ASSESSING YOUR SAFETY AND SURVIVAL TRAINING PROVIDERS
Would you purchase a car or home without seeing it? Probably not.
Would a company install a piece of equipment without confirming it is right for the intended work? Probably not.
Then why do some send their people for safety and survival training without first evaluating a potential training provider?
Safety and Survival Training. The name alone implies that personnel may be exposed to hazards that could seriously injure or kill someone or cause some other emergency.
When selecting a training provider what has been taken into consideration? Industry recognition? Cost? Course Content? Instructional facilities? Instructors’ abilities and qualifications?
It is essential that the Safety and Survival training centre is recognized by the companies and industries your firm services, but that can’t be the only factor. Some employers accept accreditation by an industry’s standards making organization as proof that a training facility meets requirements. As an auditor, it has been my experience that this belief is often not correct. Employees’ chances of injury, even their survival, are potentially increased or decreased by what a company is prepared to accept in safety training.
In one instance, a safety and survival training centre that markets their services to the offshore oil & gas and marine companies had been audited and approved by standards bodies for those industries. When it was then audited by a prospective client’s Quality Assurance and Health, Safety & Environment representatives they reported the training centre, from an HSE Management System (HSE-MS) point of view, showed promise of being a good location to send the company’s employees. A physical site evaluation of the premises revealed the sea survival facilities and training aids were to a very good level and condition, but the firefighting and respiratory course content and training ground had deficiencies that created significant hazards for students. Given the number and type of those deficiencies the training centre was not approved by the company.
Choosing a Safety and Survival Training Centre is not an easy task. It cannot be done by blindly accepting an industry certificate, interviews via telephone, or by looking at a colourful website. It requires forethought and due diligence.
