A new name in propane safety education

The calendar has moved to 2025, and for the propane industry, that means a change in the name of safety education.

The Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) is where the propane industry leans to provide safety education for the communities, customers and employees it serves. We all know about the Certified Employee Training Program; we may not be as familiar with the PERC Education Program (PEP).

What is PEP?

PEP is an education program for the propane industry that is specific to the subject or task. You can customize the shorter modules to build a complete learning path for a particular job, like a bobtail driver or cylinder filler, that is specific to the job functions that the learner will perform, eliminating redundancy and the wasteful time of going over the same things multiple times.

I believe organizing safety materials into smaller, manageable modules allows learning through building blocks, starting with a solid foundation, progressing through the core skills necessary for the tasks or functions employees are performing and continuing this progression as job tasks and responsibilities continue to evolve and change in an efficient manner. With the smaller modules, the learner can concentrate on the specific area of interest or need, keeping the learner’s interest and improving retention rates.

Trying to track this education might seem overwhelming, but PERC is here to help. The learning management system, or the Learning Center, is a software program that provides a library to house the curriculum materials and a transcript of the modules and programs that a learner completes. But it doesn’t stop there; it also allows you to customize programs by building outlines for your specific needs or regulatory requirements.

It was not too long ago that the term “workforce development” was commonly heard, and there was a need to find industry employees, fill classrooms or develop additional training programs. Another common topic of discussion is the need for additional or improved safety communications and education with consumers and employees. Part of this discussion involved the need to make training and safety topics quick and to the point and to ensure the efficient use of time, all while improving the effectiveness of these programs, which is no small task.

All of this points to the importance of education as a critical component of workforce development in the industry. It also reinforces why we need to keep an open mind on adapting to the changing needs of the incoming workforce and leverage technologies that can adapt and deliver education in different ways.

To this point, PERC planned to offer education, safety and compliance tracks and concentrate on implementing PEP at the February 2025 National Propane Education & Training Conference.

Propane safety and education professionals attend the event. They gather to learn about upcoming programs, discuss training aids others are using, discuss incidents and accidents for prevention opportunities and learn how to improve their communication skills.

As with most industry events, the networking opportunities and the ability to discuss issues with industry peers are invaluable.

“As a member of the PERC Safety Training and Technical Working Group for many years, it is exciting to see the launch of PEP education, which is a result of strong collaboration and hard work of safety leaders in the industry and PERC,” says Scott Pearson, vice president at CHS Inc. “It benefits us all to have consistent, technically accurate training that is easily accessible and, overall, is a faster and better experience. It is gratifying to see the industry gather to hear and learn from one another in the industry’s best interest. Safety and education are the two places in the industry where we are not competitors but partners.”

It is an inspiring time in the propane industry’s world of safety and education. A critical component of successful change is for industry members to provide thoughts, concerns and feedback to industry leaders, including state and national organizations. There is no better way to make this type of communication happen than through events that bring all industry stakeholders together.

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Randy Warner is product safety manager for Cavagna North America. He can be reached at randywarner@us.cavagnagroup.com.