A day in the life of a Florida public pool inspector

By Lauren Broom What is OSHA 10 for Aquatic Professionals?

The OSHA 10-hour training program is specific to aquatic professionals and the swimming pool industry. It teaches basic safety and health information to entry-level workers in general industry.

This is the first OSHA 10 training program that is geared to the pool industry, and each topic is discussed with examples that make it relevant to people in this industry.

The OSHA 10 is part of the OSHA Outreach Training Program, which explains serious workplace hazards, workers’ rights, employer responsibilities and how to file an OSHA complaint.

This program will help employees and employers to identify and reduce safety and health hazards in their workplaces.

This training program can be applied to a single owner company or a very large company. Pool chemical and parts suppliers can also benefit from this training program.

What does the training cover?

This training program covers a variety of topics beneficial to the health and safety of pool service owners and workers in the areas of:

• Electrical safety & Lock-out/ Tag-out procedures

• Fire Safety

• Outdoor worker safety

• Hazard Communication

• Hazardous Materials

• Materials handling

• Personal Protective Equipment( PPE)

• Walking & Working Surfaces

• Fall Protection

• Ergonomics

• Confined Space

• Compressed Gas Safety

• Pressurized Vessel Safety

• Blood-borne Pathogens Extra topics can be added for pool chemical/pool parts suppliers: forklift safety/ warehouse safety

How does this course benefit pool companies and their employees?

At this time, there is no education offered like this to the pool industry that helps to train employees on how to keep themselves safe.

Pool techs have unique outdoor workplaces that bring its own occupational hazards which do not exist for other occupations. Most pool industry education includes how to maintain safe aquatic facilities for pool owners or customers.

The hope for the future of this training is that it will change the way people think about this topic. And that it will increase the use of the principles taught in this training and applied within the industry.

The course is taught as a two day live virtual training via Zoom. This format will help save pool companies time, money and travel. Hopefully, this allows more companies to be willing to participate in this training program. The training will be conducted by Lauren Broom, owner of Space Coast Pool School.

Lauren Broom is a Certified Pool Operator Course, CPO , instructor and a former health inspector for the Florida Department of Health. Lauren has a Bachelor of Science Degree in Biology and is a registered sanitarian.

She has 16-years of experience in commercial pool inspections and waterborne disease outbreak investigations.

Lauren lives in Palm Bay, Florida with her husband of 17 years and their 3 children. Lauren can be reached at spacecoastpoolschool@yahoo.com

Lauren Broom