Corey Delta, Inc.

As an accredited NCCER assessment center, Corey Delta offers written assessment tests in all NCCER subject areas including Operator Qualification (OQ). Operator Qualification can be very confusing. This confusion is due in part to the regulations established by the Federal Department of Transportation (DOT) which went into effect in October, 2002. These regulations require each Pipeline Company to establish a compliance plan that allows for variations in implementing the law’s requirements. Contractors interested in complying with what has been commonly called Operator Qualification requirements, are tasked with developing a plan that addresses the following issues:

An approved record keeping organization must be designated to validate an individual workers required mastery of subject matter and skill as defined in covered task lists established by the pipeline company.
An approved evaluation process, such as the NCCER, must be designated as the process used to determine if the worker has the required knowledge and skill for the covered tasks required on the job.
A plan dealing with issues related to re-evaluation, non-OQ qualified personnel, subcontractors, and communication of changes in the OQ plan.

When an approved worker evaluation and reporting system such as the NCCER and ISNetworld have been chosen, the process of assessment can begin. Corey Delta, as an accredited NCCER Assessment and Certification Center, offers written assessment tests in all subject areas supplied by the NCCER. A person interested in documenting their skill for a particular trade or for OQ tasks should have at least four years experience working in the field before taking an assessment test.

There are several Pipeline OQ test categories. Construction companies will generally be most interested in the category of Pipeline Maintenance Technician. The Pipeline Maintenance Technician Test (PMTT) encompassed of approximately 150 questions must be taken and passed to receive Pipeline Maintenance Technician OQ certification. This test assesses all covered tasks identified in the Maintenance Technician category. The test taker must correctly answer at least 70% of the questions dealing with each particular item to pass each OQ covered task. Passing the exam certifies the person as a Pipeline Maintenance Technician but individual Performance Verification tests may still be a requirement according to each pipeline company’s requirements. A training prescription is available that identifies the specific NCCER training module that can be studied to learn the material for the covered tasks with less than passing scores. These training modules are available from Corey Delta or the NCCER. Performance Verifications will soon be available for covered tasks in the Pipeline Maintenance Technician area. For more information please contact Dave George at (707) 747-7500 ext. 3037 or via e-mail at dave.george@coreydelta.com