Expo, Education Sessions Focus on Safety Training
In addition to showcasing the latest and greatest products, multiple training companies and certification organizations lent their expertise during education sessions and on the expo floor. Firecon offers training course The National Training Center offers online individual and group training NICET, fire alarm systems, security systems, IP/network, and access control systems. NIMCO Inc. even showcased its kid friendly educational materials, including stickers, ribbons, and coloring books, designed to teach children about fire safety.
During “Conducting Effective Emergency Response Training for Industrial Teams,” R.C. Schroll, Firecon, emphasized the importance of emergency and hazmat team training. Schroll said trainers need lay out performance objectives with measurable terms, and he stressed the importance of using clear verbs in performance objectives. He said then trainers should outline a program with order and sequence, classroom and hands-on work. “All regulatory time frames are too short,” Schroll said. He said it’s best use regulatory timeframes as a minimum.
Schroll said support materials, including handouts, manuals, audiovisual aids, and practice materials are effective training tools that will establish long-term retention. Schroll noted that hands-on training should be challenging, realistic, and should address common mistakes. “Every year there are a handful of people killed in training accidents,” Schroll said. “Be careful about crossing the line.”