Hands-on simulations and other interactive training techniques play a critical role when conveying safety knowledge and demonstrating safe work behaviors in hazardous work environments, according to a new study.
A new study conducted by researchers in the United States and Australia has found that for jobs where the likelihood of serious injury is highest, more engaging types of training, such as hands-on training and simulations, is significantly more effective than less engaging forms of training, such as lectures and reading materials.
“The considerable practice and social interaction involved in high engagement training in handling ominous hazards instills dread in workers,” the researchers explained. “This realization of injury/illness vulnerability plays a primary role in motivating individuals to learn about how to avoid exposure to such hazards.”
In fact, more workplace accidents could be prevented if workers receive additional interactive, engaging training, according to the study conducted by researchers from Tulane University, the University of Utah, the University of Washington in Tacoma, and the University of New South Wales in Australia.
A growing number of employers are turning to online employee training (such as programs available from Safety.BLR.com and BLR’s Employee Training Center) for a hands-on, interactive way for employees to learn.
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Dread Factor
The researchers’ findings were reported in a research paper that appeared in a recent issue of the Journal of Applied Psychology. The paper discusses how engaging and simulating training triggers a psychological response referred to as the “dread factor.” The authors explain that this response enhances the ability to learn, especially when workers are being prepared to deal with very serious hazards.
“Our research is the most comprehensive to date to examine the question of how important training engagement is for informing workers about hazards and how to avoid them, and motivating workers to practice safe work behaviors,” said lead author Michael J. Burke of Tulane University.
“From a practical viewpoint, this study shows that engaging training does make a difference for workers in highly hazardous conditions,” said Kristin Smith-Crowe, a senior author on the study and a research professor at the University of Utah’s David Eccles School of Business. “And recent disasters, like the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico and the Upper Big Branch mine explosion in West Virginia, remind us that the stakes can be very high.”
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The authors report that their findings reverse previously held assumptions about work safety training and qualify the conclusions of a team of researchers from NIOSH and Canada’s Institute for Work & Health, which reported that there was insufficient evidence for recommending the adoption of more interactive training techniques.
The study relied on data collected about 24,694 workers in 16 countries who participated in 113 safety training studies conducted since 1971 when OSHA was founded. Workers’ jobs were categorized according to the potential for severe illness, injury, or death.
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