Propane Personality: Safety, training professional Paula Laney

August 23, 2019 By    
Pauley Laney_Oklahoma LP Gas Research, Marketing & Safety Commission

Laney

EDUCATION

Northeastern State University (Oklahoma)
Bachelor’s in Human Resource Development
Class of 1999

The Chicago School of Professional Psychology
Master’s in Industrial and
Organizational Psychology
Class of 2012

WORK EXPERIENCE

February 2000-Present
Oklahoma LP Gas Research,
Marketing & Safety Commission
Director of Safety, Education
and Training

September 2010-Present
Laney Consulting LLC
Owner

November 1991-99
Liberty Propane Gas
Office Manager


“My dad is my hero, mentor and friend, and he made sure I learned everything he could teach me about the business.”

Working in the summer

“Good prep work in the summer can make the winter go more smoothly, safely and efficiently.”

Summer safety tips:

Vehicle and equipment maintenance.

Review company policies and procedures.

Review your driver qualification files and vehicle maintenance files.
Send employees to training, or let them have time to complete online or blended learning.

Review your new customer packets or duty-to-warn materials and the schedule in which you send that information to your customers.

Have safety meetings and include everyone – management to office personnel.

Laney enjoys traveling with her children to scenic places all over the country. Photo courtesy of Paula Laney

Laney enjoys traveling with her children to scenic places all over the country. Photo courtesy of Paula Laney

HOBBIES

I like anything outdoors, in or around water. Boating, skiing, swimming, scuba, kayaking, snowboarding and more.

Photo courtesy of Paula Laney

Laney leading a presentation for Oklahoma propane marketers. Photo courtesy of Paula Laney

PROMOTING PROPANE SAFETY

“We have to be smarter about hiring and training. We have to change our thinking about how adults learn and be cautious about who we let help with on-the-job training. Employees learn why we use personal protective equipment, and why and when we perform a leak check. Customer service representatives are trained on how to respond to a gas leak call and how to document it. If a veteran employee retrains them to not follow or to disregard policies and procedures, then we have a big disconnect that will have an effect on the safety culture of the organization.”

“I grew up in my family’s small, independent propane company. You start working young and learn how to work hard, you learn to value your customers and take care of them, and what it means to run a business.”

“The commission has a number of different safety brochures available
to our marketers, and limited quantities are available
at no charge.”

“The commission is our state PERC, and we provide marketing materials, safety materials, forms and rebates to our Oklahoma marketers. We also have a mobile training trailer that we take around the state to help our marketers train employees on safe and compliant LP gas installations and leak and pressure testing.”

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About the Author:

Joe McCarthy was an associate editor at LP Gas Magazine.

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