Survey: Safety Training

Reprinted from GRAIN JOURNAL March/April 2019 Issue

Jason Bowen

Assistant Safety Director

Rumbold & Kuhn, Inc. | Wyoming, IL

“One of our tools for safety training is Safety Made Simple. We have our employees watch about two of their videos a month. They’re only about 15-20 minutes long, so they usually can do them in the morning or right before they go home. The content is very good.

The other good part about doing meetings weekly is that we usually can cover the topic in 15 to 20 minutes. We are not overwhelming or flooding employees with an abundance of material at one time.

- Ryan Brooks, The DeLong Co., Inc.

“The rest of our training is hands-on. I like to get in there and get my hands dirty. Twenty-six years ago, I started in the same place where these guys are now – running the pits and cleaning out bins. Now that I’m on the management side of things, I try to get in there and work with the operations employees to show that I know their job and the right way to do it. It helps build credibility and respect.

“I try to visit with our employees over the phone or do checks with paperwork and just walk around the facilities. Every few months, I visit different locations to touch base with those employees. It helps me see how they’re progressing and to make sure there aren’t any safety issues that need to be addressed.

“Overall, it’s just showing employees that we actually care about their safety by going above and beyond the minimum requirements. The first thing I want to do is make them safe. We try to go the extra mile and show that we’re not just co-workers; we care about them.”

Pat Rusher

Safety Director

Ottawa Cooperative Association | Ottawa, KS

“Most of our safety training is done in-house. However, we do have some speakers come in occasionally, and some of our employees go to training sessions at Kansas State University.

“In-house, we do drills, and we partner with the fire department. We go through grain entrapment safety with them. We also work very diligently with the Kansas Grain & Feed Association. We have a range of resources that we pull from to try to do some things differently and keep it interesting. Training can become dry and boring if you don’t change things regularly – we want to avoid death by PowerPoint.

“Every month, we do a little tailgate meeting. We go around to the branches and do a little review.

I try to gear safety training toward more of a discussion than a lecture, where the employees are involved in the training. Discussions make them feel like they are a part of the process rather than having someone preach to them about safety.

- Kelly Raasch, North Central Cooperative

“We do a mix of classroom, online, and hands-on training. But this time of year, it’s too cold to do a whole lot outside. When the weather’s nice, employees really like hands-on training because you get up and moving, and they can participate, exchange ideas, and brainstorm. That kind of engagement is the goal. We’ll do whatever works to keep people involved.”

Marc Berger

Safety Manager

United Wisconsin Grain Producers, LLC | Friesland, WI

“For us at United, we do a combination of online and hands-on safety training on a monthly basis. To keep our employees engaged, we do a variety of things, including observations in the field, safety suggestion boxes, as well as incorporating real-life experience examples in the training sessions. In other words, you need to allow your employees to be involved in all aspects of the safety program so they take ownership of it – we have found this approach to be most effective.”

Ryan Brooks

Safety and Food Safety Manager

The DeLong Co., Inc. | Joliet, IL

“We have teamed up with Safety Made Simple. Their courses consist of online informational slides, knowledge checks, and quizzes. Employees are allowed time to complete these online trainings throughout the week prior to our classroom safety meeting. In the classroom setting, we look at how the Safety Made Simple courses relate to our own operation and programs. We can dive deeper into any subject from our own DeLong policies and procedures if the safety topic calls for it with videos, documentation, and/or hands-on training.

For example, during lockout/tagout training, we perform a hands-on demonstration with our permit/checklist

form and are able to answer any questions or concerns employees might have as we go through the process step by step.

“We conduct safety meetings every week Thursday at 4 p.m. We feel the weekly safety meetings help keep safety fresh in all of our employees’ minds. Also, it gives us the opportunity to go over operations and make sure everyone is on the same page regarding anything going on around the facility.

We have a range of resources that we pull from to try to do some things differently and keep it interesting. Training can become dry and boring if you don’t change things regularly – we want to avoid death by PowerPoint.

- Pat Rusher, Ottawa Cooperative Association

“The other good part about doing meetings weekly is that we usually can cover the topic in 15 to 20 minutes. We are not overwhelming or flooding employees with an abundance of material at one time. Keeping the meetings to one subject and short usually keeps them interested.

“Also, we have found that taking pictures around the facility really helps the employees relate and see things they might miss otherwise. The employees really look forward to seeing what pictures were taken and strive to make sure their areas are safe and well maintained.”

Nick Foster

Safety, Environmental, and Regulatory Specialist

AgVantage FS | Waverly, IA

“Most of the time our classroom training is followed up with some kind of hands-on activity. Hands-on training is effective because it ensures that employees can apply and understand what we just talked about. For example, we train on lockout/tagout then go outside and practice locking out something. We use GROWMARK Pure Safety for our online training program. We assign online training topics quarterly.

“We train on safety programs annually. On the second Tuesday of each month, we have a safety awareness meeting at each location. This includes a near-miss investigation and discussion, as well as physical and behavioral hazard identification and a predetermined safety topic.

“During our annual safety program training, we act as the facilitator of the meeting. We do a lot less talking and more listening. It makes sense to guide and encourage discussion among employees about safety programs, rather than having them spend the entire meeting listening to us talk.

“My best piece of advice is to inspect what you expect. Every year, during our walk-around site inspection at each location, the safety team follows up on the safety training that was expected to be completed.”

Every few months, I visit different locations to touch base with those employees. It helps me see how they’re progressing and to make sure there aren’t any safety issues that need to be addressed.

-Jason Bowen, Rumbold & Kuhn, Inc.

Kelly Raasch

Safety Director

North Central Cooperative | Clarion, IA

“We use a combination of classroom and hands-on safety training. Next year, we plan to include some online training, so our employees can learn at their own pace.

“Our safety meetings are held weekly at each facility. I try to provide fresh material every year for topics that are required to be covered on an annual basis. When I first joined North Central Cooperative, we were having safety meetings twice per year and our reported injuries were more severe than they are today. We switched to weekly safety meetings where I went to each location and presented them. The number of reported injuries decreased; however, we really did not see a significant decrease in injuries until we went to location managers conducting the meetings themselves.

“We still have some reported injuries, but the severity of injuries is significantly less than it was even five years ago. Part of the reason we have seen an improvement is because safety is in front of them much more often and their supervisors are behind it.

“I try to gear safety training toward more of a discussion than a lecture, where the employees are involved in the training. Discussions make them feel like they are a part of the process rather than having someone preach to them about safety. I have found that preaching or lecturing doesn’t engage employees.”

Pat DeLong

Director of Grain Operations

The DeLong Co., Inc | Clinton, WI

“Right now, we’re doing online training on a weekly basis with Safety Made Simple. Typically we also have each location meet weekly, and then we have a safety committee that meets monthly, so we have a pretty structured training program in place. We do have some in-house training materials we use as well.

“The way we keep safety training interesting is just to keep it a regular topic of conversation. It’s like the more we talk about it, the more it’s on our employees’ minds.

“Overall, I think a structured, set schedule is good for safety training. Safety training is mandatory; it’s homework. We’re very serious about it. This attitude keeps everyone thinking about safety.”