b'Associate NewsTRAINING Your UST Operators: Whats the best option for your company?Someone once told me:Good training pays and bad training costs.So how do you decide whats good UST training? By Ben Thomas, Class A/B and C UST operator training has been required in most WPMA statesSenior Vice President for almost a decade, and almost two decades in Oregon. I should know. I was there inof Sound Payments July of 2003 in Portland where I did what in retrospect became the nations first statePetro Solutions approved Class A/B UST operator training course. Other states followed with their owntraining rules and by 2021, as a nation, wed trained many tens of thousands ofClass A/B operators and several million Class C operators.But before we go any further: makes it a real hands-on experience. WHO ARE THESE A B C PEOPLE? Not the cheapest option but probably Class A: Usually the owner who manages the most helpful. UST business like fees, permits, Live classroom: Another not cheap option but insurance, etc. has the benefit of human contact, group Class B: Usually the store manager or interactions and real-time Q&A. shift supervisor who checks the What Are Your CLASS C TRAINING Choices?tank gauge console and does the Class C operators only need to know a small slice of what the monthly inspections. Class A/B operator knows and so the typical training time is Class C: Typically the person behind the about a half hour. Two approaches:counter who might discover a You train. State UST agencies allow certified spill at the dispenser or notice Class A/B operators to train their own staff. So the ATG blinking red. you could create your own Class C course and Many operators fall into more than one class type. Years agoeither offer it online or do it live on-site.I started combining Class A and B into one A/B course andSomeone else trains. We offer online Class most companies today do the same. Most Class A/Bs are alsoC training either using our online Learning considered Class Cs by default. Class A/B operators can also beManagement System (LMS), or, if your com-outsourced to third party UST compliance companies. pany has your own in-house LMS, we lease What Are Your CLASS A/B TRAINING Choices? you the course and you run and track training Whats the best type of training for you and your company? and certification in-house. Weve certified Here are some common approaches. over 600,000 Class C operators using custom-ers in-house networks. Super scalable.Online Self-Paced: Take the training fromHow MANY People Must You TRAIN?any computer, laptop or tablet. The user usually can start and stop any- Its actually up the UST owner to assign who needs trainingtime. Great for busy people. Goodand how many should be trained. Over the years Ive seentracking system in place.two approaches.Online Live Webinar: same as above butTrain the bare minimum. One Class A/B per site or you are presented the material bysometimes per region or even state. Train one Class C a live instructor who can answer(most states allow one only so long as theres always questions in real time. Requires aat least one Class C operator when the site is manned.)specific time commitment. Great forTrain everyone. One Class A/B Zoom-savvy users. Usually involvesper site and maybe a backup. And a separate exam afterwards. train anyone who works on site to On-Sit e: A trainer comes to your locationrespond to alarms and spills.and combines classroom training with a walkthrough of a real UST siteWHICH OPTION do you think has the least compliance problems?and opens lids, checks the ATG and 48 www.wpma.com / Summer 2021'