On Monday I read an article in OHS Canada Magazine about a 22 year-old worker being killed while replacing an industrial tire, while his co-worker was seriously injured.  This article especially hit home for me as my 19 year-old nephew did the same task last summer while working at a tire shop.
 

The article states, “The subsequent investigation found that the two workers received very little training on the proper procedures for replacing a truck tire, and received no written instructions at any point.”

Although it is obvious from the above statement that safe job procedures training would have helped prevent this accident, it begs the question, how you do you present this information to a young worker so that they want to review it?

Most (well, actually all) of the safe work procedures that I have reviewed are written in a binder in black and white… no pictures and no color… boring.  Not something that would encourage a young worker to stay focused; particularly when compared with the multimedia content young people are accustomed to seeing on the Internet.

There are a few things that we are doing at SafetySync to make safe work procedures a little more interesting for all workers (especially young workers) to review:

1. Pictures – We have added the capability to of add a picture to each step of the procedure.  A picture can show at a glance what might otherwise take paragraphs of long-winded text.  Visual memory is also better for long-term recollection of tasks, objects and situations.  
2. Color – In each step we use colors to give visual clues to ensure the worker understands the material (i.e. hazards are red and the controls are green).   A risk matrix also pops up for each step which presents a risk level in a visual format, ranking the hazard’s probability and severity.
3. Mobile Access – Our software runs on an internet browser, so workers can reference a company’s entire inventory of safe operating procedures right from their smart phones (like the Blackberry Storm or Apple iPhone). Inexperienced employees can spend a few minutes reviewing the task on the way to the job site, or immediately before they perform the work.  

We see technology as a great way to effectively involve workers in safety program requirements, such as reviewing safe work procedures. Not only does it track due diligence, but also is a more interesting and effective way to present the information.