OSHA’s Required Training Frequencies

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) creates and enforces environmental, health and safety (EHS) standards for U.S. workers. Many of these standards come with specific training requirements, which OSHA makes available for free.

Some OSHA standards also stipulate annual training requirements. We have compiled a listing below of the topics that OSHA has established annual training requirements. For each entry, we included the regulatory reference and the quoted verbiage that contains the training requirement. This information can be useful when planning your training programs.

How Often Do Employees Need to Be Trained?

While the requirement to conduct training is clear, the frequency of when that training is required is sometimes not as clear or well-defined. Before we dig into OSHA training topics, let’s look at the different phrases you may come across when trying to determine training frequency.

Prior to first exposure or initial assignment of tasks where exposure could occur

• Annually
• Every three years
• As determined by employer
• Retraining following certain situations
  • When worker responsibilities or assigned duties change
  • When a new hazard, risk, or equipment is introduced
  • When there are inadequacies in a worker’s knowledge or use of procedure
  • When any other changes occur that render previous training obsolete
  • When retraining appears necessary to ensure safety

OSHA-Required Training for Most Workplaces

Emergency response training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.38; 1926.35
• This is training all employers must conduct. Employers have a responsibility to provide workforce training on the appropriate response to certain types of emergencies that could affect working environments, including actions employees should take to protect themselves. Such emergencies include fires, unexpected chemical releases, natural disasters, incidents of violence, etc.
• Training frequency:
  • Initial training when emergency response plan (ERP) is developed
  • New hire training
  • Retraining when worker responsibilities or actions change according to ERP
  • Retraining whenever ERP changes.

Fire safety/fire extinguisher training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.39; 1910.157
• This training is for any worker with access to a fire extinguisher, and those expected to use a fire extinguisher to extinguish small fires. OSHA defines a small fire as an “incipient stage fire,” meaning wastepaper basket-sized or smaller. Fire extinguisher training teaches employees how to fight small fires and how to use a fire extinguisher to safely escape a burning building. If you have fire extinguishers in the workplace, your employees need this training.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • Annual retraining

Personal protective equipment (PPE) training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.132 – 1910.138; 1910.140; 1915.151-153, 155-157
• Wearing personal protective equipment (such as safety glasses, hard hats, and ear plugs) is critical to successfully working in many high-risk work environments. But PPE is technically intended as a final option for protecting workers. Employers must first try protecting the workforce by eliminating hazards before resorting to PPE. If, after exhausting other means to eliminate hazards, workers must wear PPE, then those workers need training on when to wear it, its limitations, how to clean and store it, and what company rules apply to use.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • Retraining when: (1) changes in the workplace render previous training obsolete; (2) changes in the types of PPE to be used render previous training obsolete; or (3) inadequacies in worker knowledge or use of assigned PPE indicate that the worker has not retained the requisite understanding or skill

Hazard communication (HAZCOM) training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.1200; 1926.59; 1915.1200; 1917.23;1917.28
• Hazard communication training is for any employee who works with a hazardous substance or chemical, including some medications and vaccines, and any chemical requiring a safety data sheet. The purpose of HAZCOM training is for workers to understand how a chemical causes harm. For example, employees must know if a chemical is dangerous to inhale or damaging to skin when handled without gloves.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • When new chemical hazards are introduced to the work environment and where workers have not been previously trained on the hazard
  • Retraining when worker responsibilities change

Occupational noise exposure (hearing conservation) training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.95; 1926.52; 1917.1
• Employers in working environments where noise exceeds OSHA’s permissible exposure limit (PEL) of 90 A-weighted decibels (dBA) over an 8-hour workday need to provide training on the impact of noise on the human ear, and how employees can and must protect themselves.
• If employees are not exposed to noise exceeding 90 dBA over an 8-hour period but are exposed to higher noise levels for a shorter duration, the PEL may still be exceeded. OSHA uses a scale for determining the noise exposure threshold. For example, if an employee is exposed to 110 decibels of noise, they can work safely without hearing protection for only 30 minutes.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • Annual retraining

Basic respiratory protection training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.134; 1926.103;1915.154; 1917.1
• A respirator is any kind of mask with two straps behind the head; disposable surgical-type masks are not considered respirators. Workers who must wear a respirator need training on the limitations of those devices. Workers must know how to properly wear and clean these devices, and how to properly fit one to the face. This is critical training because different respirators filter for different contaminants. For example, there are special filters for asbestos, lead, and certain welding fumes.
• Training frequency:
  • Train prior to requiring employees to use a respirator in the workplace
  • Annually
  • Retraining when: (1) changes in the workplace or the type of respirator render previous training obsolete; (2) inadequacies in worker knowledge or use of respirator indicate that the worker has not retained the requisite understanding or skill; or (3) any situation arises in which retraining appears necessary to ensure safety

