Two gas groups to develop training program for utility workers

By the OGJ Online Staff

HOUSTON, Nov. 1 -- The New England Gas Association and the Gas Technology Institute will jointly develop a training program for natural gas industry personnel.

The training program, in conjunction with NEGA's operator qualification program, will help to meet the US Department of Transportation's employee testing and operator qualification regulations.

The DOT regulation requires natural gas utilities to develop and maintain a written qualification program for employees and contractors. The intent is "to ensure a qualified work force and to reduce the probability and consequence of incidents caused by human error."

The NEGA program, while addressing the requirements of DOT's regulation, does not address training or retraining for new or existing employees on the 70 covered tasks.

The NEGA-GTI partnership will address this need by developing a comprehensive operator qualification curriculum.