Health and safety training, communication and consultation
What this domain tests
This domain - health and safety training, communication and consultation - tests how training needs are identified, how competence is built and verified, and how workers are consulted and informed. Expect questions on induction, refresher training, toolbox talks, barriers to communication and evaluation.
Core rules
- Training needs analysis. Identify the knowledge, skills and attitudes required by task, risk and legal requirement. Analyse at organisational, task and individual levels.
- Objectives and methods. Write observable objectives; match method to content. Toolbox talks suit short updates, not initial high-risk training. Competence requires evidence, not attendance.
- Barriers. Language, literacy, numeracy, shift patterns, hearing loss, PPE use and fear of reprisal affect communication. Use interpreters, visual aids and checks of understanding.
- Evaluation. Kirkpatrick levels: reaction, learning, behaviour, results. Measure whether controls changed, not only whether trainees enjoyed the session.
- Consultation. Workers and representatives should be consulted on risk assessments, control changes, training content and incident findings. Safety committees need real authority and feedback loops.
- Records. Show who was trained, on what, by whom, when, and when refresher is due.
Worked example
A warehouse introduces a new forklift. The supervisor books a one-hour video for all staff. A proper training needs analysis separates operators, pedestrians and supervisors. Operators need practical competence, pre-use checks, load handling, refuelling and defect reporting. Pedestrians need traffic routes and exclusion zones. Supervisors need enforcement and incident investigation. Evaluation includes a practical test, observation in the first month, near-miss reports and pedestrian-vehicle incidents. The video alone is not competence.
Traps that cost marks
- Using training as the only control for an engineering problem.
- Assuming attendance equals competence.
- Delivering generic induction with no task-specific risk content.
- Ignoring language, literacy and shift workers.
- Evaluating only reaction scores.
- Consulting after decisions are made rather than before.
- Keeping training records that show attendance but not competence.