I guess it might depend on your organisation and the risks. Having said that, we are considering using e-learning for our standard fire awareness courses, but not for our fire marshals; we have residential care premises and hospices, so our evacuation procedures are a bit complicated. We might look at e-learning for shop fire-marshals, much simpler, John

E-learning is totally acceptable in certain circumstances. For staff in an office block, with a 'get out & no extinguishers' policy - plus perhaps a Q&A session as part of the e-learning (to confirm understanding), I can't see an issue. However, in healthcare, high risk industry and complex sites - with numerous wardens, multiple coordinators & use of FFE expected, it's likely that e-leaning will not be sufficient The RRO says that training MUST: (a)include suitable and sufficient instruction and training on the appropriate precautions and actions to be taken by the employee in order to safeguard himself and other relevant persons on the premises; (b)be repeated periodically where appropriate; (c)be adapted to take account of any new or changed risks to the safety of the employees concerned; (d)be provided in a manner appropriate to the risk identified by the risk assessment; and (e)take place during working hours. In low risk situations, I have no doubt that a quality e-learning package can achieve compliance