Basically, OSHA Outreach is a program that trains employees and management in the OSHA Standards. It is commonly called by most people OSHA 10-Hour and 30-Hour Training. This comes from the fact that when the training is completed each student is issued an OSHA Card, with a specific assigned number, or which there is no expiration. OSHA Outreach provides a great overview of what OSHA requires of employers and employees.
What OSHA Outreach is Not:
OSHA Outreach is not to be used in place of Authorized Employee Training. It is not intended to give any employee the specific skills and competencies to enter or work in or near an unsafe environment, condition, and/or hazard. For example, Outreach cannot train an employee how to perform a Lockout to permit work in a dangerous machine. To actually perform a Lockout the employee must receive Authorized Training in Lockout that details the specific actions that must be performed to ensure that employee’s safety on his job.
OHSA Outreach tends not to teach the MAXIMUM that is required to ensure employee health and safety. OSHA standards are the MINIMUM requirements to ensure the health and safety of employees. It is important that much of Outreach is based on this concept. Most instructors including myself stress this and train to best practices that rise above the OSHA Standards. We are taught in our instructor training to make sure all students understand that OSHA compliance is the base of every good safety culture, not where it ends or stops! All safely oriented cultures exceed OSHA requirements.
What OSHA Outreach Does:
OSHA Outreach at the basic level gives an overview of the OSHA standards and what they require. The way I teach OSHA Outreach I give the students the necessary tools of hazard recognition. This means the student gets the knowledge to judge when they observe an unsafe condition or act. The student recognizes that a particular situation or hazard is unhealthy or unsafe. In large part we also train employees, the best corrective actions to ensure employee health and safety.
I recommend the 10-Hour Course be given to anyone with an interest in employe health and safety. Good candidates for this training would be Employees, Safety Team Members, Floor Leaders, and Supervisors.
Because the 30-Hour Course allows more time to dig deeper into the standards I recommend it for people that lead other people in one way or the other. Not only are we able to go deeper into each subject but we are able to discuss more scenarios and situations. Because we also cover the requirements of each standard this course is ideal for those that have to author, implement, and administer Health and Safety Policies as we cover the OSHA requirements that must be in these policies. I also point out where I believe and learned OSHA requirements do not go far enough and suggest enhanced options. The 30-Hour Course also allows for the opportunity for the student to recognize a larger recognition of health and safety hazards. We also will discuss advanced proactive safety cultures and their components. Examples of types of people for this course would be Managers and Leaders in Human Resources, Occupational Health & Safety (OHS), Manufacturing or Operations, and Engineers. The 30-Hour course is ideal for those that procure equipment, design, and build work processes, write & administer OHS policies, lead employees in work, and lead employee welfare including injury management.
I bring 47 years of industrial experience in management to the courses I teach. My experience has been in Manufacturing and Operations, HR, and OHS. There is little I have not seen and managed with regards to employee health and safety. I am a storyteller and bring examples into my training. Mostly I give examples of the best way to do things, but regrettably I have examples of what not to do! I love to keep my classes relevant and fun. I have been an OSHA Outreach Instructor for several years and taught over 50 Outreach courses. I have a Master of Science in Management with a minor in Training and Development.
If you are looking for a wonderful way to teach your employees on Hazard Recognition look no further than OSHA Outreach. If you have any questions or I can assist you in any way, please let me know. If you would like further detailed information on OSHA Outreach, click on the link at the bottom.
Tom Fitzgerald
Safety Fitz LLC
920-901-8860
Longer Detailed OSHA Outreach Outline with Example of Agenda.docx
