Performance-based standards have a nice, industry-friendly sound to them until you realize you are the one responsible for designing and implementing a compliance program with very few instructions on how to do so, and an overriding and inflexible requirement—achieve specific environmental or safety objectives.
For example, PHMSA training requirements for hazmat employees (49 CFR 172.700[b]) state that hazmat training must ensure that:
"…a hazmat employee has familiarity with the general provisions of this subchapter, is able to recognize and identify hazardous materials, has knowledge of specific requirements of this subchapter applicable to functions performed by the employee, and has knowledge of emergency response information, self-protection measures, and accident prevention methods and procedures."
Beyond this overall objective, however, there are relatively few explicit provisions.
Mainly, training must cover five specific areas.
The first four are mandatory for all hazmat employees. The last one is mandatory for employees who perform regulated functions related to the transportation of materials covered by the hazmat security plan or who are responsible for implementing the security plan.
Employees must be tested on the material covered in training, although there is no requirement that testing be scored. In addition, employers must ensure that refresher training is conducted at specific intervals and that training records are kept.
How and by whom the training is conducted and the actual contents of training lessons are left to the hazmat employer. While those directions are intentionally nonspecific, the regulations explicitly state that it is the employer and the employer alone that is legally responsible for making sure that employees are provided with the knowledge and skills necessary to perform their hazmat job functions safely.
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Given the sketchiness of the hazmat training regs, PHMSA periodically publishes guidance material to assist hazmat employers in meeting the requirements to train employees. The following suggestions to help employers make the right choices in their training programs are gleaned from PHMSA's publication, What You Should Know: A Guide to Developing a Hazardous Materials Training Program.
1. Make a plan. Don't make important training decisions only when a hazmat employee is hired or operations change. A plan need not be long and complicated. PHMSA suggests a statement of purpose and the benefits that can derive from thorough and regular training that is appropriate to the employee, the job function(s), and the company and its resources. Deciding at the last minute to meet the training requirement (training must be completed within 90 days of the first day of employment or the first day of a change in job function) can result in unnecessary costs if a professional trainer must be hired when adequate in-house resources are available. The plan should include specific directions on how the effectiveness of training is evaluated and methods to improve the program, if necessary. Directions on completing administrative tasks, such as recordkeeping and maintaining a schedule of both required and discretionary actions, should be included.
2. Identify hazmat employees. The definition of a hazmat employee—i.e., one who by law must receive training—covers a very broad range of individuals. Be careful not to exclude from training those employees who have only limited involvement with regulated activities. The regulations do not indicate that a person must work a minimum number of hours to qualify as a hazmat employee.
According to PHMSA regulations, hazmat employees include those who:
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3. Conduct a needs assessment before developing a training program. For example, determine the level of awareness hazmat employees have about hazmats and the regulations as well as the level of training they’ve already had. Also, find out if the training employees have already received is adequate for the tasks they are now performing. This is frequently an issue in smaller companies where an employee may be required to fill in for co-workers on regulated activities. Similarly, if your company's operations have changed since the last round of training, determine if new employee training to accommodate the changes has occurred.
Tomorrow, we’ll wind up our discussion of hazmat training with four additional PHMSA guidelines.
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