“We have a state-of-the-art training trailer ready to go at your convenience — any time, any day, any place,” said Ron Eastham, trainer and account manager with SMG University.
SMG University offers a diverse catalog of training opportunities on the job, on demand and on the go. And the “on the go” portion comes courtesy of SMG’s mobile safety training trailer. Similar looking to a camping RV, the SMG mobile training trailer is a classroom on wheels — complete with an awning that extends out and a section of the trailer that opens up to reveal a built-in TV, along with LCD screens and a speaker system. Inside is another TV with chairs so the classroom portion of the training can be set up inside or outside the trailer depending on the weather and the number of people being trained.
“Having this safety training trailer to conduct hands-on training really breaks up the monotony of book work and presentations,” said SMG Safety Training Specialist Ryne Ross. “This kind of training environment is not something many other companies have, so SMG is fairly unique in that way. When we take the trailer out, people definitely notice and ask about it.”
Hands-On Training at Your Fingertips
“We built this trailer because we found people learn and retain more when we bring the safety training to their actual worksite and use their own facilities and resources,” said Director of Safety Services and SMG University Mark Steinhofer, PhD, CSP, CHST, CUSP. “It’s more cost effective for the company we’re training, and the employees get hands-on, practical application of the book knowledge they’ve acquired.”
That training is customized to the client and their needs — and may include training on fall protection; first aid/CPR/AED; lock out, tag out; and confined space rescue, among many other safety training topics.
“We focus on different types of training based on what’s going to be the most beneficial for the client,” Ross said. “We can tailor make it for them.”
For example, every year, SMG goes to the different Red Gold plants throughout Indiana to do confined space training with their team members. At their plants, Red Gold employees often have to get into large vats to process tomatoes and perform maintenance on the machinery.
“When you enter a confined space, basically a really small area with just enough space for you to do your job, that is one of the things in construction that has the potential for a lot of accidents to take place — including fatalities,” Ross said. “With our training trailer, we are able to simulate a non-entry rescue and actually practice with employees what they should do if they are ever in that situation in real life, which is not something you often get to do in a regular, classroom-style training.”
Eastham took the training trailer to the Jim Beam Distillery in Kentucky to do a safety training on lock out, tag out (LOTO) — a safety procedure used to ensure dangerous equipment is properly shut off and not able to be started up again prior to the completion of maintenance or repair work.
“We show workers in the training exactly what they are supposed to do in a certain scenario,” Eastham said. “We do the classroom portion of the training first, and then we actually put it to use with hands-on applications. It really gets them thinking on their feet. And at Jim Beam, the team learned a lot, especially by going through the hands-on portion of the training.”
“During the hands-on training, you’re using all your senses — you listen to the training, then you’re using your sight and hands,” Steinhofer said. “When workers hear, see and then do the training, it makes it that much more impactful for them and more likely they will retain the information.”
Safety Training Helps Build a Team
SMG’s mobile safety training trailer is designed to do a multitude of different types of training.
“We have to cover specific topics designated by OSHA,” Eastham said. “And being able to use the training trailer and having the hands-on portion literally at your fingertips makes the training a lot more interesting and useful than just watching a video or reading a PowerPoint presentation.” It’s also a great team building exercise to go through the safety training together with other team members.
“It helps grow a true safety culture within an organization to allow and encourage employees to ask questions,” Steinhofer said. “During these training sessions, there’s an open dialogue between the team members, during which you can ask another person on your team a safety question about how they did something or what they think about doing things a certain way, and it helps them think through the situation together.” Plus, the trailer allows SMG to take their training anywhere.
“We have the ability to do any type of safety training — and that puts us above the rest,” Ross said. “We are able to go out to jobsites to do these trainings in person, and the trailer is small, light and versatile and can be parked anywhere we need to go.”
And the clients keep coming back for more training — a true testament to SMG’s expertise and industry-leading excellence.
“Once they find out the types of training we offer and the level of professionalism we bring to their jobsite, the engaging personalities of the trainers and the knowledge and expertise they provide, they often become repeat customers — and clients for life,” Steinhofer said.
Our mobile safety training trailer is ready to roll to your jobsite. Contact us today.
