12 EHS training topics for a safer workplace

Identifying the most relevant Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) training topics for your workers is essential in eliminating hazards, mitigating unwanted incidents, and complying with safety legislation. So, we’ve listed 12 EHS training topics to guide you in improving safety while increasing productivity in the workplace. 

EHS training and why it's important at work

The best way to safeguard your team's health and well-being is to invest in EHS training. This gives them the essential knowledge and skills to perform their jobs confidently. More than nurturing a better workspace for everybody, EHS training yields plenty of benefits in the long run: it saves company resources, reduces workplace injuries, and boosts collective productivity.

1. Machinery and Equipment Safety

Machinery and equipment safety is a crucial EHS training topic, especially for high-risk industries such as construction, manufacturing, mining, and many others. Their workers carry out tasks that require the usage of various tools, heavy equipment, and machinery. While extremely useful for efficiency, these tools can cause harm to the workers, especially if they lack the technical skills and knowledge required to operate and maneuver them. With proper training on this topic, workers will develop the right skills and technical know-how in handling specific types of heavy equipment, protecting them from unwanted incidents. This does not only benefit newly–hired workers but is also essential in reinforcing safety practices for existing workers. 

To get started, you can easily deploy courses on Handling Power Tools, Safe Use of Machinery, and Forklift Operation Safety that are available on SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s editable course library. These courses are completely customizable so you can edit and tailor them to your specific safety standards. Or, you can just readily deploy them with ease. 

Sign up for free to access more of SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s EHS training courses! 

2. Electrical Safety

Electrical safety is an important EHS training topic specifically for electricians and other workers in similar fields. This covers all the relevant information workers need to safely operate on electrical maintenance, hands-on processes, circuitry fundamentals, and building electrical systems. Having strong knowledge and skills in electrical fundamentals and safety procedures are crucial due to their exposure to high voltage lines and batteries, live wires, and other high current equipment.

When workers start to become complacent, especially without constant training, it can lead to accidents like electric shocks, burns, explosions, or fires. An electrical safety training will not only help workers comply with Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standards but most especially, protect themselves from harmful threats in the nature of their work. Preventive maintenance training courses are also important to keep workers up to date on electrical safety standards and electrical fire prevention methods.

As an electrician, you know that fixing problems isn’t just a job, it’s a way of life. Keeping your workforce safe is another issue that you can fix. One of the best solutions is upgrading your electrician service software package. These help make your contractor’s jobs easier so they can get back to what they do best – electrical work.

SC Training (formerly EdApp) designed the Electrical Safety course to help brush up your workers’ knowledge of electrical safety procedures. It delves into workplace safety training topics like handling energized equipment, spotting hazards, and grounded and grounding electricity, which keeps currents from traveling through someone’s body. It also covers the common dangers when working with electricity, including conductors, overhead power lines, damaged tools and equipment, inadequate wiring, overloaded circuits, and exposed electrical parts. 

3. HAZWOPER 

Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) represents a set of guidelines that are designed and maintained by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). These regulations are put in place to train workers on how to safely deal with hazardous waste, specifically emergency responders, healthcare workers, equipment operators, and factory workers. Due to the high risks of working with hazardous chemicals, this EHS training topic cover subjects like toxicology, waste management, and decontamination. Understanding these topics will help workers operate safely with hazardous chemicals.

In SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s course library, you’ll find courses like Hazardous Materials (Silica, Polymerics and Waste) and Waste Management Safety that are relevant to this topic. They are designed with a microlearning format that breaks down overwhelming information into short-form modules, making it easier to complete and understand.

4. Ergonomics

Workers who usually perform repetitive tasks, especially in awkward postures, eventually experience fatigue. Through ergonomics training, workers will learn to perform tasks while considering lifting techniques, body positioning, and other ergonomic best practices. This way, they’ll be able to prevent muscle strains, permanent injuries, and other musculoskeletal disorders so they can keep the manual operations running smoothly. Other lessons that this topic can cover include proper stretching techniques to lessen the stress from strenuous activities. Overall, this topic is especially beneficial for industries such as manufacturing, retail, and even corporate sectors. 

To ensure both comfort and productivity of your workers, you can deploy SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s courses on Ergonomics for Manufacturing and Ergonomics for Retail. These courses incorporate a mobile learning technology, allowing your workers to complete their microlearning courses at their own comfort, in just a couple of minutes.

5. Hazard Communication

Another EHS training topic specifically intended for chemical exposure protection is hazard communication. An important subject to cover in this topic is the Globally Harmonized System (GHS), which is a worldwide safety program by the United Nations developed to create a harmonized and standardized system of classifying and labeling chemical products. Staying up-to-date with the GHS standards ensures safe handling and labeling of hazardous substances to avoid spills and reduce risks of workplace incidents and illnesses associated with hazardous chemicals. 

