OSHA Requirements for Security Awareness Training

Situational awareness is one of the greatest skills one can develop through quality situational awareness training. This is especially true when it comes to personal and workplace safety and security. Awareness and the ability to recognize a potential threat can, and oftentimes is, the difference between a positive outcome and tragedy. Teaching these skills to your employees not only makes your business and customers safer, but also your employees themselves. It goes back to that old saying, “knowledge is power.” That is how OSHA views it and while at the moment they don’t have any requirements that employees have security training, that is likely to change. AEGIS can help by providing live security awareness or online security awareness training.

It’s an unfortunate reality that the workplace is not as safe as it used to be. Instances of disgruntled employees opening fire in the office, students shooting up schools, and bigots attacking business establishments they don’t agree with have nearly become normal in modern American society. This is exactly why it is crucial that all non-security employees be trained with basic awareness skills. It is for everyone’s benefit. 

We can not emphasize enough how highly OSHA regards education and training. So, we’re taking these words directly off their website. “Education and training are important tools for informing workers and managers about workplace hazards and controls so they can work more safely and be more productive.” The general view of OSHA is that businesses have to mitigate reasonable and foreseeable threats, and workplace violence is quickly becoming one of them.

That may seem like high praise for the simple act of informing your employees how to best keep themselves and each other safe while carrying out their duties, but we agree. At AEGIS Security & Investigations we know the power of training, because all of our employees are regularly trained on the newest and best ways to keep people safe. We see first hand how training and education allow our employees to be the best versions of themselves and we think all employers should feel the same way.

Understandably, not every business has private security. However, that doesn’t mean you need to be entirely vulnerable. Your regular employees can be taught the basics of security awareness to protect themselves, the business, and its assets. Simply knowing when something looks or feels wrong, knowing who to report it to, having the confidence to report it, and knowing how to alert others to potential danger are crucial skills. 

As workplace violence becomes more common (*According to the Department of Labor it’s already the 3rd leading cause of workplace deaths) OSHA will make this skill and the training to obtain them mandatory. Rather than waiting for that day to come, at AEGIS we recommend doing it now. 

The first reason we make this recommendation is regardless of OSHA’s requirements the threats are real today. Proactively protecting your employees is a good thing on multiple levels. It can limit (if not alleviate) your liability, prevent headline news from occurring in your business, and save you money. These benefits are real and can be taken advantage of right now.

While security awareness training and the threats discussed can be a heavy topic, no one is going to criticize you for preparing your employees for the realities of the workplace. If anything you will be praised for taking the extra step to ensure the safety of those who earn your bacon. Also, should something terrible happen, you have more protection in civil court because you did go the extra mile to protect your employees. 

That is not the financial savings we mentioned before though. Rather consider this: OSHA mandates security awareness training, now everyone must get it, meanwhile supply stays flat. Every security company in America will be able to use the influx of demand to raise prices. Doing this training now will not only give you proof that you’re meeting OSHA requirements, but you’ll get it for less than everyone who waits.
So really, the fact that OSHA is going to create new workplace training standards which include security awareness training doesn’t matter. What matters is that you recognize the risk today and take the necessary steps to mitigate it for the sake of your employees. Threats far greater than OSHA fines are out there today, but by being proactive you can protect yourself from both. AEGIS can help by providing live security awareness or online security awareness training.