More than 100 safety practitioners responded to our Reader Panel survey conducted in the month of June. One-third of our survey respondents do not provide online training to their employees. Close to 27 per cent said they have an 80/20 percentage split in favor of personal training in their organization.

“Many of our training topics are techniques and are provided on the floor by ‘peer leaders’ — i.e. how to use a slider sheet, how to apply ceiling lift straps,” said one respondent.

Another respondent said: “We have just used the online training about five per cent. We would like to increase this.”

Close to 10 per cent said 80 per cent of their trainings are done online and only 3.6 per cent have a 50/50 split between in-person and online training offerings.

Despite the low uptake on online safety training, majority of our respondents (74 per cent) said the online option’s ease of program delivery is a primary motivator for choosing to go with the computer-based model.

Time-saving (57 per cent) and cost saving (54 per cent) are also among the top reasons for our survey respondents for using online safety training.

“We have a huge geographic area with some large and many small sites. Online is more readily available and in this sense more cost effective,” wrote one respondent.

The on-demand nature of online training is a big motivator for another respondent. “It’s difficult for staff to get away for scheduled safety trainings. Online programs can be accessed according to staff schedules.”

Despite the advantages, the non-personal approach of online training remains as its weakest attribute, according to 58 per cent of our survey respondents. The cost of setting up the online training system (i.e. purchasing computers and software) came in second in our respondents’ list of online turn-offs.

“Online training can only provide knowledge and does not offer practice with the application of the knowledge, practicing skills or problem solving,” observed one respondent.

Another one wrote: “Some of the best information comes from interaction of fellow workers in the classroom. On line will never replace the person-to-person interaction.”

Rating the effectiveness of online training in their own work environment, only 14 per cent said the online tool was “very effective” for them, while majority, 70 per cent, said the virtual tool is only “somewhat effective” in delivering safety training for their employees.