4 th Q. The Compliance Connector Veriforce Quarterly Contractor Newsletter. In this Issue: Veriforce 2012 Year-End Recap

Transcription

1 Veriforce Quarterly Contractor Newsletter 4 th Quarter 2012 In this Issue: Veriforce 2012 Year-End Recap... 1 Save-the-Date for the 2013 Veriforce Annual Contractor Safety & Training Conference... 2 Veriforce Auditing... 3 Changes to Operator Task Lists... 4 New Operators... 4 Contractor Desktop and Field Safety Audit Services... 5 Contractor Advisory Group (CAG)... 5 Veriforce / VeriSource Training Courses and Dates... 6 New OSHA Compliance Training Courses for Contractors... 7 Veriforce 2012 Year-End Recap As 2012 draws to a close, Veriforce would like to take the opportunity to thank you for another successful year! Over the past year, the number of qualifications managed by Veriforce has seen an increase in excess of 6.5 million. As a result of that change, Veriforce has been working hard to enhance the ease and efficiency of its online database, VeriSource, and adding to the services provided by Veriforce. As many may already know Veriforce is dedicated to providing first class customer service. As of mid-summer we relocated a portion of our call center to our corporate office to improve customer service and better serve our clients. Our customer service staff is fully trained in all aspects of Veriforce services to provide real-time, quick responses to the issues you are facing. After hours and weekend calls will continue to be routed to our call center where you will continue to receive unmatched quality customer service promises to be a year filled with many new opportunities. If there is anything Veriforce can do to assist you, please don t hesitate to contact us anytime. We welcome your feedback and look forward to working with you in the new year! 1

2 The 2013 Veriforce Annual Contractor Safety & Training Conference will be held at The Woodlands Waterway Marriott Hotel and Convention Center in The Woodlands, Texas on March 5 8, Attend the 2013 conference to stay a step ahead with up-to-date information on industry safety and government regulatory changes. Be a part of a diverse group of leading insiders discussing matters that affect you and your business. Find out how you can set yourself apart and get feedback from the clients on what they expect from you. This is more than a conference; you get interactive discussion on the top issues affecting you and your business today. Hear premier safety experts, operators, and other contractors as they talk about what s happening today and what s coming next. Discuss strategies and network with the best at the Veriforce Annual Contractor Safety and Training Conference. Hotel Information: The Woodlands Marriott Waterway Hotel is located at 1601 Lake Robbins Drive, The Woodlands, Texas. The Marriott Waterway is located 21 miles north of the George Bush Intercontinental Airport. Rooms booked at the Marriott Waterway are available at a discounted rate of $217. The discounted room rate applies to room rental nights March 5, 6, 7, and 8. There are a limited number of rooms blocked at the discounted rate. Please reserve your room early in order to ensure you get the best rate. Click here to book your hotel reservations. Hotel Website Information: Click Here This year s agenda includes: Contractor challenges for maintaining good safety programs and culture. Contractor challenges with transitioning young to old workers. Equipment retrofitting for prevention of and/or protection from rollovers. Top 10 fine items from OSHA. 3rd party assessment process. How to stand out from the others. Veriforce New Services: Hosted Training Services Safety Training Project Compliance System Open forum Q&A discussions with Veriforce and Operators. You ask we answer and 2013 changes in pipeline regulations. Guest Speaker Eric Giguere: Tells his harrowing story of being buried alive and makes evident the importance of safety and following safe practices. Instructor-led Evaluator Training Course Instructor-led DER Training Course Instructor-led Contractor Admin Training Course If you would like to be a sponsor of the 2013 contractor conference, please contact meetings@veriforce.com. Sponsorships include your organization s name and logo prominently displayed on conference signage throughout the event and recognized as sponsor on the Veriforce website. You may add your company marketing materials to the Veriforce welcome packet and exhibitor table that will be provided in the main, well-traveled conference area. If you have suggestions for speaking topics, please send them to meetings@veriforce.com. We hope to see you in

