GETTING STARTED
An Introduction to the WTCA Operation Safety Program
Welcome!
Welcome to WTCA’s Operation Safetyprogram! In order to get the most out of WTCA Operation Safety, please read this entire section to fully understand all the tools available in this new safety program, as well as how to access additional resources online.
As with every program from WTCA, we have created WTCA Operation Safety based on our members’ needs. In this case, members were asking for a customizable, industry-specific safety program to assist themin creating or improving their own existing in-house safety programs.
This program is simply a starting point for implementing a high quality safety program in your component manufacturing plant. Of course your plant is going to be different than every other component manufacturing operation in the country, and thus you will have unique requirements and needs for creating a safe and healthy work environment. This program does not try to be everything to everyone, but rather a tool that every component manufacturer can use to improve their own company’s program!
How the Program Is Organized
The program is broken down into four sections. The first two, Safety Culture and Management Guidelines, are only intended for the individual(s) designated in your plant who will manage your safety program. These sections are not created for mainstream employees, although you can use much of the information provided in these sections to communicate with your employees through safety meetings and general, ongoing training. The third section is Employee Training and is made up of employee training modules and the last section, Certification, provides tools for maintaining your safety program on an ongoing basis.
The binder provides your safety management teamwith a complete, detailed version of the safety topics covered in the modules. Included with the WTCA Operation SafetyBinder are 20 Employee Safety Handbooks, eight plant warning posters and a CD that contains all of the modules, presented both as PowerPoint® slide decks as well as published training sessions that include pre-recorded audio narration, animated video effects and short video demonstrations where applicable. The CD also contains all of the printed materials, including a customizable bindersaved as a Microsoft Word® document and printable checklists/downloads available for use in conjunction with the program. All of this information is also centrally located online at addition to the printed material, the online safety site allows you to download the most updated version of thebinder as well asto access a listing of links to all appropriate state and federal regulations as they pertain to safety topics in your manufacturing facility.
Safety Culture
Intended for Safety Coordinators and Company Management, the Safety Culturesection provides a detailed overview of WTCAOperation Safetyand its accompanying electronic courses. From identifying the safety ideals to building a culture of safety awareness and highlighting the employee training modules, this section provides coordinators with a high level view of what their company’s safety program should entail.
This information, as well as the Safety Culture training module directed at the individual(s) responsible for managing the safety program in your component manufacturing facility, is provided in the written binder.
Management Guidelines
Also intended for Safety Coordinators and the individual(s) responsible for the implementation of the safety program, the Management Guidelinessection provides a comprehensive assessment tool, as well as the “meat” of how to create a strong safety program in your organization. Along with detailed information on implementing a program, there is also a safety binderthat serves as a more comprehensive basis for the management training modules, the employee training modules and the employee summary booklet.
This information, as well as the Management Guidelines training modules directed at the individual(s) responsible for managing the safety program in your component manufacturing facility, is provided in the written binder.
Employee Training
The Employee Training section is made up of individual employee training modules. These modules are available in a variety of formats to provide each member with flexibilityin training their personnel.
- Available in PowerPoint® with slides and notes if coordinators choose to go through the program in a group presentation.
- Available aspublished programson CD that include pre-recorded audio narration, animated video effects and short video demonstrations where applicable.With a few simple mouse clicks, this presentation paces itself as it walks your employees through the safety topic chosen.
- Available online [plug and play version] for training individual employees who are able to login and review the information on their own.
Certification
The Certificationsection provides resources for maintaining your safety program. In addition to detailed certification procedures, there are many resources that you can use to maintain a safe and healthy work environment, including daily to quarterly checklists, individual posters to hang in your plant to highlight important safety tips, safety meeting forms, policy checklists, employee training records, recordkeeping informationand much more.
Getting Started
Designation of Safety Coordinator
In order to implement the program in your organization, you first must designate one or more people to be the safety coordinator(s). The designated safety coordinator’s responsibilities will include:
Viewing the educational modules for the Safety Culture, Management Guidelines, and Employee Training sections, and becoming familiar with the binder contents for each of these sections.
Completing and successfully passing the individual proctored exams for all of the subject areas in the Management Guidelines section.
Completing the daily and quarterly checklists while meeting guidelines for certification.
Having monthly safety meetings that include an agenda and minutes for each meeting.
Providing employees access to the information in the Employee Training section, either through classroom or Internet training, as well as the employee modulesfrom the binder or the summary version. Note that the safety binderis provided in electronic format and can be customized with your company’s name throughout.
Viewing Modules
Each module in the Safety Culture, Management Guidelines, and Employee Training sections is available as a PowerPoint® slide deck that can be viewed manually or presented in classroom training. Each module is also provided as a published presentation that includes pre-recorded narration, animated visual effects and short videos. The published modules can be viewed from the CDprovidedwith the binderor online at (Please see “Accessing Operation Safety through WTCA’s Truss Knowledge Online” for further explanation.)
Checklists
A weekly safety checklist and quarterly checklists must be completed. This is a requirement necessary to reach plant certification and also one of the tasks the safety coordinator must perform to maintain certification. Each form must be entered into the database system to be reviewed by WTCA staff. When your company starts the program, a plant assessment is performed by the safety coordinator. The purpose of completing these checklists is to continue that process by assessing critical areas of a plant’s safety on a consistent basis.
WeeklySafety Checklist
Weekly safety checklists areprovided as a tool for your safety coordinator to regularly inspect and document the safety at your plant. As your coordinator makes his/her inspection of the facility, the weekly checklist will provide a short set of guidelines for awareness. This is required to be completed weekly, but WTCA recommends you consider and inspect the areas on the weekly checklist on a daily basis.
