Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
Employees. themselves. can. provide. valuable. information. on. the. training. they.
need..Safety.and.health.hazards.can.be.identiied.through.the.employees'.responses.
to.such.questions.as.whether.anything.about.their.jobs.frightens.them,.have.they.had.
any.near-miss.incidents,.do.they.feel.they.are.taking.risks,.or.do.they.believe.that.
their.jobs.involve.hazardous.operations.or.substances.
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DEntifying
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oAls
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bjECtivEs
Once.the.need.for.training.has.been.determined,.it.is.equally.important.to.determine.
what.kind.of.training.is.needed..Employees.should.be.made.aware.of.all.the.steps.
involved.in.a.task.or.procedure,.but.training.should.focus.on.those.steps.on.which.
improved.performance.is.needed..This.avoids.unnecessary.training.and.tailors.the.
training.to.meet.the.needs.of.the.speciic.employees.and.processes.
Once.the.employees'.training.needs.have.been.identiied,.employers.can.then.pre-
pare. objectives. for. the. training.. Instructional. objectives,. if. clearly. stated,. will. tell.
employers.what.they.want.their.employees.to.do,.to.do.better,.or.to.stop.doing.
Learning.objectives.need.not.necessarily.be.written;.but.in.order.for.the.training.
to.be.as.successful.as.possible,.clear.and.measurable.objectives.should.be.thought.out.
before.the.training.begins..For.an.objective.to.be.effective,.it.should.identify.as.pre-
cisely.as.possible.what.the.individuals.will.do.to.demonstrate.that.they.have.learned,.
or.that.the.objectives.have.been.reached..They.should.also.describe.the.important.
conditions.under.which.the.individual.will.demonstrate.competence.and.deine.what.
constitutes.acceptable.performance.
Using. speciic,. action-oriented. language,. the. instructional. objectives. should.
describe. the. preferred. practice. or. skill. and. its. observable. behavior.. For. example,.
rather. than. using. the. statement,. “The. employee. will. understand. how. to. use. a.
respirator”.as.an.instructional.objective,.it.would.be.better.to.say,.“The.employee.will.
be.able.to.describe.how.a.respirator.works.and.when.it.should.be.used.”.Objectives.
are.most.effective.when.worded.in.suficient.detail.that.other.qualiied.persons.can.
recognize.when.the.desired.behavior.is.exhibited.
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CtivitiEs
Once.employers.have.stated.precisely.what.the.objectives.for.the.training.program.
are,. then. learning. activities. in. the. form. of. training. methods. and. materials. can. be.
identiied.and.described..Methods.and.materials.for.the.learning.activity.can.be.as.
varied.as.the.employer's.imagination.and.available.resources.will.allow..The.learn-
ing. activities. should. enable. employees. to. demonstrate. that. they. have. acquired. the.
desired.skills.and.knowledge.
Start. by. establishing. objectives.. To. ensure. that. employees. transfer. the. skills. or.
knowledge.from.the.learning.activity.to.the.job,.the.learning.situation.should.simu-
late.the.actual.job.as.closely.as.possible..Thus,.employers.may.want.to.arrange.the.
objectives. and. activities. in. a. sequence,. which. corresponds. to. the. order. in. which.
the. tasks. are. to. be. performed. on. the. job,. if. a. speciic. process. is. to. be. learned..
