SCORM
Business

SCORM for Safety Training

John Eshan

We’ve all heard of safety training. But what is SCORM, and what is the connection of SCORM with safety training courses?

Let me first explain what SCORM is and how it works.

What is SCORM?

SCORM (Sharable Content Object Reference Model) is a collection of technical standards that supports eLearning initiatives. SCORM integrates communication and data in a way that allows content to be uploaded to any eLearning platform or an organization’s LMS (Learning Management System) without data loss or distortion of the content. Whether the content is images, videos, or text, a SCORM package with seamlessly transfer this information to your chosen LMS and play as it is supposed to without messing up formats and the overall look of the course content.

How does SCORM Work?

When organizations want to incorporate content developed externally into their company’s LMS or intranet, ensuring the coding and software are compatible can be a nightmare. When using SCORM, programmers receive guidance on how to write the code so that the result (that is the content) is SCORM-compliant enabling interoperability. This means that an organization can easily upload this content to the many SCORM-compliant learning management systems available globally.

Thus, SCORM is your ideal helper for seamlessly loading externally developed safety training content to your LMS in a few steps.

What is the Link between SCORM and Safety Training?

In the United States, employers are mandated by law to ensure the safety and health of their employees. One part of this is to provide employees with all relevant safety training, especially in instances where employees work with hazardous materials, toxic chemicals, or hazardous waste, and when their job tasks expose them to various hazardous work conditions such as working at heights or working in excavations or confined spaces.

Today, especially post-COVID-19, online safety training courses have become very popular. Safety training companies such as HAZWOPER OSHA Training have developed OSHA, DOT, EPA, NFPA, and RCRA-compliant online training courses to ease the burden placed on employers. Accessing these online courses is simple, register on the HAZWOPER OSHA website, purchase the course, and start training. However, many medium and large organizations already have in-build LMSs or intranets with eLearning modules. As such, they often require externally developed safety training courses to simply upload to their existing systems. This is where SCORM packages and SCORM-compliant courses become relevant to ensure compatibility and smooth operations of the safety training program that includes videos, animation, narrated content, images, and quizzes.

What are the Benefits of SCORM-based Safety Training?

  • Easy importation of external content to internal or in-house eLearning systems or LMS.
  • The OSHA, DOT, EPA, NFPA, and RCRA online safety training course content can be customized to suit specific organizational needs, as required.
  • Financial savings when training a large employee base.
  • Creating training programs is both cost and time intensive. Organizations can simply purchase the training courses they need over the counter at very competitive prices.
  • Employees do not need to log in to a different training platform to receive training. Logging into the company’s LMS or eLearning module will give them easy one-click access.
  • Companies like HAZWOPER OSHA Training offer cloud-based SCORM packages, which simply ensure that the content is always up to date with proper requirements and government regulations.

A Successful Application of SCORM Packages for Employee Safety Training

Company XYZ was in search of a DOT Hazmat Transportation safety training course and the OSHA 40-Hour HAZWOPER safety training course. They were considering different options – online training, virtual instructor-led training, and on-site group training. While researching safety training partners, they came across HAZWOPER OSHA Training, LLC which offers SCORM Packages. As the Company has an in-house intranet that is equipped with an eLearning system, they considered this option as well. After evaluating the various training options available to them for their 100 employees, they decided on the online option. However, they did not want to hassle employees into logging into an external system to complete their safety training. Thus, they inquired about the purchase of SCORM Packages from HAZWOPER OSHA Training, LLC for both the DOT Hazmat Transportation 10-Hour Advance Training and the OSHA 40-Hour HAZWOPER Training.

During their inquiry, one question they asked was, how will your safety training course work on our LMS? HAZWOPER OSHA’s answer was simple. “We will provide a SCORM 1.2 or SCORM 2004 package that will require your IT team to simply upload a SCORM package to your LMS, which will allow your employees access to our course without the need for a secondary login.” As SCORM is compatible with hundreds of LMS systems and Company XYZ’s system, the process of uploading is very simple.

As HAZWOPER OSHA Training’s format for SCORM safety training courses is cloud-based, Company XYZ had no need to worry about the course becoming outdated and not reflecting changes to OSHA and DOT hazardous materials transportation regulations. By subscribing to the annual maintenance plan, course regulatory and non-regulatory updates become part of the services offered by HAZWOPER OSHA Training.

In Conclusion

If an organization requires several safety training courses without the hassle of developing safety training programs to safeguard the health and safety of its employee base, the SCORM package is the answer. SCORM will support the integration of course content created by other safety training vendors making training more feasible and up-to-date.