If your facility's employees are required to undergo OSHA training, you are probably very familiar with all the regulations and rules surrounding those trainings. You are probably also frustrated year in and year out with how expensive and inconvenient those trainings seem to be. It doesn't need to be that way, though! There are ways to cut down on the time, expense, and headache of OSHA trainings without compromising on quality or your level of compliance.
Annual OSHA Training Can Be Cost Effective and Convenient
What Does OSHA Compliance Training Normally Look Like?
Many facets of OSHA compliance require annual trainings. Most notably, this includes OSHA bloodborne pathogen training. Any employee who comes in contact with patients and could even possibly be exposed to blood or other potentially infectious materials must undergo OSHA BBP training every year. On top of that, there are also HIPAA OSHA trainings as well as the OSHA hazard communication standard.
As you well know, trying to get every employee in the same room at the same time to complete their necessary trainings can be a logistical challenge. It can also be a costly event every year. Having someone come in person to conduct these trainings and paying for that person's time, travel, and materials can easily run several thousand dollars.
How Can I Comply with OSHA Law but Pay Less?
The last thing any facility wants is to deal with OSHA fines for noncompliance. Yes, this a financial burden, but noncompliance also puts your employees and patients at risk because those employees haven't undergone the necessary trainings and received the requisite information to perform their jobs safely.
Luckily, there is a way to have your employees complete their OSHA bloodborne pathogens training and follow all other OSHA requirements for less money. The answer: OSHA online training.
Completing these trainings online can be significantly more cost effective while still ensuring you're fully following all OSHA rules.
Convenience of OSHA Online Trainings
Your employees are busy, and it's no small feat to get them all in the same room at the same time for upwards of eight hours. With online training, every person can complete the training at his or her own pace, on his or her own time.
This is certainly easier to coordinate, but it's also ultimately less time on the part of your employees. The training itself tends to be quicker, but the employees also don't have to deal with travel time to get to an in-person training.
How Exactly Does This Online Process Work?
The online process is designed to be easy, intuitive, and flexible. Every employee logs in to the online system, and then the administrator sends that employee an e-mail with a link to the required training, which entails watching videos and passing online quizzes regarding the videos just watched.
Every employee has a designated amount of time to complete that training, and once he or she has passed, it alerts the administrator that this employee is done. All records of who has and hasn't passed are kept in an online suite, so there's a digital record should your facility ever undergo an OSHA audit.
Keeping these documents and records online is just another safeguard to prove you're following every OSHA regulation to the letter.
Find a Waste Management Company with Flexibility
The important part of this whole process is to find a company that can meet your specific needs. While many facilities find OSHA online training more convenient, you might need or want an in-person presentation. (Typically, if a company prefers in-person training, it's a larger organization or a highly specialized team.) In that case, make sure whatever waste management company you choose has the resources, know-how, and ability to provide both—OSHA online and in-person trainings.
From year to year, this would even give you the flexibility to change. Maybe one year online training would suffice, but the next year in person is desired. Choosing the right company from the outset can give you that freedom without having to go through the headache of choosing a new company for your OSHA compliance from year to year.
For more information about your required trainings and how to comply with all OSHA regulations, please feel free to contact a representative of MCF Environmental Services, an Atlanta waste management company.
