People learn in different ways. Some learn through reading. Others need auditory or visual stimulus to really process information. This can make safety training a challenge. No one wants to sit and read through safety manuals and guidelines. Like television manuals and instructions for putting furniture together, they get tossed out, ignored and forgotten. No one wants to think an accident can happen to them. Safety videos can be another way to reach employees who do not have the time or inclination to learn the information another way.
Safety videos are a difficult challenge. If they are made to be funny and entertaining they can come across as goofy, and you risk the videos not being taken seriously. If they are done without humor they can be boring, and no one will pay attention. But the power of visual media cannot be ignored. Tell a person to check around their truck before all trips, and they will get busy and forget. Show a picture of a child hiding behind a big wheel of a delivery truck, and that image will stick with the driver every time he or she is in a hurry and turns the key without a pre-trip inspection.
In the world of safety and preparedness, it is better to be over prepared and cautious than to deal with the traumaand financial burdens of injuries and accidents. There is no one easy way to make everyone aware of safety concerns. Accidents will happen. But the more times and ways safety guidelines are distributed to employees, the more likely they will be remembered and followed. Safety videos are just one more tool to achieving that end. When used correctly they could save a life.