How Safety Training Can Go a Long Way in Preventing Falls at Work

Effective safety training prevents workplace falls by increasing awareness, improving hazard response and fostering proactive measures.

• By Gen Handley
• Sep 20, 2024

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, the definition of the act of training is the process of learning the skills necessary to do a particular job or activity. Such activities involve work safety and making sure employees perform their different jobs as safely as possible.

Occupational safety training is an effective tool for engaging employees in the company’s safety program and its protocols. These include safety measures that are intended to mitigate dangerous slips, trips and falls which, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, were the cause of 865 work fatalities in 2022, most of which were falls to lower levels.

This is why falls at work are so dangerous. They can occur almost anywhere, including low heights, and not necessarily from tall structures. If the person is working in slippery conditions and surfaces, they are at risk of hazardous falls regardless of how high they are, particularly for those working alone or in isolation.

Preventing Work Falls

Safety training is a proactive measure that prepares the employee for OHS hazards or circumstances beforehand so that they do not experience a harmful fall or can access medical help if they do experience one. It is especially beneficial for those in structured environments that provide essential services like those working in facilities and healthcare. It’s an active, engaging tool that teaches workers about the dangers of falls in their work environments, how to prevent these hazards whenever possible and how to properly respond in the unfortunate event of fall. It is a preventative measure put in place before anyone is hurt. Other proactive safety measures include:

• Strategic guardrails at any high-risk, open-sided areas 
• Visible and instructive signs communicating to staff about dangerous areas 
• Prompt cleaning and clearing of work areas and walkways from debris and clutter 
• Provide employees with the proper footwear when working on slippery surfaces

Safety Training

In regulatory agencies across the world — such as OSHA — education and training are recommended practices for effective safety and health programs. For employees at risk of falls, they should be provided fall prevention and fall protection training, which can be focused into one of three categories: general safety, site-specific safety and job- or task-specific safety training. Researchers find that safety training is an effective way to increase employee awareness of occupational hazards and safe working practices.

The objectives of this training are to increase awareness of existing fall risks and hazards and have the workers adjust their actions so that harmful falls do not take place while on the job. OSHA developed a fall prevention training guide for construction employers requiring a plan to prevent injuries and fatalities from falls. These “Toolbox Talks” training topics are recommended to be led by fellow workers or managers, saying “studies have shown peer-to-peer training is effective, participatory and well-retained.”

Fall safety training can help address a number of occupational areas including:

• the proper use, inspection and handling of fall protection and fall arrest systems and equipment such as anchor points and harnesses
• proper fall rescue and emergency response
• proper communication protocols and procedures
• skills and knowledge to identify and avoid fall hazards while working
• any specific actions or protocols to be followed in high-risk areas

In-person Safety Training

For fall prevention and safety, training is particularly effective when performed in-person and hands-on, bringing employees together in the same physical space. Online training courses may be convenient. However, some workers learn safety protocols more effectively in a physical environment.

Additionally, in-person safety training provides opportunities for engagement between employees, helping build valuable team dynamics for the company. These occasions for connection can promote better, ongoing collaboration with more trust and understanding established among the staff. These types of interactions and connections can be difficult to achieve online.

Online Safety Training

Unlike in-person options, online safety or e-training can be taken and accessed anywhere an internet connection is available. This flexibility allows employers to maintain compliance with researchers finding that “e-training platforms can assist businesses in tracking employee development and ensuring that training needs are completed.” 

OSHA requires employers to “train workers about job hazards in a language that they can understand” as part of their fall protection safety program and this is much easier — and more cost-effective — to achieve with online training programs. And among its recommendations that include guardrail systems, safety net systems, personal fall protection systems and the adoption of safe work practices, OSHA also says employers should provide appropriate training for fall safety as well.

Because online fall safety training does not require actual, physical space, equipment and instructors, it could potentially result in significant cost-savings for the company. This is in addition to any travel or hotel costs of physical safety training and education sessions. Even though online training courses reach more workers who need it, the depth of interaction and engagement is not as deep as the training done together in-person.

Time for Training 

With the days progressively getting shorter and the fall and winter months approaching, now is a good time to, first of all, determine if any employees require fall protection or prevention training and, second of all, decide if it is required, what types of fall training are needed and if any training planning can be done now.

Safety training for employees — whether it is on site or online like the upcoming session on simplifying OSHA rooftop fall protection requirements — has a broad range of benefits, in addition to reducing falls in the workplace. It brings the employees together, improving their work dynamic and relationships. But most importantly, it puts everyone on the same safety page: that they are all proactively working towards an environment free of fall risks and hazards.