Article

Discard old documents

This is not an article about spring-cleaning. It is an article about getting your safety training records and material retention policies current.

This is important, from a day-to-day approach to safety, to maintain clarity. It is also important when you and your company are involved in a lawsuit where your company training materials are subject to production in discovery.

Shifting roles
In the many years I have worked as legal counsel in the propane industry, I have witnessed a substantial change in various industry training and safety manuals.

This change is witnessed in National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 58 and 54. It is also evident, as we have moved from the National Propane Gas Association (NPGA) drafting a safety manual and safety bulletins to the Propane Education & Research Council (PERC) developing safety manuals, warnings and other materials related to this area of the industry. This transfer from NPGA to PERC also ushered in the withdrawal of NPGA safety bulletins.

Despite the fact that NPGA safety bulletins have been withdrawn for many years, many propane companies still have not discarded these documents from their files. At least some of the information contained in these withdrawn documents is inconsistent with the current editions of NFPA 54 and 58.

Propane marketers generally follow the most recent edition of NFPA 54 or 58 in the states where they conduct business. The training material they obtain through the Certified Employee Training Program (CETP) online or in the classroom follow the relevant codes that are adopted in these jurisdictions. As the law changes, the training has changed to be current and reflective of the laws now in place and on the books.

At your fingertips
It is important to keep current safety training documents at your local plants and available for your delivery and service personnel. This means regular training that is documented as required by code, culling old safety training material inconsistent with current codes, and training material available in the industry.
When your company is in litigation, it will most likely be asked to produce any safety material it possesses. If you maintain training material from 20 years ago simply because you have not discarded it, you still have to produce it in discovery. So, if you don’t use that material because it is outdated or it may have been withdrawn, it may be time to clean house and get rid of it.

At a minimum, it will keep current information available to your employees. It will also eliminate confusion in a lawsuit as you explain that the retained material is outdated and inconsistent with current training.