CGA Announces New Certification Program for Gas Industry Personnel
The Compressed Gas Association has formed a new entity, the CGA Certification Board LLC (CGACB), to offer personnel certification services for industrial and medical gases industry personnel. Initially, the CGACB will offer certification to CGA M-1, Standard for Medical Gas Supply Systems at Health Care Facilities (an American National Standard).
“CGA is an ANSI-accredited standard development organization with more than 100 years of experience in setting the standard for industry safety” stated Rich Gottwald, CGA President and CEO. “We are excited to work with the CGACB to offer a certification program that is based on our standards and specifically designed to address the unique considerations and hazards of our industry.”
The certification evaluations are designed to assess a candidate’s practical knowledge and understanding of applicable regulations, codes and standards; the evaluations also verify that an applicant’s company standard operating procedures conform to industry standards. CGACB’s certification will provide authorities, customers and employers confidence that the individuals performing work on critical gas systems have been qualified through an independent assessment of their competencies.
CGACB has partnered with B&R Compliance Associates, a leading medical gas consulting firm, who has been offering personnel certification programs for more than 15 years. “The combination of B&R’s proven ability to manage and promote certification programs and CGA’s longstanding dedication to industry safety is a winning combination” stated Bob Sutter, B&R’s Vice President and Chief Technical Officer.
CGACB will open registration for the CGA M-1 Certification in September 2018.
For more information, visit www.cgacb.org, or contact Bob Sutter at bob.sutter@brcompliance.com or 610-868-7183.
CGA Webinar Series
Acetylene: History, Properties and Best Practices
CGA is debuting a new series of webinars designed to provide a comprehensive overview of the history, properties and evolution of best practices of specific gases. These events are designed with emerging professionals in mind but will also provide an excellent refresher opportunity for more experienced personnel.
The first webinar series is being developed by CGA’s Acetylene Committee and will be presented by George Houghton, a recognized industry expert and long-standing CGA committee member. This 3-part series will be available this fall and cover the history of acetylene, acetylene properties, history of calcium carbide and calcium carbide best handling practices. Additional content is being developed for 2019 and will include presentations on acetylene cylinder design, qualification and requalification, acetylene piping materials and pressure ratings, best practices for acetylene generator operations and maintenance and a review of best practices for mobile acetylene trailer systems. CGA also plans to expand the webinar program to cover additional gases in the future.
The acetylene webinar series is open to GAWDA members, and affordably priced at $25/webinar or $59.95 for a package of three webinars. Each webinar will feature a 30 to 45-minute live presentation by a subject matter expert. Audience members will have opportunities to ask questions and participate in discussions throughout the event. A recording of the webinar will also be made available on demand to CGA and GAWDA members.
For questions on the webinar series, or to be put on the registration mailing list, please contact Laura Brumsey (lbrumsey@cganet.com).
