10 Safety Training Topics

Regardless of your organization’s industry, it’s important that your employees are properly trained on the most relevant safety training topics to promote a safe and healthy workplace. In this article, we’ll discuss some recommended safety training topics that you should include in your next onboarding or safety training discussion.

1. Emergency Evacuation and Response

One of the first steps a company can take is to include emergency evacuation response as a safety training topic during onboarding and emergency evacuation training sessions. All organizations must be prepared to respond to emergencies in a swift manner to prevent the risk of injuries or fatalities. They must also have an evacuation plan in place so that their employees know where and how to evacuate during emergency situations like earthquakes, fires, gas leaks, chemical spills, bomb threats, or active shooter attacks. 

By preparing and training for emergencies, your employees will be able to strengthen their situational awareness and feel more confident in their emergency response skills. They’ll also learn how to evacuate calmly and account for their coworkers. You can equip your employees with these emergency evacuation and response skills through emergency evacuation training courses like EdApp’s free microlearning program called Evacuation Plan. 

2. Fire Safety

Whether you’re in charge of industrial workers or managing office employees, one safety training topic that must always be included in your onboarding or workplace safety training program is fire safety. Fire safety training also helps workers correct bad fire safety practices and prevent fire outbreaks. Through this topic, you can also help your employees become more aware of common fire hazards such as electrical overloads, faulty wiring, flammable liquids, ignition risks, and combustible items. 

As an employer, you’re mandated by law to regularly keep your teams up to date with fire safety standards and train them on topics such as fire risk assessment, fire emergency response strategies, and basic first aid. So, you can take advantage of EdApp’s Fire Safety course as an easily digestible training resource for your teams. Once they’ve completed this fire training course, your employees should be able to conduct fire risk assessments, use fire extinguishers and hoses, and execute first aid techniques for suffocation and burns. 

3. Hazard Communication (HAZCOM)

Employees who are regularly exposed to harmful chemicals in their line of work face many physical and health hazards. To help them mitigate these risks, employers should highlight hazard communication (HAZCOM) as a safety training topic during onboarding sessions and refresher training courses. Organizations should also comply with OSHA’s hazard communication standards to promote good safety practices and avoid endangering the lives of their employees. 

Additional HAZCOM training will help your team understand specialized topics like labeling systems and safety data sheets. Workers will also gain a better understanding of the dangers associated with unprotected chemical exposure as well as the precautions they need to take to safeguard themselves from these risks. To assist you in training your team, we’ve compiled a selection of the most up-to-date hazard communication training courses.

4. Electrical Safety

Due to a lack of fundamental electrical safety programs, thousands of employees are injured and killed every year. Cardiac arrest, muscle and nerve failure, thermal burns, blindness, and hearing loss are a few of the most common electrical injuries. Even seasoned electricians, electrical engineers, mechanics, and office workers must always remember to watch out for hazards and make sure that adequate time is spent on electrical safety training. 

This safety training topic allows workers to learn more about the dangers of electrical work. You can also emphasize common electrical work topics like arc flash, fault identification, electrical maintenance, electrical isolation and immobilization, and electrical safety protection. Apart from training, it’s important for workers to double-check that electrical systems have been installed and tested properly. 

5. Ergonomics

Overexertion, lack of movability, awkward postures, and repetitive work are common causes of physical discomfort and musculoskeletal injuries among workers. Those in the manufacturing, retail, healthcare, and even corporate industries are some of the most affected by these issues, which usually result from a lack of proper ergonomic planning. If they aren’t addressed, the constant strain on the bodies of workers can become chronic musculoskeletal disorders or worse, permanent injuries. 

It’s your duty as an employer to give your staff in-depth ergonomics training courses, implement risk management procedures at work, and comply with your state’s ergonomics laws and regulations. Through this safety training topic, your employees will have a better grasp of concepts like lifting techniques, body alignment, engineering controls, administrative controls, and proper PPE usage.

6. Slips, Trips, and Falls

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, slips, trips, and falls are the leading causes of workplace injuries such as cuts, bruises, fractures, and other musculoskeletal injuries. These accidents are commonly caused by wet and slippery floors, poor lighting, unstable walkways, inappropriate footwear, and the lack of hazard signs.

Regardless of the industry that you’re in, make sure your employees are aware of these risks by including this safety training topic in your onboarding, compliance training, workplace training, and behaviour based safety training courses. The more you delve into this safety issue, the better equipped your workers will be to implement the appropriate safety measures and minimize and eliminate slip, trip, and fall hazards.

7. Driver Safety

Although road accidents involving transport and shipping drivers aren’t 100% preventable, their employers can still make every effort to lower the risks by educating them about driver safety. Drivers have a huge responsibility to make sure that goods and services are transported in the quickest and safest way possible. Through driver safety training, drivers can refresh their knowledge of safe driving practices and common road hazards to look out for. 

Employers can customize their driver safety training courses by including essential information about the vehicles they are operating and the parts they use to maintain them. They can also highlight the importance of defensive driving strategies and warn them about the consequences of reckless driving. EdApp offers a mobile-friendly Driver Safety course to help companies roll out driving training more easily among their employees.

8. HAZWOPER

Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response (HAZWOPER) is an OSHA-regulated set of guidelines designed to train emergency responders, healthcare workers, and manufacturing workers on how to safely handle hazardous waste. Because handling hazardous waste involves significant risks, this safety training topic covers lessons on toxicology, waste management, and decontamination. By increasing your team’s awareness of this topic, they’ll be more prepared to work with hazardous waste.

EdApp’s course library offers a wide variety of courses on this topic, including Waste Management Safety and Hazardous Materials (Silica, Polymerics, and Waste). They are developed using a microlearning strategy that breaks down complicated topics into more digestible mini-lessons. You can also find material handling courses to keep your team up to date on safe handling practices for different types of materials.

9. Covid-19 Preparedness

Because COVID-19 is still an ongoing global pandemic, organizations must remain vigilant and continue to raise safety awareness among their employees. Through safety training topics like COVID-19 preparedness, you can give your team relevant and accurate information about the virus, how it spreads, and the symptoms to watch out for. This training topic also covers protective measures against coronavirus infection and health policies established by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 

The easiest way to discuss this safety training topic with your workers is to include it in onboarding and compliance training resources. If you’re looking for a hassle-free way to provide COVID-19 preparedness training, EdApp has got your back. All you have to do is import their free COVID-19 training course called Let’s Kick COVID-19! and distribute it to your employees.

10. Personal Protective Equipment (PPE)

Proper usage of personal protection equipment (PPE) is an essential safety training topic that must be discussed. It’s especially true for employees in the industrial, healthcare, and construction sectors who routinely work with hazardous materials, chemicals, and equipment. With PPEs as specialized safety equipment, they protect workers from serious injuries or illnesses such as chemical burns, electrical shock, radiation exposure, mechanical hazards, and viral diseases. 

Include PPE topics in your safety certificate courses to help workers learn more about the importance of PPEs, their proper use, maintenance, storage, and disposal, and how to choose the best one for your team’s needs. Apart from learning these basics, workers will also be able to categorize the different types of PPE. These include body protection, respiratory protection, eye and facial protection, and hand protection.