August 4, 2010

HazCom training is required in all California workplaces where hazardous chemicals and materials are handled. Effective training can help you save time and money and maintain compliance. Here are a few pointers to make your HazCom training more effective:

The California Hazard Communication Regulation is one of the most frequently violated Cal/OSHA standards. Are you in compliance? Get a copy of our special report Hazard Communication Training and find out.

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1. Prepare your trainees: Providing an overview of the HazCom training at the beginning of the course is a good idea. Providing this overview, including why employees must attend, in a tailgate meeting a week or two prior to the course is an even better idea. The preview helps to raise your employees' awareness about HazCom prior to the training and lay the groundwork for the information you'll provide in the course.

2. Make it congruent: Prior to training employees, make sure that the policies and procedures you have in place are congruent with the training content. Discussing how something "should" be done and then negating it with "but we don't do it that way" (either on the part of the trainer or an employee in the audience) is ineffective. If you're using standardized training materials, modify either your policies and procedures or the training materials before you use them to preempt conflicts between the materials and your organization's actual practices.

3. Make it relevant: While it's tempting to offer a one-size-fits-all training session, this type of training won't fit your employees' training needs if hazardous materials handling duties vary widely throughout your organization. It's more effective to divide employees into groups and customize the training based on their level of interaction with hazardous materials.

4. Connect it: When delivering your HazCom training, pull your examples and training aids from the work environment. Having employees label a container from their work area, look up a material they use in the MSDS database or binder, or select proper personal protective equipment (PPE) for a chemical they actually handle connects the training to their work, which will help them to retain it and use it appropriately.

5. Take advantage of noncompliance: If you find, either through your pre-training preparation or from feedback from trainees, that your workplace is out of compliance, use your HazCom training as a tool to get into compliance. As part of your training session, discuss with trainees what they recognize as not in compliance and discuss and assign appropriate corrective action. Like using training aids from the workplace, this helps connect the training to their actual work and gives them practice to anchor the information you've taught—and it gets you back into compliance.

6. Review sooner rather than later: About a month after the HazCom training, use one of your tailgate safety meetings to review key points in a question/answer or discussion format. This will give you an idea of how much of the HazCom training stuck with your employees and whether additional training may be warranted.

HazCom Training Compliance Made Easy

In our special report Hazard Communication Training, you'll receive information on what's covered by the standard, what's not covered, who must be trained and when, training requirements, and how to plan and execute your HazCom training.

Download your copy now »

Learn more »