Quarterly Checklists
Quarterly checklists are provided as a tool for your safety coordinator to quarterly inspect and document - in greater detail than the weekly - the level of safety at your plant. A new equipment checklist also exists; this is to be completed when new equipment is purchased on a quarterly basis.
Monthly Safety Meetings
Holding a monthly safety meeting with designated safety leaders develops a strong safety awareness culture.In order to achieve this, be sure go to Management Guidelines to view Section Two – “How to Establish a Safety Committee.” Along with this, there are downloadable forms for safety meeting agendas and safety meeting minutes.Certification will require plants to submit the topics covered at safety meetings.
Employee Modules & Safety Guidelines
It is the safety coordinator’s responsibility to allow employees to view the modules (where he or she deems appropriate) for the Employee Training section, as well as providing each with an employee handbook.
Please note: Certificatesof recognitionare available for each employee viewing a module in the Employee Training section.Production or office employees can also become a specialist in specific areas. These employees could take a short online exam to become a specialist in a certain area. More information can be found in the next section of this introduction and in the Certification section of this binder.
Disclaimer
While the information and recommendations contained in WTCA’s Operation Safety guidelines have been compiled from sources believed to be reliable, WTCA makes no guarantee as to, and assumes no responsibility for, the correctness, sufficiency, or completeness of such information or recommendations. Other or additional safety measures will be required under particular circumstances.
Certification
The WTCA Operation Safety program offers a plant certification, individual certification, plant area specialist designations, and individual recognition certificates.
1)Plant Certification: There is a list of required steps in order to attain plant certification.A few of these steps include being a member of WTCA, purchasing the WTCA Operation Safety program, designating and certifying a safety coordinator, and performing a plant assessment. Upon successfully completing the list of requirements, WTCA can deem the plant certified. The plant must also meet requirements to maintain certification, such as implementing a third party inspection program and performing quarterly checklists and entering those into the database. Please note that a related certification process is also in place for third party inspectors.
2)Individual Certification: The safety coordinator must achieve the individual certification in order for the plant to reach certification. To summarize, the steps required are to view all training modules, pass the proctored certification exam and maintain safety processes required for plant certification.
3)Steps to Achieve Plant Personnel Specialist: After an individual completes an
employee module, they can take an online test to become a specialist in that area. WTCA staff will then create a certificate for each employee to recognize them as a company safety coordinator in that area of specialization and as part of the WTCA Operation Safety program.
4)Individual Recognition Certificate:Recognition certificates will be available as employees participate and complete the Employee Training modules.For example, if a forklift operator views the Ergonomics module, that employee will then be able to receive a recognition certificate that includes his or her name and states their participation in the training.
Accessing Operation Safety through WTCA’s
Truss Knowledge Online
In order to maximize the effectiveness of this program, you will:
- decide which employees will participate in the online training
- create individual accounts for each participant through the TKO site ()
- enroll those employees in the online safety program
- supervise and monitor employees’ progress throughout the training
To designate one of your employees with this privilege, log in at Select Control Panel/Options on the left blue panel of the screen. Next choose Administrative Privileges (reps only). Now choose Management Roles for Company Personnel. Under the Edit by Role tab, select Safety Coordinator in the drop-down box. Select the person(s) you wish to give this role in the left box and add them to the box at the right. Click Save at the bottom to save the change.
You must complete the following steps before employees can begin the training:
- Create accounts for individuals who will take the online training.
- First, gather each student’s first and last name as well as their unique email address. This address can be company administered or personal.
- Log in at . If you have not yet received a password, click on the link Forgot your password or do not have one, which will cause the system to automatically email a random password to you. This should happen within a couple of minutes, and then you can login with this password. (You have the option to change your password under the Control Panel/My Account Information menu item.)
- Select Control Panel/Options on the left blue panel of the screen. Next choose Administrative Privileges (reps only).
- Finally, choose the Corporate/Personnel Info tab. You will notice a list of employees from your company. These are employees who have already been entered in WTCA’s database. [Note that this information is only visible to you because you have logged in as a representative of your company with your email address – no one else can see this information unless your company has provided them with permission to have access to this.] All employees taking the training must be listed here before beginning any courses. If you need to add an employee, click Add an employee to this location at the bottom of the list. Add their first and last name as well as their email address. You can also choose to reset their password at this time.
- Enroll students in the course.
- Select Course Registration for Company Personnel from the Control Panel.
- To enroll students, select the Edit by Course option. Find and select Operation Safety in the drop-down box below.
- Highlight the students in the box to the left who have been selected to take the training and add them to the box to the right. When you have finished, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save Changes.
- Once they have a password with which to access the training site, students can begin.
Student FAQ
Q: How will I access the Operation Safety training?
A: You will log on to with your individual email address and a password unique to your account.
Q: After I log in, where will I go to find the Operation Safety training course?
A: Your Safety Coordinator or Rep Assistant will already have enrolled you in the course. You can launch the course from the Safety Certification Online option in the left blue panel, by choosing Control Panel and then My Courses and Certifications.
Q: Do I have to view all sections in the same session?
A: No. You may stop viewing a section at any time. Remember to note where you left off when you stopped.
Q: Can I go back through the course to refresh my memory at any point?
A: Yes. You may review any section of Operation Safety within the course of the access period. Check with your Safety Coordinator or Rep Assistant to determine how many days remain on the access package.
Q: Where can I findthe Operation Safety course reference downloads that accompany the training?
A: The course downloads are located within the course launcher tab. There is a yellow folder icon to the right of the Go button. All downloads for the course can be found there.
Q: I’m wondering how I can view my course statistics, like how much time I’ve spent viewing Operation Safety.
A: Your course statistics are located within the course launcher tab. Click on the magnifying glass icon to the right of the Go button. Your Safety Coordinator or Rep Assistant has access to these statistics as well.