Fire Safety Training Tips, Fire Precautions Training

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A Simple Guide to Training Needs Analysis

or Am I spending my fire safety training budget wisely?

 

Question:	Should I bother reading any further?
Answer:	If you have a limitless fire safety training budget NO!

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Tip No 1

If you don't have a limitless fire safety or fire prevention budget, cost effective training is essential. Read On!

What is training needs analysis (TNA)? Very simply TNA involves a process to establish what are an employee’s actual as opposed to perceived training needs. How often do they do a task, what is its importance and how much of a risk does it involve.

Let us take an example of one the many tasks of a typical Receptionist. Unless the equipment or protocols change then there is little actual need for annual training on handling telephone calls. However, if they were designated as a fire warden there is now an additional actual training need..… so where do you start?

An accurate job description can form a good basis. It would be very embarrassing to send someone on a course only to find that the training forms no part of their job function. The job description should be supported by questionnaires and interviews with the job holder, their line manager and their subordinates. These will reveal what they actually do now as opposed to what they were supposed to do ten years ago.

If the person’s job description shows no specific responsibility for fire prevention or fire safety other than what applies to all employees, then giving specific and detailed fire prevention or fire safety training will be an expensive misdirection of funds. What if the Receptionist is designated as the one who calls the fire brigade, assists with the evacuation, takes the roll call, meets the first appliances, provides plans of the building and acts as fire brigade liaison throughout the incident? One: they are doing too much. Two: they, and the person who drew up the job description most definitely have training needs which must be addressed.

Thus, by establishing that there is an actual training need, the training budget can be spent wisely in the most cost effective way.

Tip No 2

One of the best tips for fire safety training is to walk the means of escape route with the individual to be trained, whether they be a new person on Induction training or an old hand on refresher training.

First go to the Fire Action Notice and read and discuss what it says.

Keeping asking HOW?

How do you raise the alarm?

How do you break the glass?

How do you know if the Fire Brigade has been alerted?

How do you know if the Switchboard Operator has called them?

How do you Evacuate the premises?

How do you know that the passageways and doors will all be clear?

Walk the route now and make sure that there are no obstructions or locked doors.

How do you know where the Assembly Point is if there is no location map?

How will a new person know where "Admin Car Park" or "Maintenance Yard" is?

How will you deal with problems like smoke blocking your usual escape route?

How will you know where the alternative escape route is? Walk it now.

Need we go on?

Tip No 3

How to deliver good training.

The art of a good lecture

Tell ’em what you are going to tell ’em.

Then Tell ’em.

Then Tell ’em what you have told ’em.

In other words start by giving the delegates something to look forward to.

Then deliver the training.

Then recap and consolidate what you have delivered.

You see we have just done it.

We told you what we were going to tell you = How to Deliver good training

Then we told you = Deliver it three times

Now we are re-capping = I’m telling you what we told you

Tip No 4

Six P.s

Perfect Planning Prevents Pretty Poor Performance

Lecture or risk assessment, taking the time to dot all the I.s and cross all the T.s will pay dividends.

For good training make sure that:

You have all you need before the start;

Ensure there are going to be no interruptions;

Vary the training aids e.g. Multi-Media Projector, Overhead Projector, Video, Flip Chart;

Make it interactive.

Never embarrass your audience by putting one of them on the spot with a clever question,

You are supposed to know, they are not, so develop their knowledge don’t show off yours

If you don’t know something say so, never bluff it out find the answer and report it back

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