Buyers Beware

BY JOE MELTON DIRECTOR OF SAFETY SERVICES

“You get what you pay for” is not a new concept. We have heard this phrase since we were children bouncing on our grandpa’s knee as he was telling our parents to be fiscally responsible, save up their money, and do it right the first time.

No matter what we are doing, there are always varying degrees of quality in anything we acquire, manufacture or build. In anything, there is a point of diminishing return. Training and education of our employees are not exempt from these rules. The conversation of quality, effective, and efficient training/education is one with many layers. Let’s dive into it.

First, we establish why we train and educate our employees. It is simple to increase the overall effectiveness of their regular job tasks. Our motivation for training can come from regulatory requirements, industry trends, insurance provider guidance, organizational reliability, or signatory contractual requirements. When establishing training, it is most effective to establish the purpose and desired best-case scenario outcome and work backwards to accomplish this goal. An example of this all parents can relate to is teaching your children to read. You wouldn’t start them out by handing them the Wall Street Journal and saying, "Read this to me." You would take small steps. First, you would read to them before bed showing them how to properly accomplish the task. Then you start with the letters of the alphabet and then we start breaking down words. From here, we make natural progressions toward reading. Once an organization has established the need for training, it is time to select the trainer. Some organizations have more internal resources and can perform training in-house, while others may have little to no internal resources and thus fully rely on external trainers. Though we can perform a course in-house, there are times when it would be more beneficial to source outside the organization.

I think back to when I started my own career as a safety consultant at the ripe age of 23 performing Counter-Balance Forklift operator classes for my clients at the time. I was provided the trusty video cassette tape, the driving evaluation checklist, and a computer. I trained over 100 different employees at multiple locations and on a variety of forklifts, all of which I had not personally operated. The true experts of these pieces of equipment were the ones receiving the training, not the 23-year-old going through the motions. Just because we’re compliant does not mean we provide high-quality and effective training.

What we find is numerous organizations seek out the cheapest or free option through a variety of avenues, either through regulatory agency’s consultation programs, insurance provider’s internal resources, local community colleges, or other free resources. All these resources have passionate people, provide quality services, and can be a viable solution. Where we find the gap is when a safety generalist is asked to provide specific or technical training in an area that is not their core discipline or expertise.

This is the exact situation I found myself in at 23 years old, and it is my own experience that has me leading the CSSI team to be the premium technical trainers we all need.

At CSSI we have invested in our consultants to become Certified and Authorized trainers. We have partnered with the industry leaders in technical training curriculum developers. • This includes Providing Ives™ Equipment training for Counterbalance Forklifts, telehandlers, MEWP (Boom Lifts & Scissor

Lifts), Skid steers, Front-end Loader, Backhoe

Loader, and Excavators through our Certified

Ives™ instructor Brandon Black. • Brandon Black and Chris Pankow are now certified 3M ™ instructors for their authorized essentials and comprehensive person courses and the competent person fall protection course. • Kurt Fiddelke has added being an Authorized

Instructor to deliver the Scaffold Training

Institute Curriculum for the Competent Person

Scaffold course. • Chris Pankow has become an Authorized instructor for Red Cross BLS (Basic Life

Support) training in addition to him teaching

CPR/1st Aid and AED Through the Red Cross. • Kim Hodne is our Qualified Rigger and Signals

Person Trainer, with 4 decades of experience and advanced training through Industrial

Training Institute. Kim provides a very hands-on qualified rigger and signal person course. • Through our Partnership with Jerry Eslick

Owner/Founder of PRI, we have access to

Jerry and his several dozen experienced and qualified trainers in their areas of expertise like Trenching/Excavation, Confined space,

High Angle Rope Rescue, HazWoper, Grain

Engulfment Rescue, Tower Rescue, along with their many Fire Rescue/Officer specific training courses.

Jerry Eslick and PRI have been an invaluable partnership, not only with their superior rescue experience, but also with the over 20 different types of hands-on mobile simulation trailers to enhance the learning experience for students by providing a controlled environment to apply the classroom portion of the specific topic being instructed. For many organizations, the financial investment for the trainer is only one piece of the puzzle. More often than not, the greatest cost is the employee’s time and lost production. Because of the value of time, many organizations gravitate towards training curriculum that requires less classroom time and/or other convenient training options like online self-pace learning platforms. These alternatives are effective and have a place in the market. Organizations pursuing excellence will evaluate what is the optimal learning platform and environment for each of their employees. Most find the majority of their field staff learn best in hybrid classrooms with more hands-on learning opportunities. Beyond fulfilling regulatory requirements for training, organizations that seek out and provide premium training and education have a greater chance of retaining their people. In this highly competitive market for employees and workforce, any slight competitive edge provides immediate direct returns and indirect returns for the organizational investment.

The CSSI mentality of "Beyond Compliance" is not for the “just enough to be compliant”. These courses are for the organizations pursuing worldclass status, while on their Journey to Excellence. We want to work with the “want to” organizations. Get in touch with the CSSI team to schedule your next training at Info@IowaCSSI.com.

Our Certified & Authorized Trainers

Brandon Black Kurt Fiddelke

Kim Hodne

Chris Pankow

CONSTRUCTION RODEO

Four-day event offering competent-person level training in:

• Qualified Rigger and Signal Person • Trenching & Excavating • Scaffold • Confined Space • Fall Protection

Brought to you by:

Train in all five facets or the offerings of your choosing! November 29-December 2 | West Des Moines, IA. Details coming soon!

CONSTRUCTION WEEK 2022

For more information, visit www.mbi.build/constructionweek

35 OCTOBER 3 - 7, 2022