Offering Insight into OSHA 30

What is OSHA 30?

While the OSHA 10 course is designed to give participants basic training for recognizing and preventing or avoiding dangerous hazards in the workplace, OSHA 30 focuses heavily on the compliance side of safety. Those who are subject-matter experts in safety, such as safety directors, safety managers, or anyone with direct safety responsibility, should sign up for OSHA 30. It tackles workers' safety rights and companies' responsibilities to fulfill those rights.

OSHA 30 is designed to show attendees how to locate and comply with OSHA regulations, a critical skill necessary on the job site. It is also geared toward teaching individuals how to plan and execute a safety program within their company. As you can imagine, setting up a safety program is more of a commitment, so OSHA 30 involves four full days of training, 7.5 hours a day, whereas OSHA 10 only involves two days.  

Keep in mind that no matter how quickly participants go through the material, the mandate for the class is 30 hours of learning time. The OSHA 10-hour course covers eight different modules. In contrast, OSHA 30 has 21 total modules.  

Industry Focused

OSHA-approved trainers teach the OSHA 30 course in various fields, and courses can be completed in construction, general industry, and disaster site safety. The general industry training applies to manufacturing, chemical production, energy production, warehousing, and service industries, but not agriculture, construction, or maritime. 

OSHA 30 construction training is geared towards advanced level workers such as construction managers, supervisors, and team leaders. It's the most advanced level of construction training recognized, as it covers over 80 different topics.

Training Overview

Training in the OSHA 30 course will cover many topics and provide participants with information. Examples of what is covered during this training include identifying potential health and safety concerns and pinpointing the causes of these problems, creating a safer, healthier workplace environment, and ensuring your coworkers are taking on the mindset of building a safer work environment. The training series includes tools like an audio narration of each point, interactive exercises, quizzes to culminate each unit, and real-life case studies to highlight important content and put that content into practice. 

MCR Safety has taken the liberty of analyzing two different construction training agendas: OSHA 10 and OSHA 30. Here are some topics that are covered during the two additional OSHA 30 training days:

• Asbestos in Construction
• Confined Space Entry
• Excavation Safety
• Fire Protection and Prevention
• Lead in Construction
• Respiratory Protection Plan
• Safety and Health Programs

You’ll notice that these are essential topics, and some companies will schedule OSHA 30 for all workers. However, you’ll also notice the last bullet point covers safety programs, highlighting how the course emphasizes setting up company-wide safety initiatives. 

OSHA mandates that the OSHA 30 training course be completed within six months of the class start date and requires a 70 percent minimum score for the course to be considered successfully passed. There is a final exam, and all enrollees have three opportunities to take and pass the exam online. After completing the class and exam, participants receive a plastic wallet card as proof of completion. For many training organizations, those who take OSHA 10 can come back and take an additional 20-hour course to obtain their OSHA 30, as long as it's within six months of their initial OSHA 10 training.

Continue reading this blog in its entirety to see answers to commonly asked questions.

Previously Featured on MCR Safety's blog.