Operations Best Practices Program

2012 Operator Qualification and Training

Best Practices Roundtable American Gas Association

Washington, DC

October 2-4, 2012

Best Practices Summary – Training, Delivery & Evaluation Facilitator: Steve Himmelfarb, Supervisor, Technical Training, Washington Gas

TRAINING, DELIVERY & EVALUATION

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Challenge 1:

Measuring the effectiveness of training

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Best Practice 1

Best Practice: Pre and post evaluation using written quiz/test. Using it as a measure of training effectiveness.

G. Fabbruzzo – Enbridge Gas Distribution

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• Objective way of see their knowledge coming in and knowledge after the training.

• Need to analyze it to see whether the post results actually did show improvements.

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Best Practice 2 Best Practice: Use a tool called Questionmark - Build the curriculum and then load all of the associated assessments and OQs into the system. You can also use Questionmark Secure which can be configured so that employees cannot go out of the test or close the window unless you complete the test. Configured system to record results in LMS.

L. Floyd – Pacific Gas & Electric

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation: • System provides immediate feedback to the instructors • Provides coaching reports that can be used for remediation • Tests can be administered on either a tablet or a computer • May not integrate with all record keeping databases

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Best Practice 3

Best Practice: TurningPoint technology that feeds into their ELM system. Ten instructors across 6 states.

M. Drake – AGL Resources

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• Knowledge checks along the delivery of the course.

• IT integration issues - a bit of learning curve with implementing into your system, making sure it works with your platform.

• For performance and speed issues, you want to avoid running TurningPoint via broadband.

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Challenge 2:

As state and federal rules change, how are these rolled

out to field staff?

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Best Practice 1

Best Practice: Regulatory Compliance will determine if there needs to be a change in training. If it’s a code change and they cannot get everyone to the training center, then they will send a bulletin to the supervisors, otherwise information is conveyed at Tailgates. Next time they are up for OQ, that change in training will be brought up again.

R. Suttles – Duke Energy

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Best Practice 2

Best Practice: Depending on the level of the change, we may use a system-wide stand down to communicate important change in procedure training, allow for questions, and check for understanding.

G. Cocard – Pacific Gas & Electric

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• Requires significant upper management support.

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Best Practice 3

Best Practice: Daily 6:30 am conference call for field employees, 7:30 am call for leadership. Read, sign and listen.

R. Pugh – PECO Energy

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Best Practice 4

Best Practice: Uses a testing tool to communicate changes and make sure that it gets implemented. Use centralized training facility. All service centers have monthly business meeting and trainers are present.

M. Drake – AGL Resources

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Challenge 3:

Scheduling

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Best Practice 1

Best Practice: Putting down a list of everything that had to be done – started 5 years ago. Each headquarter has a scheduler. Scheduler is getting the dates from the trainer. Tracked through their LMS.

R. Suttles – Duke Energy

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Best Practice 2

Best Practice: Uses Saba. In the beginning it was very difficult because they had to put everyone into the system.

M. Mondragon, C. Shilling – Colorado Spring Utilities

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• Employees see it and have access to the tool.

• Saba offers email notification. Notification is 90 days to expiration.

• Employees train within the 90 days notification.

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Best Practice 3

Best Practice: Use LMS (SAP) for scheduling the classes and allowing their field employees to enroll and just starting to schedule their instructors through the same system.

L. Floyd – Pacific Gas & Electric

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Best Practice 4

Best Practice: DOT/regulatory training is consolidated. Supervisors can schedule their training. All supervisors do training in one scoop. In some cases they are splitting up training, e.g. aboveground and belowground tasks. Trainers do not do the scheduling. A designated scheduler schedules the training. Have a matrix to know what trainers can train which class.

R. Smith – AGL Resources

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Best Practice 5

Best Practice: Training is scheduled by the Training Department in conjunction with the Resource Management Center (centralized planning and dispatching group). OQ testing (initial and requalification testing) is scheduled by Training and/or the OQ program administrator, also in conjunction with the Resource Management group.

