Newsletter

Summer News Letter 2011

The Situation

Every time new regulations are published a certain amount of frustration and uneasiness is certain to occur. This is especially true for the petroleum dealer. The new UST operator training requirements created by the EPA Act of 2005 is no exception. The first reaction of the already struggling dealer is that the lawmaker’s dream will become his nightmare. To maintain compliance, three new classes of UST operators (A, B, and C) must be designated and trained. This new requirement creates confusion, costs money, and is especially disruptive to work schedules. There is a great chasm between a small business owner and a large corporation. The smaller company struggles to even understand the regulations without the assistance of a compliance officer. The larger company still has to juggle work schedules and spend large sums of money to accommodate new regulations. Both companies are distracted from their primary objective, to operate a successful business. The petroleum industry faces additional complications when broad based initiatives are imposed on their employees. This is particularly true of the clerk/cashier level employees in convenience stores. Many of these people are academically challenged and some live in another world. A Friday paycheck is their primary focus. The task of finding a one size fits all training program is not an easy one. Finally, many states have complicated the issue by making A/B operators responsible for training the C store employees. With the high turnover rate of C store employees and the full schedules these A/B operators already experience, consistency and meaningful training is almost too much to expect unless a convenient, low cost training curriculum is placed in their hands. Without effective training aids some dealers are going to find compliance especially challenging.

The Solution

An online training program is available that eliminates confusion, is cost effective, and eliminates scheduling conflicts. That’s right! There is a web-based solution available 24/7. It is self-paced and allows trainees to start and stop the training at their convenience. It provides cross training of employees by offering a combined A/B curriculum. This training eliminates travel expenses and time away from critical duties. Some have completed this training in about four hours at home in their pajamas. The course is driven by regulatory compliance, but it provides meaningful training for even the most experienced operators. The Class C operator training is written at a moderate level and can be completed in approximately forty minutes.

It is presented in a “no fail” format that enhances learner retention. At the conclusion of the course, a “walk through” checklist must be completed to locate site specific emergency stop buttons and to review emergency procedures. Employers will feel confident that the store personnel are ready to respond when an emergency or spill occurs. This training program is user friendly, offers free tech support and is expected to be approved in most states. Literally anyone, anywhere, can be trained anytime.

Record keeping is critical in demonstrating compliance. This training platform incorporates a secure database easily accessible both to key personnel and regulators to verify operator certification. A recent review of the program by a regulator prompted this unsolicited remark: “I think your online presentations are excellent. Clear visual aids, audio and text as well as links to other supporting reference material. The test questions were also well thought through… I think it is the best online training I have seen…” This approach to operator training makes good business sense. It saves time and money. Yet, it may do even more for some customers. Some of our users have qualified for insurance discounts as a result of this third party training that were well in excess of the total cost of the program. One metropolitan transit authority official commented: “We should have been using this program to train our people a long time ago.” Another said, “This will reduce our risk exposure and may mitigate our liability in the event of an incident.”

The Source

Practical American Safety Solutions (PASS) was established in 2003 to provide compliance training to the petroleum industry. It’s founding partners have been providing construction, maintenance, inspection services, and training to members of the petroleum community for the past 39 years. Their experience includes but is not limited to building turn key convenience stores and bio-diesel plants. Their client list reads like a who’s who in the petroleum business.

PASS UST operator training is available only through our director network. These trusted distributors are known and respected within the petroleum industry. To find the training company willing to partner with you for the long term, contact us.