Some time ago, we added the ability to track which users in the system were "employees" and which were "subcontractors" (along with the subcontractor company name).  Until recently though, the company address that printed on the tickets was always the prime contractor's address (the company that held the SafetySync account).  At the request of a few clients that primarily hire subcontractors, we've added new textbox fields to the Employee Details screen.  When the user type "Contractor" is chosen, a section expands to show additional textboxes for the subcontractor's company name, address, city, province and postal code.


Now when a subcontractor's wallet card prints out (available upon completion of the required training course), the certificate now shows the subcontractor's company name and address.  Since regulated training tickets (such as TDG and WHMIS) require the name and address of the "employer" to be displayed, this new functionality satisfies this requirement.

Keep in mind that since the "employer" is, in fact, not the prime contractor in this situation, the authorized training manager's signature (if loaded into the system), will not display for subcontractors.  Subcontractors will need to sign their own tickets, since they are technically their own employer.  The prime contractor (account holder's) logo will still display to the right of the subcontractor company and address.

We'll be the first to admit that some of the content in the Online Training module can be a little dry.  After a number of hours of listening to a narrator explain the merits of fit testing respirators and recording hazard assessments, employees can tend to tune-out the messages.  We're always adding various different "versions" of all our lessons, so as an administrator, we highly recommend you preview all the available video links for each topic, and choose the ones that are appropriate for the hazards at your workplace, but also entertaining enough that your employees will enjoy taking the training.

The Workers' Compensation Board of Nova Scotia created arguably the most entertaining safety awareness videos we have ever seen.  They're short, and primarily geared at young workers, but the combination of creative drawing of a stickman, with a brilliant voice talent, makes them instant classics.

If you receive feedback from your employees that some of the SafetySync training can be dull or mundane, sprinkle in a few of these versions.  Here are the courses and lessons in which the Rod Stickman versions are available:

• Common Worksite Injuries
  • Heavy Lifting and Back Injuries
• Fall Prevention
  • Introduction to Slips, Trips and Falls
  • Elevated Falls - Working at Heights
• Occupational Health and Safety
  • Rights and Responsibilities
  • Right to Refuse Unsafe Work
• Return to Work
  • The Return to Work Program

We are certain that if you choose the "WorkSafeForLife" versions of these lessons in the OHSMS, you'll see your course feedback scores in SafetySync for these safety topics increase dramatically. And you'll hear some hearty laughs too.

In light of the controversial shooting of a black bear and her three cubs by a wildlife officer in Northern Alberta recently, and other similar instances, large oil companies have become concerned about the increasing interaction between humans and bears in the regions in which they operate.  Some of these companies, such as Encana, now requiring their employees and subcontractors to complete bear awareness training prior to coming to work in the area.

SafetySync has always had a good selection of bear and wildlife awareness training lesson choices to satisfy this requirement, but in light of the increased demand, we've added a couple new choices. One developed by the BC Ministry of Forests, another by the California Department of Fish and Game, as well as one by a group called "Be Bear Aware".  Employers can now choose between video links ranging from 8 minutes to 27 minutes for the bear awareness lesson.

We've also added a new lesson link (and associated quiz) in the Wildlife Awareness course called Bear Pepper Spray.  This 9 minute video, prepared by the US Parks Service, explains how to select, handle and fire a bear pepper spray canister in the event of a threatening bear encounter.  [It is highly informative; none of the staff here at SafetySync were aware that canisters should be test-fired, and that they contained enough pepper spray to be fired more than once.]  If your company policy requires employees working in the back country to take bear pepper spray with them, we highly recommend you turn on this lesson so they know how to use it.

There are a number of great videos on the dangers of texting while driving available through the SafetySync online safety management system.  Some are informative (Utah State Police), while some are graphic (Gwent Police), but there is a new one that we link to on the AT&T YouTube channel that interviews the friends and family of people that either sent or received text messages from a person immediately before they were killed in their vehicle as a result of having been distracted by looking at or typing the text.

Most of the texts are only only one, two, or three words, illustrating that in only a short moment, distracting a driver can be fatal.

These videos are becoming more and more common, and the reason is that people simply do not recognize the danger of texting while driving.  Turn one of these lessons versions on for your employees and make sure they understand!  It could save their life.

Shell Canada has been asking its sub-contractors to have their workers fill in behaviour observation cards and compile monthly reports.  We're in the process of finishing off our Behavior Observation module that allows workers to fill in the forms on a laptop, IPad, or Blackberry.  Alternatively, customers can still use the paper cards and have a safety administrator key the results into the system.  The system then produces the summary report and graph that can be printed or a pdf emailed to the appropriate representative at Shell.

