The adage that safety is everyone’s responsibility could certainly apply to the growing collaboration between CAAR and Transport Canada in the development of Nurse Tank Safety Program training (NTSP).

“Reconnecting with Transport Canada has been tremendous for CAAR and the agri-retail sector,” says Delaney Ross Burtnack, CAAR president and CEO. “Through a direct line to the experts, we are not only ensuring the quality content of our programming, but we are identifying new and valuable ways to help retailers maintain compliance to regulations and standards.

“The pressure to comply is constantly growing and changing,” says Burtnack. “There have been incidents over the last number of years that have really heightened the focus on compliance with safety measures, and the NTSP is among the programs developed to assist retailers with compliance.”

The program is for retailers considering registering with Transport Canada as a certified testing facility, and trains retailers in the inspection, testing and retesting of nurse tanks and applicator tanks for the Transportation of Dangerous Goods (TDG) in accordance with CSA B620-09. This training meets part of the requirements to become a tank inspector or tester, as defined in sections 8.1.6 and 8.1.7 of CSA B620-09, respectively. Successful trainees receive their three-year Safety Officer certification, confirming their familiarity with the training materials and the quality control manual.

The quality control manual provided with the NTSP course is vetted through Transport Canada, complies with their requirements and is regularly updated. Within the manual are steps for pressure testing the tanks and tank inspections.
CAAR is currently developing the pending revision 6.0, and Burtnack encourages interested companies to contact CAAR over the coming months with suggestions on how to revise the manual to make it more user-friendly. “We’d love to hear from the membership  on how they think we could proceed with the NTSP program,” she says.

Burtnack says that working more closely with Transport Canada has led to a deeper understanding by both organizations of the regulatory pressures that retailers face and where improvements may be made.

“The relationship will lead to improvements to CAAR’s existing programs, and likely, the development of new programs and communications to support ongoing compliance and improve the audit process for retailers,” she says. 

Click here to register for NTSP training.