It Pays to Educate Employees

If you’re too busy to train employees to update their current skills or learn new ones, you’re too busy. By focusing on getting the job done today, you’re hamstringing your ability to boost profits tomorrow.

Training costs time and money. But the alternative could cost you even more. For example, equipment downtime, personal injuries and property damage resulting from improper equipment operation can add up to hefty losses. So can fines, higher insurance rates and lawsuits.

Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations require equipment operators to be trained and qualified, says Mark Fair, training and safety manager for Bobcat Enterprises, Cincinnati. That includes operators of skid-steer loaders.

“There are a lot of misconceptions about skid-steer loaders,” he says. “Specific rules pertaining to these machines are pending even though they are mentioned in the first paragraph of OSHA regulation 1926.602 which covers material handling equipment. As a result, some employers think they are exempt from the requirement to train skidsteer loader operators. However, OSHA can and will cite a contractor for having untrained operators under other regulations.”

OSHA regulations, such as General Duties Clauses 5(a)(1), 1926.20 and 1926.1 require an employer to provide a safe work environment and to train and educate employees on equipment and hazards in their environment. “You must be able to show that you’ve educated and trained employees about any associated hazards,” he says.

“Some sub-contractors are using their operator training programs as a marketing chip when bidding on jobs,” says Fair. Having records showing that all operators have completed the required training can increase the comfort level of the general contractor.”

Employee training offers a number of other positive payoffs. Properly trained employees are more productive. They’re also better equipped to identify problems and offer solutions. A well-trained work force can also attract other higherquality workers. The end result is a more competitive company.

Training equipment operators

Bobcat Enterprises has trained about 7,000 students since opening its dedicated training center in 1997. The Bobcat dealer offers training on all types of Bobcat machines as well as other types of equipment.

“Many of our Bobcat owners don’t have the time or other resources to do the training themselves,” says Fair. “We work closely with the local OSHA office and require students to achieve a certain standard of understanding and equipment operation. It’s not a ‘gimme’ program. Our goal is to make students safer, more productive operators by making them more comfortable with the machine’s capabilities and operating characteristics.”

In addition to training Bobcat owners and their employees, Fair also trains Bobcat dealers and students from vocational schools.

“These dealers then train their own employees and customers in operating Bobcat equipment,” Fair says. “We’re quite proud of that program.”

Classes are offered on a regular basis and tailored to fit an individual contractor’s schedule. The course takes about four to six hours to complete, depending on students’ previous experience and knowledge. Based on Bobcat training courses, which include handbooks and videos, students receive classroom instruction on daily maintenance checks, equipment operation and safe operating practices. This is followed by hands-on application of the lecture and discussion material.

“We bring training to life and allow students to learn on current and older models of equipment so they’ll be better prepared for the different units they may operate,” Fair says. “We relate the hands-on equipment operating training to their actual jobs using the various elements they learned in the classroom.

“For example, if operators work for landscape contractors, they’ll perform typical landscaping operations using a bucket and other landscape attachments. Or, if they work at an industrial site, they’ll operate Bobcat equipment using a grapple bucket or pallet forks. They’ll also practice maneuvering through an obstacle course and doing jobs, such as loading and unloading buckets, common to many types of work.”

Successful participants receive an operator qualification card and certificate of completion.

Course evaluation

Among those trained by Bobcat Enterprises are operators enrolled through Allied Construction Industries (ACI). Based in Lockland, Ohio, this association includes 607 member companies in neighboring parts of Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky.

The classes are offered once a week, rotating among Bobcat skidsteer loaders and other types of equipment.

“The training has worked out really well for our members,” says Terry Phillips, ACI safety director. “The students don’t automatically receive the qualification card and certificate of completion. They have to earn them. The instructors work with students until they know how to operate the equipment safely.

“The goal of this training is to prevent injuries and accidents. If OSHA officials come onto the jobsite, the people who complete this training can show their card to prove that they’ve completed the required training.”

Commonsense education

Bobcat of Edmonton, Edmonton, Alberta, has been training owners and operators in safe operation and daily maintenance of Bobcat loaders for the past ten years. “Jobsite superintendents and safety supervisors are getting much stricter about who they allow to operate equipment on their projects,” says Garry Duckett, sales manager for the dealership. “They only want people who know what they’re doing to be running the machines.”

The three- to four-hour-long course is presented at the store, as often as every two weeks in the spring. Based on Bobcat training courses and materials, the classes usually attract around 20 or more students and include classroom instruction, followed by operation of the equipment.

“Students have to demonstrate that they can operate the machine properly and safely in digging, loading and grading before we issue a certificate of completion,” he says.

The class also covers differences between Bobcat equipment and other brands that the students may be operating. They also see and operate many different models of Bobcat loaders, excavators and attachments.

Training Is Catching On

More and more employers are recognizing the value of investing in their business by investing in employee training. U.S. employers spent more to train their workers in 2002 than ever before, according to a survey by the American Society for Training and Development. That year the amount of money spent on training represented 2.2 percent of the payroll, up from 1.9 percent the previous year. Also, in 2002, spending per employee on training increased to $826, up from $734 in 2001, and the number of hours of training per employee rose from 24 to 28 hours.