Hazardous material transportation is a large industry with over three billion tons being shipped each year and almost 94% of those shipments are carried by a truck. Not all hazardous material is harmless, some is actually very harmful, meaning that proper training is required of those who do transport it. About 40 hours of hazardous waste management certification training is required of almost all those who transport hazardous waste, although some states require additional training for licenses. DOT hazmat training and DOT hazmat certification is important for all workers and heavy fines are imposed on those who have not completed the DOT training course or other training and received their certification. These fines can also be imposed on those who do not keep up with their certification and licenses. Follow these tips to ensure all workers have their hazardous waste management certification training and all are up to date on their current licenses and certifications.
Requirements
Understand requirements not only for federal training but also state specific training. Understand how these two differ and the length of time before re-certification is required by both. Understand how long you have to get new employees trained, and what they are allowed to do until they are trained. Understand how long records for current and past employees must be kept and where these files must be kept. Some require on site storage of these records while others allow off site storage. Finally understand how the training must be done, some training can be done online, but some must be done in a classroom setting. By knowing all the restrictions and keeping up with the changing information, you can be sure that you and your employees are in compliance eliminating the risk of acquiring fees and fines.
Manager
If you have many employees then it could be rough for you to try to keep on top of all the training required at different intervals from federal training and state mandated training. It could be beneficial to the company to hire a training manager to handle all necessary training. Including when employees need refresher courses and what types of training seems to work best with the employees, compared to what types of training are offered at different levels. Thinking about the cost of hiring a manager to handle these could make you cringe, but not as much as the fines associated with lack of proper training.
Evaluations
Proper training will only go so far if your employees are not using the training they receive. This can also lead to extensive fines. The results that the training provides should be used each and every day by your employees, otherwise there is no point in the training. Regular observations of employees should be conducted to ensure that they are implementing and applying the skills they learn during the training session. This can give information as to what additional training is needed, and can be kept in the employees folder for subsequent evaluations.
Hazardous waste management certification training is important, but it’s the responsibility of the company as well as the employee. Implement these tips to ensure that employees are properly trained and are using the skills they learned. These tips can help ensure that all hazardous material is transported properly and that all transporters are doing their job.
