MAY 2011                                                                                                                                                            VOLUME  18.1  

THE PATRIOT

A Publication of All American Environmental Services, Inc.

Telephone: 800-777-8474 Fax: 410-694-9474 Email: info@aaesi.com

WEB: www.aaesi.com

DOMESTIC TRAINING BUSINESS NEWS 

GENERAL SERVICES ADMINISTRATION (GSA) CONTRACT AWARD:  On April 27, 2011, after nearly two years of preparation and processing time, All American Environmental Services, Inc. was awarded GSA Federal Supply Schedule contract no. GS-10F-0214X. This 5-year contract provides government procurement officers with access to All American training services covered in Schedule 899 (Environmental Services), Special Item No. 899-3 (Environmental Training Services) under agreed upon most favored client pricing, terms and conditions.

The contract covers eleven company proprietary training programs, including our core HAZWOPER site worker, supervisor and emergency responder, incident command  initial  and recertification courses, as well as Confined Space Operations, and First Aid-CPR/AED training.

Current and prospective government clients can access our contract information and prices and obtain ordering guidelines through the GSA online e-buy system at www.ebuy.gsa.gov (GSA e-Buy), www.gsaelibrary.gsa.gov (GSA Schedules e-Library) or www.gsaadvantage.gov (GSA Advantage). Our principal GSA program contact is Ed Conaway. Federal procurement offices seeking to take advantage of our GSA contract are encouraged to contact Ed at 800-777-8474 or Email info@aaesi.com.

US EPA REGION III FIRST RESPONDER TRAINING CONTRACT RENEWAL:  During March the EPA elected to exercise the first option year under the terms of the contract awarded by Region III Headquarters Contracts Branch in Philadelphia, PA. During this extended contract period the All American Environmental Services team of made up of skilled highly experienced emergency responders and incident managers will continue to conduct a variety of customized fire, hazmat and EMS training courses for responders operating out of small rural fire and rescue departments throughout the region which encompasses Delaware, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia. In addition to training services the contract also covers the development of new training curricula and the modification/upgrading of existing curriculum to meet client-specific needs and reflect current practices in the field which is an ongoing effort at the direction of the EPA Project Officer.

ANNE ARUNDEL COUNTY PUBLIC SCHOOLS TRAINING CONTRACT RENEWAL:  During April the School District elected to exercise its option and extend the current contract period of performance from June 28, 2011 through June 27, 2012. Under this multi-year contract All American has performed variety of OSHA mandated occupational safety and health training courses such as: Blood Borne Pathogens, Back Safety, Asbestos Awareness, Hazard Communication & Worker Right-to-Know, Confined Space Operations and Lockout-Tagout of Hazardous Energy Sources, etc. The training has been delivered throughout the Anne Arundel Maryland School District for administrative, teaching and operations and maintenance personnel.

OVERSEAS TRAINING ACTIVITY 

MALAYSIAN FIRE AND RESCUE DEPARTMENT (FRDM):  With the end of 2010 and the delivery of an 80-hour NFPA Level I (Basic) and Levels II & III (Advanced) Emergency Responder Instructor Training Program in October, All American wrapped its tenth year of continuous service to FRDM. This intensive instructor training program, performed by Tom Johnson and Bill Shoemaker, was delivered at the FRDM National Training Academy in Kuala Kuba Bharu, Malaysia to a class of forty Senior Fire Officers slated for training and instructional supervision assignments at the Academy, and various FRDM operations headquarters throughout the country.

The success of this business activity is a direct result of the diligent and reliable in-country logistics and administrative support provided by Tan Lian Soon the principal of Multipline Associates, Sdn.Bhd.  and Abdul Razak bin Hussein of Hazmatics Services Sdn. Bhd. since September 2001.

TRAINING ADVISORY 

OSHA CONSTRUCTION INDUSTRY SAFETY OUTREACH PROGRAM (10&30-HR TRAINING COURSES):  In accordance  with OSHA Outreach Program Policy Directive dated October 27, 2010 training day duration is limited to a maximum of 7 1/2 hours. All American has modified its Lesson Plans to deliver the 10-hour course over two 5-hour days and the 30-hour program in four days.

