Elearning blog: Learning re-imagined

Environmental, Safety and Health Compliance—More than 40 Years of Progress

By Allison von Gruenigen, Compliance Solutions Consultant, Skillsoft

Did you know that in 1969 one of America’s rivers was so polluted with oil and trash that it caught fire?  That forty years ago on average, 38 U.S. workers died on the job each day? 

In 1970, Congress passed laws to protect both human health and the environment. These laws have greatly improved our lives and compliance training has played a major role in achieving the goals set by the agencies tasked with defining and upholding the laws. Skillsoft offers over 125 Environmental, Safety and Health (ESH) titles that support the laws and enhance a learner’s ability to help protect their self, their co-workers, the environment and their community.

Occupational safety and health

Congress created the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in 1970 to assure safe and healthful conditions for working men and women by setting and enforcing standards and providing training, outreach, education, and compliance assistance.  Under the OSHA law, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthful workplace for their workers.

In four decades, OSHA and their state partners, coupled with the efforts of employers, safety and health professionals, unions and advocates, have had a dramatic effect on workplace safety.

• Since 1970, workplace fatalities have been reduced by more than 65 percent and occupational injury and illness rates have declined by 67 percent. At the same time, U.S. employment has almost doubled.
• Worker deaths in America are down — from about 38 worker deaths a day in 1970 to 13 a day in 2011.
• Worker injuries and illnesses are down — from 10.9 incidents per 100 workers in 1972 to fewer than 4 per 100 in 2010.

To learn more about OSHA, watch this short video of old and new footage that highlights key moments in the Nation's progress over the past forty years in occupational safety and health protection.

Environmental protection

On April 22, 1970, 20 million Americans [one in every ten Americans at the time] stood up to demand a cleaner and healthier environment. This first Earth Day was one of the largest grassroots demonstrations in our nation’s history and it worked. By the end of the year, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was created and tasked with both cleaning up the damage already done to the environment and establishing guidelines to help Americans make a cleaner and safer environment a reality. 

The vast environmental improvements made in the last 40 years have benefitted every single American.

Air quality

• In the 40 years since the Clean Air Act went into effect, America has reduced 60% of the dangerous air pollutants that cause smog, acid rain, lead poisoning and more.
• Today, new cars are 98 percent cleaner than in 1970 in terms of smog-forming pollutants.  This change has made Americans healthier.

Protecting America's water

Forty years ago the Cuyahoga River in Ohio was so filled with oily waste and industrial pollution that it actually caught fire.  Today, the EPA is working to protect the water resources that keep our families healthy, our communities clean, and our country strong.

• Sixty-percent more Americans were served by publicly-owned wastewater treatment facilities from 1968 to 2008.
• In a study of lakes from the 1970s to 2007, water quality improved. Half the lakes saw less nutrient concentrations (forming green sludge) and a quarter saw improved trophic status.
• Today, more than 2,000 water bodies identified as impaired in 2002 now meet water quality standards.
• The number of Americans receiving drinking water that met health standards went from 79 percent, in 1993, to 92 percent, in 2008.

Recycling

• American families and businesses went from recycling about 10 percent of trash in 1980 to more than 33 percent in 2008.  America recycles 83 million tons of trash annually.  That’s like cutting green house gas emissions from more than 33 million automobiles.

EPA @ 40 video

Watch this video montage of archival and contemporary footage that captures some of the most pivotal and memorable events of past 40 years of the environmental protection movement.

Skillsoft’s ESH compliance solutions

Skillsoft offers over 125 ESH courses, with translated courses available in the following languages (not all courses are available in all languages):

• Latin American Spanish
• Chinese Mandarin
• Canadian English and French
• German

ESH compliance courseware can be delivered and tracked through the Skillsoft Academy or Skillport® platforms and has a proven track record with third-party learning management systems. The courseware and technology conform to standards including Section 508, AICC and SCORM. The Skillsoft Academy platform manages blended curricula of elearning compliance courses along with records of other types of training such as classroom, video or on-the-job training, so all training records can be managed in one system.

For more information, visit our website.

Allison von Gruenigen has worked in the environmental, safety and health field for over twenty years. She is a Compliance Solutions Consultant at Skillsoft.

Environmental, Safety and Health Employee Training

By Donna McEntee, Practice Manager, ES&H solutions, Skillsoft

Nearly every industry needs to conduct specific training because of mandates by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Transportation (DOT). To remain compliant, elearning is an effective way to reach broad audiences, provide multiple delivery methods and track completions—all in a consistent manner.

Whether it is new employee training or annual topic refreshers, Skillsoft’s learning resources are designed for a range of needs, from workers requiring rigorous training, to business professionals that might only need general awareness or periodic training on special topics. Through our Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) library, courses are available to your learners at their convenience through our cloud-based solution. This means that learners may access their training 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days per year through the Internet connection. The training is very interactive and includes review exercises, case studies and graphical representations. Organizations can utilize our LMS to assign courseware and track training efforts and ensure compliance with regulations.

