Is Online Fall Protection Training Effective?

Fall protection requires skill sets that CBT alone cannot provide. Not only are there theoretical concepts that a student must understand, there are hands-on requirements. They are not difficult or complex, but an integral element to authorized, competent and rescuer training is the opportunity for the students to conduct the skills portion of the training based on what is required of them onsite.

This particularly is important for authorized and competent categories. Properly donning a full body harness is an absolute necessity for any worker who will be working at height. The worker must be provided with the opportunity to touch, inspect, wear and use a harness during training. How to wrap an anchorage connector or install a beam clamp are further examples of skill sets that may be required, as are installing a fall arrestor on a vertical lifeline, attaching a ladder sleeve to the front of a harness, inspecting equipment before use and using a Y-lanyard to traverse structures and the list goes on and on.

If you reflect on safety courses in which you learned the most, chances are that those courses included many hands-on exercises. CBT cannot provide or supervise this element. Effective fall protection training that achieves the highest level of education and demonstrates due diligence must include hands-on exercises.

This is the main issue with using CBT alone for fall protection training. Although CBT is very flexible, cost effective and allows training to be conducted most anywhere at any time, not providing opportunities to practice necessary skill sets and the absence of observations of performance are problematic. It is impossible to defend CBT as the single method of fall protection training because fall protection requires hands-on exercises.

The ANSI/ASSE Z359 Fall Protection Code provides direction for employers about how to deliver fall protection training and it is an excellent reference to not only establish a fall protection program, but to identify training needs and structure the training program. Section 3.3 (Training and Evaluations) states that the documentation must include “performance of student based upon observation of physical demonstrations of skill or on theoretical exercises.” If the needs assessment of training includes the use of equipment and active fall protection systems, physical observations of performance must be included in the training.

Using CBT is an excellent medium to disseminate information, but it falls short when hands-on skills are required. In some respects, the employee's time and the employer's money are wasted on fall protection training programs (for authorized and competent level training) that do not include hands-on exercises for the equipment employees are expected to use. Hands-on exercises are the only way to achieve the highest level of education possible and to demonstrate due diligence before the work begins.

Unfortunately, many training programs rely on a worker watching a video and signing a roster. Improperly administered CBT can fall into this category unless there are checks and balances within the program to ensure that the student has understood the theoretical topics (fall distance, energy dissipation, system components, etc.) and it is augmented with hands-on skills. This combination proves due diligence and provides a higher level of understanding and education.

Many successful training programs use a combination of CBT and instructor-led programs. The foundation of knowledge can be delivered through CBT, which offers consistency and cost-effectiveness, while instructor-led programs provide an opportunity for the student to participate in hands-on training to develop other skill sets.

Kevin Denis is the training manager for Gravitec Systems Inc., which specializes in fall protection engineering, consulting, training, testing and technical equipment. For the last 15 years, Denis has been involved with establishing successful fall protection programs and audits for dozens of companies throughout Canada and the United States. He manages a training department that averages over 50,000 student training hours per year and has authored national-recognized training standards for a number of different industries.