Employees at Dakota Gas undergo training focused on safety and improvement

As summer rolls around, so do the annual training sessions at Basin Electric’s subsidiary Dakota Gasification Company. Two major trainings took place in June, including training for the pipeline team as well as refresher training for recently hired employees.

Pipeline Team Training

The pipeline team at Dakota Gas underwent training on June 10^th and 12^th. This training is a requirement under U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration CFR 195 pipeline regulation. Training consisted of team building exercises, pipeline regulations, fatigue management, and emergency response.

The sessions were conducted by Kurt Dutchuk, Dakota Gas pipeline supervisor, and Ryan Rask, Dakota Gas utilities shift supervisor. Guest presenters included Dakota Gas Pipeline Engineer Hunter Eslinger, Dakota Gas Compliance Program Supervisor Chris Breiner, Dakota Gas Senior Safety Coordinator Auston Biles, and Dakota Gas Senior Section Engineer Brad Eisenbeisz. Approximately 50 Dakota Gas employees attended the training. Attendees included all employees who perform a qualified operator covered task on a Dakota Gas pipeline.

The training sessions worked to build a stronger team atmosphere and improve communication skills between the pipeline control room operators and field personnel, who in turn communicate with the pipeline control room operators during normal operations, abnormal operations, or emergency response.

“This training helps improve communication skills and knowledge amongst our pipeline operators and promotes a strong team atmosphere,” Dutchuk said. “Training also puts key players face-to-face in the same room for an entire day, which allows each department to recognize what other department’s jobs consist of.”

Refresher training

Safety Refresher training for new employees at Dakota Gas took place June 17-20. During the training, 17 recently hired employees were trained by a team of 15 subject matter experts on a variety of topics.

Safety Refresher training is designed to provide functional training on safety and health practices at Dakota Gas. Upon hiring, employees are provided with an initial orientation and are regularly brought back to undergo practice sessions to reinforce the procedures and methods they become familiar with in their roles.

Topics covered in this training include, but are not limited to:

• Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) 10-hour certification.
• Plantwide procedures/programs such as confined spaces, permitting, and process safety.
• Basic training on commonly used software.

According to Jeff Graney, Dakota Gas compliance, safety, and industrial hygiene superintendent, “Safety training is crucial for ensuring employee safety, compliance with regulations, and promoting a culture of safety. The compliance, safety, and industrial hygiene (CSI) team plays a crucial role in ensuring the well-being of employees and maintaining regulatory standards in the workplace.”

The CSI team at Dakota Gas worked to inform new hires on adherence to laws, regulations, and standards, preventing accidents, injuries, and illnesses in the workplace, and the recognition, evaluation, and control of workplace hazards.

Held annually, this year’s refresher training took a different approach. “Historically, field technicians received initial safety training upon hire, while most of the in-depth training is completed in the field,” said Dale Johnson, Basin Electric senior vice president and plant manager at Dakota Gas. “The new approach consists of the same initial training, but after a month or so on the job new hires return to the CSI team for more in-depth safety training.”

The goal of this change is clear: safety before all else. “We recognize that the first week of employment can be overwhelming and that it is challenging to retain everything that is taught,” Johnson said. “This approach breaks up the training into a more manageable timeline.”

Both training sessions at Dakota Gas stand as a constant reminder of the importance of learning, improving, and being safe while doing so.