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Volunteers help produce propane industry safety materials

May 21, 2018 By    

Propane retailers know about the wealth of safety and training materials available to them through the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) and the certification testing through the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA).

What’s less familiar is the number of industry volunteers and the hours they donate to produce the programs that keep your customers safe, train your employees and keep propane incidents out of the news.

I recall using NPGA-produced consumer safety pieces 40 years ago and the Certified Employee Training Program (CETP) some 30 years ago. These were originally produced on a shoestring budget because of the work of many volunteers. Several years ago, the ownership of the materials was shifted to PERC and a budget was established to produce a greater volume of higher quality materials. However, the content is still reviewed by volunteers.

Today, over 40 volunteers work on NPGA and PERC safety and training programs and certifications. They attend at least three face-to-face meetings every year, read and respond to countless emails, and spend hours on conference calls. They are committed to the safety and wellbeing of the industry. The companies that employ these volunteers are to be commended for their investment.

It is safe to say that every dollar PERC budgets for the Safety and Technical Training Working Group and every dollar the industry spends to buy these pieces are matched one to one by donated time and travel.

Today we have hundreds of items for marketers to use in the safety and training catalog on PERC’s website. From CETP e-learning, to blended learning, to consumer safety videos, the industry has tools that reduce barriers to train its workforce and talk to its customers about safety.

There are consumer safety materials for print and download, and videos to add to your website. They range in topics from overall propane safety, to extreme weather preparedness, to kids coloring books. There is training for first responders, everything you need for safety meetings, and compliance guides.

The material has been set up on a regular review schedule to ensure it stays current with code and regulation changes, looks fresh and engages its intended audience.

Looking ahead, the volunteers and staff are working toward developing the CETP of the future, which may be designed for use on tablets or e-readers in classrooms, in independent study, in e-learning or blended learning. Your PERC investment, your NPGA membership and tireless volunteers are working to keep the industry, its customers and the public safe.

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