BACKGROUND
Despite the critical role of hazardous materials (hazmat) in the nation’s industry and commerce and the need to ensure that hazmat transportation occurs safely and efficiently, there is very little coverage of this topic in post-secondary education curricula in the United States. What little formal instruction that does exist is focused on training shipper and transportation company operations personnel in how to conduct hazmat transport within the current regulations, and training emergency responders for incident management. Those involved in the total supply chain; transportation officials in the public sector; and other officials involved in planning, enforcement, and economic development have little or no formal education in hazmat transportation. As a result, new employees with responsibility for ensuring the safe transportation of hazmat must learn the requirements through on-the-job training. Few programs address proactive and sound management principles and strategies. And, as the current cadre in industry and government involved with hazardous materials transportation expertise reaches retirement age, there will be a knowledge gap in the workforce that must be addressed.
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this research is to develop model post-secondary education curricula that address the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by the public (e.g., regulators, inspectors) and private (e.g., shippers, receivers) sectors for the safe and efficient transportation of hazardous materials.
Accomplishment of the project objective will require at least the following tasks.
TASKS
(1). Review relevant current industry and government practices used to provide education and training for the safe and efficient transportation of hazardous materials. (2). Identify and describe the elements that should be included in model curricula for the transportation of hazardous materials for the post-secondary education community. Prepare a technical memorandum providing the results of this task. (3). Identify gaps and constraints in current practices of education and training for the transportation of hazardous materials as well as potential constraints (e.g., aging workforce, reduced labor pool, availability of qualified instructors, and lack of an industry-recognized credential). (4). Prepare a list of 40 candidate participants for the Task 6 Peer Exchange. Select candidates based on the expertise needed to achieve all aspects of the potential curricula. (5). Prepare draft model post-secondary education curricula that address the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by the public (e.g., regulators, inspectors) and private (e.g., shippers, receivers) sectors for the safe and efficient transportation of hazardous materials.(6). Within 6 months of contract award, submit an interim report documenting the results of Tasks 1 through 5. (7). Conduct a conference call with the project panel to discuss the interim report, draft curricula, and the peer exchange. (8). Validate the draft model curricula by designing and conducting a 1-day Peer Exchange at the National Academies Beckman Center in Irvine, California (including invited participants and panel members). HMCRP will be responsible for all meeting and hotel logistics, travel expenses for participants, confirmation of attendance, and expenses related to meals and lodging. The contractor will be responsible for (a) covering all other costs, such as invitations, agenda, electronic presentations, and handout materials and (b) surveying other stakeholders who did not attend the peer exchange.(9). Based on the results of Task 8, revise the draft model curricula; identify strategies to address gaps and constraints in the revised curricula; develop deployment scenarios for the curricula; identify the key elements of the draft model curricula with supporting justification; and develop efficacy concepts, to include appropriate performance metrics and a learning outcomes matrix. (10). Prepare a final report documenting the entire research effort and the model post-secondary education curricula that address the knowledge, skills, and abilities needed by the public and private sectors for the safe and efficient transportation of hazardous materials.
