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Tray 3: Training - Building In-House Expertise |
Employee training complements efforts to address workplace safety and
health problems, including those focused on ergonomic hazards and related
concerns. As presented in the main text (Step
3), ergonomics training may take different forms for various categories
of employees. It can range from awareness training for all employees,
especially those in suspected problem jobs, to more specialized, intensive
training for those expected to undertake job analyses and problem-solving
work. The ergonomics primers and manuals listed at the end of this document
(see Tray 10) provide material for use in
this training. Information on videotapes, publications, databases, and
other resources that can be helpful in developing a training plan are
also available from NIOSH (call 1–800–35–NIOSH or 1–800–356–4674).
Training Elements
The effectiveness of training greatly depends on the way it is designed
and delivered to the target audience. A 1988 OSHA publication (Training
Requirements in OSHA Standards and Training Guidelines. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Labor, OSHA Publication No. 2254) offers a model or
set of steps to follow in these efforts. The steps are as follows:
- Determine if training is needed. If the evidence gathered
from checking health records and results of the job analysis indicates
a need to control ergonomic risk factors, then employees must be provided
with the training necessary for them to gain the knowledge to implement
control measures.
- Identify training needs. As already mentioned, different
categories of employees will require different kinds of ergonomics
instruction.
- Identify goals and objectives. The important point here
is that the objectives of training must be defined in clear, directly
observable, action-oriented terms.
- Develop learning activities. Whatever the mode of training—live
lectures, demonstrations, interactive-video programs, use of varied instructional
aids—learning activities should be developed that will help employees
demonstrate that they have acquired the desired knowledge or skill.
- Conduct training. Training should take into account the
language and educational level of the employees involved. Trainees
should be encouraged to ask questions that address their particular
job concerns, and hands-on learning opportunities should be encouraged.
- Evaluate training effectiveness. A common tool for training
evaluations is the use of questions about whether they found the instruction
interesting and useful to their jobs and if they would recommend it
to others. More important, however, are measures of the knowledge gained
or improvements in skills, as may be specified in the course objectives.
Knowledge quizzes, performance tests, and behavioral observations can
be used for this purpose. One exercise recommended here is for the
class to propose improvements in workplace conditions on the basis
of information learned in class for presentation to management for
their review. This relates to another level of evaluation which is
whether the training produces some overall change at the workplace.
The latter measure is complicated by the fact that such results require
time before they are apparent, and training may be one of several factors
responsible for such results.
- Improving the program. If the evaluations indicate that
the objectives of the training were not achieved, a review of the elements
of the training plan would be in order and revisions should be made
to correct shortcomings.
For a discussion of ergonomics training issues, see the following reference:
Kuorinka I, Forcier L, eds. [1995]. Work-related musculoskeletal disorders
(WMSDs): a reference book for prevention. Chapter 8. WMSD-related training.
Taylor and Francis (1900 Frost Road, Suite 101, Bristol, PA 19007).
Although the above-mentioned steps can help employers develop ergonomics
training activities without having to hire outside help, much depends
on the existing capabilities of the staff. If in-house expertise in ergonomics
is limited, start-up activities could necessitate the use of consultants
or outside special training for those employees who would ultimately
assume responsibility for ergonomic activities within the workplace.
Continuing education courses at NIOSH Educational Resource Centers, located
throughout the United States, can furnish this instruction. Their addresses
are listed in Tray 3–A. Each year NIOSH publishes
schedules for ergonomics courses and other offerings from these Centers.
Copies can be obtained free of charge by calling 1–800–35–NIOSH
(1–800–356–4674). NIOSH Educational Resource Centers,
according to their charter, are expected to offer outreach services in
addressing occupational safety and health problems in their respective
regions. Contacting them could be a source for gaining help on ergonomic
matters. A list of university locations where NIOSH is supporting ergonomics
training projects is located in Tray 3–B.
These too may be sources for obtaining assistance. In addition, regional
offices of OSHA offer free consultation on ergonomic problems as do State
agencies concerned with occupational safety and health issues.
