Online Safety Training for Factory Workers: A Usability Study

Paper, with attached website screenshot images.In addition to the obvious food safety requirements, manufacturing—specifically distilling—can be inherently hazardous, especially when it involves heavy equipment and highly flammable and explosive materials. Ensuring workers’ safety and understanding about working in a hazardous environment is essential. While there is not necessarily a need for e-learning specifically, there is certainly a need for training. Training requirements can be extensive, and at a busy factory it can be difficult to manage, deliver, and track this training. This study explored e-learning solutions as they can be applied to needs of this industry. The purpose of this usability study was to develop and evaluate the ease of use of an online learning module designed to deliver and track safety training. The researcher designed the prototype training module, incorporating the principles of instructional design and multimedia learning. Three rounds of usability testing were conducted. Revisions were made to the prototype after each round of testing, based on user feedback to improve the user experience. User feedback indicated that simpler was better. Appealing visuals, clear and concise text, a clean layout, and prominent straightforward instructions were preferred by users. This paper discusses study results including methods, participant data, design implications, and website modifications. The study helped to provide a user-friendly online training tool that can be further developed and implemented in a workplace safety program outside the scope of this project