To stay GHS-compliant and mitigate risks with chemical exposures, SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s courses on Globally Harmonized System (GHS) and Hazard Communication will guide your workers on the proper implementation of GHS in the workplace. The topics covered in these courses include implementation of GHS, chemical hazards, hazard classification, safety data sheets, and many more.

6. Construction Safety

Construction safety covers the different aspects of construction to guide workers on how to execute their tasks properly, as well as keep the preventive safety measures in place. This topic can include harnessing, excavation, trenching, rigging, scaffolding, and many more. Reinforcing these topics will help them recognize the risk and hazards associated with these operations. Aside from protecting workers against accidents and injuries, this topic will ensure that they are compliant with the OSHA standards designed to promote safety with construction duties.

One of the most common hazards on a construction site is asbestos exposure. With SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Asbestos Awareness in General Industry course, your workers will learn about the dangers of asbestos fibers and the best practices to avoid their hazards. This is a good starting point in boosting their knowledge of construction safety. You can also check out other courses like Excavation and Trenching, Harnessing, and Scaffold Safety.

7. Mining Safety

Protecting your workers who enter and perform jobs in confined spaces goes beyond just providing them with safety equipment. While confined spaces (like manholes, tunnels, and tanks) can be large enough for workers to enter, they are not designed for continuous occupancy due to the limited entry/exit points and the presence of potential hazards. Through mining safety training, workers will learn to recognize the unique challenges and hazards of working in confined spaces, as well as protect themselves and carry out their tasks safely. 

A perfect course for this training topic is Confined Safety by SC Training (formerly EdApp) which gives learners a general overview of confined spaces and strategies for controlling hazards in these environments. It also takes on the roles of confined space workers, more specifically, the authorized entrants, attendants, and entry supervisors.

8. Fire Safety

Fire safety training is another essential topic for EHS training, which is applicable to those working in both high-risk and low-risk work environments. Having a basic knowledge of fire safety helps employees understand the importance of fire safety, execute preventive safety measures, and prepare action plans in dealing with fire hazards. Learnings from this topic will not only help mitigate fire incidents in the workplace but also at home.

Fire Safety is a course available in SC Training (formerly EdApp) that introduces the basics of fire safety to your employees. This includes the components of the Fire Triangle, fire safety protocols, and how to use the different kinds of fire extinguishers. 

9. Incident Investigation and Reporting

Incident investigation is the act of identifying the causes of unwanted incidents in the workplace and identifying ways of preventing them from occurring again. It’s an important aspect of creating a safe workplace so all employees know how to recognize hazards present in the work environment or in the operations. An investigations training session will not only help them learn to identify the root causes of unwanted incidents but also understand how and why they weren’t prevented. This way, they will have the knowledge to be more proactive in contributing to the overall safety in the workplace. 

Available in SC Training (formerly EdApp), the Accident Investigation training course highlights the importance of investigating accidents and incidents, factors to avoid during accident investigations, accident investigations procedures, and implementing corrective actions.

10. Radiation Safety

Mishandling of radioactive chemicals can result in minor to serious health implications such as skin burns, radiation sickness, cancer, and cardiovascular disease. For workers who are regularly exposed to radiation, radiation safety training is a crucial training topic. Obtaining sufficient knowledge of the hazards of high-risk materials and increasing their awareness of radiation safety can dramatically help reduce unnecessary exposure and minimize the harmful effects of radiation.

SC Training (formerly EdApp)’s Radiation Safety is a great course to equip workers with knowledge of the basics of radiation, its components, types, and sources. It also includes a list of radiation safety tools and resources that you and your team can use to enhance your workplace’s radiation safety policies.

11. First aid

Train your team to think quickly during critical moments. HSE topics on first aid give your crew the basic skills and knowledge to deliver immediate care to injured coworkers and victims. Remember, a few minutes of training could make a huge difference when the time comes. Proper training will help your team alleviate the patient's condition until advanced help arrives.

This OSHA First Aid Standards (US) course by SC Training gives an overview of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) standards for performing first aid. They'll learn to distinguish between threatening and non-life-threatening injuries and more.

12. Cybersecurity awareness

The last workplace health and safety training topic is cybersecurity awareness. Don't let your team's ignorance cause irreversible damage to your business. Train your employees to protect essential data from hackers looking to steal your information.

SC Training's Cyber Security course offers the best practices to avoid social engineering, phishing attacks, and hacking. Your team will also learn how to secure their passwords and email accounts. It's mobile-first platform is great for breaking down technical concepts, as each lesson is delivered in bite-sized chunks to guarantee knowledge retention.