Pure Safety Group (PSG), has opened the doors to its 33,000-square-foot corporate headquarters office and global training facility this month in conjunction with the National Safety Congress (NSC) in Houston, Texas. The training facility, the largest dedicated to height safety in the industry, features the new PSG training program, the most current curriculum in the industry that includes simulations on 12 structures in a 22,000-square-foot indoor environment for hands-on, realtime application of classroom learning. (Images by ISHN Editor Dave Johnson.) The training incorporates OSHA and ANSI standards information, which is aligned with PSG’s recent commitment to 100 percent compliance with ANSI voluntary standards in the manufacture of its products. Students graduate from the program as certified competent persons for job site inspections and authorizations of fall safety equipment. The Houston training facility is in addition to the company’s U.K.-based training program, which it acquired as part of the PSG purchase of Checkmate Lifting & Safety company in June 2018.

The PSG curriculum creators envisioned an endless variety of height safety scenarios from multiple industries for trainees to experience, based on research that indicates a significantly higher retention rate from hands-on training over classroom training alone. Instruction was designed to produce certain results based on behaviors and decisions that participants make during real-world simulations. The experiential approach deepens the level of engagement and personal investment by learners and allows them to use their own critical thinking and problem-solving skills, far beyond compliance to meet minimum equipment usage standards.

The indoor structures at the new training center include three towers and connecting beams for general safety training, three communication tower simulations, a rebar wall triangle climbing structure, confined space environments, a rope access structure, a crane boom and cap with a swing stage, and a roof platform. The facility also features two large classrooms, a break area, and a locker room with showers.