Constar International
The Company
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Testimonial
"My experience with PureSafety has been excellent. During the launch, they were always available and helpful. Today, I feel good knowing that our employees are receiving the right safety training, when they need it. I am a true believer in online safety training. In fact, PureSafety and I are in the process of discussing the development of custom courses."
Tim Hjermstad
Corporate Safety Director
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Established in 1976, Constar International, Inc. (d.b.a. Consolidated) is headquartered in Norwood, MA. Consolidated is a full service merit shop provider of electrical construction services, electrical service solutions, networking and telecommunication infrastructures.
The Challenge
Because the company provides electrical construction services, there is a very strict, but necessary, worker hierarchy at Constar. In order to progress to the next level, employees must fulfill certain tasks, work a specified number of hours, and demonstrate the appropriate level of expertise. They must also have completed specific safety training courses and passed the tests.
Safety training was always conducted using standard classroom training. Tim Hjermstad, Director of Corporate Safety, generally taught a class every Monday evening (after the work shift) and often on Wednesdays. Each month a different topic was covered and approximately 50 employees received training each month. Unfortunately, relying on classroom training had several shortcomings:
- Approximately 40% of the employees were not able to come in for training because their work site was too far away. Thus they did not receive the needed safety training, or they received it months later.
- The employees who were either in or near the Norwood, MA office often had scheduling conflicts, such as birthday parties, doctors' appointments or vacation. The after-hours training also caused some resentment because these classes were taking up personal time.
- Tim has 70 safety officers who assist with the day-to-day on-site safety supervision. However, Tim was the only employee who actually taught in the classroom. There were several safety topics that he knew would benefit the workers, but he simply did not have the time.
- Workers who did not fulfill their safety training obligations, either because of scheduling conflicts or work site location, could not be promoted to the next level. This caused a lot of frustration for the workers and a headache for Tim, since he had to coordinate make-up classes.
- Tim had to grade all the tests, and track the class completion results by himself. These administrative tasks were manual and very time-consuming.
The Solution
Tim knew that there had to be a better way to provide employees with the needed safety training. Around 2001, Tim started to pay attention to the new approach called “online training.” He could tell that this was going to be training’s future and after about three years of watching online safety training evolve, he contacted PureSafety. He was impressed with the number of course topics, the content and the tracking capability. He also knew that PureSafety would solve his biggest problem, delivering the right training to every worker and the right time.
The initial launch involved 25 safety officers and a handful of courses. Tim assigned the courses, the safety officers completed them, and then provided feedback to Tim. They loved it! There was no reason to delay and Tim began the process of launching PureSafety to the entire company. In the months preceding the official launch, Tim published an article in the company newsletter announcing this new, effective and fun way to fulfill safety training requirements. Constar purchased 19 courses and today has approximately 230 employees using PureSafety.
The Results
Tim's objective was to make the online safety training as convenient as possible - to create a "no excuses" safety culture. So, he had a bank of computers installed in the Norwood "field house" location. This facility is available 24 hours a day and it students can print completion certificates when they are done. He also made sure every foreman had his own computer. The feedback was very positive and the benefits appeared quickly:
- Anytime, anywhere training. Employees appreciate the flexibility that the PureSafety online solution provides. They no longer have to be concerned that their personal lives will postpone important training and thus their promotions.
- Nothing complicated. Employees found PureSafety's online training courses to be easy to access and straightforward to take. The younger workers are especially enthusiastic about the online methodology.
- Workers want to learn more. Depending on a person’s hierarchy/level, specific courses are assigned. However, they are all available. Many employees have contacted Tim asking if they could take safety courses that were not directly assigned. Tim’s response is always, Absolutely!
- More time for hands-on training. Tim can now devote his classroom time to those topics that require hands-on experience, such as CPR. For a few courses, he has blended PureSafety online training with a follow-up of hands-on training.
- Automated course completion tracking. Tim can easily generate a report and know immediately who is up-to-date on safety training. These reports are part of the employee review process and affect their movement up in the hierarchy
