Below
is a listing of available training offered by The Vannet
Group. If you would like to schedule a personal training
on-site, board member training, or conference, please contact
us. For an updated list of airline drinking water training events in your area, see our Upcoming Training Opportunities Page.
UTILITY
MANAGEMENT TRAINING
Utility
Finance and Administration
This 2 day course offers sections on financial planning,
budgeting, and reporting. Discussions include capacity
development and utility rates, purchasing, cost of service
considerations, uniform systems of accounts, and financing
utility improvements and expansions.
Modern Technology and Utility Management
Technology allows every industry to make huge improvements
in service and efficiency, if used appropriately.
This 1 day course examines the latest technological advancements
in the water and wastewater industry including: GIS/GPS,
computer advancements, new treatment technologies, SCADA
and telemetry, and security issues as they relate to technology.
Human Resource Management For Utilities
The HR functions of any organization are among the most
challenging for managers. This 2 day course includes
sections on personnel policies, hiring and firing, compensation
and benefits, motivation and training, dealing with experts,
and employee evaluation.
Utility Organization, Regulation, & Law
This 2 day course provides in depth instruction on utility
organization and structure in your state and nationally,
sections on the SDWA and CWA, state agencies, federal agencies,
trade organizations, and other laws affecting utility operations.
Participants will also explore how their state measures
up to the rest of the United States in regards to utility
service and public health protection.
Utility
Management 101
This introductory 3 day course provides participants with
an excellent foundation of utility management knowledge.
Includes sections covering the historical background
of water and wastewater service; drinking water and clean
water regulations; utility organizational structures; basics
in finance, personnel, and public relations; and the board/manager
relationship.
Utility Customer Service
Specifically designed for water and sewer utility personnel,
this course guides personnel through the fundamentals of
excellent customer service. Customer service training
must not be passive or provided only to personnel in the
office -- each utility needs to make it an organizational
priority for all employees. Preparing utility personnel
to deliver better customer service is the emphasis of this
course. This course provides an overview of strategies
for delivering better customer service and dealing with
difficult customers. It includes specialized tips
for field personnel (such as meter readers and lab samplers).
Using interactive class exercises and customized utility
videos, students will learn to apply fundamental customer
service techniques to their utilities.
Asset
Management for W/WW Utilities
Asset management is the standardized, auditable process
of managing the life-cycle costs (both capital and O&M
expenses), use, condition, and reliability of a utility's
assets to optimize their value in support of a utility operation.
This asset management course will provide timely
information for effective asset management decision-making.
This class will review asset management strategies
that make business processes more competitive such as performing
facilities inventories along with capacity, condition, and
risk and prioritization assessments; supporting a proactive
(computerized) maintenance management system; projecting
and financing a 5-year O&M and capital improvement plan;
and formulating a customer outreach and feedback process.
This class will address issues such as balancing
funding needs with funding resources, maintaining cost-effective
maintenance levels, and assessing risk/failure levels.
Course also introduces free software designed by the instructor
through the USEPA called Check-Up for Small Systems, or
CUPSS.
Emergency Response Planning for Small Utilities
This session will provide the participant with an understanding
of the steps required to develop, test, certify and maintain
an Emergency Response Plan for both water and wastewater
utilities and how to put this plan into practice.
The participant will receive instruction on the requirements
of emergency response planning, an overview of the National
Incident Management System (NIMS) and templates for developing
an ERP. In addition, there will be discussions on
lessons learned during recent emergencies that can assist
participants in enhancing the security at their facilities.
The workshop will culminate with the student participating
in a tabletop utility emergency response exercise designed
to provide an understanding of the dynamics of emergency
operations. This exercise, along with class discussion,
will give the participant insight useful for developing,
testing and maintaining an Emergency Response Plan.
WATER SYSTEM SECURITY TRAINING
Vulnerability
Assessments for Water Utilities
This full day module will be geared towards assisting participants
evaluate the susceptibility of a water utility to potential
harmful threats that would result in adverse consequences.
Participants will focus on the methodology of conducting
in-depth vulnerability assessments of a system taking into
account (for either ground or surface water) the transmission,
treatment, and distribution systems used by their facility.
