Safety first: Equipping the powerline industry employees with safety knowledge

Client

A consortium of 6 leading companies in the power line construction industry

Challenge

The Powerline Construction Industy (PLCI) works on a tender basis when applying for work. One of the requirements when tendering is that the company has a good safety record. This is difficult to maintain in some circumstances. PLCI employees are mostly recruited from the areas surrounding the construction sites. These can be extremely remote and the employees will have minimal education and may be illiterate. Prior to engaging Trainiac the companies were running all employees through a one-day powerpoint presentation before allowing the employees to begin working. This was not very successful and the companies were still recording safety incidences which needed to be avoided.

Approach

Through site visits and interviews, Trainiac was able to gain knowledge on the environment in which the employees worked, the different safety concerns and the correct procedures that needed to be followed. In order to improve safety on site, the learning needed to be integrated into everyday work. Trainiac designed a programme using visual depictions of the 5 different stages in powerline construction as well as an overall learner map to show the different safety scenarios at the different stages in construciton. These visuals were used in the safety induction before construction began as well as in coaching sessions. These coaching sessions are held everyday before construction begins and enable employees to create the link between what they discuss and the safety rules they need to follow on site.

Result

In all cases when employees were exposed to the material, they found it exciting and enjoyed the training. This aspect of fun made the training sucessful as learners wanted to be involved and interact with the material and each other. One of the companies that the progrmme was designed for was given a Safety Award by Eskom for their work in ensuring safety standards were improved post the roll out of the programme.

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