Passport
To Safety

When the Outdoor Advertising Association was looking for a partner to develop and deliver a bespoke health & safety course for their industry, they chose the experts at HSS.

THE CHALLENGE
In 2004 HSS Training attended an Outdoor Health & Safety Committee meeting, chaired by the Outdoor Advertising Association (OAA), on the recommendation of Clear Channel. We had delivered specialised training services to Clear Channel for the previous two years.

The OAA was looking for a training specialist to develop and deliver a bespoke one-day health & safety course for the outdoor advertising industry, covering everything from working safely at height through to environmental issues. Invited to tender for this important role, we went head-to-head with other training providers and emerged with a four-year contract.

THE SOLUTION
Attending the course had been made compulsory by the OAA, and all its members had agreed not to use any labour that had not successfully completed it. It was also stipulated that certification would only be valid for two years.

Drawing on HSS experience and expertise, we tailored a programme that addressed the Association’s precise requirements. In the first two years, we trained over 1300 delegates, awarding each the OAA Passport certifying knowledge to the required standard. We also delivered further specialised training to a number of companies, including Clear Channel, who had identified additional opportunities for their employees./p>

To meet the needs of personnel who later required refresher training, we developed a bespoke follow-on course in consultation with the Association and the Health & Safety Executive. This course placed additional emphasis on key aspects of risk assessment and also introduced a new set of pocket-sized reminder cards.

THE BENEFITS
The OAA’s decision to limit certification to two years provided the opportunity to ensure that each employee not only received basic training but also had the advantage of a refresher, reinforcing the requirement to put principles into practice on site.

Justifiably proud of its commitment to this training, the Association has since been working with HSS to develop mechanisms for communicating its success to all member companies.

The programme has also delivered an unexpected practical benefit. Having identified a need, we subsequently worked in conjunction with specialist manufacturer Spanset to develop a secure ladder system that can help make the outdoor advertising industry an even safer place to work.