Choosing a Reputable Online Training Provider

It seems it happens every time a natural disaster happens. Companies pop up overnight to take advantage of the tragedy. Before you buy any training, please do some research on your prospective training provider. You will notice on the internet today that many companies advertise their training as being OSHA accepted or approved. As a matter of policy, OSHA does not approve nor endorse training programs from any training provider. We did some research ourselves and noticed many of the online training providers simply published a website but are not businesses. They resell training and may not have qualified instructors at the ready for assistance. Also, some clients sent us certificates from these companies as they were looking to upgrade their training. These certificates were not signed by the instructor but by the student. This clearly does not agree with the OSHA regulations where the instructor and employer will certify an individual. The instructor must sign the certificate in order to certify a person. These companies offer their training at substantially reduced prices but their training and certificates do not fulfill the OSHA regulation.

Here are a few tips in checking out your prospective training provider.

1. Client list. Do they show a list of clients? If not, they should as any reputable company is proud to show you who they have trained. We have trained officials with OSHA, EPA, Coast Guard, NOAA, Department of Homeland Security, Fortune 50 and 500 companies and many others. You can be assured that our training and certificates are valid.

2. OSHA interpretation letters. Have they contacted OSHA for interpretations regarding their course offerings? We have and OSHA has accepted our HAZWOPER Hands-on Simulator. (Please see the discussion on the HAZWOPER Hands-on Simulator).

3. Instructor qualifications. A qualified instructor should have several years experience in the field as well as an undergraduate or graduate degree from an accredited university. A professional designation is also a plus. Our instructors have graduate degrees in the field of Hazardous and Waste Materials Management, and Environmental Engineering. They also hold professional designations and have many years experience in the field.

4. Make sure your certificate is signed by the actual instructor. A certificate that requires you sign the certificate instead of the instructor is not consistent with the OSHA regulations. Your certificate from us will be signed by a qualified instructor.

5. Course Duration. OSHA requires the 40 hour HAZWOPER course will take a minimum of 40 hours of actual study time. Anything less will not comply with the OSHA standard. This is true for both classroom and online training. Classroom training cannot exceed the OSHA required 25:1 student to instructor ratio. Our courses are timed and allow the freedom to login and logout on your own schedule to accrue the regulatory required study time.

Gulf Oil Spill HAZWOPER Training Guidance

HAZWOPER Requirements that Apply to Marine Oil Spills

The National Contingency Plan (NCP) defines oil as any kind of oil in any form, including petroleum, fuel oil, sludge, oil refuse, and oil mixed with wastes but not dredged spoil (dirt or rock). Response actions conducted under the NCP must comply with the provisions of HAZWOPER. You’ll find this requirement in 40 CFR 300.150. Therefore, if your workers are participating in a response action under the NCP, you must have an occupational safety and health program consistent with HAZWOPER and you must train your workers according to HAZWOPER’s training requirements. This applies whether the responsible party or a government agency is directing the cleanup.

For marine oil spill emergency response, the HAZWOPER provisions that most directly apply include:
• Emergency response operations in HAZWOPER paragraph 29 CFR 1910.120 (q), and
• Post-emergency response cleanup operations in paragraph 29 CFR 1910.120 (q)(11).
See also emergency response training provisions in paragraph (q)(6), and post-emergency
response training requirements in paragraph (q)(11).

The OSHA booklet below will provide in depth information in order for you to plan which training course you will need. In essence, either the 24 or 40 hour HAZWOPER course will be your choice in the vast majority of situations. Your best move at this time is to have the maximum amount of training (40 hour HAZWOPER course) due to the rapidly changing work tasks associated with the gulf oil spill cleanup. You will want to have the best training possible to be of the most help.

Note: Please click on the link below to research your prospective training company.

Choosing a Reputable HAZWOPER Training Provider.

If you have any questions, please call us at 888.877.7130. You can also email us at cab@natlenvtrainers.com.

Download OSHA HAZWOPER Training Guidance Document for Marine Oil Spills.