C. Colton – NW Natural

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• Employees and supervisors have access to qualification reports and can view when qualifications are expiring.

• Employees and supervisors are not responsible for scheduling training or requalification testing.

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Challenge 4:

Delivery of computer based training

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Best Practice 1

Best Practice: Doing computer based training at limited scale. Delivery of training via CBT is being pushed by HR and upper management to apply this method for all training. There’s one CBT for 150 gas employees. Training done with proctoring or assistance from supervisors to ensure they complete CBT.

E. Fox – City of Richmond

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• There are workforce issues, e.g. literacy issues and older workforce who may not be computer savvy.

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Best Practice 2

Best Practice: As needed, they will provide CBT for specific items. Uses CBT for soil analysis testing for earth and trenching and Muellers Magic Box.

K. Thomas – PECO Energy

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• Test can be pulled up on their MDTs and company’s website.

• Instructions for the test given from beginning to final steps.

• Time is a factor in this practice.

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Best Practice 3

Best Practice: Uses ISNetWorld. CBT used for all field employees. All field employees have laptops. Have 550 employees.

R. Anderson – SourceGas

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• Can monitor each individual’s work online.

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Best Practice 4

Best Practice: Train via computers. Employees keep up with all OQ records. Employees get email notifications when they are completed. Gas review and standard change can be done oinline. Have been mobile since 2005. On a rainy day, they can go online and review driving modules. When qualifications expire, management is notified. Proximity alarms go off when they get close to certain locations, e.g. home, 7-11.

D. Bass – NiSource Inc.

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• The training program can run reports continuously.

• Supervisors can tell how much time spent reviewing.

• Increases productivity.

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Best Practice 5

Best Practice: Uses MakeSafe 2000. Allows you to do simulation tests. The tests are proctored, monitored. Supervisors can go out in the field to set up tests. This is done for about 10 people.

K. Thomas – PECO Energy

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• If they do not requalify, they cannot go out in the field and do a leak/odorization call. Dispatch is notified that they have not requalified.

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Challenge 5:

Identifying the right trainer/supervisor

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Best Practice 1

Best Practice: Put out a questionnaire about being a supervisor/trainer.

K. Campbell – Peoples Natural Gas

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Best Practice 2

Best Practice: As part of the interview process, ask candidate to prepare a 15-minute presentation.

J. Bozarth – Ameren Illinois

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Best Practice 3

Best Practice: As part of their selection process, ask candidate “What do you think it takes to be a good trainer” and candidate has to prepare the response in a Word document in the presence of the interviewer. Also, they use BLS CPR for new trainers to hone their skills.

S. Himmelfarb – Washington Gas

Benefits/Considerations for Implementation:

• Gives the interviewer the opportunity to see the writing skills of the candidate, which gives some indication of ability to formulate cohesive sentences.

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Best Practice 4

Best Practice: Hire from within, hire existing workforce as trainers and train them to be more proficient in presentation skills, facilitation, training, etc. Select employees with leadership strengths and are passionate about training

Group Recommendation

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Challenge 6:

Making sure your contractors are trained and qualified

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Best Practice 1

Best Practice: Operators do not get involved in training and qualifying the contractors. Have third party evaluators but also have a mechanism in place to audit the contractors. Evaluators also have to go through a process to qualify.

S. Yant – Dominion East Ohio

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Best Practice 2

Best Practice: Have a single point of contact (SPOC). Invite PSC to attend audit.

R. Stump – Consumers Energy

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Best Practice 3

Best Practice: Don’t extend the span of control across the company to contractors.

Group Recommendation

QUESTIONS

The American Gas Association, founded in 1918, represents more than 200 local energy companies that deliver clean natural gas throughout the United States. There are more than 71 million residential, commercial and industrial natural gas customers in the United States, of which 92% — more than 65 million customers — receive their gas from AGA members. Today, natural gas meets almost one-fourth of the United States’ energy needs.

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www.aga.org