Remove the Boring From Safety Training and Keep Workers Engaged

Understanding safety protocols is an essential part of the job, which means that safety training is non-negotiable.

The problem is that workplace safety training can often be boring and unengaging, and that is unproductive. Safety training becomes a trial of tedium, a task completed unenthusiastically and quickly, only to be forgotten a few hours later. But safety training is when you learn the skills that help you and your fellow workers get home safely.

A plumber faces numerous hazards during daily duties. They face dangers from confined spaces, heavy objects, hazardous materials, power tools, live electrical systems, hydraulic systems, and pneumatic systems. Plumbers work on construction sites, on roofs, and deep in trenches. All of these conditions present clear dangers, and proper safety training is the difference between a long plumbing career and a life-threatening injury.

Companies must adopt a proactive approach to safety training. This means making safety training more engaging, practical, and aligned with regulatory standards. Implementing this type of culture is challenging but ultimately leads to better information retention for your team. Plumbers who remember their safety training follow it in the field.

Here are a few tips for companies to get more out of their safety training.

Hands-on and interactive training is everything

One of the most important aspects of safety training is retention. Your team needs to remember the life-saving processes you teach them. Sadly, our technology-driven world does not promote long attention spans or information retention. Most training is now virtual click-through sessions. This is convenient for breezing through mandatory training sessions, but not for ensuring plumbers are present and attentive.

Plumbers typically learn best when they actively engage with their team and use their hands. They get more out of safety training when it is engaging rather than a passive lecture or seminar. Promote training sessions where asking questions and participating in demonstrations are encouraged. If you are conducting lockout/tagout training, act out real-life scenarios that require your team to identify hazards, properly use locks and tags, follow procedures, and communicate. Your team will not remember the three-hour presentation you gave them, followed by a pop quiz, after only a few weeks. They will remember the hands-on training session they attended when they put locks and tags on a multi-lockout device during a “hot tap” operation.

Conduct monthly hands-on safety training and see how much better your plumbers retain information.

No long training sessions

Long hours are boredom's best friend. No plumber wants to sit through an all-day training seminar. Long training sessions do not promote learning. Focusing on any task for hours on end becomes harder with each passing hour. Training sessions should be short and spaced out. Short, efficient training sessions maximize consistency and focus, leading to better results.

Quality is more important than quantity in training. Your team must be focused on the topic for that week or month, so keep training short and sweet. Schedule training sessions that consistently align with your team's schedule and stick to them. If you commit to one hour of safety training a week, do it at the same time every week. No excuses. Inform your team of the training topic beforehand so they can prepare questions and provide feedback based on real-world examples from the field.

If you can’t avoid a marathon training session, inform your team well in advance so they can mentally prepare and adjust their schedule. Respect your plumbers’ time. Efficient training also means you don’t run over time because you didn’t plan accordingly.

Your best plumbers should be teachers

The best teachers are also the best leaders. You want your most experienced and trusted employees involved in safety training. Your best plumbers will lead by example and inspire your newer plumbers to grow and take this part of their job seriously. Know who the leaders of your plumbing company are and include them in the training process. Your best plumbers have been in the trade for years and have real-world experience to draw on. Real-life experience is essential because you need plumbers who know what dangerous situations actually look like. They are the ones who can teach your newer plumbers how to handle them.

Hire a training specialist

Most safety training at your company will be conducted internally. However, every once in a while, it is worth hiring an outside party to conduct a training program and review your training process. Objective feedback from an outside party can help you identify issues you may not have considered and suggest new ways to improve safety training. Work with a local training specialist who knows your market and has worked with plumbers in your field. Plumbers in different states deal with different issues, so hire someone who works in your market. Vet your specialist by asking for references, learning about their clients, and asking how long they have been working with them. A specialist who works with the same people for years is probably a good one. They should take you through their training process. Observe them during this time. Is their training process hands-on or lecture-oriented? If they don’t run an interactive program, I would not hire them.

A good workplace safety specialist will ask you what equipment you use and request photos. This will help them tailor their training program to your workflow and tools. Workplace safety training should mimic real life. Training with equipment you have never used before does not mirror real life.

Hiring a safety specialist will cost you more upfront but will save you money in the long term because proper safety training protects you and your team from the added costs and liability associated with incidents caused by a lack of it.

Safety is nonnegotiable for every company, and the best way to ensure it is to train your plumbers. Proper safety protocol is a skill, and all skills require training. Make training interactive, avoid marathon sessions, let your best team members lead, and hire a workplace safety expert to help develop the curriculum. Doing this will ensure your company gets the most out of safety training.

About the Author

Stu Kemppainen is a managing partner of Workplace Safety Specialists in Mesa, Arizona. The workplace safety training firm specializes in hands-on, site-specific training courses and in-depth safety solutions for plumbers and other contractors. They have been helping companies create safe workplaces for over 30 years.