Bloodborne pathogens (BBP) training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.1030; 1915.1030
• This training is for workers with “occupational exposure,” which is defined as “the reasonable anticipation of contact with blood or other potentially infectious materials as a result of performing one’s job duties and is not limited to employees who experience occupational exposure by virtue of the fact that they render certain health care services.”
• Any worker whose job includes cleaning and decontaminating areas where bloodborne pathogens may exist would be considered occupational exposure. For example, workers in medical clinics, hospitals, labs, long‐term care facilities, and funeral parlors, require BBP training.
• Training frequency:
  • At time of hire
  • Train at initial assignment to tasks where occupational exposure could occur
  • Annual retraining

Confined spaces and confined spaces permit-required training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.146; 1926.1200
• A confined space means a space large enough that a person can enter and perform work, has limited or restricted means for entry and exit, and is not designed for continuous occupancy. Examples include tanks, bins, pits, vats, vessels, excavations, sewer systems, and boilers. A “non-permit confined space” means a confined space that does not contain or have the potential to contain any hazard capable of causing death or serious physical harm.
• Entry of a confined space is not limited to the entire body. When heads, arms, and legs break the threshold of a confined space, that space is considered entered.
• Training frequency:
  • Initial training when assigned to confined space duties
  • Retraining before there is a change in assigned duties
  • Retraining when permit space operations are changed to present a hazard for which any worker has not previously received training
  • Whenever the employer has reason to believe either that there are deviations from the permit space entry procedures required by the law, or that there are inadequacies in the worker’s knowledge or use of these procedures

Electrical safety training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.330 - 1910.335; 1926 subpart K; 1917.1
• Exposure to electricity is one of OSHA’s “fatal four” occupational hazards resulting in death. Electrical safety training is intended to teach employees who work with electrical equipment what the limitations are for non‐qualified electricians, and how to avoid exposure to electric shock or electrocution.
• Training frequency:
  • Not addressed by OSHA, best practice is prior to exposure.

Powered Industrial Truck/ Forklift operator training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.178; 1926.602
• Any worker who operates a forklift and does not have proof of training — current within the past three years — must be trained. For workers trained within a three-year period, previous training is transferable from employer to employer, provided that the forklift a worker is being asked to operate is similar to that of the previous employer. OSHA refers to forklifts and several other types of industrial machinery as “powered industrial trucks."
• Training frequency:
  • Prior to permitting an employee to operate a powered industrial truck
  • At least once every three years

Welding/Cutting/Brazing/Hot Work training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910 Subpart Q; 1926 Subpart J; 1917.152
• This training topic is for workers who weld or cut with torches. It can apply to any sort of welding such as stick or arc welding. In addition to skilled welders, other employees who may need this training include workers who periodically perform welding related to maintenance or repair.
• Note: During welding, stainless steel, commonly found in working environments associated with food processing, drug manufacturing, and chemical refining, produces a noxious fume resulting from the hazardous chemical hexavalent chromium. Workers with exposure to hexavalent chromium as a welding byproduct need special training on mitigating this hazard.
  • Training frequency:
  • Not addressed by OSHA, best practice is prior to exposure.

Lab safety training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.1450;1915.1450
• If your company has a non-production lab such as in a medical clinic, hospital, pharmacy or some manufacturing facilities, your employees will need a lab safety course to address their special workplace hazards.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • As determined by employer

Lockout/tagout training

• OSHA required: yes

• OSHA regulations: 1910.269; 1910.147; 1926.65; 1915.89

• This training is required for workers performing maintenance, repair, and those who need to understand the rationale of locking and tagging equipment to protect themselves and the general workforce.

• Lockout/tagout is a critical practice for routine equipment maintenance and cleaning. For any piece of equipment with more than one power source, employers must provide a step-by-step, written lockout/tagout procedure.

• Training frequency:

• Before exposure

• Retraining when: (1) change in machine; (2) change in job assignment; (3) new equipment/processes present hazard; (4) change in energy control procedures; or (5) after periodic inspections reveal inadequate knowledge or deviations in procedures

OSHA-Required Training for Many Workplaces

Powered Platforms, Manlifts, and Vehicle-Mounted Work Platforms (including aerial and scissor lift) training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.66-67
• This training is required for any worker who operates a scissor or aerial lift. Aerial lifts have a boom that articulates out, often with a basket to transport a worker for elevated tasks, and require workers to wear a body harness to prevent the ejection of the worker. Workers in a scissor lift do not need body harnesses if the scissor lift has a complete, functioning guardrail.
• Training frequency:
  • Not addressed by OSHA, best practice is prior to exposure.