Topics will cover the need for vulnerability assessment,
the methodology, prioritizing security upgrades and the
need for planning, modifications to the system as a result
of the analysis, modifications to the utilities internal
policies and procedures, and mitigation of risks and vulnerabilities
of the utility's critical assets. Also covered will
be the need to take into consideration the different risks
associated with different size facilities.
Homeland
Security and Your Public Water/ Wastewater System
Ensuring effective security is a major concern at public
facilities today. This two-day training is geared
towards assisting public water and wastewater systems enhance
security, improve capacity for emergency response, and perform
onsite vulnerability assessments. Topics covered will
include homeland security, bioterrorism preparedness, weapons
of mass destruction, surviving natural disasters, process
safety management of highly hazardous chemicals, first responder
training, and workplace violence prevention.
Emergency
Response Plans and Security Enhancements for Water Utilities
Emergency response plans and security enhancements will
both be covered in this module. Topics covered will
include the need for emergency response plans; discussion
of how systems in place assist with effective and quick
remediation and recovery; and the incorporation of employee
participation, training, and the need for continuous update
to the plan. As the vulnerability assessment identifies
risks, there will be a need for utilities to implement new
procedures and countermeasures that address these deficiencies.
Participants will be introduced to techniques and networking
strategies that they can use to assist a facility implementing
these new measures.
UTILITY
SAFETY TRAINING
Lockout/Tagout
Safety professionals will be introduced to the appropriate
techniques for controlling and isolating all power sources
(lockout/tagout) with which an employee might come into
contact including electrical currents, hydraulic flows,
compressed air, and even vacuums. in addition, participants
will learn to develop a set of written lockout/tagout procedures
for their facility.
Safety
and Health Outreach for Public Utilities
Workplace safety is important every day, in every industry.
This 2hr or 4hr course will introduce participants
to general industry and safety standards in OSHA 29 CFR
1910, Safety and Health Regulations for General Industry.
Topics covered will include an overview of OSHA standards
including toxic and hazardous substances, stairways and
ladders, scaffolding, competent person requirements, fall
protection, personal protective equipment (PPE), hand and
power tools, lock-out/tag-out, signs, signals and barricades,
confined space entry, and lift truck safety.
Bloodborne
Pathogens
This course is designed for employers and employees who
are responsible for their workplace bloodborne pathogens
program. This 4-hr program guides the participants
through the detailed requirements of 29 CFR 1910.1030, Bloodborne
Pathogens Standard. Program content includes a detailed
discussion of the OSHA Bloodborne Pathogen Standard, preventing
and limiting BBP exposure, methods of compliance, engineering
controls, exposure control plan, responding to exposure
incidents, and employee training requirements.
Confined
Space Entry
This 4-hour course is designed to provide a review of the
confined space entry procedures as outlined in OSHA 29 CFR
part 1910. Topics covered will include entry into
a confined space, hazard identification, equipment requirements,
and rescue procedures.
UTILITY
OPERATOR TRAINING & ASSISTANCE
Tools
and other Free Stuff for Drinking Water Utilities
What happens to my tax payer money? Where does it all go?
Wonder no more. This course covers 2hrs of detailed
information on where a small public utility can obtain the
most efficient and effective free tools, training, and on-site
assistance.
Mathematics for Water Operators
This
program will review water treatment math and help operators
gain the math skills for the water treatment certification
exam. Experienced operators will benefit from reviewing
math concepts specifically related to water treatment.
Topics include formulas for detention time, surface loading
rates, circumference, weir overflow rates, filter loading
rates, pounds, formulas, PSI conversion, and chemical feed
rates.
Operator Liability
Operators need to understand the liabilities associated
with operating water and wastewater systems. This
4-hr course is designed to introduce operators to the Clean
Water Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, state water pollution
laws, and state water supply laws. The course addresses
the legal liability of operators for spills, releases, non-reporting,
cross-connection, and contamination. Both civil and
criminal liabilities under state and federal states will
be discussed.
Water Sample Collection and Analysis
This one or two day course takes the beginner and turns
them into the sampling expert. The course covers 14
different sampling parameters commonly required of most
public drinking water systems. Course includes video
presentations as well as hands-on training. The course
will identify tips for ease of collection and shipping.
