Recently, one of our subscribers asked the following question:
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We are a manufacturing company of about 110 employees. We have several outside sales reps throughout the world. Do we as a company have to provide safety training to the outside reps, considering they may only be in our facility a few times a year? If so, what training and at what frequency?
This was our answer:
The type of training you are required to provide to your employees depends on their job duties. OSHA regulations specify training requirements based on particular hazards (such as chemical exposure or falls), work activities (such as confined space entry), industries (such as telecommunications or logging), and types of machinery or equipment (such as forklifts). Each standard has its own unique requirements for who needs to be trained, frequency of training, and trainer qualifications.
The first step to determining what training your employees need is to consider the hazards they are likely to be exposed to in the course of doing their jobs and whether there is a relevant OSHA training requirement. The chart at http://safety.blr.com/analysis/safety-administration/workplace-safety-training/ shows the OSHA standards that have associated training requirements. Reviewing this chart may help you to determine what safety training is necessary for your outside sales representatives based on the duties they perform.
After reviewing this information, you may find that your sales representatives need very little in the way of safety training. However, if they come to your facility at all, even just a few times per year, they should, at a minimum, be trained in any hazards they are likely to encounter at your facility (e.g., signage, areas to avoid, chemicals they could be exposed to). They should also be trained on your emergency procedures and general site safety policies and rules.
If your outside sales reps drive for their jobs, a best practice would be to provide training on safe driving. While this is not a specific OSHA requirement, transportation-related accidents are the number-one cause of on-the-job fatalities, and training in safe driving practices can help to prevent traffic accidents, injuries, and fatalities.