Training true heroes of safety

As a frontrunner in non-destructive testing (NDT) and inspections for 96 years, including 38 years in South Africa, Dekra Industrial continues to expand its operations and that of its training division – the Dekra Institute of Learning (IOL). The award-winning Institute consistently promotes health and safety awareness throughout South Africa, delivering testing and training solutions for a safer world.

Dekra Industrial and the IOL’s parent company Dekra is a well-respected, international organisation with a footprint in over 50 countries, across five continents. Dekra is a globally acknowledged expert in NDT, material testing, laboratory services, advanced NDT, asset integrity services and industry training. The Dekra IOL’s passion lies in implementing high-level training and processes, supporting not only health and safety, but community well-being overall.

Learning goes online
The Dekra IOL is fast developing its footprint in the digital training space, at a time when the fourth industrial revolution has rapidly accelerated due to Covid-19, and digital learning has become the new norm. The Dekra IOL aims to make health and safety training more accessible through its revolutionary learning platform, which is equipped to address every individual learner’s needs. The platform also minimises operational downtime – enabling students to learn in their own time rather than doing classroom-based training during working hours. This is an important benefit for both employers and students.

Building the safety mindset
The Dekra IOL’s primary objective is to create a valuable source of information for all employees with regards to health and safety operational and legislative requirements, as well as skills development and awareness. All facilitators at the Dekra IOL are certified, skilled and experienced in their respective fields and are seen as subject matter experts (SME) within the training industry. Furthermore, the Dekra IOL aims to have up to 60 health and safety courses available online by the end of 2021.

Christopher Mörsner, Dekra Industrial SA’s former health, safety and environment manager, and current head of the training division at Dekra Industrial’s IOL says: “Through Dekra’s Institute of Learning, we hope to instil a safety mindset, where we are not only responsible for our own safety, but where we teach our students to be safety-focused, whether in the work environment or outside of it.”

Heroes of safety
The Institute is proud to offer courses within the health and safety field and – in addition to being QCTO-accredited – is also extending its scope with the Health and Welfare SETA to provide Level 02 and Level 03 full national qualifications, as well as the national diploma in safety management.

“We need to deliver the message far and wide that the health and safety of people is critical – and that safety at all times and in all situations is paramount. As per Dekra’s global key messaging, we are all about being ‘on the safe side’: whether at work, on the road or at home. It is therefore our job to ensure that this message is abundantly clear to our students and our clients alike – and ultimately to create a safer world,” Mörsner says.

“In summary, the Dekra IOL continues to build on our parent company’s excellent reputation as the global leader in safety processes and education. As such, the IOL is dedicated to excellence in training, and is focused on training and developing our students to become true ‘heroes of safety’.”

Dekra Industrial and the Dekra IOL’s services include:

• Occupational Health and Safety Awareness Training;
• Classroom Based Training;
• Occupational HSE Qualification Skills Training;
• Occupational Hygiene and Environmental Services;
• Occupational Health and Safety Inspections;
• Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Audits;
• HSE Consulting;
• Risk Management;
• ISO Courses and Consulting; 9001:2015, 14001:2015, 19011:2018 and 45001:2018;
• Web Based Learning (E-Learning);
• Distance Learning;
• Non-Destructive Testing;
• Advanced Inspection Testing;
• Product Testing;
• ISO Certification – Dekra Certification;
• Emergency Preparedness and Response Consulting;
• Employee Live Tracking Systems (Emergencies);
• DEKRA Safety Platform and Actual Trend Analysis tracking;
• Facility Inspections and Dekra Seal Approval – (endorsed by the World Health Organization);
• Employee Proactive Screening;
• Hazardous Chemical Sampling and MSDS creation;
• Dekra Adaptive Behaviour Based System;
• Vehicle Inspections and Safety Checks – Dekra Automotive.