The OSHA Outreach Training Program uses completion cards to verify each successful training course, but this has not yet become a foolproof system. In order to make the completion cards more secure, OSHA is planning on thickening the card stock, adding watermarked logos and implementing new QR codes.
Outreach Training Programs are not required by overall OSHA law, but these basic safety courses are available for workers in the construction and maritime industries as well as disaster site workers. OSHA also has developed general safety courses for all industries. Workers enrolled in these courses learn about recognition, avoidance, abatement, and prevention of safety and health hazards in their workplaces as well as regulatory tips like how to file a complaint and what rights are guaranteed for employees. Some cities or companies require their workers to complete these courses, making up for part of the 830,000 students that went through these training programs in 2015.
Changing the completion cards will help eliminate fraud and therefore ensure that even more workers get the full benefits of the Outreach Training Programs. Because safety training eventually ends up saving money for any given company, based on the fact that it reduces the overall number of injuries and therefore reduces the cost of total workmans comp payments and time lost, these new completion cards will improve companies’ profits while certifying safety returns.
There will be a slight cost increase associated with these improved safety measures, but it should not be a large issue. Each of the current completion cards costs $5, but the added security features will bring the cost per card up to $8. Some workers may already have completion cards from previous training sessions, and those workers will be permitted to keep their cards even though they will lack useful security features.
