Virtual Assistant Safety Officer (ASO) Course

This 3-day course provides participants with course work for the position of Assistant Safety Officer (ASO). It covers the roles and responsibilities of an ASO and the relationship of the ASO to the Safety Officer (SO) within the Incident Command System (ICS). The student will review the administrative functions of the SO (e.g., participating Incident Management Team meetings and incident briefings, and conducting investigations) but the real emphasis will be on how to be the “eyes and ears” of the SO in the field. This training is designed to provide the ASO with a better understanding of field operations to help ensure the smooth flow of information between the field and Incident Command. This, in turn, helps improve the efficiency and safety of field operations, and decreases the likelihood of injuries and "stop work" orders.

Instructional methods include lectures, videos, class discussions, and group exercises. A certificate of course completion will be awarded to those students who have 100% attendance.

Target Group

This course is intended for U.S. EPA personnel who have completed the 24-hour EPA Field Health and Safety Training Course and/or the 40-Hour HAZWOPER Training Course. This course is REQUIRED for all new ASOs and RECOMMENDED for ASOs who have already served as an ASO. An instructor will review all registrations.

Objectives

After completing the course, participants will be able to:

• Identify ASO roles and responsibilities.
• Describe the interactions of the ASO with the SO and other Incident Command positions.
• Locate and use the tools found in the EPA SO Toolbox.
• Perform the administrative functions of the SO.
• Explain operational risk management strategies.
• Identify common safety concerns on project sites, and specific hazards associated with different kinds of emergencies.
• Use the ASO Field Audit Guidance document to evaluate and control site hazards.
• Describe specific areas of special technical expertise that ASOs can contribute to site operations.
• Identify references and resources that can be consulted for additional information.   

The classroom version of this course is delivered over two days (16 hours).

The virtual version of this course is delivered over three 5.5-hour days.

Continuing Eduction Units: 1.6

In compliance with Executive Order 13589 - Promoting Efficient Spending, Section 5; the ERTP will not be regularly printing or providing students hard copies of the course manual. Students may obtain an electronic copy of the student manual for personal printing or e-reading at:

https://www.ertpvu.org/ClassroomCourseDetail.aspx?id=52

IMPORTANT:  ERTP’s receipt of a Trainex course registration is a Registration Request, it is not a Guaranteed Enrollment in the Course. All ERTP training courses require applicant registration thru the Trainex system.  Last minute course arrivals without prior ERTP Trainex course registration approval is not permitted.  Before ERTP issues final approval to deliver any course and/or any EPA offices incurring expenses for the training event (including but not limited to EPA staff travel TA’s and/or ERTP training contractor expenses incurred), all EPA mandatory pre-approvals must all be met. The pre-approvals include (but are not limited to) the following:
Training location’s availability;
COVID status and/or other COVID Guidelines in effect for the location, as well as staff;

• Agency limitations, scrutiny, and approvals of ‘Conference Spending Requirements (known as the “5170”)’ for the specific training course(s) scheduled delivery timeframe;
• Weather (blizzard, hurricane, etc);
• Contractual number of available course training slots;
• EPA training location staff having priority registration over all other registrations; and/or
• Hosting site Training Coordinator approval.

In the event a course is subsequently postponed or canceled, or notification of registration cancellation is received, all EPA travel arrangements (airline/car rental/hotel) should be canceled in a timely manner. Registered students will receive a notification via email if/when a course is postponed and/or cancelled.

Notice:For in-person course deliveries, confirmed course registered participants must abide by all facility physical access requirements for the location (examples: check-in at the security gate, Federal ID, Government PIV/CAC cards, photo id’s, etc.).  If applicable for the course or location, restrictions may apply to non-citizens and acceptable identification may be required for facility entry.  Unless otherwise specified, ERTP TRAINING IS GENERALLY NOT OPEN TO INTERNATIONAL ATTENDEES, ACADEMIA, CONTRACTORS, CONSULTANTS OR OTHER PRIVATE ENTITIES.

The above times for the course are Eastern time

A Computer with Microsoft Teams App is required for this course