First aid and CPR training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.151;1926.50;1918.97 (many others, check regulations)
• This training is required for workers directly involved with emergency response and most medical services. Training is also required for any workforce where the working environment is outside the near proximity distance of an infirmary, clinic, or hospital (OSHA defines a near proximity distance of 3‐4 minutes for high-risk environments, and 15 minutes for office settings).
• Note: Each member of a confined space rescue service team must be trained in basic first aid and CPR, and at least one member must hold current certification in first aid and in CPR.
• Training frequency:
  • Not addressed by OSHA, best practice is prior to exposure.

Compressed gas safety training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.110
• This is required training for people performing installation, removal, operation, and maintenance work on cylinders or compressed gas systems, cutters, welders and their supervisors.
• Note: Training is required to comply with storage and handling of liquefied petroleum gases. Training is also required to comply with oxygen-fuel gas welding and cutting.
• Training frequency:
  • Not addressed by OSHA, best practice is prior to exposure.

Arc Flash (NFPA 70E) training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.330-335
• The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) provides information and guidelines that protect workers from electrical hazards, while OSHA enforces electrical safety in the workplace. Under OSHA requirements, the NFPA 70E places additional requirements on all organizations to properly identify hazards and provide training for anyone who may work on, near, or around electrical equipment.
• For example, if a worker is tasked with replacing a circuit breaker, must operate a knife switch to turn power on or off, or is qualified to do electrical work with 600 volts or less, then the worker needs awareness‐level training to understand and protect against the risk of arc flash.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • Retraining when worker responsibilities change/new hazard introduced
  • Retraining according to "if/then” statements for PPE
  • Follow training guidelines for electrical safety and PPE training
  • Check regulation, multiple circumstances require retraining

Walking-Working Surfaces training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.21-30
• Slips, trips, and falls: This training is universally relevant for all workforces. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than 800 workers die from a fatal slip, trip, or fall, each year.
• Personal fall arrest systems:
• This training applies to workers who must wear body harnesses for fall protection or positioning devices while working from aerial lifts, and workers exposed to falls of four feet or higher in general industry work environments.
• These workers need training to properly wear, adjust, and tighten a body harness, and must know how to calculate fall distance to ensure correct lengths of security lifelines. These workers must also know how to inspect lanyards and lifelines for wear and understand how to store such devices to maintain structural integrity.
• Training frequency:
  • Not addressed by OSHA, best practice is prior to exposure.

OSHA-Required Training for Certain Industries or Specific Types of Work

Asbestos awareness training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.1001; 1926.1101; 1915.1001
• Any worker who risks exposure to asbestos-containing material (ACM) must have awareness-level training on the hazard. This training teaches workers how to identify ACM.
• Note: Awareness-level training does not make employees qualified to remove or conduct asbestos abatement work.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • Annual retraining

Chlorine safety training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.1000; 1910.1200; 1910.1450
• For many of today’s consumer products, chlorine is an indispensable part of the manufacturing process. It is used in the manufacture of pharmaceuticals, pesticides, paper, and resins. It is generally regarded as the most effective disinfectant and bleaching agent available today. Chlorine is used in 99% of treated drinking water to prevent the spread of disease. It is also used to disinfect equipment and utensils in hospitals and food processing plants, and to control odor.
• Chlorine is often used for cleaning or sanitizing water. If a worker must handle chlorine in liquid or powder form, the worker needs training on chlorine safety.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • Retraining every three years
  • Retraining whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced into work area
  • Retraining when worker responsibilities change

Formaldehyde training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.1048; 1926.1148; 1915.1048
• Also known as “formalin,” formaldehyde is one of the most common industrial chemicals in use today. It is classified as a volatile organic compound. It is also an irritant to many workers and a known human carcinogen. It is usually found in liquid form. Formaldehyde is common in medical settings, labs, mortuaries, and some agricultural settings.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • Annual retraining
  • Retraining whenever a new exposure risk is introduced
  • Retraining when worker responsibilities change

