How a hazmat situation goes is often driven by how quickly and how accurately we figure out what the hell is happening. And gas meters are often the tip of that spear. To get a better understanding of what is happening in meter training, we sat down with Jason Call, who is president and lead instructor for Gas Monitor Competence Training.
What inspired your initial idea?
I started in gas monitors in 1999 and noticed a pattern. When asked to train workers on their gas monitors, it almost always followed their OSHA confined space training. Epiphany! OSHA curriculum does not cover the operation of the gas monitor. Workers were just being handed gas monitors without proper training. This is incredibly dangerous because the difference between brands is like driving stick vs automatic. So, I committed myself to filling that safety training gap and making sure that every worker who uses a gas monitor is properly trained beyond just “on, off, bump, and calibrate.”
How did that idea evolve into what we see today?
I started with in-person classes on the brand I had represented, then realized that every brand had this need. So I developed courses for every brand of gas monitor and added the confined space refresher/awareness curriculum.
Also Read: How Realistic Training Can Prevent Confined Space Deaths
Upon Covid, I developed the remote version of the course. Ultimately, I developed the online, self-paced course. Today, the course is available in all three formats.
What did you learn from early failures?
Be prepared for anything to happen in your class. Most clients use one, occasionally two, brands, and they tell you which brand it is ahead of the class. I once arrived at a client’s location to be surprised by five different brands. Since then, I have become so intimately knowledgeable on each brand that such a situation is not a problem.
What have you learned from taking your product into the hazmat market?
A few things make the hazmat market different. First, there is not as much confined space entry as there is in public works, water and wastewater. Second, the potentially dangerous gases go beyond the typical O2, LEL, CO, and H2S. For these reasons, the VOC sensor is much more important. Third, dealing with the general citizenry places the first responder in a position where they have to explain what the monitor does or doesn’t do. For example, when a homeowner smells gas but sees no response from the gas monitor, they need to be told that household gas and H2S can be smelled long before the monitor responds to them. Fourth, the man down alarm [PASS device] is an important feature in hazmat. While this alarm is on SCBAs, it’s a good feature to have on gas monitors.
What has been the most profound story you have heard from a customer?
From my customers, I frequently hear statements like, “This is the best training on gas monitors and confined spaces that we’ve ever had,” or, “I’ve been here for 10 years, had confined space training every year, and never knew how to use the gas monitor until today.” These comments make my day.
Also Read: HazSim Training Drill: Chlorine Release from a Cylinder
Every gas monitor manufacturer gets this phone call: “Thank you. If I didn’t have a gas monitor, I’d be dead.” What a great call to get. However, the opposite stories — the worker who goes in and collapses, the would-be rescuers who follow … it’s heart wrenching. Most disturbing is that these workers had OSHA confined space training but not comprehensive gas monitor training.
What’s the biggest misconception about GMCT’s role in emergency response?
Some think that GMCT is a catch all, a training that applies to gas monitors in general. But GMCT is customized to your particular brand. The class on Brand A prepares you to use Brand A, not Brand B. And, since the course also includes the basics on confined spaces, neither manufacturers nor distributors provide such an in-depth course.
For a hazmat team, what’s the biggest barrier to entry into GMCT?
The most common blocks to proper training on gas monitors are time, complacency, and misplaced trust. While the class is less than two hours long, it’s tough to get the whole crew together for it, which is why the online, self-paced course was made. So “everything will be fine” can worm its way into practice. It is also common to depend on manufacturers and distributors for the training, which tends to be very basic — on/off, bump, calibrate — and frequently fails to cover additional important features and atmospheric dangers.
What problem keeps you up at night?
Two words: “we’re compliant.” Simple compliance with OSHA training gives a false sense of security for the worker and employer. I would estimate that 90% of those who’ve had OSHA confined space training do not understand how to use, respond to, or ensure the accuracy of their gas monitors. Every time I hear about someone dying in a confined space, it’s someone who’s “compliant.” It’s absolutely maddening.
What does the near-term future look like for your company?
Awareness of the courses continues to grow across the US and Canada. The next steps are to expand into new industries, like hazmat, and new languages starting with Spanish, Portuguese, and French so that the Americas are properly served.
What does the long-term future look like for your company?
OSHA and other governmental and industry agencies need to clarify the requirement for proper training on the gas monitor. While OSHA 1910.146(h)(2) requires that workers understand their equipment, it is just an umbrella statement. We will work on long-term efforts to change the wording of the legislation.
What’s your boldest prediction for GMCT’s future role in hazmat and emergency response?
There will come a day when hazmat leaders and crew will incredulously reminisce, “Can you believe we used to not have Gas Monitor Competence Training?”
