What is OSH training?
Occupational safety and health (OSH) training transforms risk assessment and work procedures into skills that individuals can apply. Its content should be based on the job, tasks, equipment, hazards present, and foreseeable situations, including emergencies. Therefore, a general introductory course can serve as a foundation, but it does not replace specific training on a particular machine, chemical, or operation.
Law 31/1995 requires companies to guarantee sufficient and appropriate theoretical and practical training at the time of hiring and whenever there are changes in job functions, technologies, or equipment. This training must be provided, whenever possible, during working hours; if it takes place outside of working hours, the time is deducted from working hours. The cost of this training is never borne by the employee.
Differences between training, information, and instructions
Although they support each other, they are not equivalent:
- Information: communicates what the risks are, the protection measures and the emergency actions.
- Instructions: They indicate what should be done or avoided in a given task.
- Training: enables you to understand, practice, and demonstrate that these instructions can be safely executed.
- Awareness: it reinforces attention and a preventive attitude, but by itself it does not demonstrate competence.
A poster about energy blocking informs; a procedure explains the sequence; a supervised practice session teaches how to apply it. The company needs to combine all four elements according to the risk. Signing an attendance sheet proves presence, not learning or the ability to perform the task.
Why is it important?
A technical measure loses effectiveness if those who must use it are unaware of its limitations, fail to detect deviations, or improvise in the face of an incident. Training helps make prevention a part of routine work: it improves early hazard identification, the correct use of protective equipment, the reporting of anomalies, and emergency response.
It also facilitates participation. People who understand the risks can contribute knowledge about the actual task, point out discrepancies with the procedure, and propose improvements. However, training does not transfer employer responsibility to the worker, nor does it replace hazard elimination, collective protection, or a safe work environment. The preventive hierarchy remains paramount: first, action is taken at the source of the risk, and then people are trained to manage the remaining risk .
How to design a training program
A useful program can be organized into seven steps:
- Start with the risk assessment and the actual tasks, including non-routine ones.
- Define what each profile should know and be able to do.
- Adapt language, duration, accessibility and method to the target audience.
- Combine explanation with demonstrations, exercises, or simulations when the risk requires it.
- Provide training before authorizing the work and reinforce it after relevant changes.
- Check for understanding and execution, not just attendance.
- Record content, date, teacher, participants, and evaluation result.
The trainer must possess technical knowledge and teaching skills appropriate to the subject matter. For basic, intermediate, or advanced level preventive functions, the Regulations for Prevention Services establish specific content and requirements.
When should it be updated and how is it evaluated?
Training should be reviewed when equipment, substances, processes, roles, or preventive measures change; when an investigation reveals gaps in knowledge or execution; and when a risk assessment identifies new needs. Periodic refreshers may also be required if the practice is infrequent, complex, or likely to deteriorate. The frequency should not be determined by custom, but rather by risk, specific regulations, and performance evidence.
The evaluation may include questions, demonstrations, case studies, and subsequent on-the-job observation. It’s important to verify both the expected behavior and the conditions that allow for its application: available time, appropriate equipment, and supervision. If someone knows the procedure but production demands make it impractical, the problem is organizational and won’t be solved by repeating the course.
Practical example
A company introduces a new forklift and reorganizes its warehouse. Before using it, they review the risk assessment, define routes, and establish access priorities. Authorized personnel receive a briefing on the new equipment and practice pre-inspection, driving, stacking, and parking procedures. Personnel on foot are informed of exclusion zones and how to report any issues.
The company verifies competence through a practical test and initial observations, keeps records, and schedules a review after the first few weeks. If it detects turns with insufficient visibility, it doesn’t just remind drivers to be cautious: it corrects traffic flow or installs technical protection. In this way, training complements engineering and organizational measures, rather than replacing them.
Regulatory framework
In Spain, Article 19 of Law 31/1995 establishes the general obligation for preventive training. Articles 18 and 33 regulate, respectively, information and consultation; Royal Decree 39/1997 defines the necessary training to perform preventive functions, and its Annex VI sets out minimum requirements. Provisions concerning specific risks may add specific training requirements.
In the European Union, Article 12 of Directive 89/391/EEC requires job-appropriate training when hiring, transferring, or introducing new equipment or technologies, and their adaptation to new risks. ILO Convention 155 includes appropriate training for workers and their representatives within the framework of preventive cooperation. These references establish a common principle: training must be relevant, understandable, free of charge, and connected to actual risks.
