Picture this: In a mid-sized company in the chemical industry, around 50 employees are seated in a large training room learning how to handle hazardous chemicals. As always, these quarterly meetings are scheduled for four hours. The production manager provides operating instructions which are read out loud and supplemented by PowerPoint slides projected onto the wall. After 60 minutes, the participants thoughts begin to drift….
It’s a situation familiar to many companies that have to provide mandatory training under the UK Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations (COSHH). All workers who might come into contact with hazardous chemicals must receive adequate information, guidance, and training. The question is whether the scenario above meets these obligations – and more importantly – whether making changes to COSHH training could improve safety and better cement safe behavior. For those companies looking to embed performance sustainability by controlling the risks of environmental impacts and health and safety hazards, moving from superficial compliance to safer behavior is imperative. So, what can we do to boost employee engagement, increase retention and stop minds from wandering?
conventional COSHH training pitfalls
COSHH instruction methods are as diverse as the companies conducting training. In some businesses, it is standard practice for managers to simply hand out operating instructions for employees to read. In others, lengthy, instruction monologues are read out in crowded meeting rooms. What do these two methods have in common? Firstly, they are not legally compliant. What’s more, they are also ineffective. Employees don’t absorb the learning matter and safe working in practice is not ensured. Here’s why these methods fail to engage.
According to the retention curve by Hermann Ebbinghaus, the likelihood of remembering information depends on the way it was absorbed:
If managers simply read the operating instructions to employees, the retention probability is 20 percent. If the employees read the operating instructions themselves, the probability rises to 30 percent. COSHH training combined with PowerPoint presentations integrate visual and auditory impressions and increase the retention rate to up to 45 percent. But this is still far below a desirable knowledge base. By adding repetitions, the probability of retention can be increased to 70 percent, but with interactive participation, your employee’s retention rate can be increased to 92 percent.
Another factor that highlights the ineffectiveness of lengthy, annual training meetings is the human limbic system. It means we only have the ability to sustain our attention for a span of around 55 minutes, which explains why attendees often tend to mentally drift off during lengthy training sessions. This phenomenon was described by Hermann Ebbinghaus in his forgetting curve:
By considering both the forgetting and retention curves, it becomes evident that lengthy instructions facilitated via PowerPoint typically result in a retention probability of less than 45%. This is far from satisfactory considering the vital importance of COSHH training in ensuring the safe handling of hazardous chemicals.
new ways to ensure long-term COSHH training recall
When it comes to delivering COSHH training, meeting the legal requirements means delivering information that addresses the potential risks unique to your workplace. And while several hours of a PowerPoint display might meet these obligations, it’s important to question their effectiveness, considering the scientific research on information retention.
When the goal is to sensitize individuals to the potential dangers of hazardous chemicals and inspire safer practices, we may need to review our approach. As ever, there is no one-size-fits-all solution, however, the following methods can help you to find the optimal fit for the content and audience at your organization.
safety briefings
Consider conducting regular safety briefings focused on discussing the risks and protective measures for specific hazardous chemicals, such as oxygen, or categories of hazardous chemicals, like corrosive materials. It's important to keep these sessions brief to avoid information overwhelm, which could accelerate the forgetting process. Looking at the retention curve, we can see that reinstating discussions about handling hazardous chemicals can bolster information retention to approximately 70 percent.
Introducing an interactive element further enhances effectiveness, with the retention rate potentially skyrocketing to almost 95 percent. Simply engaging employees with questions fosters critical thinking, ensuring the highest likelihood of key information being processed effectively and retained longer.
Although the COSHH regulations do not explicitly mandate documentation of such training sessions, keeping thorough records of these safety briefings is highly advisable. Regarded as a best practice in health and safety regulation compliance, documentation serves to demonstrate that businesses have fulfilled their obligations by educating their employees about potential hazards and the corresponding measures to reduce risk.
template for safety briefings
To help you create effective safety briefings on substances hazardous to health, you can use the following template to structure sessions:
1. What is the subject of the conversation Example: Specific identification of the hazardous chemical or the group of hazardous chemicals |
2. What should be achieved when working with the hazardous chemical or the group of hazardous chemicals? Example: Specify health hazards, environmental hazards, etc. |
3. What are the dangers associated with the substance? Example: Concrete dangers based on the COSHH risk assessment, safety data sheet and operation instruction. |
4. How can the hazards in the workplace be avoided? Example: Discussing protection measures according to own practice, cross-check with the protective measures from risk assessment, safety data sheet, operation instruction. |
5. Determinations Example: Derivation of to-dos (e.g., necessary labeling of substances, containers, requirements, changes in personal protective equipment, etc.), possibly to be added in the annual plan or topic storage. |
Hold sessions in small groups, preferably between 6-10 participants.
- Center discussions around a topic relevant to all group members. Ideally, allow the group to choose this focus themselves
- Entrust the moderation of the conversation to someone qualified in the area, such as a safety specialist, safety manager, or a supervisor
- Ensure sessions are conducted regularly, whether monthly, quarterly, or semi-annually
- Restrict safety briefings to a manageable timeframe, ideally no more than 30 minutes
- Make sure the briefings are relevant to the participants' workplace scenario
- Maintain a record of each session, either using purpose-built forms or a specialized EHS software solution
small group work
Small group work sessions offer a valuable approach to communicating and reinforcing knowledge about substances hazardous to health. Like safety briefings, these focused sessions should be held regularly, only requiring 10 to 15 minutes of employees' time.
A thought-provoking question provides the basis for the session, such as identifying the risks of certain hazardous chemicals and outlining the proper precautions for handling them. This should serve as a catalyst for discussion, with the primary objective of encouraging employees to think independently and participate actively in conversations about safety. Upon completion, participants should present their key points on a flipchart or whiteboard.
Photographing the contents of this whiteboard can ensure compliance with legal documentation requirements, but you’ll also need to receive confirmation from participating employees, indicating both their attendance and comprehension of the content discussed.
redefining your COSHH training culture
If you think your organization could benefit from restructuring your approach to COSHH training, it’s important to involve a cross-functional team in this process. Collaboration should include management, operational leaders, and representatives responsible for safety and hazardous chemical management. Including the works council, where available, can also add value to the process. It’s a good idea to establish a dedicated committee, tasked solely with the reform of COSHH training.
Initially, the committee should evaluate the current training framework. Next, determine which elements could best be addressed using safety briefings, small group work sessions, or other training methods. At the same time, you may also need to make organizational changes such as adjusting shift times, further qualification of moderators, or standardizing certain processes.
As the committee proceeds with these initiatives, it's vital to remember that final decisions on the future of COSHH training cannot solely rest upon them. Therefore, sharing developments and proposed changes with the occupational safety and health committee or a relevant steering group, if available, is a must.
from superficial compliance to safe behavior
Safe handling of hazardous chemicals is an essential component of a sustainable, successful organization. At a time where companies are under pressure to protect the environment and boost productivity, equipping employees with knowledge on appropriate handling of the hazardous chemicals they encounter in their work is vital.
With current COSHH training often falling short of expectations, there is an urgent need to deviate from tradition, embracing new strategies such as safety briefings or small group work, to enhance retention and combat forgetting. With strategies such as these in place, your organization will be equipped to optimize the health, safety and wellbeing of your workforce, for a more effective and sustainable solution – one that goes beyond superficial compliance to embed safe behavior in your company’s DNA.