By Lt. Cmdr. Rob Allen, Director of Hazardous Material and Reserve Programs, Navy Supply Corps School
The Joint Hazardous Materials (HAZMAT) Training Group Summit was held in February 2019 at the Navy Supply Corps School (NSCS). The purpose of the summit was to review curriculum across all service schoolhouses and discuss current practices and standards. This is the rebirth of a program held annually when NSCS was in Athens, Georgia, and serves to realign and ensure services comply with HAZMAT certifier requirements. Naval Supply Systems Command (NAVSUP) N242, US Air Force 345th Training Squadron, US Army Defense Ammunition Center, the Transportation Safety Institute, and the United Parcel Service were represented.
The group reached consensus on many best training practices including use of mock packaging labs, use of digital publications to facilitate mobile training and meet student needs for modernized training delivery, and methods to confirm training history for certifiers of frustrated cargo. Attendees were very interested in NSCS’s packaging lab. NSCS instructors led them through the exercises used in the lab and explained relevant processes. The Air Force schoolhouse now plans to implement similar training in their curriculum. All schoolhouses agreed to increase the course passing score to 80% from 75%. Members agreed that, due to fiscal and safety reasons, it is best to ensure only students who truly understand the material are able to pass the course and certify HAZMAT for shipment. NSCS looks forward to signing a memorandum of understanding with the other schoolhouses to establish this event as a yearly meeting.
Summer 2019