Employee training is the most valuable accident prevention tool. The overall goal is to develop employee awareness of safety -- a culture of safety. Every employee will undergo training at one time or another. New employees will be trained beginning with New Employee Orientation. Existing employees who are changing jobs will be trained to perform the new jobs more efficiently and safely. Training is extremely important for employees assigned to an activity requiring reaching, material handling, and repetitive motion. Supervisors will be trained in safety management techniques to serve as role models and to ensure employees are performing their assigned tasks in a safe and efficient manner. Refresher training of employees at various times will be necessary to reinforce safety procedures and to maintain efficiency and safe task performance.
The safety training component will be divided into three major categories: new employee orientation, specialized initial training, and refresher training.
This training is the first opportunity to establish expectations for the safety program. This general orientation training will be conducted within the first week of employment and usually on the first day of employment. Whenever possible an EHS & Risk Management representative will personally greet each new employee, provide the employee with the safety policy statement, and take the opportunity to emphasize the institution's commitment to safety. As a minimum the following topics will be covered with new employees:
In certain jobs and/or work locations, legal requirements and/or Division, Department, or unit safety rules mandate additional specialized training before employees commence regular work duty. The training required under the Texas Hazard Communication Act will be conducted at the Department level. In general, use of power tools and operation, maintenance or repair of machinery of all kinds requires special initial training.
The frequency and subject matter of refresher training will be determined by a training needs assessment performed on a yearly basis by the Risk Management & Occupational Safety Coordinator or the employee's Department Head. Safety training will often not be scheduled as a separate session. Most general safety training will be presented during regular scheduled staff meetings, where attendance is normally at a maximum. Safety training normally will include topics such as hazard recognition, hazard avoidance, and may cover new or special hazards encountered on the job. For example, seasonal concerns such as water hazards, excessive exposure to the sun, and winter hazards may not be directly job related; however, regardless of where injured, an injured employee is not available for work. Some specialized training requires more time and in some cases is conducted by professional sources outside the university. Examples of specific specialized training which may be conducted for employees includes but is not limited to:
Reviewed and Modified: 12/05/22