Watch Skillsoft client, Kleinfelder, to learn how the organization uses elearning to keep their employees safe. 

Donna McEntee is a Practice Manager for Skillsoft’s Environmental, Safety and Health Solution Area. With more than 15 years of experience in online learning, she supports the development of new compliance courses and provides product expertise for our customers using our library of ESH courses and Learning Management Systems. She has worked as a safety training professional in hazardous waste operations, as a corporate compliance training manager and training consultant to government and commercial clients for more than 25 years. 

Trackable compliance training: A must-have for government contractors

By Katherine Doe, Skillsoft Marketing Manager, with Charlie Voelker, Esq., Skillsoft Legal Compliance Solution Manager

While Charlie contributed previously here on Learning re-imagined, I’d like to take an opportunity to more formally introduce him – our Compliance team has an impressive level of expertise!  Charlie Voelker, Esq. is the Product Manager for our Legal Compliance Solution.  In this role, he works with Skillsoft customers to create and implement cloud-based compliance training programs designed to reduce violations and mitigate risk, all while promoting an ethical culture and principled governance.  Charlie is also involved in setting the strategy for new content development within the solution.  Below, he shares a bit about why trackable compliance training is so important, especially for government contractors… 

“An efficient, scalable, and reliable training deployment strategy is essential to any organization’s compliance program.  But this is particularly true for firms that provide goods and services to the U.S. government.  For instance, in many cases a federal contractor is required to deliver ethics training across the enterprise, including directors, managers, employees, agents, and subcontractors.  The training must reach the entire organization with a consistent message, regardless of geography, in a format that is educationally effective.  Just as important is the ability for the program administrators to maintain detailed electronic records of training assignments, completion dates, and other crucial data that can be easily retrieved in the event of a government audit or investigation.  Skillsoft’s cloud-based compliance training solution delivers on all of these requirements, assisting hundreds of our customers, like Catapult Technology, meet their mission-critical training obligations.”

Watch a mini video case study on YouTube featuring Katie Cawood, Catapult’s Corporate Professional Development Administrator.  She describes why her Skillsoft compliance and on-boarding program has been “completely invaluable.”  

 

Protect your organization from legal action

With the Department of Labor stepping up wage and hour enforcement efforts, many businesses could be left susceptible to legal action from state and federal agencies. Simply knowing the latest government guidelines and regulations isn’t enough. What measures is your company taking to ensure compliance is carried out at every level of the organization? What actions are you taking to mitigate risk of legal action? These are answers you need to know in order to protect your business and build a positive work environment for employees.

Wage & Hour Enforcement: What Employers Need to Know
Complimentary webinar on Wednesday, February 27, 12-1 p.m. EST

Join us as Whitney Harmon, attorney at Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC, details the importance of wage and hour compliance and why it’s becoming is an increasingly critical concern for employers. During this webinar Ms. Harmon will explore:

• The Department of Labor’s aggressive enforcement efforts, including its record number of investigators being hired for 2013, targeted industries and harsher penalties.
• The need for extreme care when classifying employees.
• The importance of effective timekeeping practices.
• Strategies for avoiding costly pay violations.

Register today!

Speaker:

Whitney M. Harmon represents employers and management clients in all aspects of employment law, successfully arguing cases versus various state and federal agencies. She routinely drafts employee handbooks and policy manuals, trains supervisors and managers on the implementation of these policies, and provides guidance and advice on current employment-related legislation and agency initiatives.

New Accessibility Standards for Ontario Employers Take Effect January 1, 2012

By Charlie Voelker, Esq. SkillSoft Legal Compliance Solution

The government of Ontario estimates that one in seven people in the province has a disability.  In 2005, the Ontario Legislative Assembly passed the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act (“AODA”) with the goal of achieving better accessibility for all individuals with disabilities by 2025.  The AODA includes several standards intended to remove barriers in the areas of transportation, employment, and communications.  The Customer Service Standard applies to all organizations with 20 or more employees that offer goods or services to the public.  It requires employers to meet four general obligations on or before January 1, 2012:

• create a plan for providing accessible customer service, including the accommodation of service animals
• train all customer-facing employees—including contractors and volunteers—on the plan, and document their completion
• make the accessibility plan available to customers upon request; and
• report ongoing progress to the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services.

Are You Liable Under the UK Bribery Act?

We are pleased to bring you a guest blog post today from Laura Livingstone, an employment partner at Davenport Lyons, a leading London-based commercial law firm. SkillSoft recently partnered with Davenport Lyons to develop a new Legal Compliance e-learning course for the UK Bribery Act of 2010.

By Laura Livingstone, Davenport Lyons

The UK Bribery Act came into effect three months ago, setting stringent ethical standards for any company conducting business in the UK. Under the new legislation, companies’ senior officers are now liable for employees engaging in both the bribery of government officials and any corruption that occurs between private organizations and persons. In addition, it also makes a separate violation out of companies’ failure to prevent bribery in the first place. However, the UK Bribery Act does provide one defense for organizational liability: employee training.

