Choosing an online training solution is easier with a bit of expert advice.

1. Assess Your Resources. If youve already committed yourself to the idea of online training, youve likely already done some assessment of your resources. If not, evaluate your budget, time, equipment and computer availability to see what you can afford.

2. Conduct a JHA. The next, and most important, step is conducting your own Job Hazard Assessment (JHA). This consists of a safety professional - your safety representative or consultant - visiting the job site, analyzing field worker operations and noting what physical and environmental hazards exist.

A good JHA will identify what particular workers in various positions need to be trained on in order to eliminate or reduce the hazards associated with their job. Youd then want to match up your needs with exactly what the online training company provides.

3. Target Your Specific Needs. Choose an online training provider that can offer you the training topics identified in the JHA or one that has the ability to customize the training to address the unique hazards associated with your particular industry. You should ask, Is the training offered here specifically geared toward meeting the training requirements set by OSHA or is it just awareness level training?

4. Choose Deep or Wide. Also, ask yourself how in depth the training needs to be given the students level of responsibility for site safety. If you are looking into training for a supervisor or manager, oftentimes you will need more in-depth coverage of that subject matter.

Perhaps you have a supervisor who needs training that qualifies him or her as a Competent Person or a worker who simply needs awareness-level training. A Competent Person is defined by OSHA as: an individual who, by way of training and/or experience, is knowledgeable of applicable standards, is capable of identifying workplace hazards relating to the specific operation, is designated by the employer, and has authority to take appropriate actions.

5. Track Your Training. From an administrative standpoint you should make sure that the online training provider can track and maintain the student training records. Also, find out if you will have instant access to these records.

Following these tips and doing a bit planning will undoubtedly make finding the right online training provider much easier on you. As with any major purchase, the more research you do the better. Good luck.