Code of Maine Rules › 65 - DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › 407 - PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION › Chapter 420 - SAFETY STANDARDS FOR NATURAL GAS AND LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS FACILITY OPERATORS › Section 407-420-6 - Operation Standards

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A.
Operator
				Qualification (OQ) Program Requirements
Operators must include in its OQ Program's written
				  plan:
1. A provision that all of the
				operator's personnel and the employees of the operator's contractors who may be
				joining plastic pipe, by any method, or inspecting plastic pipe joints must be
				qualified (a) directly by an employee of the operator who is fully trained and
				qualified; or (b) if an operator utilizes an agency to qualify its personnel,
				all such qualifications must be by the same agency through which the operator
				has adopted their OQ Program written plan. Any individual(s) conducting
				inspections or qualification testing must be qualified to join plastic pipe by
				all methods and have a minimum of two years of experience making all joints
				they are inspecting or for which they are qualifying others;
2. A provision requiring documentation that
				all qualified personnel (employees and contractors) have received training, for
				all tasks for which each person is qualified, prior to being tested for
				qualification. Operators must retain this documentation for as long as the
				individual is performing the covered task, and for five years
				thereafter;
3. A provision
				requiring documentation indicating that personnel (employees and contractors),
				qualified for any task by written testing, were tested for those tasks by an
				independent proctor and that all tests were corrected by the test proctor or by
				a computerized or online test administrating organization or agency. Operators
				must retain this documentation for as long as the individual is performing the
				covered task, and for five years thereafter. If written testing is conducted
				through a computerized or on-line test administered by the Northeast Gas
				Association or similar organization or agency, then the operator must ensure
				that the test proctor has been qualified by the administrator of the
				test;
4. A provision requiring
				documentation indicating that personnel (employees and contractors), qualified
				for any task by hands-on testing, were tested individually for those tasks by
				an independent proctor and that all tests were corrected by the test proctor.
				Operators must retain this documentation for as long as the individual is
				performing the covered task, and for five years thereafter;
5. A provision requiring that. if task
				testing is computer based, the operator have procedures to ensure that the
				stated individual is the person actually taking the test(s) and that the stated
				individual did not receive assistance during the testing. Operators must create
				documentation regarding the above and retain this documentation for as long as
				the individual is performing the covered task, and for five years
				thereafter;
6. A provision that.
				for tasks other than joining plastic pipe, the operator must perform analysis
				to verify that the domains and elements of all tasks performed by contractor
				personnel, qualified by an OQ Program other than the operator's, equate to the
				tasks as described in the operator's OQ Program. Operators must retain
				documentation of this analysis for as long as the contractor personnel are
				performing covered tasks, and for five years thereafter;
7. A provision that if the domains and
				elements of a contractor's task do not equate to those contained in the
				operator's OQ Program or if contractor personnel are lacking qualification for
				necessary tasks, the affected personnel must be qualified by the operator or
				the same agency through which the operator has adopted its OQ Program written
				plan; and
8. A provision that prior
				to the start of each construction season, the operator must provide the Gas
				Safety Staff with the necessary usernames and/or passwords to access any
				on-line databases used for the tracking of qualifications of the operator's
				employees and contractors.