The 10-hour course has six mandatory topics of which the instructor may select three based on the needs of the participants. The 30-hour course has four mandatory subject matter areas made up of four occupational safety and health topics, and twelve elective topics from which those applicable to the needs of the class may be selected. All American has Course Descriptions outlining the requirements and content of each program available upon request.

OSHA TRAINING STANDARDS POLICY STATEMENT:  During 2010 issued a Policy Statement and Enforcement Memorandum addressing the protection of Hispanic and other non-English speaking employees from work place hazards. In his Policy Statement Assistant Secretary for Occupational Safety and Health Dr. David Michael’s noted the following regarding employers training obligations:

• “Many OSHA standards require that employees receive training so that work will be performed in a safe and healthful manner. Some of these standards require “training” or “instruction”, others require “adequate” or “effective” training or instruction, and still others require training “in a Manner” or in “language” that is understandable to employees. It is the Agency’s position that, regardless of the precise regulatory language, the terms “train” and “instruct”, as well as other synonyms, mean to present information in a manner that employees receiving it are capable of understanding.. This follows from both the purpose of the standards – providing employees with information that will allow work to be performed in a safe and healthful manner that complies with OSHA requirements – and the basic definition that implies the information is presented in a manner the recipient is capable of understanding.” Statutory precedent considers language to be a key element of effective and understandable training/instruction.
• The memorandum notes that “OSHA has a long and consistent history of interpreting its standards and other requirements to require employers to present information in a manner that their employees can understand”…………Therefore, “ in practical terms this means that an employer must instruct its employees using both language and vocabulary that the employees can understand”……….and “As a general matter employers are expected to realize that if they customarily need to communicate work instructions or other workplace information to employees at a certain vocabulary level or in a language other than English, they will also need to provide safety and health training to employees in the same manner”.
• Related enforcement guidance directs compliance officers to check and verify that employees are receiving OSHA mandated training in a language they understand by a competent instructor, and “If the compliance officer determines that a deficiency exists in the employer’s training program, he/she must document evidence of any barriers or impediments to understanding, as well as any other facts that would demonstrate that the employees were unable to understand the training and apply it to their specific workplace conditions. If a reasonable person would conclude that the employer had not conveyed the training to its employees in a manner thy were capable of understanding, then the violation may be cited as serious if it is within the guidelines set out in the FOM”.

Al l American offers Hazardous Waste Site Worker initial and recertification training and Confined Space Entry, OSHA 10-hr Construction Safety and First Aid/CPR-AED Spanish language training classes by client request.

NEWS ABOUT ALL AMERICAN TEAM MEMBERS:  During 2010 Senior Instructor Bill Shoemaker successfully completed the OSHA 500 Trainer Course in Occupational Safety and Health Standards for the Construction Industry. Bill is now authorized to conduct OSHA compliant 10 and 30 hour Construction Industry Outreach Training Program classes. After submittal of class records to OSHA for review all students satisfactorily completing the training will receive a numbered course completion wallet card affirming their achievement. As a designated authorized instructor Bill joins Mike Cecil, CIH and Luis Diaz on our team of OSHA authorized Construction Industry Outreach Training Program instructors.

In addition to Bill’s versatility as a trainer and curriculum developer, we are very fortunate to have Luis’ background and experience as an occupational safety and health generalist  and his ability to perform the OSHA outreach classes and other related construction and general industry training in the Spanish language when required basis by our clients.

In November 2010, at Spring Mountain Ski Area in Pennsylvania, Ed Conaway received a certificate from the National Ski Patrol System recognizing his 35 years of service to the organization as an Outdoor Emergency Care Technician and Ski Patroller, Patrol Director (past) and Trainer, and Pennsylvania Department of Health Certified First Responder. During this time Ed was selected as a member of the 2009 Freestyle Skiing and Snowboard World Cup Competition Ski Patrol held at Cypress Ski Bowl in British Columbia, Canada, and subsequently assigned by the Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee as an Event Services Team Leader during the 2010 Olympic Hockey Tournament and Paralympic Sledge Ice Hockey Tournament held in Vancouver, Canada during February and March. As a Team Leader Ed’s responsibilities included supervising a group of 25 volunteers involved in various security and access control functions, and the coordination of emergency medical care with British Columbia Provincial EMS on-duty in the Olympic Team and spectator areas of the venue where his team was assigned during the Games.