Employee Training Alert: Mississauga, ON Company Fined $160,000 for Inadequate Employee Training
A Mississauga, ON company was fined $160,000 in June 2014 after failing to provide sufficient employee training on how to safety disband, position and move steel coils, which resulted in the death of an employee.
The incident happened in August 2010, when a worker was cutting multiple 4,536-kilogram (10,000-pound) steel coils that were banded together. One of the coils fell over on top of the worker.
Workers are supposed to be trained to stand in a proper, safe position near the coils, while also making sure the coils are resting against the walls of the cradle that they are held in, so that they cannot fall and injure anyone.
An investigation determined that the metal processor and distributor, had failed to ensure workers were trained on this.
Employee training on new methods, processes or information seems like an easy enough task—but keeping them interested and making sure they retain the information is where you can run into problems.
Below are four tips you can use for more effective employee training.
Deliver training in small doses. Employees will most likely stop absorbing information if too much is given to them at one time. When covering a large topic, try to break it down into smaller parts so that you can cover one section a day instead of the whole topic at once.
Apply training right away. After covering a topic in training, assign employees tasks that will incorporate what was just covered. This helps them to retain any newly acquired skills or information.
Keep it interesting. Try to relate any training back to your employees. Show them how the information will affect them so that they remain involved and engaged.
Use variety. There are numerous methods and media available for training—incorporate multiple types to help employees better remember the information. Some employees learn better by listening, others by watching and others by doing. If you utilize audio, a video and a hands-on demonstration for just one topic, you’ve reinforced the training multiple times and reached more employees.