3 Veriforce s Evaluator Audits Annually, Veriforce will audit 5 percent of the Authorized Evaluators, as measured on January 1 of each calendar year. As the New Year quickly approaches, Veriforce s auditing team is making all of the preparations to begin the audits on time audit findings yielded results to indicate that most evaluators are following the correct evaluation procedures and for that we thank you. However, findings also show that a few key components are not always adhered to: all evaluations must be conducted in-person in a one-on-one setting; and according to the operator-specific criteria and method. Failure to follow the rules listed above will result in further action following an audit and could impact your company s ability to perform covered task work for a Veriforce client. Please be cognizant of your evaluators understanding that these are requirements and must be followed. We greatly appreciate the continual cooperation by all contractors throughout the previous years and look forward to working with you again in Please contact Veriforce s auditing team with any questions you might have before, during or after the audit process. Veriforce s Drug & Alcohol Audits Currently, Veriforce provides a Drug and Alcohol auditing service for many pipeline operator clients to ensure contractors are complying with DOT requirements. These audits are selected by the pipeline operators. During the audit, Veriforce will review testing results, EAP training/communication, recordkeeping, and sub-contractor compliance. Common issues discovered during an audit: Designated Employer Representative (DER) not understanding regulations/requirements Drug/Alcohol Plans outdated, missing data or inaccurate Post-accident testing not meeting regulations/requirements Rehabilitation process/procedures not followed Testing statistics not maintained or submitted Records not maintained or available Once the audit has been completed, Veriforce will work diligently with contractors to help correct any findings throughout the audit process. In addition, Veriforce also offers a DER class on a quarterly basis to help DERs understand their roles and responsibilities. Please contact Veriforce for more information. 3

4 Changes to Operator Task Lists CenterPoint Energy has added a task to cover joining of pipe by utilizing flanges: Task Number Task Name Evaluator Task Category CT-0731 Joining of Pipe - Flange This change, effective November 1, 2012, was coupled with an update to the SESH and CNP Midstream OQ plans. The most recent matrices which reflect these changes are available in VeriSource under the OQ tab, then Covered Task Lists. New Operators that have joined Veriforce Pacific Gas & Electric Company is now using Veriforce to manage their Contractor OQ Program. Inergy, L.P. is now using Veriforce to manage their Contractor and Employee OQ, and Contractor Drug and Alcohol Program. J-W Operating Company - is now using Veriforce to manage their Contractor OQ Program and Contractor Drug & Alcohol Program. Southern California Gas Company / San Diego Gas & Electric is now using Veriforce to manage their Contractor OQ Program. EP Energy is now using Veriforce to manage their Contractor OQ Program and Contractor Drug & Alcohol Program. Statoil is now using Veriforce for their Contractor OQ Program and Contractor Drug & Alcohol Program. Southern Star is now using Veriforce for their Contractor Safety Program. BHP Billiton (formerly Hawk Field Services) is now using Veriforce for their Contractor OQ. Shell is now using Veriforce for their Contractor OQ, Employee OQ, and Contractor Drug & Alcohol Program. Access Midstream is now using Veriforce for their Contractor OQ, Employee OQ, Contractor Drug & Alcohol and Hosted Training Programs. 4

5 Veriforce offers Contractor Desktop and Field Safety Audit Services Veriforce now offers Contractor Desktop and Field Safety Audit Services. Our new services are tailored for small, medium, or large contractors. Small Contractors: Veriforce small contractor development program works with contractors, with less than 10 employees, to define and develop their training and safety programs. We understand that small companies are often the hardest to find real-world solutions for. Employee development should be tailored to the individual employee and address all aspects of their job. When developing custom training programs small companies can significantly increase efficiency and safety. Veriforce programs provide hosted training solutions, online OSHA training, and records management at affordable cost for small contractors. Medium Contractors: Veriforce Safety Desktop audits reviews contractor safety statistics for medium contractors. Veriforce verifies that contractors adhere to OSHA Safety Manual policies and provides evidence that substantiates the actions of the contractor. Field Level: At the field level Veriforce audits contractor management and field personnel. Overseeing work practices, defining strengths and weaknesses, and developing the tools and training needed for improvement. Contractor Advisory Group (CAG) The Contractor Advisory Group (CAG) recently concluded its third year and with that brought new members and new changes. The purpose of the group has always been to provide feedback on Veriforce services, database screens/reports and operator requirements. Over the past several years, Veriforce has held quarterly meetings with the CAG that resulted in many changes to the database and screens that many of you use on a regular basis. Some upcoming changes you can expect to see from recent meetings include the following: The ability to pre-filter your inactive employee list to only display those with current qualifications. The option to make individuals or even groups of individuals portable as opposed to the all or none scenario now in place. If you have suggestions to be considered for the next meeting s agenda, please us at meetings@veriforce.com. Call for Pipeline Pictures Veriforce offers a variety of training courses ranging from common covered task to safety training. We are always in need of pictures from the field. If you would like to share your pictures with us please us your photo(s) including a brief description to training@veriforce.com. (Veriforce retains the rights of the pictures and may use or reject the photo as appropriate.) 5

