What is WHMIS Training?

If you are employee, you face the risk of being injured in the workplace. Right training and education can help employees avoid injuries in the workplace. The WHMIS training is one form of training that help employees avoid potential injuries in the workplace.

Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System is abbreviated WHMIS. The hazardous materials included here are all materials including chemicals and gases found in the workplace. This system is put in place for the prevention of injury and the protection of the environment. By teaching employees how to handle and dispose of dangerous materials and hos to read safety labels, they are kept safe when handling chemicals.

WHMIS is important for workers because it helps protect their health and the health of the workplace and safety of the environment. There are many different kinds of chemicals found in different workplaces. Not all chemicals have the same side effects. The damage they can cause are also different so they have different handling requirements. Knowing how to handle these materials is not the only thing involved in WHMIS. Employees are educated in different situations including how to avoid contact with chemicals but also how to deal with exposure to toxic chemicals that can cause respiratory and other health problems. It also involves dealing with materials that have to be cleaned and disposed of in specific ways. With this training, employees will know how to keep out of danger and they will know what to do when they are faced with a potentially dangerous situation.

In different areas, all regulations will have the same basics. Dangerous materials are labelled. It regulates continuous training on those labels and potential hazards. Part of WHMIS is the MSDS or maintenance of material safety data sheets.

If a workplace contains or use products that have WHMIS symbols and labels, then their employees need to have training. Under federal regulations, it is the employers who are legally required to provide the training for their employees. Only employees exposed to these materials and are likely to come in contact with them have to be trained. There is no need to undergo training if an employees work does not involve these hazards. Even new employees have to be trained despite already having a WHMIS training. This is because training is specific to the workplace.

The two parts of the WHMIS training are the general and the site-specific training. In the general training employees learn about labels and symbols on hazardous materials. Here , employees are trained how to read labels.

This general training can also be taken online. In this online training, employees are updated on WHMIS regulations and labels. The online training does not cover the site-specific training of WHMIS.

Site-specific training is training in your specific workplace. You will know what substances are being used in your own workplace and how to handle them. Disposing of chemicals and how to deal with emergency situations are also taught.

With WHMIS training, you ensure the safety and well-preparedness of employees to perform their daily duties.