Last reviewed 11 November 2026 against the sources linked in this post.
Hazard communication, lockout/tagout and respiratory protection are all on OSHA's list of the ten most frequently cited standards for fiscal year 2025. They are the hazards maintenance technician training has to cover first, because maintenance work regularly involves all three.
Lockout is the clearest case. On its hazardous energy page, OSHA describes a jammed conveyor that suddenly releases and crushes the worker clearing it, and says craft workers, electricians, machine operators and labourers who service equipment routinely face the greatest risk of injury.
This is a list of 10 ready-made courses for maintenance managers, engineering supervisors and safety leads. It starts with live energy, moves to heights and breathing hazards, then covers site induction and emergencies. Each group ends with an Our pick.
All 10 courses at a glance
| Course | What it covers | Length | US rule behind the topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| Lockout/tagout awareness (affected employees) | Why stored energy kills and what never to touch | 25 min | OSHA 29 CFR 1910.147(c)(7) |
| Electrical safety awareness | Shock, arc flash, cords and emergencies | 25 min | OSHA 29 CFR 1910.332 |
| Permit to work, hot work and confined space entry | Permits, isolation, fire watch and confined-space roles | 40 min | OSHA covers permit spaces in 29 CFR 1910.146 |
| Working at height, ladders, scaffolds and slips, trips and falls | Planning the job, ladders, scaffolds and harnesses | 40 min | None cited here |
| Respiratory protection awareness | Fit, seal checks, cleaning and limits | 35 min | OSHA 29 CFR 1910.134(k) |
| Hazard communication & GHS | Labels, pictograms and safety data sheets | 40 min | OSHA 29 CFR 1910.1200(h) |
| Safety induction and annual refresher | Site rules, hazards, reporting and contractor rules | 40 min | None cited here |
| Emergency action & fire prevention plans | Alarms, evacuation and fire prevention | 30 min | OSHA 29 CFR 1910.38(f) and 1910.39 |
| Fire safety, fire wardens and emergency evacuation | Extinguishers, sweeps and head counts | 40 min | None cited here |
| Safety law, committees, management systems and audits | Duties, committees and inspections | 40 min | None cited here |
Energy and live equipment
Three courses for the people who open panels, isolate machines and enter tanks.
Lockout/tagout awareness (affected employees)
OSHA's standard says each affected employee must be instructed in the purpose and use of the energy control procedure, and that other employees working near it must be told never to restart locked-out equipment. This 25-minute course has seven lessons covering the types of hazardous energy, how lockout works, your role, the limits of tags and a final check. It is written for affected employees, so a technician who applies locks needs the authorised-employee training your site provides on top. Ask the group: who may remove a lock, and who may not?
Electrical safety awareness
For employees who are not qualified persons, OSHA requires training in any electrically related safety practices the work practice rules do not specifically cover but that the employee needs to stay safe. This 25-minute course covers how electricity injures through shock, burns and arc flash, who counts as a qualified person, safe work practices for cords and wet locations, and what to do when someone is being shocked. It is a good fit for technicians who work near circuits but are not the electricians. Run its "Someone is being shocked" scenario as a live poll.
Permit to work, hot work and confined space entry
A tank, a vessel or a welding job is unsafe to enter or work on without a permit. This 40-minute course has six lessons: when a permit is needed and who issues it, isolating energy and fluids, hot work with fire watch and gas testing, confined-space roles and readings, closing out a permit, and what goes wrong. It is a global course, so it is not tied to one country's rules. In the US, OSHA's separate standard requires an employer that lets employees enter permit spaces to develop and implement a written permit space program. Use its "Is it a confined space?" question to open the session.
Our pick: Permit to work, hot work and confined space entry. It is written for maintenance staff, and it teaches the permit as a sequence of steps, from isolation to hand-back.
Heights and breathing hazards
Roof units, ladders, solvents and dust are daily maintenance jobs.
Working at height, ladders, scaffolds and slips, trips and falls
This 40-minute course has six lessons: why falls kill, planning the job to avoid, prevent and then arrest a fall, ladders, scaffolds and mobile platforms, harnesses and anchors, and slips and trips on the same level. Its planning lesson asks learners to rank the options, which makes a good ordering slide. It is a global course and no law is cited here, so check your own country's height rules with your safety lead.
Respiratory protection awareness
OSHA's standard says respirator training must recur annually, and more often if necessary, for employees required to use respirators. This 35-minute course has seven lessons: why the respirator is necessary, its limits, wearing it right with a user seal check, cleaning and storing it, medical signs and a final check with a fit test. Ask the group how they would know a cartridge has had its day.
