloodborne pathogen standard
- Tuberculosis protocols
Dental Offices
Dental offices differ from general medical offices. They encounter different scenarios and follow various procedures that bring to light particular dangers in their workspace. Our dental OSHA training covers the basics and dental-specific topics like infection control in dentistry.
Veterinary Clinics
Veterinary clinics, like dental offices, vary in their day-to-day encounters and threats compared to general medical offices. From animal handling and particular waste hazards, certain protocols apply to vets that don’t arise in other healthcare workspaces. Veterinary OSHA training differs from other healthcare job sites.
OSHA training factors into the success of your business. It helps you establish healthy and safe work atmospheres, optimizing your productivity. Knowing which OSHA training course you should take ensures you create an ideal workplace fit for your type of work, staff members, and those you serve.
