Critical Safety Training Every Temporary Industrial Worker Needs on Day One

A safe work environment ensures worker well-being. It’s a place where employees are confident to perform their jobs with a minimal risk of physical injuries or illnesses. Not only does protecting your workers from workplace dangers increase retention rates, but it can also foster team morale and improve productivity.

In this article, we’ll guide employers, managers, and key leaders in providing critical safety training, especially in onboarding. We will also share strategies that can promote worker safety.

Critical Safety Training for Industrial Employees

Safety knowledge is crucial in the manufacturing industry, where heavy equipment and machinery, hazardous chemicals, electrical and fire risks, and risk of general injury are present. To ensure proper operations and a safe working environment, here are the primary critical safety courses your employees must undergo.

1. Refresher Course

You can do this before or after the orientation. The goal of a refresher course is to check whether new employees are familiar with safety practices. It could be within their general understanding of workplace risks or knowledge from their previous jobs.

Learning what your employees know about safety will help you evaluate whether they align with your safety practices or not. Once you have an idea of what they know and don’t know, you’ll have a better idea of how to approach their training. This will enable you to emphasize key areas and focus on what they need to know.

2. First Day Orientation

Never let your employees skip orientation. Make it mandatory for employees to attend these vital lessons to ensure safety. These training sessions should discuss detailed information about the following:

Every worker’s rights and duties in the organization.

Supervisors’ and managers’ roles on the production floor and how they handle each task.

Common hazards in the workplace and potential risks.

The role of safety officers.

The government’s impact and influence on workplace regulation.

Make sure to provide printed instruction manuals, digital copies, and physical demonstrations. These can include safety checklists, emergency protocols, evacuation plans, or PPE instructions. If you can, visit every section on the production floor to help new hires familiarize themselves with every tool, machinery, space, and function in the workplace.

3. Additional Training and Safety Sessions

Of course, you can’t expect every new employee to be an expert in safety procedures on day one. While it’s crucial to educate every employee about work safety procedures, it’s best to chunk it into sessions rather than overloading them on their first day.

You can conduct additional training programs weekly, slowly going through every area in your business. You may also consider providing critical safety training online.

However, make sure to provide face-to-face and hands-on experiences for specific-knowledge-crucial areas such as:

Machinery operation and maintenance

Electrical safety guidelines

First aid and injury response

Safe lifting and material handling technique

Emergency procedures

Fire safety protocols

5 Strategies for Enhancing Worker Safety

Enhancing worker safety goes beyond implementing rules and protocols. It demands a shift in mindset. It’s important to understand how fostering a proactive safety mindset and empowering employees at every level can set the stage for a safer and more productive workplace. Let’s explore five key strategies to ensure worker safety remains a top priority.

1. Emphasize Safety in Your Culture

Anyone stepping into your company building must immediately see an emphasis and commitment to safety. You can do this by using adequate signage and having internal safety routines. The culture should even be apparent in how you speak. It’s not just about enforcing rules and regulations to make everyone safe; rather, it’s an established norm within your organization.

You can reward employees who demonstrate exceptional safety knowledge—or penalize those who don’t follow the rules. It can even be a rule that adhering to work safety will significantly impact their employment or contract extensions.

One of the most effective methods in ensuring work safety is by making it a normal conversation in an employee’s everyday life. If employees know they’ll be recognized for their effort, or that they’ll suffer repercussions due to inaction, they’ll be more committed to following safety regulations.

2. Recognize the Role of the Organization

The top management should spearhead safety processes. This can help establish the importance of safety procedures.

Encourage managers and team leaders to actively promote and enforce these practices among their teams. This shows employees that the organization is committed to workplace safety, which can boost employee morale and retention.

HR teams, managers, and supervisors should be knowledgeable about safety procedures and training requirements. They should be able to answer confidently when employees come to them with questions or concerns about safety procedures.

Lastly, involve your employees in safety training and planning. If they have suggestions, hear them out. This can help with employee engagement and ensure they’re fully equipped with safety knowledge, allowing them to better follow the rules and help their coworkers when needed.

3. Utilize Knowledge from Veteran Workers

Consider having existing experts on your staff train new workers for at least a few weeks. You can introduce a “buddy” who supervises and mentors new workers and teaches them vital workplace protocols and practices.

These veterans can also help monitor your new hire’s behavior, adaptation, and understanding of safety responsibilities and duties. This will help provide you with real-time information about their ability to follow instructions and identify any areas for improvement.

4. Practice Toolbox Talks

These are brief and often informal meetings that focus on specific safety topics. You can conduct these meetings at the beginning of work shifts or before a particular task. These talks are designed to highlight potential work hazards, best practices, equipment handling, and safety procedures.

Toolbox talks are typically short, 10 to 15 minutes max. The goal is to focus your discussion on practical and actionable advice related to the day’s operations. This will help increase your employees’ awareness about specific hazards related to their jobs. It will also reinforce safe work practices to prevent accidents and promote open communication about safety concerns.

5. Consider Human Factors Training

Human factors training aims to understand how human behavior, cognition, and limitations impact safety.¹ As humans, we experience many emotions and situations that may cause us to become complacent, agitated, or fatigued. Often, these can cause mistakes and accidents, leading to injury or devastating consequences.

Human factors training aims to design protocols, processes, and work environments that align with human limitations to improve safety and reduce errors. Train your employees about:

How personal circumstances, stress, and anxiety can affect decision-making.

The importance of communication in reducing misunderstandings.

Stress management and fatigue awareness.

The power of teamwork and collaboration in preventing errors.

The need to take occasional breaks and rest to recharge their body and mind.

Temporary Workers Are Also Your Responsibility

While temporary workers are provided by third-party staffing agencies, it’s still your responsibility to provide a safe working environment. Staffing agencies may provide additional safety training, but these should not be the sole source of information and regulation.

According to OSHA, employers and staffing agencies are both responsible for providing a safe work environment to temporary workers, including training.² As an employer, you need to collaborate with the staffing agency and ensure that you’re providing the necessary equipment and protection to workers. On the other hand, our duty as a staffing agency is to verify that you’re fulfilling these responsibilities.

Ideally, staffing agencies like Horizon America will collaborate with employers like you to ensure employee safety. Businesses must provide employees with specific instructions according to their organizational practices and standards.

Gain access to exceptional workers with Horizon America.

Employee safety and workplace protection training are important on the production floor. This is why we at Horizon America help both employers and employees learn critical safety procedures to ensure workplace safety, among others.

If you need talented workers in the manufacturing and light industrial fields, we have the right people for you. Let us know how we can assist your staffing needs.

References

“Human Factors.” Safestart, 2024, https://safestart.com/file/kujtkp/

“Protecting Temporary Workers.” OSHA, https://www.osha.gov/temporaryworkers. 15 Jan. 2025.