VIDEO: Online gaming meets OHS training

Who says online games are just for fun? CSA Standards is using this web-based platform for some serious safety trainings.

CSA has developed a suite of interactive online learning tools designed to provide a cost-effective way for organizations to meet their staff training needs in the area of workplace health and safety and emergency management.

 

Studies have shown that retention rate is greater when using the online learning medium, said Lance Novak, vice-president of sales with CSA Standards. The Gartner Group reported that retention from online learning is twice as high as those of traditional classroom-type learning, at about half the cost.

 

Organizations may also find investing in e-learning tools a good one given the new generation of workers entering the workplace are those that have grown up on the Internet and online games, Novak added.

 

CSA’s new learning tools are designed to enhance employers and workers ability to prepare and respond to threats and emergencies in the workplaces by providing them with virtual scenarios. By enabling them to practise proper responses before an incident actually occurs, CSA hopes to help reduce lost-time injury rates and workplace fatalities.

 

“To reduce injuries, workplace training must teach best safety practices and change behaviour,” said Suzanne Kiraly, president or CSA Standards, in a statement. “These new interactive modules go well beyond the simple transfer of knowledge and engage users in making decisions in the workplace that are linked to real-world standards and safety guidelines.”

 

CSA’s suite of interactive learning tools includes programs for training on handling hazardous materials, assessing risks to prevent major disasters, as well as for promoting awareness on the OHS management system standards.

 

“Preparing workforces with safety and emergency response skills in a virtual environment could mean the difference between life and death on the job,” Kiraly said.