OSHA reiterates that online safety training may not meet requirements

In a standard interpretation   https://www.osha.gov/laws-regs/standardinterpretations/2019-07-11 issued earlier this year, OSHA answered the question:

Are online training programs acceptable for compliance with OSHA’s worker training requirements? 

Interestingly, this standard interpretation is very similar in wording to one issued 25 years ago. While the agency acknowledges that online training is a useful component of an overall training program, it alone is not compliant. To be compliant, it must have an interactive component: employees must be able to ask questions of, and receive responses from, a qualified trainer in a timely manner. “Training with no interaction, or delayed or limited interaction, between the trainer and trainee may halt or negatively affect a trainee’s ability to understand and/or retain the training material,”  according to the document.

OSHA noted that one way for the employer to give workers this opportunity in the context of computer-based training is to provide a telephone “hotline” so that employees will have direct access to a qualified trainer at the time they are taking the online training. But even that is not considered optimum by the agency in regard to certain kinds of training.

“Equally important is the provision of sufficient hands-on training because it allows an employee to interact with equipment and tools in the presence of a qualified trainer, allows the employee to learn or refresh their skills through experience, and allows the trainer to assess whether the trainees have mastered the proper techniques.” Supplementing online training with hands-on training, such as how to use a tool or don PPE, is critical.

The agency also addressed the use of safety training videos and their policy is essentially the same as that for computer-based training. OSHA urges employers not to relying solely on generic, “packaged” training programs in meeting their training requirements as site-specific elements should be included, and to the extent possible the training should be tailored to employees’ assigned duties. They also emphasized that if videos are used, an interactive component must be provided that allows the opportunity for employees to ask questions of the trainer.

It also emphasized that employers must review specific OSHA standards and related guidance to determine what is required in specific situations.