Global company uses UL EHS Sustainability’s training library and content creation system to educate thousands of workers a year.

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AECOM, a Fortune 500 Company, is a global provider of professional technical and management support services to markets including transportation, facilities, energy, water and government. The company has approximately 45,000 employees, with about a third of its workforce based in North America.

Challenge

AECOM in North America needs a flexible format to ensure training compliance and successful completion of multiple levels of personnel certifications while minimizing impacts on employee productivity. The company uses a multi-step approach to safety, health and environment (SH&E) training.

Its goal is to provide exactly the right amount and type of training in accordance with each employee’s specific responsibilities, hazards they are likely to encounter on the job, and company policies and processes.

“Flexibility is critical to our ability to deliver effective training to employees, as well as the ability to complete training with minimal work interruptions,” said Peter Sullivan, AECOM’s acting SH&E training director.

The company’s guiding SH&E principles call for “thorough and effective training programs to employees. Our management teams will evaluate the training needs for all projects and only assign competent personnel.” AECOM is committed to protecting the safety and health of its employees, and supporting processes, facilities and projects that “reduce risks and impacts during their entire life cycle, consistent with the direction and objectives of its clients.”

Solution

The company makes extensive use of UL EHS Sustainability’s online training library and its content development team to design custom courses. To date, they have jointly developed eight eLessons.

“UL has the ability to adapt to our ever-changing needs regarding subject matter while allowing us to maintain a high degree of integrity and meet our core regulatory compliance needs,” Sullivan said. “Our employees are able to train at their own pace and at times that are convenient to them.”

AECOM has devoted extensive staff time and resources to the development of a training needs assessment tool based on a thorough analysis of risk exposures and functional job tasks. Employees complete the assessment prior to training to determine which courses are required or recommended for the work that they do. Used in conjunction with a learning management system, the company is able to budget for and provide as-needed training, in turn reducing incidents, injuries and related costs.

“For instance, we can pick six employees who use fall protection equipment and train them to become trainers. They can then take the lead as local subject matter experts,” Sullivan said. “The return on investment has far exceeded the cost of developing the needs assessment tool.”

Awareness and performance level training are two critical components. Awareness training is designed to provide employees with basic regulatory compliance information and general hazard recognition and mitigation skills. UL EHS Sustainability’s online courses are the primary path for completing this training.

Performance training delivered in the classroom teaches specific hazard mitigation and life-saving skills; learners are required to physically demonstrate their capabilities to earn related certifications.

Results

AECOM’s North America operations reports:

  • In FY2012 more than 4,000 assignments were made comprised of 120 different eLessons.
  • Employees completed at least 80 percent of assigned training at times that didn’t conflict with professional or personal/family commitments.
  • A 10 percent decrease in OSHA-recordable incidents between 2010 and 2011.
  • A 52 percent reduction in injury-related lost work days from 2010-11.
  • Significant savings by avoiding training space rentals, travel for trainers, lost productivity and wage replacement costs.
  • Course completion rates improved 15 percent by having employees complete training needs assessments and raising their awareness before receiving assignments.
  • Employees report using the knowledge and skills they acquired during training to make their homes and communities safer.

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    Industries:
  • General Industry
    Products:
  • PURE Safety
  • PURE Learning