Teaching staff to handle sensitive materials can feel like an interesting step up from their usual duties, but ultimately, good training even on expensive or fragile items improves safety and efficiency.

You’ll likely remember that flutter of anxiety when dealing with items we absolutely cannot damage or lose, and so helping our staff to avoid those worries is key. That said, training isn’t always so easy. We know the responsibility weighs heavy, especially when training new team members who haven’t yet developed that instinctual sense of careful handling.

Many managers focus solely on the technical aspects – the dos and don’ts written in training manuals and expect it to be perfectly followed. But that misses the heart of what makes great handling skills work, as your team will handle materials with natural care once they genuinely understand the process and make it second nature.

But how do you get started? In this post, we’ll discuss that and more:

Materials Training

Every sample and specimen comes with its own particular needs and handling requirements, which is a fact many people learn the hard way through trial and error. Take a moment to properly pick up and examine your materials in sturdy containers such as plastic core trays, and you’ll be able to give a careful showing of the materials and properties you work with, and why proper handling is so essential. 

That means that instead of just reciting handling rules, you can demonstrate exactly what happens when materials face temperature shocks or improper storage. A practical example might involve showing your team how certain substances become surprisingly brittle under specific conditions or letting them see firsthand how rapid temperature changes affect the quality of certain items. It’ll give the context to your procedures and make them more likely to be followed.

Managing Efficient Movement

Proper handling techniques take time, patience, and surprisingly, a good amount of muscle memory to build, so be patient. It’s fascinating to watch how team members gradually develop their own rhythm and flow when moving materials between stations. You can help with that though, as breaking down complex movements into smaller steps helps tremendously. 

Creating opportunities to practice with non-critical samples allows people to build confidence at their own pace, especially with newcomers to your brand, while recording these practice sessions often shows habits you can point to that need changing.

Updating Training

If questions flow naturally and you’re receptive to them, that makes all the difference in maintaining high handling standards. The most successful labs and facilities often have an good blend of training sessions and knowledge sharing, where experienced staff mentor newer team members when they’re new. Weekly catch-ups are usually pretty valuable, especially when we encourage people to share their near-mistakes or moments of uncertainty on top of that as well. This way you showcase to every employee that you’re listening, be that going over a safety protocol for the third time, or updating staff on where the new fire safety documents are located.

With this advice, we hope you can find training staff, even in sensitive situations, to be much more worthwhile and proven to achieve the results you’re looking for. If safety and efficiency are improved, it’s a win!