- OSH professionals often introduce workers to the hierarchy of controls concept during workplace training.
- The commonly used hierarchy of controls diagram may need revisions to improve its efficacy and usability as a tool to help workers learn to identify, assess, prevent, and control hazards and risks on the job.
- An improved diagram for use in training on the control methods concept should be based on information design principles to aid worker comprehension.
When designing workplace training related to OSH topics, chances are that a safety professional will include or at least mention the hierarchy of controls concept. This training almost always includes a diagram of the model to explain the concept.
As part of best practices in workplace training, the OSH professional is likely to use andragogy (the practice of teaching adult learners) and adult learning principles to help ensure that the worker understands why this subject has immediate relevance to their job and to encourage self-directed learning through problem-solving around relevant tasks (Culatta, 2024; Knowles et al., 2020). One model that may help the OSH professional develop self-directed training that realistically transfers to the workplace is the situation-evaluation-decision-action (SEDA) model (Thalheimer, 2018).
The authors use the SEDA model framing to introduce the situation of the hierarchy of controls diagram, evaluate the effectiveness of the diagram for training on control methods using information design principles, determine whether the diagram is effective, then recommend actions to improve the diagram that may increase its ability to demonstrate the concept of hazard control methods during worker training.
