A typical program focuses on the comprehension and use of safety documents. The main materials needed for the program include MSDS documents which have been officially renamed Safety Data Sheets and the equipment lock-out/tag-out LOTO procedural checklists and the workplace hazard signage. Instruction occurs through specific tasks which guide the learning process. Students develop their ability to find crucial information on an SDS document which includes both personal protective equipment requirements and first-aid measures. They are drilled in following a LOTO checklist sequentially to ensure machinery is de-energized. The students need to identify standardized pictograms and provide their descriptions. The evaluation process measures their performance because trainees must demonstrate their skills by performing tasks while explaining warning labels found in their work environment

The main strength contains direct relevance which boosts motivation and enables better knowledge retention. Research shows that adult learners learn better through literacy instruction which teachers deliver in real-life situations that have actual value for their students. The National Institute for Literacy reported that workplace functional literacy programs which teach specific job skills result in better competency improvements than other programs (National Institute for Literacy, 2007). The teaching method complies with occupational safety regulations which the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) requires employers to provide their workers with safety information that workers should understand. The system establishes an exact standard which organizations can use to demonstrate employee competency in a legally acceptable way. The method effectively delivers training because it focuses on teaching essential reading skills needed for particular tasks that require high responsibility.

The central weakness is the limited transferability of skills. Adults who possess specific skills which they developed through working experiences face difficulties when they try to use those skills in new situations according to an OECD report (OECD Skills Studies, 2013). The pedagogy creates a learning method which promotes students to read texts without engaging with the material. The program teaches students to follow rules while they extract information from various sources but it does not help them to develop their critical assessment abilities. The study demonstrated that workplace training programs do not provide workers with the necessary tools to assess safety procedures or to participate in safety procedure development (Hull, 1997). The method of assessment creates a risk of excluding essential basic reading skills from evaluation. A worker may learn to recognize a specific warning symbol but remain unable to read a union bulletin or a new policy document which demonstrates the reading ability referred to by Paulo Freire as "functional adaptation" that fails to develop critical thinking skills.

Functional literacy in practice: pretty much the pedagogy of workplace safety training