The Value of Safety Training
We’re at an unprecedented time in railroad safety. According to the Association of American Railroads (AAR), railroad organizations have successfully improved safety practices since 2000, working in tandem with their employees, customers, suppliers, and government partners such as the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). Train accidents are down 31%. Hazmat accident rates are down 64%, with 99% of all hazardous material transported by rail arriving safely.
Most notably, the AAR also reports the rail employee injury rate reached an all-time low in 2020, making freight rail one of the safest industries for employees to work — safer than trucking, manufacturing, construction, airlines, and yes, even grocery stores.
Time to cut costs on safety training?
But that doesn’t mean it’s time to let up on rail safety training, especially when even one injury is one too many. It’s more than just data when an employee is injured — it’s somebody’s mother, somebody’s son, and an entire family who’s impacted. Every single reduction in employee injury is one less affected family, and no amount of cost savings can quantify the impact of quality safety training, than cultivating this type of organic, worker-centric culture of safety in your organization.
That’s why doubling down, not diminishing, your focus on safety is the answer. By modernizing your rail training program your organization will not only help the railway industry reach its ultimate goal of zero accidents and incidents but can also generate many other benefits that correlate with long-term business growth and success.
It’s about more than injury prevention
According to the United States Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Management (OSHA) division, the primary goal of safety training programs is to prevent workplace illness, injury, and death, and to minimize the financial impact these things can have on employees and employers alike.
But the right safety program can also help your business:
- Increase regulatory compliance and stay ahead of new laws, thereby reducing your legal exposure
- Lower costs such as workers’ compensation premiums, insurance claims, and litigation
- Engage workers through enhanced social responsibility, participation, and goals
- Improve employee productivity (less callouts and injuries), thereby boosting business operations
- Attract better talent as the industry becomes known as a safe environment where employees can feel comfortable working as they raise families without fear of jobsite danger
Revitalize your railroad safety and training programs
Your organization can lay the foundation to realize these culture-changing benefits by shaping your education and training programs to the true needs of your company — not just simply meeting compliance benchmarks. Today’s railroad employees need to be able to not only comprehend the information they’ve learned but to apply it in real-time where life or death decisions turn on a dime. And this learning needs to take place in a post-peak pandemic world where education and instruction limitations may still exist.
This can make in-house safety training a Herculean task — one that depletes much-needed energy and resources that are also required for daily operations and growth. Hiring an industry-leading rail safety training organization can help you alleviate these pitfalls, setting the wheels in motion for long-term worker safety and organizational success.
Build your rail training program from the ground up
With that said, finding a trusted partner to provide required contractor training is critical to the success of your organization’s safety efforts. At RailPros, not only are we professional railroaders with practical experience in the industry, but we are training experts deploying the latest in instructional design and adult learning theory. This unique combination of railroad and training background is just one of the many reasons we are chosen and trusted by our railroad partners.
Successful railroad safety training starts with the creation of a program that fits your organization’s specific needs. We customize your training to meet the specific rules and regulations of each railroad or rail contractor.
Our rail-centric instructional design team takes the baseline for rail safety training and transforms it into an engaging event for employees; leveraging the latest interactive tools in training, including animations and videos that help simplify complex topics.
We achieve these cost-effective, long-lasting results through our belief that safety training is no longer a passive event. Gone are the days of a Human Resource speaker with a slide presentation, followed by a 10-minute multiple choice quiz. Today’s railroad safety programs need to go in-depth, employing customized coursework, on-the-job training, and qualified mentorship – and that’s just what we are FRA-approved to do.
Trust RailPros to do the heavy lifting
For over 20 years, we have guided railroads and rail contractors through this process to put in place a more streamlined, cost-effective rail training program. Our training is customizable to better meet the needs of your specific rail line, business, or industry.
We adhere to industry best practices and reinforce the most restrictive and up-to-date rules, regulations, and processes to maintain rail safety. And we pride ourselves on our railroad partnerships, helping to take contractor training beyond the minimum compliance requirements by customizing our approach to each railroad’s unique operation and safety focus.
Our trainers have expertise in converting railway safety content into an engaging and impactful online or in-person learning experience, allowing us to offer not just high-quality training, but also one that is FRA-approved. We don’t want participants in our safety training programs to simply check the box — we want to know that true learning has taken place.
Let’s start a conversation today about high-quality rail safety training and the many benefits it brings.