Hazard communication & GHS
OSHA requires employers to give employees effective information and training on hazardous chemicals in their work area at the time of their initial assignment, and whenever a new chemical hazard is introduced. Technicians handle lubricants, solvents and cleaners every day. This 40-minute course has eight lessons covering the six elements of a GHS label, the pictograms, the 16 sections of a safety data sheet, protective measures and the 2024 update. Ask the group to find the first-aid section on a data sheet from your own stores.
Our pick: Working at height, ladders, scaffolds and slips, trips and falls. Its planning lesson asks whether there is a safer way to do the job before any harness comes out.
Site induction and emergencies
Contractors and agency technicians arrive without your site's history.
Safety induction and annual refresher for employees, contractors and visitors
This 40-minute course has six lessons: rights and duties at work, site rules, the hazards you will meet here, emergency arrangements, reporting hazards, near misses and injuries, and rules for contractors and visitors. It has fields for your own site's rules, so each new technician sees yours. Its "Which sign is that?" activity suits a walk around the plant afterwards.
Emergency action & fire prevention plans
OSHA's rule says an employer must review the emergency action plan with each employee covered by the plan when the plan is developed or the employee is assigned initially to a job, when their responsibilities change and when the plan changes. This 30-minute course teaches how to raise the alarm, follow the evacuation route, shelter in place and prevent fires. Maintenance work can create ignition sources, so the fire prevention lesson matters here. The rule applies where an OSHA standard requires a plan, so check with your safety lead.
Fire safety, fire wardens and emergency evacuation
Technicians know the plant better than most, so they make natural fire wardens. This 40-minute course has six lessons: the fire triangle, prevention including hot-work and storage rules, choosing and using an extinguisher, evacuation routes, the fire warden role and drills. Its "Put the steps in order" activity works well as a live ordering slide. It is a global course and cites no law.
Safety law, committees, management systems and audits
This 40-minute course explains why the law requires a safety system, who holds which duty, how joint safety committees run and how internal inspections and audits work. For technicians, it explains why a permit or a lock is a legal control and not an obstacle. It is a global course and cites no law. Its "Whose duty is it?" activity suits a team talk.
Our pick: Safety induction and annual refresher for employees, contractors and visitors. Agency technicians can start a job soon after arriving, and this is the one course that meets them at the gate.
How to roll the plan out
Start with the courses tied to a rule: lockout/tagout, electrical safety, respiratory protection where respirators are required, and hazard communication. Put the safety induction in onboarding, so no contractor starts a job without it. Then add the permit, height and emergency courses, and schedule annual refreshers. Add any state or national requirement for your location.
Anchor each session to the same fact. Hazard communication, lockout/tagout and respiratory protection are all on OSHA's list of the ten most frequently cited standards, so the gaps are common ones. For lockout, OSHA also says retraining is required whenever there is a change in job assignments, a change in machines, equipment or processes that present a new hazard, or a change in the energy control procedures, so a new machine on the line is a reason to run the course again. For a wider list of safety topics, see our post on workplace safety topics.
Ways to run these courses on AhaSlides
You can offer all 10 in three formats:
- Self-paced courses. Use the AhaSlides course creator to send each new technician a course before their first job on live kit.
- A live Q&A deck. Run the template's live deck after the course, and collect questions in the room or online. For running it well, see our 9 tips for a successful Q&A session.
- Surveys. Use the post-course survey and 30-day check-in that come with each template, and see how to track employee training completion.
Four slide types do most of the work:
- Pick Answer. Ask: "Who may remove a lock from a locked-out machine?" Show the split before you reveal the answer.
- Word Cloud. Ask: "What is the riskiest job you do on a normal shift?" The biggest words show where to start.
- Rating Scale. Ask, before and after: "How confident are you that you could isolate this machine safely?" Rate from 1 to 5 and compare the averages.
- Open Ended. Ask: "What would make you stop a job and ask for a permit?" Answers can be anonymous, so people say what they think.
FAQ
What safety training do maintenance technicians need?
Lockout/tagout, electrical safety, permit to work, working at height and chemical safety, plus respiratory protection where respirators are required. In US general industry, OSHA's rules cover lockout/tagout training, electrical safety training and hazard communication training.
Is lockout/tagout training required?
Yes, in US general industry. OSHA's standard says affected employees must be instructed in the purpose and use of the energy control procedure, and authorised employees need training in recognising hazardous energy and isolating it. Check the standard for your industry, as construction work is covered by different rules.
What is a permit to work?
A formal written system that controls high-risk jobs such as hot work and confined-space entry. The permit-to-work course teaches when a permit is needed, who issues it, how to isolate energy and how to close it out.
How often should maintenance teams retrain?
Retrain when jobs, machines or procedures change, and on a regular schedule. For example, OSHA says respirator training must recur annually, and lockout retraining is required when job assignments, equipment or procedures change. For other topics, set your own schedule with your safety lead.
This post is general information, not legal advice. For a decision about your own workplace, speak to a qualified lawyer or the regulator.
