Are you or your co-workers working from home? It’s easy to just set yourself up on the sofa and try to work all day but soon your back and neck will ache. Check out the pointers in this FREE Work From Home Infographic. (By the way, infographics can be effective learning tools during training classes. Learn more about how this works in the upcoming eBook from SafetyFUNdamentals).
PS – To download this infographic, click the link above
With so many of us spending so much time on Zoom, a creative background can help to get attention and maybe make a boring Zoom meeting just a little bit more interesting. You can download any of these four Zoom backgrounds here.
You can also create your own at Canva.com
Happy Training!
PS – Do you remember Zoom, the TV show? That was one of my favorites and I can still hear the song in my head 🙂
A recent article in Popular Mechanics talked about how the coronavirus image we are all so used to seeing by now was created by the CDC and while reading it, I noticed several key facts related to the use of images in safety training.
Image courtesy of CDC
When you are creating your next safety training materials, make sure you pay attention to the images you use and what message they get across. You may have to create something yourself or hire someone to help you get exactly what you need. Remember, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Recently I had the pleasure of participating on a panel with Abby Ferri, Regina McMichael and Tim Page-Bottorff titled “The Superheroes of Safety Training Spill Their Secrets” as part of the American Society of Safety Professional’s first ever virtual safety conference. I wanted a good way to share a summary of our presentation and since I love visual aids, I decided to have a sketchnote created. If you are unfamiliar with sketch notes, it is a form of visual note taking that uses illustrations, symbols and text to quickly convey information. As you will see in the video shown here, my plans were changed when my sketchnote provider could no longer provide the service.
Overall, I am pleased with the final outcome. If you would like to download the full final version (shown below) click here. Hope you like it!
In 2009, the first collection of HazardHunt activities was published and now, 11 years later, it is even better! Thousands of safety professionals around the world have used HazardHunt illustrations to increase interaction and learning in their safety training classes. Their suggestions and advice have led to a new and expanded edition. The new edition includes all of the original materials PLUS:
I’m excited about the updates and hope you are too! If you purchase the new book by August 31st, you will receive 3 additional HazardHunt illustrations as a thank you for your early support!
Click here to purchase either the eBook or the paperback version (which includes a free download of the eBook too!) and don’t forget – order before the end of August and get 3 additional illustrations as a thank you!
Missing vacation this summer? Travel vicariously with SafetyFUNdamentals by participating in the Where in the World contest starting Monday, Aug. 3rd. Check out this video to learn more!
In the last post, I talked about workflow learning. We all do this every day and it’s increasingly simple with technology becoming more prevalent in our daily lives. Stop and think how many times a day you need information on the spot which requires you to do a quick search on Google or YouTube. Check out your search history and you will probably see that you are doing this more than you realize. Lately, my personal go-to source for workflow learning is Amazon’s Alexa or Apple’s Siri. If I am in the middle of following a recipe and need to figure out the equivalent measurement for an ingredient in metric, I just ask Alexa. I could take a class on the metric system vs. the English system but instead, Alexa provides the information where I need it when I need it. If the same recipe tells me to “braise” something and I have no idea how to do that, I quickly question Alexa or Siri and get the answer instead of me having to go and take a cooking skills class (which is actually still not a bad idea).
Alexa and similar technologies can provide what is known as performance support. Safety professionals might be more familiar with the idea of job aids which serve as (usually) visual reminders of what needs to be done. Activities that require a certain set of steps to be done in a particular order are usually supported by a job aid. Job aids can be used in life or death situations and can often be found alongside AEDs and displayed at permit required confined spaces (PRCS). In both of these instances, the individuals who use the job aid should have previously attended corresponding training. The individuals pulling out an AED to save someone’s life will have learned to use the AED in a classroom setting but when it’s time to actually use it in an emergency situation, a job aid can be extremely important to help guide the user through the right steps, especially when the chaos of the situation may cloud someone’s ability to think straight. Similarly, a job aid at a PRCS is another example of on the job learning in the form of performance support. The individuals involved with entering a confined space will have been trained and tested on their ability to successfully enter a PRCS but if they have questions while setting up or during the entry , they need the information now – during the workflow, Providing learning as the work is being done is key to workflow learning.