Today’s the Day: Is Your Organization Ready for the New UK Bribery Act?

By Charlie Voelker, Esq. SkillSoft Legal Compliance Solution

For more than 30 years, US-based companies have operated under the bribery prohibitions of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).  Recent increased emphasis on protecting “fair competition” around the globe has resulted in the passage of new anti-corruption legislation that imposes even more stringent limitations on any company that does business in the UK.  The UK Bribery Act of 2010, which takes effect today, has earned the nickname “FCPA on steroids” for its prohibitions that are extremely broad and far-reaching.  For instance, while the FCPA focuses on preventing the bribery of foreign government officials, the UK Bribery Act extends coverage to corruption that occurs between private organizations and persons.  The UK Act also outlaws facilitating, or “grease,” payments, which are payments to encourage officials to perform routine functions they are otherwise obligated to carry out.  (Grease payments are permitted in certain circumstances under the FCPA.)  Another major point of concern is that the UK Act expressly calls for senior executives’ personal criminal liability for some violations—even when the violations are committed by other employees within the organization.  The Act also makes a separate violation out of a company’s failure to prevent bribery in the first place.

Is there any silver lining to be found in this new legislation?  Yes!  Fortunately for proactive companies, the Act provides one defense for organization liability:  “adequate procedures” to prevent employees and other individuals associated with the company from engaging in corrupt behaviors.  Guidance issued by the UK Ministry of Justice includes six fundamental principles to assist companies in establishing these procedures.  Among the principles is the requirement for communication and the encouragement of “training” and “awareness raising”:

“Communicating your policies and procedures to staff and to others who will perform services for you enhances awareness and helps to deter bribery by making clear the basis on which your organization does business.”

Penalties under the Act range from criminal convictions, substantial fines, and even the specter of being barred from bidding on future government contracts in the European Union.  It’s clear that companies who do any business in the UK can’t afford not to train their employees on the law and their own anti-corruption policies as part of their comprehensive anti-corruption programs.

In response to the UK Bribery Act, SkillSoft has partnered with Davenport Lyons, a leading commercial London-based law firm, to develop a new e-learning course focused on educating employees on the law. The new course is a complement to SkillSoft’s Foreign Corrupt Practices Act course and will provide customers with adequate defense against the legal implications of the UK Bribery Act and help protect them from their employees’ potential unlawful behavior.

Has your organization taken any steps to educate its employees about the UK Bribery Act?

Proving Leadership Through E-Learning Depth and Breadth

By Pam Boiros and Norman Ford

Earlier today, we announced that Elearning! Magazine has recognized SkillSoft with two distinguished awards based on reader votes.  SkillSoft won Best IT Content Provider for its expansive Books24x7 ITPro™ digital books service, and Best Compliance Program for SkillSoft Compliance Training Academy.  We also received awards of excellence in 5 other categories. 

We are delighted to receive these awards, which are based on the magazine’s readers nominating products and solutions via online balloting.  It’s rewarding because we work hard to be flexible and meet customers’ exact needs through a set of offerings with unique depth and breadth.  This is essential to our leadership strategy and this award validates this focus.

Books24x7 ITPro

Since its introduction in 1999, ITPro has provided millions of technical professionals around the globe with anytime, anywhere access to a broad and deep information repository.  ITPro offers the complete, unabridged contents of thousands of books, documents and other reference materials that span the spectrum of technology topics, including major IT Certifications, Databases, ERP systems and enterprise computing, operating systems, programming languages, security, web development, and much more.    By offering these trusted resources in a searchable online environment, users get instant access to information that answers all of their technical inquiries – saving effort and speeding the time to technical skills acquisition. 

SkillSoft Compliance Training Academy

Flexibility, robust functionality, and ease of use are just a few of the attributes SkillSoft Academy customers have experienced while managing their compliance training programs.

For over ten years, Academy has helped organizations ensure compliance by allowing consistent and specific training requirements to be set and tracked to completion for different customer defined learner groups. Automated retraining functionality alerts learners, supervisors and training administrators on training status via an email notification system, allowing immediate review of training status for planning and compliance purposes through flexible and robust reporting.

The SkillSoft Academy helps customers plan, schedule, and manage their company's training to ensure compliance to regulatory and corporate requirements.  Our solution includes a collection of over 200 e-learning compliance courses on environmental safety and health, and legal compliance that can be combined  with records of other types of training such as classroom, video or on-the-job training, allowing all training records to be managed in one place.  SkillSoft Academy is easy to use, but extensive enough to manage training for a large, globally distributed work force.

Thanks to our loyal users, and the readers of Elearning! Magazine for nominating all of our offerings, and ultimately voting for us as the winner in two important categories!