Hand and power tool safety training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.242-244; 1926.300-307
• This training is required for any worker tasked with regular operation of hand and power tools. As tool users, workers have a primary role in safety. Employees must have clear, established safety protocols for working with each unique piece of equipment and workers must follow those procedures when using tools, while relying on training to operate equipment safely.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training

Hydrogen sulfide training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.1000; 1926.55
• This training is for workers with limited and routine exposure to decaying organic matter. A by-product of decaying organic matter — certain industrial wastes, effluents, liquid manure, natural gas — hydrogen sulfide is normally released when chemical reactions breakdown natural substances.
• Sewer workers, wastewater treatment staff, heating and cooling technicians, and agriculture workers, for example, likely need this training, along with workers tasked with entry of confined spaces.
• Note: If exposed as per hazard communication, then training is required.
• Training frequency:
  • Follow hazard communication requirements
  • New hire training
  • Retraining whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced into work area

Indoor air quality training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.1000
• Indoor air quality concerns relate to the existence of undesirable and sometimes harmful indoor airborne contaminants and other air qualities that can adversely impact the comfort and health of building occupants. This training required for supervisors, managers, and safety committees, and details the risks of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, mold, healthy air exchange rates, along with options for mitigation.
• Training frequency:
  • Not addressed by OSHA, best practice is prior to exposure.

Lead awareness training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.1025; 1926.62; 1915.1025
• This training is for any worker with exposure to lead. Lead is a heavy, soft, gray-blue metallic element found in the earth’s crust. Most occupational exposure to lead comes from activities like mining, smelting, welding, demolition, construction, manufacturing, and the use of manufactured products containing lead, but lead is perhaps most associated with paint and painting.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • Annual retraining

Machine guarding training

• OSHA required: no
• OSHA regulations: 1910.212-213, 215-216, 219; 1917.151
• This training is for workers who operate complex machinery. OSHA requires that one or more methods of machine guarding be provided to protect the operator and other employees in the machine area from hazards created by moving parts, as well as preventing contact with other hazards such as heat, non-ionizing radiation, sharp edges, etc.
• Machines that are not properly safeguarded can cause serious injury, such as crushed or severed fingers, hands and arms, eye injuries, and even blindness. Shortcuts around machine safety features are a frequently cited cause for many machine-related accidents, occurring when workers decide to forego the normal protocol of working with a safeguard and bypass it altogether, leaving them with considerable risk of harm and injury.
• Note: Mechanical power-press operation law specifically requires training before exposure and at least annually thereafter.
• Training frequency:
  • Prior to use
  • Annual retraining

Overhead and gantry cranes training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: 1910.179
• OSHA requires worker training on overhead and gantry cranes only when two or more cranes are used to lift a load, in which case a “qualified” person (one having the skills and abilities related to operation of overhead or gantry cranes) shall be in supervisory role.
• Training frequency:
  • Not addressed by OSHA, best practice is prior to exposure

Process safety management (PSM) training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910. 119; 1926.64
• This training is for certain employees in environments where more than10,000 pounds of flammable gas or liquid are present.
• Process safety management is a comprehensive approach to prevent chemical releases. An effective PSM program includes an evaluation of the whole process including design and technology, and other elements that might impact the process. Chemical safety starts with a thorough examination of work operations to identify and control risk and potential hazards related to handling of chemicals.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training
  • Retraining every three years

Safety audits

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulation: OSHA CFR 29, Final Policy Concerning the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's Treatment of Voluntary Employer Safety and Health Self-Audits.
• This training is for any employee tasked with abating safety hazards, safety committees and committee members, safety professionals, and supervisors who have responsibility to identify workplace hazards.
• Safety audits are intended to ensure that effective program elements are in place for identifying, eliminating, or controlling hazards that could adversely impact a company’s physical and human assets. Conducted properly, this type of audit will help reduce injury and illness rates, lower workers’ compensation and other business costs, empower employees by involving them in activities affecting their own safety and health, increase job satisfaction, and make the company more competitive.
• Training frequency:
  • Not addressed by OSHA, best practice is prior to exposure

Best Practice Training

Back safety and injury prevention training

• OSHA required: no
• OSHA regulation: none
• This training is for any workforce lifting and handling heavy objects. Risks for occupational back injury are higher for manufacturing, warehousing, hospitality, and trades workers, and others with physically demanding jobs.
• Training frequency:
  • As determined by employer, best practice is prior to exposure

Heat stress and cold stress training

• OSHA required: no
• OSHA regulation: none
• Workers exposed to harmful physical elements such as extreme heat or cold need to know how to prevent heat-related illnesses and/or frostbite and hypothermia. This training is for workers with routine exposure to outdoor or indoor environments where extreme temperatures are present.
• Training frequency:
  • As determined by employer, best practice is prior to exposure

