A Note From Our President

Let me first state what you already know: there are all sorts of training providers out there. We, too, offer on-site training and train-the-trainer classes. And we like putting on live training classes. But our goal is to use our expertise to create high-quality, cost-effective, compliant training tools. We offer online training, training kits, webinar training, and more (check out the list at the end of this letter).

The second thing you already know is that no matter your situation, no matter the industry in which you work, as an employer it is your responsibility to train your workforce. And as an employee, you must be trained, tested, and observed before operating heavy equipment, rigging loads or hopping on a scaffold, into a trench or into confined space. Like it or hate, federal, state, and provincial standards all require it.

Strangely, though, rarely does a week go by in which we do not have someone say, “where does it say I have to train my workers?” In many cases, they ask us this question in an effort to justify and feel better about not training their employees. They want to avoid paying the $79 or the $400, as if you can really put a price on safety or on the well-being of your company, or the lives of the individuals who make that company go forward.

I understand the dilemma: training takes time, training takes know-how, training takes money. But there is still no getting around the fact that training is required, and if ever an accident occurs (may it not be) and investigators discover that you did not properly train your workers or document that training, you are going to be in trouble; and you are going to get fined. Now, maybe OSHA or  Canada can and should do a better job of educating instead of regulating–I don’t know. But what I do know is there is one way to avoid those fines, and that is doing your due-diligence and taking the time to train. It’ll be worth the cost.

But still, as a small business owner myself, I still understand the fiscal concerns. That is why our goal is to make training affordable. Clear and simple, we want to help you train your employees or your customers. So we’ve taken our expertise and we’ve created training tools for you to use. We’ve tried and we continue trying to add value to them and make them low-cost so that it’s a no-brainer. Even then, different companies operate under different budgets–I get that–so in all fairness and honesty, if you like what you see but can’t afford it, then reach out to us; explain the situation; and let’s see what we can do together to get everyone the training they need.

We all have to make money to put food on the table, but if we are going to succeed, and if we truly want to decrease the surplus of job-related accidents and their subsequent fines, then we are going to need to partner together. So stop doing things the hard way. And do them the Hard Hat Training way instead!