Question: Does OSHA consider online training only (computer-based training without a hand-on skill component or verification of competent skill performance by a qualified trainer) acceptable for meeting the intent of the basic first-aid and CPR requirements of OSHA standards at
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- 29 CFR 1910.151 (medical services and first aid),
- 1910.146 (permit-required confined spaces),
- 1910.266 (logging operations),
- 1910.269 (electric power generation, transmission, and distribution),
- 1910.410 (qualifications of dive team), and
- 1926.950 (power transmission and distribution)?
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Reply: Online training alone would NOT meet the requirements of these training standards. The word “train” is defined as “[t]o make proficient with special instruction and practice,” Webster’s II New Collegiate Dictionary, 1995, p. 1,169. These standards require training in physical skills, such as bandaging and CPR. The only way these physical skills can be learned is by actually practicing them. OSHA’s Best Practices Guide: Fundamentals of a Workplace First-Aid Program, 2006, p. 11, states that a first-aid training program should have trainees develop hands-on skills through the use of mannequins and partner practice. The guide may be accessed at www.osha.gov . Doctors and nurses receive hands-on training. However, the standards cited above do not require verification of competent performance, EXCEPT as follows…