6 Veriforce / VeriSource Training Courses and Dates To view all Veriforce training courses and 2013 dates visit us online at: New Look and Features Coming to VeriSource Training Tab How would you like to post your own courses and/or documents in Veriforce s database (VeriSource) and have those available for your employees? Now you can. We are excited to announce the introduction of our new Hosted Training Services (HTS). Replacing our current Training system will be a user friendly HTS that will offer a convenient platform allowing you to post training and/ or documents for your employees or contractors. The HTS platform gives employees the ability to access their training and online learning materials from their desks, as well as from the comfort of their homes. The new HTS will offer: MY TRAINING My Training offers each trainee a user friendly view of your company training library, any mandatory training from your operator, Veriforce s Training Library, his/her training records, and their training assignments. SUPERVISE EMPLOYEE TRAINING Supervisors or company administrators will now have the ability to assign employee courses, track their progress, and view all company and contractor training records. TRAINING BLUEPRINT - Training Blueprint offers Training Administrators the ability to upload training courses and create exams in VeriSource. This unique system allows users the ability to establish a hierarchy of training including exceptional exam features with multiple retesting options as well a large selection of question options. For more information on the new HTS contact Veriforce at New OSHA Compliance Training Courses for Contractors The Veriforce Training Department is hard at work preparing a library of OSHA compliance computer based training courses that are new and unique to our industry. These are not generic OSHA Training courses. All courses are tailored for the oil and gas industry including pipeline, utilities, distribution and power plants. Veriforce online OSHA Compliance Training courses are self-paced, interactive, and measureable. Our VeriSource database allows you instant access (24/7) to assign employees courses, track their progress, and access to records for contractor OSHA Safety Training and OSHA Audits. All courses are available in both English and Spanish and include course narration, pictures specific to your industry and activities, knowledge checks, and final exams. Subscription Options: One year subscription allows for unlimited courses, OR Pay-per-course for employees as you go 6

7 New OSHA Compliance Training Courses for Contractors (Continued) The targeted audience for these courses includes employees in the oil and gas industry. Topics will include: Asbestos Awareness Abrasive Blasting Access to Medical Records Accident Investigation & Root Cause Aerial Lift ATV Safety Behavior Safety Benzene Safety Bloodborne Pathogens Cold Stress Compressed Gas Cylinder Confined Space Contractor Safety Defensive Driving Electrical Hazards and NFPA 70E Electrical Sfty NFPA 70E 600 Volts or > Electrical Safety (Non-qualified wrkr) Emergency Action Plans ES&H Awareness ES&H Incident Reporting Fall Protection Fire Extinguisher Fire Prevention Safety First Aid and CPR Refresher Good Housekeeping Grinder Safety Hand and Power Tool Safety Haz Com Haz Mat Transportation Mark - Label Haz Mat Transportation - Packaging Haz Mat Transportation - Security Haz Mat Trans Carrier Requirements Haz Mat Transportation Introduction Hazard Awareness Hazardous Material Handling Hazwoper - 8 hour Refresher Hearing Conservation Heat Stress Hot Work Hydrogen Sulfide Industrial Ergonomics Industrial Short Service Orientation Job Hazard Analysis Ladder Safety Lead Safety Lock Out / Tag out (Affected Persl) Lock Out / Tag out (Authorized Persl) Machine Guarding Manual Material Handling Material Handling/Rigging New Employee Orient (All Stop, JSA) Norm Awareness Office Ergonomics Office Safety OSHA 10 Hour Overhead Gantry Crane Safety PPE Eye Protection PPE Foot Protection PPE Hand Protection PPE Head Protection PPE Overview Powered Ind Truck - Handling a Load Powered Ind Truck - Insp & Maint Powered Ind Truck - Operating a TruckPowered Ind Truck - Pre-Op ProcedurePreventing Back Safety RCRA Overview Respiratory Protection Scaffolding for Construction Slips, Trips, and Falls SPCC (Spill Prev, Control & Countermeasure) Travel Safety Trenching, Shoring and Excavation Welding Cutting and Brazing Safety 7