Workplace Safety Training in Texas: OSHA Construction, Heavy Equipment, Hazardous Materials, and Emergency Response Training
Safety Training in Texas
Safety training helps employers and employees comply with regulations while fostering a safer workplace. This type of training can also help prevent injuries, like backover incidents, which are among the leading causes of work-related fatalities in Texas.
Last year, lawmakers passed legislation that requires school districts to outline active shooter responses and tasked the state’s school safety center with reviewing their emergency operation plans. The 2020 assessment found that many district plans were inadequate.
OSHA Construction Safety Training
Safety training for the construction industry helps prevent injuries and deaths on the job. It also enables workers to prioritize workplace safety and foster a safe working environment. This ensures employee well-being and reduces financial burdens on employers who are liable for work-related accidents and injuries.
OSHA construction safety training covers the most common hazards in the industry. These include falls, electrocutions, being struck by or caught in between machinery, and other dangerous conditions. In addition, this course teaches workers how to respond in emergency situations.
This OSHA course is ideal for entry level construction workers. It teaches them about their rights, employer responsibilities and how to file a complaint. The course also covers the OSHA “Focus Four Hazards,” which are fall protection, electrical hazards, personal protective equipment and crystalline silica. Once completed, trainees receive a temporary certificate and official OSHA wallet card. They may take this course online or in-person. In either case, the training can be started and stopped at any time.
Heavy Equipment Operator Training
Heavy equipment requires a high level of responsibility, and its sheer size can present dangers to those not properly trained or aware. This career path is best achieved through on-the-job training, which gives prospective operators a solid footing while building a strong skill set that can elevate their value to employers.
There are a number of institutions that offer comprehensive heavy equipment operator training. These programs often begin with classroom education, moving onto simulators and then real equipment for hands-on experience. The programs produce well-rounded professionals with a range of skills that can be applied across industries and job sites.
Online courses provide heavy equipment operator training in a convenient, flexible format that can be taken on a desktop or mobile device. The courses include instructional text, images, narration and videos, as well as multiple-choice testing. They cover a variety of topics, including safety standards for specific pieces of equipment and site-specific safety concerns. Online classes also allow participants to learn on their own schedule, making them an ideal option for busy professionals.
Hazardous Materials Training
Hazardous materials training is an important course for anyone who deals with flammable liquids and gasses, explosives, corrosives, or any other hazardous material. This safety training teaches you about the nature and properties of these materials, how they react under different conditions, and how to package them safely for transportation.
The course also covers OSHA’s Hazard Communication regulations, which your employees must receive to comply with US legislation. It also covers unique requirements for Texas waste facilities, such as those enforced by the TCEQ.
Employees who handle hazardous materials at your facility need hazard materials operations training, which includes incident response procedures. This training prepares them for technician-level HazMAT responses, including donning and doffing PPE, detecting leaks in drums and containers, and decontamination techniques. It also teaches them how to work with a hazardous materials team under the model Incident Command System. This training is a prerequisite for taking the written test to obtain your HazMat endorsement.
Emergency Response Training
Emergency response training teaches employees how to react during workplace disasters. This includes learning about different types of emergencies, like natural disasters, fires and active shooter situations, how to evacuate the building and how to communicate with authorities. It also involves practicing these responses during drills or exercises.
Employees who receive this type of training can learn how to share emergency roles and responsibilities, which is important for maintaining safety and security. It can also help reduce the risk of property damage, injuries and even loss of life inside or outside the building during an emergency, accident or disaster.
The UNT Emergency Operations Training Center (EOTC) trains government agencies, corporate industrial teams and jurisdictions in the management of large-scale incidents using a unified command perspective. It is located on the 297-acre Brayton Fire Training Field and features state-of-the-art simulation technologies. The center also offers specialized training for public safety bomb technicians who may encounter military ordnance in the line of duty.
