Hazardous materials training and education is the responsibility of the employer. It is no doubt that employers want to make sure they comply with local and federal mandates regarding hazardous material training programs, but going above and beyond may be out of the financial reach of many companies. Many companies can benefit from working with hazardous materials education and training and it is important to understand how to maximize the benefits of hazardous materials education training.

Investing in hazmat seminars and classes is not just important to the company, it is also important to individual employees in the field because it allows them career development. Proper strategies revolving around hazmat classes and hazmat training can help:

1. Make your company money do more when it comes to hazardous materials training education.

2. Increase the value of your employees to the company.

3. Maximize the company's amount and scope of work.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Understand available financial assistance programs for hazardous materials education and training

The U.S. federal government actually offers a number of generous grants for hazmat training and hazmat classes. If you are eligible for one or more of these grants, you wouldn't have to pay any money for such training. Some of those eligible include states, territories and Native American tribes.

I recommend: Research needs to be done in order to determine whether or not your company would be eligible for such a grant. If eligible, you would still then need to apply for said grant. Fire Chief magazine has a great article detailing the beginnings of this grant option, while the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) offers an easy-to-read grant fact sheet. The PHMSA grant page offers extensive information on such grants.

Consider distance-learning and onsite hazardous materials education and training

There are different venues through which employees can learn and become certified when it comes to hazardous materials courses. While onsite hazardous materials classes are available for employers that want to either invite trainers to their place of business or send employees to hazmat education training sites, there are also online hazmat training courses. It is important to pick the most economical option. If it would cost more money to send all your employees to a site to learn, it may be more beneficial to use online hazardous materials training. There is also more flexibility when it comes to online courses. When it comes to training and test preparation, you might not even need to pay for books since there are many free assistance sites online.

I recommend: Online Hazmat School has certification and training for employers and their employees no matter what state provides residency for the company. There is even a free demo to try out the school. Even if you choose to do onsite test taking, you may not have to pay for hazmat training. A free sample test can be found at Layover.com, and there is an expansive selection of more than 400 free practice tests at the Crist CDL Training Center online.

Know your state's hazardous materials education and training enforcement activities

Each state has hazmat enforcements in effect. By understanding which enforcement activities are in effect for your specific state, you can help ensure that you will not receive any fines or fees for noncompliance.

I recommend: To see which activities take place in your state, check out the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Learn about inspection requirements from Unidocs.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Remember to keep your employees up to date on their certification. It can end up costing employers a lot more to completely retrain and recertify than to simply renew certification and licenses. Since it is the employers' responsibility to adhere to these mandates, save yourself time and money by ensuring current certification.

Hazardous materials education and training can be useful or a mandatory addition to many job fields. Hazmat training may be used all year round for some companies. For others, it may be necessary on a job-by-job basis.

Hazmat classes can include training in transporting of hazardous materials by land, sea or air. They can involve proper handling and disposal of potentially hazardous materials.

To choose the right hazardous materials training education for you:

1. Determine what your hazardous materials training needs are. How extensive of training do you need? Are you pursuing continuing education or learning something new?

2. Do the hazardous materials courses that you are looking at fall in your price range?

3. Determine if the hazmat education and training that you require means you traveling to them, or if they come to your place of business to conduct the hazmat education. Also, consider online courses.

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Figure out what kind of hazardous materials training you need before searching for a provider

Having a background knowledge of hazmat and its transportation may influence your decision to pursue hazmat training.

I recommend: Find resources on transportation of hazardous materials from the Dangerous Goods Advisory Council. There you can find vendors, FAQs, a glossary of acronyms, news, calendar of events and jobs. Check out the basics of hazmat and its regulations at the Cramer Law Group PLLC.

Find a private company for your hazmat training

Look to using a private firm or organization to provide your hazardous materials training education. Generally, you can go to them, they can come to you or some companies offer courses online.

I recommend: Find DOT Hazardous Materials Training classes offered nationwide. Use this training to learn how to comply with all Hazmat regulations. You can use these hazardous materials classes as initial training or your required recurrent training that is mandatory every three years. Check out the free training materials from PowerPoints, checklists, quizzes, handouts and trainer's outlines available at Safety.BLR.com. Find Hazardous Materials Transportation Training from Lion Technology, Inc. There you can find workshops, onsite and online training. Find a variety of courses from Regulations Training, Inc. They offer multi-modal hazardous materials and dangerous goods transportation training.

Look at government endorsed hazardous materials training education

Look at government websites for more information on hazmat training and regulations.

I recommend: Look at the Hazmat resources available from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. There you can find training news, seminars, meetings, training requirements, publications and more. Look at the hazardous material training offered by the Washington State Patrol Office of the State Fire Marshall. Check out how you can comply with federal hazardous materials regulations from the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Tips & Tactics

Helpful advice for making the most of this Guide

• •  Try to take hazmat training in the spring or late fall. Often times, you have to fully suit up as part of the training, and the hazardous materials full jumps suits are extremely hot in the summer.

Hazardous materials education and training is essential for those individuals who work in fields that deal with dangerous materials. Examples of occupations that require such training include jobs in the transportation industry, such as truck drivers, forklift operators and plant managers, as well as emergency responders who respond to accidents where there may be chemical spills.

Hazmat training involves knowing the properties of the hazardous materials you are transporting, storing or responding to, how to properly store, cleanup and dispose of hazardous materials and how to treat someone that exposed to the hazardous substance. To determine the various types of hazardous material training available to you, perform the following steps:

1. Contact a hazmat education and training facility

2. Contact government agencies for hazardous materials regulations

3. Contact government agencies to inquire about training opportunities they provide

Action Steps
The best contacts and resources to help you get it done

Look to government agencies to learn the regulations for hazmat training

Familiarize yourself with the hazardous materials regulations that you will ultimately be responsible for following and/or enforcing by consulting a government agency. When searching for a hazardous materials training education program, make sure their hazardous materials courses cover all aspects of hazardous materials regulations set forth by legislation.

I recommend: The United States Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration and Environmental Health & Safety Online provide information regarding training requirements, continuing education and maintenance of training records.

Contact a hazmat education facility to inquire what hazardous materials courses they provide

There are many options to complete your hazardous materials education and training. For beginners, you may complete your coursework in a classroom setting, led by a certified instructor or through an online hazardous materials training course. Participants may receive certification upon completion of the course, depending on the program and/or course they enrolled.

I recommend: The Association of Bay Area Governments offers online hazardous materials training in hazardous waste, emergency response, Department of Transportation HAZMAT transport and industrial and construction safety courses. Texas Engineering Extension Service Emergency Services Training Institute (ESTI) provides standardized instruction or personalized instruction focusing on transportation, pipeline and fixed facilities emergencies to clients at their facility in Texas or on-site at the client’s location.

Consider government agencies for the hazardous materials training opportunities they provide

Government agencies may host hazmat classes on their own or work together with another governmental agency or educational institution to develop a hazardous materials training education program designed to meet requirements established by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) and the Department of Transportation.

I recommend: The University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign School of Labor and Employee Relations, in conjunction with the National School for Occupational Safety & Health, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the United States Department of Health and Human Services, offer hazardous materials classes focusing on hazardous waste operations, emergency response and hazardous materials transport. The Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, through their Hazardous Materials Safety Assistance Team, provides compliance assistance as well as nationwide training in the safe transport of hazardous materials through outreach programs, hazmat seminars and publications.