The system is just about ready, but we've already rolled out our first lesson in the Behavior-Based Safety course (called Introduction to Behavior Observations).  The lesson is meant for workers that will either be observed, or that will be doing observations (most BBS programs allow optional participation to all workers).  Topics covered include:

Origins and theory of BBS
Critical behaviors
"At Risk" vs. "Safe" states
Conducting BBO observations
Other best practices

Like all training in SafetySync, this course is available free in our Basic plan.  Sign up for our online safety management system today and assign the course to your employees.  It will go a long toward ensuring that your Behavior Based Safety program is well received and successful.

Although most of our clients prefer to print wallet cards for their employees training certificates (presumably so they can take the cards with them on the road), occasionally a client will want to print a training certificate, frame it, and hang it on the wall.  Until recently, certificates for WHMIS, TDG, HACCP, OH&S and all the other courses had a patterned border around the outside that was in a dull yellow.  This color would occasionally clash with the logo and generally fail to impress anyone as being a certificate specifically printed for the company.
As with all the other components of your safety program, you want to take ownership of the training and would like it to reflect your company brand.  So with that in mind, we've modified the wall certificates that print once an employee has satisfied the course requirements.  The pattern is now in gray (hopefully compatible with all company colors), which surrounds a set of thick and thin boxes that display in the color of the company's safety portal (which you as an administrator choose that compliments your logo).

The functionality for customizing the logo and color scheme is not available in the basic (free) version of our software. Upgrade to the Premium plan at the modest cost of only $6.80 per employee per month and show off your colors!

Computer-based and online training have been around for a long time, but until recently, most of the content on these videos tend to get old or stale.  Unlike an instructor, who can modify what she says, or update slides with new material, once a video gets produced, it rarely changes.

Our training is different.  Those of you who have seen our training videos know that our lessons are narrated by an avatar (computer-generated character and voice).  What this means is that we can simply load new text to be narrated, and have the lesson updated in a matter of hours.

Our system has always allowed users to leave feedback, and we read every one.  However, administrators can also post a comment about any of our lessons, which can be seen by all other administrators.  The hope is that this will generate new ideas, encourage discussion, and lead to content changes on:

• Upcoming or pending regulation change(s)
• More recent example(s)
• Better way to explain or illustrate a complex topic

Whatever the reason, let us know how we can improve our training.  We'll surprise you how quickly we can make the changes.

One of our customers made a suggestion a couple of months ago that we allow employees to see their cumulative average score on all the quizzes taken during their basic safety awareness training.  The theory is that the employees could either try to achieve a target score, or compare these results with their peers.  As a matter of personal pride, or not wanting to be outdone by a colleague, the typical employee would listen more attentively to the lessons in hopes of doing better on the quizzes.

We've now added this calculation to the top of the training courses in the Employee Portal.  Please note, this is only meant to be a lighthearted and informal incentive, meaning that it is only visible in the employee portal (administrators cannot see the average scores in the Company Admin Portal).
 

So if you're curious to know how you're doing, either as a personal benchmark, or a comparison with some of the other people in your workplace, check out your score!

We often get asked if our online Hours of Service training course has been approved or endorsed by a government agency, such as Alberta Transportation.  Unfortunately, government agencies are not in the business of reviewing and endorsing individual training providers.  That being said, some agencies do provide lists of training providers.  We recently submitted our training screenshots to Lloyd Blower at Alberta Transportation, and we are now listed on their website.

As far as I know, we are the only organization on the list that offers online training.  There are 14 other companies offering training, but all are of the classroom variety.  If you would like your truck or bus drivers to take Hours of Service training from anywhere, at any time that is convenient, with the option of taking one lesson at a time, please sign up for our software and turn on this course.  With all the lessons and quizzes, it takes about 4 hours to complete.

For quite some time, the SAFETYSYNC safety management system has allowed employees and administrators to print a wallet card or wall certificate that lists all the courses which were covered in each employee's basic safety awareness training.

Our system now allows administrators at our oil and gas industry clients to include the crest which states that they are a member of the Enform IRP 16 Registry.  [Our software helps companies with compliance and preparing the self-declaration - but this is a topic for another blog post.]

After receiving your certificate from Enform, upload it to the "Documentation / Credentials" component choosing type "IRP 16 Registry (Basic Safety Awareness Training)".

This will automatically add the "Proud Member of the IRP 16 Registry" crest to the certificates when they print.  We recommend employees carry these cards when accessing most oil company sites (see list of producers supporting IRP 16).  These certificates are particularly important, now that Enform is no longer issuing hard hat stickers.