Implementation of training beyond RII Compliance

1. Integrate Critical Risk Thinking into Daily Operations

Instead of treating RII competencies as a tick-and-flick process, ensure training and safety interactions develop workers’ risk awareness skills.

What You Can Do:

Encourage supervisors to challenge ineffective controls – During toolbox talks or inspections, ask:

• "What could go wrong here?"

• "Are the current controls actually working?"

• "If this control fails, what happens next?"

Introduce ‘What Would You Do?’ Scenarios – Use real case studies where things went wrong, and have workers and supervisors discuss what they would do differently.

Conduct live hazard hunts – Instead of standard pre-starts, organise periodic "real hazard" walk-throughs where teams identify risks before they become incidents.

2. Improve Training Beyond Basic RII Sign-Offs

RII training often lacks practical application, leading to a false sense of competency. You can bridge this gap by making site-based training more dynamic.

What You Can Do:

Push for more scenario-based training – Work with training providers to introduce real-world simulations rather than just theory-based assessments.

Ensure competency is tested under pressure – Train workers and supervisors in changing scenarios where they must adapt to unexpected risks.

Audit whether RII training translates to field behaviour – Conduct follow-ups after RII training to check if workers apply what they’ve learned in real operations.

Example:Instead of a basic “confined space entry” sign-off, have workers conduct a full hazard assessment on a real confined space entry with changing conditions.

3. Strengthen Supervisor and Crew Leadership Training

Your biggest influence on workplace safety culture comes from your frontline supervisors. If they lack risk-based thinking, the workforce will default to compliance-based behaviour.

What You Can Do:

Train supervisors to assess "control effectiveness" rather than just enforcing procedures.

• Ask: "If this control fails, do we have another barrier?"

• Encourage supervisors to adjust controls based on changing conditions rather than blindly following SOPs.

Run Critical Control Verification (CCV) sessions – Have supervisors test if key controls actually work (e.g., gas detectors, fall protection, traffic management).

Develop leadership confidence in challenging ineffective controls – Train supervisors to say, “This procedure is not enough. We need to change the way we do this.”

4. Enhance Risk Assessment Processes in the Field

Many risk assessments are paperwork exercises rather than practical risk-reduction tools. You can improve their effectiveness by making them more dynamic.

What You Can Do:

Introduce dynamic risk assessments (DRAs) – Train workers to stop and reassess risk mid-task if conditions change.

Replace tick-box JSAs with real discussions – Encourage teams to talk through risks rather than just signing a document.

Test risk controls in action – Check whether the controls in your risk assessments actually work in practice, not just on paper.

Example: Instead of a static pre-task checklist, make risk assessments interactive – e.g., “What new risks have emerged since we started?”

5. Advocate for Higher-Order Risk Controls

There is often reliance on procedural and PPE controls instead of engineering solutions.

What You Can Do:

Challenge the use of administrative controls – Ask: “Why are we relying on procedures when we could eliminate this risk?”

Advocate for better engineering solutions – Push for automation, isolation, or redesign of tasks rather than just enforcing rules. What can you do now in the short term, and what is a longer term solution?

Review incidents through a risk-based lens – If an incident occurs, ask:

• "Did the control hierarchy fail?"

• "Was elimination considered?"

• "Did we rely too much on administrative controls?"

6. Monitor, Measure, and Improve Training Effectiveness

One of the best ways to improve RII training outcomes is to track whether training leads to real-world improvements.

What You Can Do:

Follow up with workers 1-3 months after training to see if they actually use what they learned.

Track trends in hazard reports and near misses – If RII training is effective, you should see an increase in proactive hazard reporting and better risk identification.

Run periodic knowledge checks in the field – During site visits, ask workers:

• “What is the most dangerous part of this job?”

• “What controls do you trust the most?”

• “What control do you think could fail first?”

This helps identify gaps between training and real-world application.

How effective is your RII Training, are you just ticking boxes or are you making real change through running regular compliance training? Let me know your thoughts on how this is working in your business admin@cqhhss.com.au