Driver safety and distracted driving training

• OSHA required: no
• OSHA regulation: none
• Driving on the job is a high-risk, high-liability scenario, and it happens every day, which is why there are so many accidents related to the transportation of goods and other services. Great training and caution are essential to lowering the risk related to your mobile workforce.
• As a best practice, training on driver safety and distracted driving should be provided by employers who have workers driving non-commercial vehicles. For some employers, auto insurance companies may offer a discount if employees are trained in safe driving practices.
• Training frequency:
  • As determined by employer, best practice is prior to exposure

Industrial ergonomics training

• OSHA required: no
• OSHA regulation: none
• Workers at risk for musculoskeletal injuries (shoulder, elbow, wrist, hand, neck, back, etc.) are generally those who perform repetitive work in manufacturing, processing lines, healthcare, assembly, and packaging work. These injuries, often called soft-tissue injuries, drive up workers’ compensation rates. This training is for supervisors and safety professionals working to address musculoskeletal injuries.
• The term “ergonomics” refers to making the workplace conducive to the comfort and productivity of the employee. Applying ergonomic principles helps workers avoid on-the-job illness and injury and improves worker satisfaction through measures that provide greater comfort, helping people to perform assigned tasks more naturally.
• Training frequency:
  • As determined by employer, best practice is prior to exposure.

Flammable liquid safety training

• OSHA required: no
• OSHA regulation: 1910.106
• Employees who work directly with flammable liquids, either by moving, storing, or disposing of such liquids, should have this training.
• Training frequency:
  • New hire training

Ladder safety training

• OSHA required: yes
• OSHA regulations: 1910.25; 1910.27; 1910.333; 1926.1052; 1926.1053; 1926.1060
• This is for any worker who regularly uses a ladder in the performance of work. This training is useful for workers that use ladders on the sides of vehicles or tanks, ladders for repair work, and ladders used daily to gain access to other levels. There are many types of ladders; each of these ladder types pose special hazards and training for each type is critical.
• Training frequency:
  • As determined by employer, best practice is prior to exposure/use.

Office ergonomics training

• OSHA required: no
• OSHA regulation: none
• This training is for any safety professional or manager with a workforce at risk for musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) and employees. According to OSHA, industries with the highest musculoskeletal disorders rates include health care, transportation, warehousing, retail, and wholesale trade and construction. Each year, MSD cases account for around 33% of all worker injuries and illnesses.
• Training frequency:
  • As determined by employer, best practice is upon hire/prior to exposure.

Safe-driving behaviors for CMVs

• OSHA required: no
• OSHA regulation: none
• All commercial motor vehicle (CMV) drivers can benefit from this training. CMVs and other heavy trucking rigs present unique hazards that lighter vehicles, like cars driven by the public, do not — these critical factors must be accounted for to protect everyone on the road.
• EHS professionals and organizations offering this training should contact auto insurance carriers about premium discounts.
• Training frequency:
  • As determined by employer, best practice is prior to exposure.

Violence in the workplace training

• OSHA required: no
• OSHA regulation: none
• This training is appropriate for workers in any workplace setting. OSHA has identified high‐risk industries — including health care, social services, and late-night retail settings such as convenience stores, liquor stores, and gas stations — as industries where they strongly urge to provide training.
• Training frequency:
  • As determined by employer, best practice is prior to exposure.

Conclusion

While the above list of training standards is lengthy, it is not comprehensive and there are many more OSHA standards that require training and include training frequency information.

With nearly 1,000 different OSHA standards and hundreds of specific training requirements, it can be hard for employers to keep track of everything needed for regulatory compliance.

While much of understanding all that is required — or suggested — by OSHA typically means employers must look through specific standards, OSHA does provide an overview of employer responsibilities.

To that aim, HSI developed an OSHA Safety Training Assessment, to help you identify specific training requirements based on your workplace and hazards your workers might encounter and detail the training frequency detailed in each training requirement.

Another source of information from OSHA is General Duty Clause page that briefly outlines things such as appropriate signage, how to report fatalities or serious workplace injuries, recordkeeping responsibilities, and more. It also makes it easy to find many important OSHA documents, all linked in one place.

Once you have determined which standards apply to your workplace and the specific training requirements that go along with those regulations, it is time to implement a quality safety training program. See how HSI makes occupational health and safety training easy, no matter your industry, job title or location.