Whether you are developing a new safety training program or evaluating an existing one our favorite idiom is “Start with the end in mind.” By “end” we mean have a clear picture of what you hope to achieve. This is what is known in the field as defining your performance objectives. Ask yourself these three very important general questions:

1. Can employees recognize and identify hazards in the workplace?
2. Can employees recognize how these hazards result in personal injury, property damage or both?
3. Can employees describe and apply appropriate safe work procedures and practices to cope with these hazards?

To help answer these questions we suggest first taking a hard look at your facility’s safety record. Pull all recent accident and injury reports and trace them to their source area. Don’t forget to include reports of near misses and close calls. If your organization doesn’t have these, seriously consider implementing a procedure for reporting them. A careful review of this data should help you identify areas of your facility, particular job tasks, or position classifications in need of training. From here you can prioritize training topics and target your audience.