Traditional classroom training, done correctly, will provide opportunities for the trainee to think how the information will apply to their job responsibilities. Interactive activities can help make this connection and can help the learning stick. What is very difficult to include in a training class though are special circumstances or situations that may arise when the job is actually being performed. Being able to provide instruction or learning in these special situations as they occur on the job is what workflow learning is all about.
There are various apps out that exist to provide on the spot learning (like first aid apps, chemical hazard guides, arc flash calculators, or fall related apps) and Alexa may provide some help but likely an on demand source of information on the job will be through the use of technology or even immediate access to someone who will have the answers. Does something look out of place during a routine inspection? Imagine if a worker could photograph it and send it to an expert for their opinion and be able to receive direction on what it means and/or what to do. The trainee would have experienced workflow learning and the next time a situation presents itself, the employee will have learned through workflow learning how to handle it correctly.
Workflow learning can push training delivery beyond the walls of the training classroom. This makes it more realistic, more applicable to the trainees’ world and therefore more likely to be remembered and since all training is wasted if it isn’t retained, this is key.
Think….how can you move your training beyond the walls and get it to the trainees where and when they need it? Building in workflow learning is key.
When you are working on a PowerPoint presentation and need to figure something out, what do you do? If you go to the “Help” tab and search for what you are trying to figure out, you are experiencing Workflow Learning. If you stopped what you were doing and went and attended an in-person or online PowerPoint Skills training class, you were NOT experiencing workflow learning and instead, partaking in traditional skills training.
Do you see the big difference? One is done in the course of your normal work and the other requires you to stop and do something different.
When we deliver safety training, trainees are away from their normal job, and away from the situations where the training class information will be used. This means that the trainee is going to have to transfer the information back to their day to day job in order for the training to be worthwhile. Sometimes it’s necessary to spend a day or more providing training information and teaching new skills but other times, trainees (and you have probably experienced this yourself too) just want the answer when they need it.
Do you build workflow learning into your training efforts? If so, what have you found to be effective? If not, can you think of a few ways to provide this kind of support to your workforce? Please add your comments below and stay tuned for some suggestions to add workflow learning to your training program in future posts.
The National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC) created Women in Construction (WIC) Week to highlight women as an important part of the construction industry and to raise awareness of the opportunities available for women there. According to CNBC, women make up a little over 9% of the construction industry. If you ever walk around a construction site or sit in on a construction safety training class, you are unlikely to see any signs or training materials where women are included.
After a image was shared in the American Society of Safety Professional’s Women in Safety Excellence group of a scantily clad woman used as part of a crane safety hand signals poster, I decided to redo the image to look like what a real woman demonstrating crane safety hand signals might look like.
I then created a series of these images and used them in a Safety Lotería game. (If you are unfamiliar with Safety Lotería, click here.)
In honor of Women in Construction Week, I have uploaded the Crane Safety Hand Signals Safety Lotería to the Free Stuff section of the SafetyFUNdamentals website. It won’t be there for long though so click on over now to download a free copy.
Finally, I’d like to thank all the women who are brave enough to work in construction in order to do what they love, support themselves and their families and provide real-life examples to the younger generation who may be more interested and willing to pursue a career in construction because they can see others that look like them already doing it successfully.
Happy Women in Construction Week!
After several months of work, and lots of trial and error, I have completed my Level 2 Gamification Journeyman through Sententia Gamification. My final project was titled “Hazard Hunter” and was mentioned in an earlier blog post. Through my earlier completed Level 1 class and now Level 2, I learned so much about what goes into a successful game design. You know the saying “You don’t know what you don’t know?” Well this sums up my experience exactly. I encourage everyone to learn at least a little about gamification and find ways to incorporate it into your safety training. If you need ideas, don’t hesitate to reach out. I’d love to brainstorm some ideas with you.
Note: If you want to take a look at Hazard Hunter, I’m happy to share that too. As I continue to get feedback from other safety professionals who volunteered to try out the game, I will keep making revisions to make it the most effective it can be.
Safety Dance 