API WorkSafe

New Safety Qualification Program for Service Station Contractors

WASHINGTON – API is offering a new voluntary safety qualification program for contractors performing construction and maintenance work at retail service stations.  API WorkSafe offers station operators a uniform way to know whether individual contractor personnel have been trained to meet accepted industry safety standards.  

The vast majority of contractors in the retail petroleum industry work for more than one customer, but each customer may have different safety requirements.  It means service providers can often find it cumbersome and expensive to track such variations and then follow the correct procedures on site.

With a central objective of improving contractor safety training, the oil and natural gas industry asked API to establish a standardized training and qualification program.  The result, API WorkSafe, is designed to reduce any confusion by providing third-party training based on standard safety practices that are common throughout the industry.  It can also serve as a guide for companies without existing safety requirements.

A recent API task force study found that many members’ safety requirements overlapped by 80 percent, so they formed the basis of the program.  The training covers such areas as excavation, hoisting, lifting, and working at heights or in confined spaces. 

Applicants who pass the exam will receive a “Safety Key” with a unique personal identification code.  Station operators can verify the code online or by telephone.  The program is available in English and Spanish.      

API WorkSafe, affordably priced, also encompasses a new API recommended practice approved by API’s Retail Marketing Facilities Subcommittee, and peer-reviewed by API’s Safety and Fire Prevention Task Force, SIGMA, NACS, PMAA, the Petroleum Equipment Institute, and a certified safety professional.  

The program’s secure website is https://worksafe.api.org.  For more information about API WorkSafe, please contact Lindsay Pulliam at 202.682.8469 or pulliaml@api.org.