Tray 3–A. NIOSH Educational Resource Centers for Continuing Education
Courses (1997 listing)
| Deep South Center for Occupational
Safety and Health University of Alabama School of Public Health MJH117
Birmingham, Alabama 35294–2010 Phone: 205–934–7178;
Fax: 205–975–7179 |
| Southern California Educational Resource
Center Institute of Safety and Systems Management 927 West 35th Place,
Room 102 Los Angeles, California 90089–0021 Phone: 213–740–3995;
Fax: 213–740–8789 |
| Johns Hopkins Educational Resource
Center School of Hygiene and Public Health 615 Wolfe Street, Room
6001 Baltimore, Maryland 21205 Phone: 410–955–0423; Fax:
410–614–4986 |
| Michigan Educational Resource Center
Center for Occupational Health and Safety Engineering University
of Michigan 1205 Beal, IOE Building Ann Arbor, Michigan 48109–2117
Phone: 313–936–0148; Fax: 313–764–3451 |
| New York/New Jersey Educational Resource
Center EOHSI Centers for Education and Training 45 Knightsbridge
Road, Brookwood II Piscataway, New Jersey 08854–3923 Phone:
908–235–5062; Fax: 908–235–5133 |
| University of Cincinnati Educational
Resource Center P.O. Box 670056 Cincinnati, Ohio 45267–0056
Phone: 513–558–1730; Fax: 513–558–1756 |
| Rocky Mountain Center for Occupational
Safety and Health Building 512—University of Utah Salt Lake
City, Utah 84112 Phone: 801–581–4055; Fax: 801–585–5275 |
| Northern California Center for Occupational
Safety and Environmental Health 1310 South 46th Street, Building
102 Richmond, California 94804 Phone: 510–231–5645; Fax:
510–231–5648 |
| Great Lakes Center for Occupational
and Environmental Health and Safety School of Public Health 2121
Taylor Street, Room 216A Chicago, Illinois 60612–7260 Phone:
312–996–6904; Fax: 312–413–7369 |
| Harvard Educational Resource Center
Harvard School of Public Health Office of Continuing Education 677
Huntington Avenue Boston, Massachusetts 02115 Phone: 617–432–1171;
Fax: 617–432–1969 |
| Minnesota Educational Resource Center
Midwest Center for Occupational Health and Safety 640 Jackson Street
St. Paul, Minnesota 55101 Phone: 612–221–3992; Fax: 612–292–4773 |
| North Carolina Educational Resource
Center 109 Connor Drive, Suite 1101 Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514
Phone: 919–962–2101; Fax: 919–966–7579 |
| Southwest Center for Occupational Safety
and Health P.O. Box 20186, RAS W1026 Houston, Texas 77225–0186
Phone: 713–500–9463; Fax: 713–500–9442 |
| Northwest Center for Occupational Health
and Safety Department of Environmental Health University of Washington
4225 Roosevelt Way NE, Suite 100 Seattle, Washington 98105–6099
Phone: 206–543–1069; Fax: 206–685–3872 |
Tray 3–B. NIOSH Ergonomic Training Project Grant
Locations (1997 listing)
| University of Massachusetts—Lowell
Department of Work Environment One University Avenue Lowell, Massachusetts
01854 Phone: 508–934–3272; Fax: 508–934–3050 |
| University of Miami Department of Industrial
Engineering 1251 Memorial Drive Coral Gables, Florida 33146 Phone:
305–284–4154; Fax: 305–284–5441 |
| Texas A & M University
Nuclear Engineering Department College Station, Texas 77843–3133
Phone: 409–845–5574; Fax: 409–845–6443 |
| Texas Tech University Department of
Industrial Engineering Mail Stop 3061 Lubbock, Texas 79409–3061
Phone: 806–742–3543; Fax: 806–742–3411 |
| Virginia Polytechnic
Institute and State University Department of Industrial and Systems
Engineering 302 Whittermore Hall Blacksburg, Virginia 24061–0118
Phone: 540–231–6656; Fax: 540–231–3322 |
| West Virginia University Department
of Industrial and Management Systems Engineering 727 Engineering
Sciences Building P.O. Box 6107 Morgantown, West Virginia 26506–6107
Phone: 304–293–3693, Ext. 707; Fax: 304–293–5024 |
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